In an unprecedented turn of events, The Cheese Grater was recently fortunate enough to catch up with UCL alumni and world-renowned director Christopher Nolan. Famed for his experimental directorial ap- proach and complex narrative struc- tures, he joined us for a quick chat about his latest film, Tenet.
So, Christopher, talk us through the film-making process. What was the starting point for Tenet?
Well, I should say firstly that it’s all part of my epistemological reality. If I remember correctly, the basic con- cept of Tenet came to me one early morning in 2010, around 8pm. I was sitting upside down in the bath, in the seventh dimension, when I inverted my own body clock us- ing the thermodynamic principle of dark matter. Once I began writing, I simply used multiple philosophi- cal algorithms I composed while dreaming about a wormhole.
How do you feel Tenet is different from your other work?
It is important to me to connect with my fans, who have been pre- tendingo understand my scientifi- cally and cinematically incompre- hensible work for decades. I like to build on the ebb and flow of time, while also concentrating on specifi- cally futuristic phenomena.
Some critics have suggested the dialogue in your films can be hard to follow. Is this a directorial choice, or just an inevitable con- sequence of the modern cinematic experience?
Mmmmhgpgh. Mmghmmpgh? Grrr. Hmmmghph