1 Tom Hanks Space Documentary Broke Christopher Nolan’s Heart, Inspired Interstellar Script
Christopher Nolan, the filmmaker behind some of the best sci-fi movies and somewhat fictionalized versions of real events that left a strong impact on the world, has once again managed to take over the hearts of millions of people with the biographical epic Oppenheimer, which made almost $1 billion upon its summer release despite being in a tough competition with Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, which crossed the billion-dollar mark.
Ever since the release of Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan has attended quite a few press events and even sat down for numerous interviews. During one of these interviews, he revealed one of the things that he believed to have inspired the story for his sci-fi movie Interstellar, released in 2014.
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Christopher Nolan Revealed the Inspiration behind the Interstellar Script
Christopher Nolan made his first feature film Following in 1998 and was considered a promising debutant as the movie managed to land well with critics. He had his breakthrough when filmmaker Steven Soderbergh recommended him to Warner Bros. to direct the psychological thriller Insomnia. Despite the studio’s initial hesitation to let a newcomer direct the movie, they let Nolan do it and he obviously did not disappoint.
This paved the way for The Dark Knight Trilogy which established the director as one of the most talented ones in the industry. In 2009, after Steven Spielberg stepped back as the director of Interstellar, the movie’s screenplay writer Jonathan Nolan recommended his brother Christopher Nolan for the role.
The Nolan brothers co-wrote the script that Jonathan Nolan had begun developing in 2007. Speaking of the inspiration behind it to Ross Andersen of The Atlantic, Christopher Nolan said:
“We both went to see a documentary about the Apollo missions voiced by Tom Hanks. There’s a part about the ridiculous idea that the moon landings were faked, and I think we were both—and Jonah in particular—very struck by how sad it was that the filmmakers felt the need to address such an absurd conspiracy theory, and how that diminished the achievements of everyone involved.”
This was when the Nolan brothers were searching for locations for The Dark Knight in Hong Kong. Even though he did not want to speak for his brother, the Dunkirk director seemed sure that this experience had a lot to do with the script.
Christopher Nolan’s Movies Do Not Convey a Specific Message
Over the years, Christopher Nolan has worked with many great actors and told some of the best stories to date. His masterful filmmaking gets such a grip on its audience that it’s hard for them to not ruminate about what they have watched for days.
The documentary voiced by Tom Hanks left a deep impact on the Nolan brothers as can be seen in Interstellar which tried to defend the spirit of scientific exploration and perhaps even celebrated it. When asked whether or not this has impacted his other projects, Christopher Nolan said:
“Now, is that consistent with the other ways in which our work—and my work—has addressed technology? Not necessarily, but at the same time, these films are not didactic. They aren’t intended to convey specific messages about society. They’re just trying to tell great stories.”
Nolan is evidently doing a great job at making movies that tell stories and leave a massive impact on its audience while also entertaining them. Hopefully, he will continue doing so for as long as he can.
Interstellar can be streamed on Amazon Prime Video and Tom Hanks’ space documentary From the Earth to the Moon can be streamed on Hulu and Disney+.
