Liam Neeson’s Frustration With Christopher Nolan Stemmed from Director’s Intense Need for Secrecy That Became Overbearing at Times
Alfred Hitchcock, the brains behind the iconic movie Rear Window (1954) and many more classics is considered Hollywood’s ultimate Master of Suspense.
Christopher Nolan, who’s a legendary filmmaker in his own right, is no Hitchcock when it comes to ending his movies. Now, we aren’t insinuating his movies aren’t thrilling (just watch the ending of Memento) but what makes Nolan different than others is his tendency to spread mind-bending details at different stages throughout the movie (Tenet or Inception) which generates plenty of conversations and debates from his audience.
Interestingly, suspense and secrecy are ever-present during the pre-production and production stages of Nolan’s movies.
How Christopher Nolan Kept Things in the Dark Over the Casting of Oppenheimer
The ending of Christopher Nolan‘s latest blockbuster Oppenheimer is more or less close-ended on the surface which is not a surprise for a historical drama.
Lewis Strauss (Robert Downey Jr.) had J Robert Oppenheimer’s (Cillian Murphy) security clearance revoked. The last scene shows Oppenheimer’s face in close-up as he stares at the droplets before closing his eyes. The magic of the movie is the excellent visual experience and the debates it evokes.
Instead, the major surprise was reserved for his Oppenheimer cast and to a certain degree for himself as well, as right till the very end of the writing process he didn’t know his cast. When asked to explain how he ended up deciding to give Murphy the lead role, the 53-year-old told Fandango that he doesn’t like writing his script with actors in mind and suggested everything happened after the script was finished.
Murphy was asked a similar question to which he replied: “In typical Chris fashion there was no text or preamble.” “This came straight out of the blue,” he added.
And this isn’t the first time Nolan has kept things a bit secretive or unforeseen with his actors. A similar suspenseful situation occurred on the sets of The Dark Knight Rises.
How Christopher Nolan’s Method Frustrated Liam Neeson
Liam Neeson first worked with Christopher Nolan in Batman Begins, portraying the role of Ra’s al Ghul. Despite earning rave reviews for the portrayal of the leader of the League of Shadows, he wasn’t part of The Dark Knight.
But he did make a surprise return in the third installment, which shows Ra’s al Ghul’s daughter Talia leading the international organization. However, a surprise was waiting for Neeson during the filming of The Dark Knight Rises.
“[Nolan] takes it to another extreme — I didn’t know I was in the movie,” Neeson once told Hollywood.
He added: “I went and shot a scene for two hours with Christian Bale. There was a set, and Christian was tied up. I said, ‘Chris, what am I doing?’ [As Nolan:] ‘Um… well, just walk forward, and say the lines, walk back, and that’ll be it, really.’ I said, ‘What the f***? Tell me the story!’ [As Nolan:] ‘Um… I’d prefer not to, really.’ Okay, don’t mind me — I’m just an actor.”
Keeping the secrecy wasn’t just limited to the sets, Nolan also told Neeson to not tell anybody he was filming The Dark Knight Rises off the sets.
Source: The Playlist
