Christopher Nolan reacts to Oppenheimer’s Academy Awards nominations

Last Updated on January 26, 2024

Christopher Nolan has had the unique distinction of being an auteur who makes heady films with deep themes, but they are also big-budget films with commercial appeal. After tackling an over-the-top concept with the divisive action-thriller Tenet, Nolan has made what has been arguably his most talked-about film since The Dark Knight with Oppenheimer. While many attribute a lot of its success to being part of the Barbenheimer phenomenon, the movie has had its own merits that gave it it’s own time in the spotlight, from IMAX film showings to Cillian Murphy‘s Academy Award-nominated performance.

Nolan is one who isn’t trivializing this recognition as even someone like him tries not to jinx his chances of winning the biggest awards of the Oscars, “Don’t take it as being blase. We just didn’t want to jinx anything. Watching the nominations was more than our nerves could take so we just had a restless night and slept through.” Nolan speaks to the Associated Press about the whopping 13 nominations his latest effort has garnered. Nolan tries to deconstruct how this project blew up (pun intended) so well with audiences, “It’s always a tricky thing to try to analyze the zeitgeist or analyze success. We were really interested and excited, in particular, to see young people responding to a piece of history. I keep coming back to the unique nature of the story. I think it is one of the great American stories. It encompasses so much that’s important and dramatic about our history. That gives audiences a lot to hang to, when you get a great group of actors and incredible cast like we have, you can make this feel real and emotionally accessible. That’s as far as I can analyze its success. Beyond that, sometimes you catch a wave and it’s a wonderful and unique thing.”

As successful as Nolan has been, and with his past movies consistently receiving praise from critics and audiences, this is the first real love fest he’s gotten from industry award factions since Dunkirk. In fact, it was the crossover appeal of The Dark Knight that a push was made for the academy to start expanding to certain genre pictures and instituted an expanded Best Picture palette. When asked if Nolan and his wife, and producing partner, Emma Thomas, feel more confident this year, Nolan replies, “I think the breadth of recognition that we woke up to this morning is something we haven’t experienced before, and it’s really thrilling for us. It’s a very unique feeling to see in academy recognizing all different aspects of the film, from the performances to the technical achievement of the film. I mean, I grew up watching the Academy Awards. It’s the pinnacle of sort of the recognition of your peers.”