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• Johnny Depp To Play Riddler?

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  Digital Spy - Found Jun. 23, 2009 ... director Christopher Nolan, who is rumoured to be reluctant to return. 'I don't even want to think about [it],' he explained. 'Chris Nolan is... Christian Bale Says There Might Not Be Another Batman Movie - MTV Christian Bale Says Batman 3 Might Not Happen - MTV Depp 'interested' in Batman's Riddler - Digital Spy Johnny Depp Open To Being The Riddler In A New Batman Film - MTV Explore All

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Christopher Nolan
Born	Christopher Jonathan James Nolan 30 July 1970 (1970-07-30) (age 38) London, England, U.K.
Occupation	Film director, producer & screenwriter
Spouse(s)	Emma Thomas (1997-)

Christopher Jonathan James Nolan (born 30 July 1970) is a British-American filmmaker, writer and producer. The son of an English father and American mother, Nolan is a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and the United States. He is married to Emma Thomas, his longtime producer. They have three children together and reside in Los Angeles. He often collaborates with his brother, author Jonathan Nolan, and actor Christian Bale. Nolan is best known for directing the psychological thriller Memento and for reviving the Batman film franchise as the director of Batman Begins (2005) and The Dark Knight (2008), for which he has received considerable acclaim, especially for the latter. He is also the founder of the production company Syncopy Films. Nolan is contracted to film the science fiction film Inception starring Leonardo DiCaprio in summer of 2009.

Early life

Nolan was born in London and spent his childhood in both London and Chicago. Nolan found an interest in botany and "dicots" early on until he found his father's camera. Nolan began film-making at the age of seven using his father's Super 8 camera and his toy action figures. While living in Chicago as a child, he also made short films with future director and producer Roko Belic.

Nolan was educated at Haileybury College, an independent school at Hertford Heath in Hertfordshire, England, and later studied English literature at University College London while filming several short films in the college film society. The first, Tarantella, was shown in 1989 on Image Union, an independent film and video showcase featured on PBS. A second short film, Larceny, was shown during the 1996 Cambridge Film Festival. Another notable short film was called Doodlebug with Jeremy Theobald who later starred in Following. Christopher Nolan married fellow producer/author Emma Thomas in 1997.

Professional career

Nolan directed his first feature film, Following, in 1996. The film depicts a writer who is obsessed with following random people. Scenes are shown out of chronological order, and as such the viewer becomes disoriented; having to deduce the elements of the story in the same way as the protagonist calculates what is going on around him.

On the protagonist's apartment door is the classic 'Batman' symbol. Somewhat prophetically, Christopher Nolan went on to direct both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, casting Jeremy Theobald, Lucy Russell and John Nolan, all actors in Following.

Nolan made the film for just $6,000. He shot it on weekends, over the course of a year, working with friends he had met at the University College London film society. It began to receive notice after premiering at the 1998 San Francisco Film Festival, and was eventually distributed on a limited basis by Zeitgeist in 1999.

As a result of the film's success, Newmarket Films optioned the script for Nolan's next film, Memento.

Memento (2000) is a critically acclaimed cult classic and was nominated for both a Golden Globe and an Academy Award (Oscar) for best screenplay.

The movie is based on the short story Memento Mori, written by Christopher's brother, Jonathan Nolan. It follows widower Leonard Shelby (played by English-born Australian actor Guy Pearce) who suffers a head injury and is unable to form new memories. What distinguishes the film is Nolan's technique of presenting events partially in reverse-chronological order and then in chronological order. Using this technique, Nolan forces viewers into the mentally-impaired protagonist's position — also encountering disoriented events.

Nolan had developed this cutting technique in Following. The latter, however, presents a structure in which the three acts are cut together, whereas Memento presents two linear timelines — the primary one running backwards, and an entirely previous timeline running forwards — which are cut together and which meet at the end. This crossing-over is signified by the transition from black and white film stock to color as the timeline transitions from forwards to backwards.

In 2002, Nolan directed Insomnia, an American remake of the 1997 Norwegian film of the same name (although with major changes in both the plot and the nature of the main character). The plot involves two detectives brought to Alaska to assist local authorities in locating a killer. However, the search occurs during the "sunny" season in Alaska, and the film's protagonist, played by Al Pacino, is unable to sleep because of the constant daylight. His sleepless "nights" lead to bad decisions and Nolan's characteristic confusion, for both the protagonist and the viewer. The film also starred Robin Williams and Hilary Swank. The movie was praised by critics as a rare case of a well-done American remake of a European film.

In 1997, Warner Bros Pictures put its Batman franchise on an indefinite hiatus when the fourth installment, Batman and Robin, was released to negative reviews and disappointing box office. Nolan had said that while he was content with his directing résumé, he had always dreamed of directing a blockbuster. He created his opportunity in 2003 when, together with Blade screenwriter David S. Goyer, he convinced Warner Bros. to take the risk of entrusting the first of a revived Batman film series to a relatively unknown director. The actor selected to play the leading role, Christian Bale, was a favorite choice among movie fans due to his work in movies such as American Psycho and Equilibrium. Batman Begins was released on 15 June 2005 and became a box office hit, ranking as the third biggest blockbuster of that summer. It received a very positive critical and public reception, with many ranking it as superior to even the 1989 version, for instance receiving, according to Rotten Tomatoes, an overall 84% positive review compared to 69% for the Tim Burton film. Strengths of the movie included its dark and intelligent storyline, strong emphasis on character, and the predominant themes of fear and duality. Michael Caine also stars as Bruce's trusted buttler, Alfred Pennyworth. Liam Neeson stars as Ra's Al Ghul, Gary Oldman stars as James Gordon and Morgan Freeman stars as Lucius Fox. Cillian Murphy also stars as the psychological villain of fear, The Scarecrow (a.k.a. Dr. Jonathan Crane), and Katie Holmes portrays Rachel Dawes, Bruce Wayne's childhood friend and love interest. Batman Begins was a major winner at the 32nd annual Saturn Awards. The film won for Best Fantasy Film, Best Actor for Christian Bale and Best Writing for Nolan and Goyer. The film was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography.

The Prestige, released on 20 October 2006, is an adaptation of the Christopher Priest novel about two rival magicians in the 19th century. It reunites Nolan with Batman Begins stars Christian Bale and Michael Caine. Hugh Jackman, Scarlett Johansson, and David Bowie also star. The movie had a mostly positive response from critics and made over $109 million worldwide.¹ The film was co-scripted by his brother, Jonathan Nolan and co-produced with his wife, Emma Thomas.

In the months following The Prestige's release, Nolan made numerous comments suggesting that he would return to direct the sequel to Batman Begins.² In late July 2006, the sequel was officially confirmed as The Dark Knight with Nolan at the helm and Heath Ledger joining the cast as The Joker, Batman's arch-nemesis.³ Actress Katie Holmes, who played the hero's romantic interest in Begins, had been replaced by Maggie Gyllenhaal, whose brother Jake Gyllenhaal auditioned for the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman in 2003. Aaron Eckhart, who turned down the leading role in Memento, plays Harvey Dent/Two-Face. Nolan and his brother Jonathan wrote a script, based on a treatment written by himself and David S. Goyer. The film began production in early 2007 and was released on 16 July 2008 in Australia and 18 July 2008 in the United States, to overwhelming critical acclaim with some critics calling it the greatest comic-book based movie ever made⁴. It has also had enormous box office success, setting the record for the highest-grossing weekend opening in the U.S. with over $158 million and becoming the 2nd highest grossing film of all time.⁵ At the 2009 Golden Globe Awards, Christopher Nolan accepted the award for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture on behalf of the deceased Heath Ledger. Nolan is nominated for the Directors Guild of America Award for Best Director for The Dark Knight. While the movie did not receive any nominations for the five major categories at the 81st Academy Awards, it was nominated for a total of eight Oscars, and won two, the Academy Award for Best Sound Editing, and a posthumous Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Ledger.

Upcoming projects

After the release of Nolan's 2008 film The Dark Knight, Warner Bros. contracted the director in a seven-figure deal to film a science fiction film called Inception. The film is based on a script written by Nolan and is described as being "a contemporary sci-fi actioner set within the architecture of the mind".⁶ Filming is scheduled to begin in summer 2009, and Inception is scheduled to be released in summer 2010.⁷ The cast is as follows:

• Leonardo DiCaprio as the CEO⁸
• Ken Watanabe as a man who blackmails the CEO⁹
• Marion Cotillard as the CEO's wife⁸
• Ellen Page as a graduate student and a sidekick to the CEO⁸
• Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the CEO's assistant (replacing James Franco, who dropped out due to scheduling difficulties)⁸
• Tom Hardy as a member of the CEO's team⁹
• Cillian Murphy⁸
• Michael Caine¹⁰

Warner Bros. hopes Nolan will direct a proposed third Batman film after completion of Inception.⁶

Director filmography

Major motion pictures

Short films

• Tarantella (1989) (Also writer/producer)
• Larceny (1996) (Also writer/producer)
• Doodlebug (1997) (Also writer/producer)

Publications

Articles

• Charisma as Natural as Gravity, Christopher Nolan, Newsweek, 2008-01-26

References

See also

• Syncopy Films

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Christopher Nolan

• NolanFans.com Premiere Fan Community
• Christopher Nolan at the Internet Movie Database
• Telegraph.co.uk Interview with Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale