“Excessors think mostly on their lunch breaks”: Why did Christopher Nolan hire real scientists over Oppenheimer?

After blowing the minds of audiences in August 2020’s Tenet, Christopher Nolan invites us to explore the creation of the atomic bomb in Oppenheimer, in theaters July 19.

As its title suggests, the feature film plunges us into the heart of the Manhattan Project, the code name for the creation of atomic weapons in the United States during World War II.

The story will focus on the personality of physicist Robert Oppenheimer, who is considered the father of the nuclear bomb. The latter is played by Cillian Murphy, who felt a great responsibility to dress up this major historical figure.

“It’s a lot of pressure. The character was complex, contradictory and iconic. But I knew I was working with one of the greatest directors of all time. I felt confident with Chris Nolan.”– said the actor in particular at the microphone Associated Press.

The director, a perfectionist, made a particularly radical decision regarding the figure in the film. he asked Entertainment WeeklyNolan revealed that he hired real scientists to play extra games. The filmmaker explains:

“We needed the crowd to react and improvise, and they gave us very specific speeches in the moment. It was a lot of fun to listen to them.” said the British artist.

We were all on set with a lot of extras and they were all thinking about some kind of break. “The director emphasized.

We’ve all been on set with lots of extra stuff and they’ve all been more or less thinking about the sandwich they’re going to eat on their lunch break.

“But these guys were thinking about the geopolitical implications of nuclear weapons, and they knew a lot about that. It was actually a great reminder of what we have to do: stay focused, stay true to history and know what we’re doing.”He concluded, showing the attention to detail that characterizes him.

Oppenheimer will hit theaters on July 19. In addition to Cillian Murphy, the British director called an exceptional actor. Emily Blunt stars as Kitty Oppenheimer with Robert Downey Jr. as Louis Strauss.

The game also stars Florence Pugh, Rami Malek, Kenneth Branagh, Jack Quaid, Gary Oldman and Josh Hartnett. Note also the appearance of Albert Einstein, played by Tom Conti in the film.