Is Oppenheimer Christopher Nolan’s Most Expensive Film?

What is it about? In 1942, convinced that Nazi Germany was developing nuclear weapons, the United States launched the “Manhattan Project” in great secrecy, which aimed to create the first atomic bomb in history. The government hired J. Robert Oppenheimer, a brilliant physicist who would soon be nicknamed the “Father of the Atomic Bomb,” to pilot this device.

It is in the ultra-secret laboratory of Los Alamos, in the heart of the New Mexico desert, that a scientist and his team develop a revolutionary weapon, the dizzying consequences of which still weigh on the world today…

What did “Oppenheimer” cost?

Oppenheimer’s budget is 100 million dollars. Il s’agit toutefois de l’un des films les moins chers de Christopher Nolan, Puisque Tenet avait coûté 205 million dollars, Dunkirk 100 million, Interstellar 165 million, The Dark Knight Rises 250 million, Inception10 million, 16 million Batman Begins 150 million, Insomnia 46 million, Memento 9 million and then 6000 dollars.

Note that Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, and Robert Downey Jr., who typically earn between $10 and $20 million per film, were paid four million each to play Oppenheimer. This is one of the main reasons for this “low” budget, the second is probably Nolan’s desire to limit digital stunts as much as possible (as evidenced by the realization of the nuclear test scene).

See all the secrets of the movie

Based on the award-winning book

Oppenheimer is based on biography American Prometheus: J. The Triumph and Tragedy of Robert Oppenheimer Written by Kai Bird and Martin J. by Sherwin and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize. Christopher Nolan explains:

“I wanted to immerse the viewer in the soul and life of a being who found himself at the epicenter of one of the greatest mutations in history. Like it or not, J. Robert Oppenheimer is the most important man who ever lived. He created the world we live in, for better or for worse.

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Who is up for the title role?

Cillian Murphy steps into the suit of Robert Oppenheimer, a major historical figure considered the father of nuclear weapons: “I’ve always told Chris Nolan, publicly and privately, that if I was available and he wanted to be in a movie, I’d always be there. No matter how big the role. But deep down, secretly, I was dying for him to be the lead.”

“He’s so humble and self-effacing and, in his very English, he just said to me, ‘Look, I’ve written this script about Oppenheimer. I wish you were my Oppenheimer. It was a great day. It felt like the right time to take on that responsibility.’– says the actor and continues:

“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. He’s been a huge influence on my life, both creatively and professionally. He’s offered me some very interesting roles and I’ve found them all very stimulating.”

With Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan finds Cillian Murphy. He directed the Peaky Blinders star in The Dark Knight trilogy, Inception and Dunkirk.

timeless style

Producer Ruth De Jong (Inherent Vice, Song To Song, Us, Nope, etc.) immersed herself in research for weeks to develop an aesthetic that is authentic without being slavishly attached to time. Christopher Nolan encouraged him not to dwell on small details and to go for a certain modernism: cars, telephones or other technological inventions did not necessarily belong to the time in which the plot is located.

A choice that would fit well with the story of a man constantly projecting himself into the future, from his perspective: “Chris kept telling me, ‘Ruth, I’m not trying to make an educational documentary.’

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What lighting “Oppenheimer”?

This is the fourth time Christopher Nolan has collaborated with director of photography Hoyt van Hoytema, who helmed Interstellar, Tenet and Dunkirk. He says : “The hardest thing about Oppenheimer is that the film is so different from Chris’s other projects I’ve worked on. In Interstellar, Tenet and Dunkirk, the emphasis was on action. Oppenheimer is more of a psychological thriller and focuses on the faces of the characters.”

Nolan adds: The visual style that Hoyt and I chose for this film was very simple and very strong. There is no barrier between the world of the film and the audience, and there is no stylization effect beyond black and white scenes. But especially for the colorful scenes, we wanted a very simple light that could highlight the materials as naturally as possible.