Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer has raked in over $777 million at the box office from its theatrical run so far. Oppenheimer explores the story of the Father of the Atom Bomb, J. Robert Oppenheimer. Christopher Nolan made the movie based on the book American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin.
The Dark Knight director revealed that he got the idea for Oppenheimer way before American Prometheus was published. At the time, Nolan lacked sufficient material to craft a compelling story.
Christopher Nolan’s Idea For Oppenheimer Was Inspired By An ‘80s Song
Christopher Nolan appeared alongside Robert Downey Jr. in a fun Q&A with WIRED, where they answered popular Google Searches about themselves. In one such query, Nolan was asked about the source of his brilliant ideas. Nolan responded that he got his ideas from all over the place. The Insomnia director disclosed how as a kid in the 1980s, he was afraid of dying in the nuclear armageddon.
The Interstellar director recalled a particular song that introduced him to Oppenheimer. The song in question is Russians by the English singer, Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner popularly known as Sting. Sting is famous for his songs like Every Breath You Take, Desert Rose, and Fragile. Nolan shared:
“Oppenheimer, something I had been interested in a long time. Didn’t know that much about the specifics of his story. Then came the book American Prometheus. And that absolutely got me hooked. So in the case of Oppenheimer, the idea, I mean, gosh, I trace it right back to, like, you know, as a kid in the eighties and we all thought we were gonna die in nuclear armageddon. You remember Sting had the song Russians. Oppenheimer’s deadly toys.”
Russians song was Sting’s response to the Mutual Assured Destruction doctrine between the US and Soviet Union during the Cold War period. Nolan and Downey Jr. then went on to recite the lyrics of the popular song. The Oppenheimer reference in the song goes like “How can I save my little boy from Oppenheimer’s deadly toy?”.
Not Only Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, Russians Influenced Another Film Too
Before Christopher Nolan revealed the song to be one of his inspirations, another Oscar-winning director also cited the song as his inspiration. James Cameron revealed that the addition of the 10-year-old John Connor, the central character in Terminator 2, was inspired by the Russians song. Cameron recalled the inspiration in an interview involving the crew of The Terminator. The Avatar director talked about how the idea came to him:
“I remember sitting there once, high on E, writing notes for Terminator, and I was struck by Sting’s song, that ‘I hope the Russians love their children too.’ And I thought, ‘You know what? The idea of a nuclear war is just so antithetical to life itself.’ That’s where the kid came from.”
The meaningful song that inspired legendary directors was re-recorded and released again as an acoustic version, during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Fans will have to thank the thought-provoking song for Nolan’s visually brilliant Oppenheimer.
Source: WIRED -YouTube
