Christopher Nolan’s impact on Hollywood is indelible. Without his creative contributions, cinematic gems like Interstellar, The Dark Knight, Dunkirk, Inception, and Oppenheimer, among others, might never have graced the silver screen.
Spanning across diverse genres like superhero epics and war dramas, a multitude of his works are commonly acknowledged by critics and authorities as some of the most exceptional films ever made. The extensive list of his achievements speaks for itself, encompassing nominations for five Academy Awards, five BAFTAs, and six Golden Globes, underscoring his remarkable impact in the world of cinema.
Christopher Nolan Owes His Career To Steven Soderbergh
Prior to establishing a prominent presence in the film industry, Nolan carved out his identity with independent productions like Memento. In a conversation with Rolling Stone, Steven Soderbergh unveiled his role in ensuring that Nolan’s films garnered the recognition they warranted, shedding light on their collaborative efforts.
Steven Soderbergh recounted how he became involved in the process: Christopher Nolan’s agent, Dan Aloni, whom Soderbergh was familiar with, reached out. This connection stemmed from the time when Memento struggled to secure a distributor after a year on the festival circuit, prompting Aloni to present the film to Soderbergh.
“What happened was, I got a call from Chris’ agent, Dan Aloni, who I had known because he screened Memento for me after Memento couldn’t find a distributor after being on the festival circuit for a year,” he recalled. “Dan calls me up out of the blue and says, ‘Could you watch this movie? I have this client of mine who has this movie, and we think it’s really good, but nobody will pick it up and we don’t understand why. Maybe we’re all crazy.'”
Upon viewing the film, Soderbergh was struck by its undeniable brilliance, deeming it an instant classic. However, this realization was tinged with a sense of melancholy, leaving him feeling disheartened as he left the screening. Subsequently, he discovered that Newmarket, the film’s financiers, opted to establish their own distribution arm and reaped a substantial $25 million profit from the endeavor.
Steven Soderbergh Convinced Christopher Nolan For WB Meeting
Steven Soderbergh recounted an incident where Dan got in touch after a span of months. Dan expressed that there was a script at Warner titled Insomnia, which had captured Nolan’s attention. However, Warner was reluctant to arrange a meeting. Perplexed, Steven inquired further and learned that the executive at Warner had reservations about Memento, a previous project.
“Cut to months later, Dan calls me and he goes, ‘Look, there’s this script over at Warner, Insomnia. Chris is really interested in it, but Warner won’t take the meeting.” And I go, ‘What do you mean they won’t take the meeting?’ And he goes, ‘Well, the executive there didn’t like Memento.’ And I said, ‘Well, so what? Why won’t they take the meeting?’ So, I called that executive and I said, ‘Take the meeting. You’ve got to take the meeting.”
Thanks to a pivotal encounter involving Steven Soderbergh, the cinematic landscape might have missed out on Christopher Nolan’s creations, such as Interstellar and Oppenheimer.
Source: The Digital Flix
