Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer will be out next summer, with a release date of July 21. From what I’ve heard about the film thus far, it will be visually stunning, as most of Nolan’s films are. That being said, it feels like pretty heavy subject matter for a summer release. Perhaps it’s counter-programming, especially for a core audience of History Channel Dads. As for the visually stunning part of this endeavor… well, the subject matter is about the Manhattan Project and how America developed atomic weapons. Nolan delves into the history, including the tests. Apparently, Nolan didn’t want to use CGI for the imagery of the atomic bombs’ detonation. Did Christopher Nolan set off atomic weapons to get the shot???
Christopher Nolan revealed to Total Film magazine that he recreated the first nuclear weapon detonation without CGI effects as part of the production for his new movie “Oppenehimer.” The film stars longtime Nolan collaborator Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer, a leading figure of the Manhattan Project and the creation the atomic bomb during World War II. Nolan has always favored practical effects over VFX (he even blew up a real Boeing 747 for “Tenet”), so it’s no surprise he went the practical route when it came time to film a nuclear weapon explosion.
“I think recreating the Trinity test [the first nuclear weapon detonation, in New Mexico] without the use of computer graphics was a huge challenge to take on,” Nolan said. “Andrew Jackson — my visual effects supervisor, I got him on board early on — was looking at how we could do a lot of the visual elements of the film practically, from representing quantum dynamics and quantum physics to the Trinity test itself, to recreating, with my team, Los Alamos up on a mesa in New Mexico in extraordinary weather, a lot of which was needed for the film, in terms of the very harsh conditions out there — there were huge practical challenges.”
Nolan went on to call “Oppenheimer” a “story of immense scope and scale,” adding, “It’s one of the most challenging projects I’ve ever taken on in terms of the scale of it, and in terms of encountering the breadth of Oppenheimer’s story. There were big, logistical challenges, big practical challenges. But I had an extraordinary crew, and they really stepped up. It will be a while before we’re finished. But certainly as I watch the results come in, and as I’m putting the film together, I’m thrilled with what my team has been able to achieve.”
Wow, he’s really taking pains to talk around the idea that he set off atomic bombs to get a shot for a movie. My guess is that Nolan really wanted to create that “mushroom cloud” effect in real life, and he also wanted to show the actors reacting to a real atomic “pulse.” While I think much of the CGI in movies today is utter trash, literal cartoon bullsh-t, this is one of those rare moments where I wish a director was like “let’s send this to the visual effects team, I don’t need to put my actors and crew in danger just to get a pretty shot.”
*detonates nuclear weapons for a gender reveal*
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Universal.
-
- Film Director Christopher Nolan is awarded a CBE for services to Film at Buckingham Palace, London, England, UK on Thursday 19 December, 2019.,Image: 541216266, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: – / Avalon
-
- Film Director Christopher Nolan is awarded a CBE for services to Film at Buckingham Palace, London, England, UK on Thursday 19 December, 2019.,Image: 541216301, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: – / Avalon
I mean, on film sets you’re not even supposed to be unmasked right now unless you’re one of the actors to keep everyone safe. I don’t think setting off atomic bombs near the cast and crew is exactly up to their work safety standards lol. I don’t think Nolan did that.
It sounds like he’s just hyping that they did it with as little CGI as possible, which is what he is known for and one of his selling points. They obviously didn’t detonate nuclear bombs. That would be an international incident.
I don’t see how he’d get his hands on the necessary materials–that stuff’s regulated; otherwise nincompoops across the US would be making their own nuclear bombs. Nope, not possible.
As a person studying Hiroshima right now, if he exploded an atomic bomb for a *movie* I’ve got a real f*ing problem. What’s his movie about again? How atomic bombs are awful but he exploded one for a *movie*? Ban him for life.
Obviously the actors & crew safety but what about the environment? You can’t just pump out radiation to get the perfect shot. If he has used a genuine atom bomb he should be in jail.
There’s already more than enough crap in the soils surrounding Los Alamos from the Trinity era. No way would this get through the state or federal environmental approval process. I’m calling BS on this.
I find it impossible to think anyone would do this for a movie.
Would you even be able to secure insurance on a set if he used an actual atomic bomb?
Would any actor or crew agree to such a thing?
He must be carefully wording his answers in an effort to create interest/PR.
Cillian Murphy, Peaky Blinders star as Tommy Shelby, I can not see him being involved in something like that.
I absolutely believe he’s doing this for PR purposes, there’s no way he could have ACTUALLY created, let alone detonate, a nuclear bomb.
Does anyone really believe this? I mean where would he get. He is obviously talking about the technical challenges in achieving the effects without having an actual atomic bomb.
This is actually brilliant marketing if they can get gullible parts of the internet to have a meltdown over this on twitter.
I agree. It’s unlikely that any government would approve of a civilian creating and detonating an atomic bomb, and there would have been tremendous news coverage of an unconcealable event.
It is literally impossible. It’s not like they are just laying around to borrow, willynilly. Using one for any reason unless you are actually the Government (and the right government, at that) would be considered terrorism. This is maybe one of the dumbest talking points ive seen for promoting a movie.
Like, we have enough to worry about with Russia feeling pressure to maybe use a tactical nuke in Ukraine. Can we not spin up hype about fucking nuclear weapons for fun?
I interpreted his statement to mean he was excited that they managed to figure out something that emulated the effect, not that they actually set off a bomb. You can bet Twitter is definitely misinterpreting it right and left though.
There is a worldwide monitoring system set up to detect the detonation of a nuclear device anywhere on earth. Nolan could not have set off an A-bomb without the world knowing immediately.
Exactly….are people really believing this???
I totally agree. My uncle worked at the lab before he retired, and he still lives there (Santa Fe). It’s an extremely artsy community, with hand painted crafts and honey sourced from bees that were knitted bee coats when the temperatures get chilly. See also, a college town.
If there was any sort of an atomic blast, the community at large would have lost their collective (extremely friendly) shit.
ETA, my uncle was born during WWII, but the lab is still where smart people go to be smart.
There’s a reason why atomic bombs haven’t been let off for over 70 years. Are we to believe that Nolan really did this?
No atomic bombs. No one would let him do that. He’d have to get government access to the materials (or work with actual terrorists). There is no such thing as a controlled nuclear explosion. Not only would the crew get radiation sickness, but there would be eventual insurance claims from everywhere. People all the way to Illinois and Missouri got sick from the winds from the original tests back in the day.
Where would he get an atomic bomb to set off? Nuclear materials aren’t just available on the shelf at Wal-Mart. Also, I have a hard time believing that local authorities would be okay with him setting off an atomic bomb just for a movie. I call BS on all of this.
Shoot, the tribes/pueblos would have made their objections loud & clear. This is a really insulting marketing ploys.
Ditto to everything everyone else said about the insurance and safety concerns around actual nuclear weapons. There is no effing way he got an actual atomic bomb for this. Nuclear weapons are the most tightly controlled items on the planet–if he could get one so easily for something so trivial, do you really think nonnuclear states around the world who desperately want them wouldn’t already have one? He’s just trying to be all mysterious and coy so that people will think he actually managed to get an actual bomb since he’s such an artiste wedded to realism.
Gosh. Hmmmm
I’m very interested in this story.
When I was a kid I thought he was a regular volunteer, a scientist who would be nice to me and was used to volunteer at the Exploratorium in SF. I didn’t know I was learning by dissecting a cows eye with him or that he was who he was when he let me hold the sea slug. He was so cool to little lost science minded me. I spent several hundred hours at the Exploratorium w my folks and have several of fond memories of Frank (I called him Oppie). He was the founder of the Exploratorium in SF. Kinda stoked on this movie but I’m like wow, they do that? I have a lot to learn yet. Thanks for being cool to lost me Oppie. Not stoked on the bombs 💣 part
Exploratorium 💕 SF 🖖 so cool 😎
Whoa.
OMG!!!! Nicegirl, that is wild!
You can get mushroom clouds from other types of explosions, so that’s what I’m assuming he’s referring to. Government can be pretty corrupt, but I’m going to guess that we are past the stage of just throwing around nuclear arms like it’s no big deal lol.
The state of NM would have something to say about that. Nolan is a bullshitter. I encourage readers to read up on the downwinders. Communities, land, water, livestock and people’s health were a byproduct of the detonation for generations.
The state, the tribes, the pueblos, the feds. I don’t know what goes into the permitting process for filming a movie, but I am familiar with the permitting process for federal lands; I wonder whose mesa he filmed on? State, federal, pueblo, private? I believe New Mexico is one of those states where federal land outnumbers private land.
I find it very hard to believe he got his hands on a real atomic bomb. My guess is his visual effects supervisor helped create something that *looks* like an atomic bomb and Nolan is suffering a J Law “I was the first female action star” moment or he believes they used a real bomb and now looks like a fool.
My impression is that he was just recreating an explosion and mushroom cloud, using other types of explosives. But even that is so unnecessary in this day and age. Some of these Hollywood people need to relax and remember that they’re in entertainment industry. It’s just a movie, dude. No need to traumatized your actors and put staff at risk for a dumb shot.
Wait, uh, no. You don’t just make an atomic bomb for technical, regulatory, and supply chain reasons (you would need to get nuclear fuel). He certainly used real explosives, but not nuclear materials.
I’ve been thinking about this and I really think Kaiser should edit this article before it feeds into internet conspiracy theories. It is simply not feasible that a real atomic bomb was used.
Agreed.
My god, this guy is TIRING. If anyone allowed this dude to set off a real atomic bomb for realz for his Art, that would be the clue we’re all finally collectively losing our braincells as a human race and the apocalypse is near. It’s implausible to explode a real one, but guess he wants everyone to know HOW HARD AND CHALLENGING it was to recreate the effects of it and make some headlines about how some people can’t read and thought he set off a real atomic bomb and so he, the intellectual must/can correct and over explain his ‘process’. Ugh.
That would be a really stupid thing to do so I will believe he did not set off an atomic bomb for a Hollywood movie.
That level of pompous is something else.
With CGI and FX why are they still exploding anything?
He blew up an actual jet for a movie.
Which stinks for the environment.
He is bs-ing in an effort to stir up interest in this.
Honestly, no matter how good this movie is, I am not seeing a movie about this subject any time soon.
It most likely will be nominated for awards, serious subject matter, Nolan is a big name director. I think it would be different viewed in a theater, but look how quickly movies hit steaming now. And to release it in summer? I bet he and the actors involved are going to be out in full force doing PR trying to get butts in seats.
No movie is worth this, and frankly, Nolan is overrated. His movies are cold and soulless and in love with their own “cleverness,” which often isn’t clever. Like he named a character Ariadne in Inception, and what even was the point of that character? And then we’re supposed to buy Leonardo’s grief over losing his children because he says “What about Philippa and Gregory” like ten times every time he sees Marion Cotillard? Oh but we have three tiers of dream reality, ooooh, so clever, the unconscious as three different kinds of action movie. It’s all surface with this guy. He’s no genius at all.
Thank you! Someone needs to tell this man he is not the eccentric genius he thinks he is, and producers need to stop giving him their money no questions asked. His last few movies have been incomprehensible, pretentious nonsense. Who cares what you’ve blown up in real life if no one can understand the plot of the film? Nolan has disappeared up his own a$$
You don’t need atomic material to create a mushroom cloud. You need a detonation at a particular altitude with the right combination of low density gas and water vapor. And you can’t detonate anything on a film set without filing a lot of permits and having state and city government involved.
Thank you for this I’m like, wow. That would be so crazy right. I’m sure you’re right it’s just movie magic but wowza
I’ve known forest fires to create a mushroom cloud effect.
Yes, it can happen with a volcanic eruption, too.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t there international laws prohibiting the detention of atomic weapons under any circumstances, testing or otherwise? Does the director want us to think he actually set off a bomb as a ploy for views? Maybe he set off some low grade bombs for the mushroom cloud visuals and will enhance them in the studio.
This is the f*er that exploded a large commercial airplane for a movie, right? No doubt he needs his next thrill at the cost of this planet and our best lives. Not a fan.
Really? I think security services somewhere might have noticed an atomic bomb going off. Just a ploy to get some publicity for his film.