Entertainment
2023: In ‘Oppenheimer,’ Christopher Nolan Builds A Thrilling, Serious blockbuster For Adults
NEW YORK – Christopher Nolan has never been one to take a simple or obvious approach when developing a film.
He shoots the big-format film with large, bulky cameras to achieve the best cinematic look possible. He favors actual effects to computer-generated ones and real locales to soundstages — even if it means recreating an atomic explosion in the fierce winds of the New Mexico desert in the middle of the night for “Oppenheimer,” which will be released on July 21.
Despite internet speculation, they did not launch a nuclear weapon.
Regarding the biography that inspired Nolan’s latest picture, Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin’s gripping, linear narrative “American Prometheus” was merely the starting point from which Nolan built a captivating maze of suspense and drama.
It’s why, in his two decades in Hollywood, Nolan has established himself as a franchise unto himself — the rare auteur writer-director who creates intellectually fascinating and lucrative pictures, grossing more than $5 billion at the box office. That mix is one of the reasons he can lure Oscar winners and movie stars not only to star in his films but also to appear in only a few scenes.
“We’ve all been so intoxicated by his films,” Emily Blunt, who plays J. Robert Oppenheimer’s wife, Kitty, stated. “That examination of large ideas in an interesting manner does not occur. It simply does not happen. That depth, the material’s depth, and yet on this vast epic scale.”
Nolan saw intriguing opportunities to experiment with genre and form in the enormous and complicated story of the brilliant theoretical physicist who directed the Manhattan Project and the development of the atomic weapon during WWII. There was espionage, romance, home strife, courtroom drama, damaged egos, political maneuvering, communist fear, and the burden of developing something that could kill the world.
Christopher Nolan has never been one to take a simple or obvious approach when developing a film.
And then there was the man, revered by many but despised by many, who, after becoming an icon in American society, saw his reputation and sense of self decimated by the institutions that constructed him.
“It’s such an ambitious story to tell,” Matt Damon, who plays General Leslie Groves Jr., remarked. “When I read the script, I had the same reaction I had when I read ‘Interstellar,’ which was, ‘This is great.'” ‘How in the world is he going to pull this off?'”
It’s also not so dissimilar to Nolan’s previous works. In his book about the director, reviewer Tom Shone wrote, “Looked at one way, Nolan’s films are all allegories of men who first find their salvation in structure only to find themselves betrayed or engulfed by it.”
Cillian Murphy was cast to play Oppenheimer, a role that Nolan assigned to Cillian Murphy. Murphy had already appeared in five Nolan films, including the Batman trilogy, “Dunkirk,” and “Inception,” but this would be his first time in the starring role, which he had secretly desired.
“You feel a responsibility, but then a great hunger and excitement to try and do it, to see where you can get,” said Murphy, who worked closely with Nolan for six months before filming. “It was a lot of work, but I enjoyed it.” When you’re on a Chris Nolan set, there’s this kind of frisson, this enthusiasm about the possibilities for what you’ll achieve.”
It would be a demanding part requiring some physical modification to match that notoriously slim silhouette. Oppenheimer was a complex, paradoxical figure who evolved from a somewhat awkward youth to become a renaissance man with equal passion for the Bhagavad Gita, Proust, physics, languages, New Mexico, philosophical problems about disarmament, and the ideally blended martini. On the other hand, Murphy knew he was in good hands with Nolan.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(999x0:1001x2)/oppenheimer-trailer-tout-050823-38591a027bde4b37ac4ff5441396af1c.jpg "2023: In ‘Oppenheimer,’ Christopher Nolan Builds A Thrilling, Serious blockbuster For Adults")
Christopher Nolan has never been one to take a simple or obvious approach when developing a film.
“He’s the most natural director with whom I’ve ever worked.” And the notes he offers to actors are extremely impressive. “It’s quite stunning how he can gently bring you to a different place with your performance in such a subtle, low-key, understated way,” Murphy remarked. “It can have a significant impact on how you look at a scene from one take to the next.”
To depict Oppenheimer’s subjective experience, Nolan scripted the film’s major timeline in the first person.
“We want to see everything through Oppenheimer’s eyes,” Nolan explained. “That’s a huge challenge for an actor to take on because they have to worry about the performance, the truth of the performance, but also keep that open to the audience.”
The other timeline is more objective and focuses on Lewis Strauss (Robert Downey Jr.), a founding member of the Atomic Energy Commission and proponent of creating the more devastating hydrogen bomb.
“Oppenheimer” is Nolan’s first R-rated film since 2002’s “Insomnia,” which he is comfortable with after years of working exclusively in PG-13. It corresponds to the material’s gravity.
“We’re dealing with the most serious and adult story you could imagine — very important, dramatic events that changed the world and defined the world we live in today,” said Nolan. “You don’t want to compromise in any way.”
Much of the filming occurred in New Mexico, notably at the real Los Alamos laboratory, where hundreds of scientists, technicians, and their families worked for two years to construct the weapon. To help bring this world to life, Nolan enlisted the help of many of his frequent behind-the-scenes collaborators, including his wife and producer Emma Thomas, cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema, composer Ludwig Göransson, and special effects supervisors Scott Fisher and Andrew Jackson, as well as some newcomers like production designer Ruth de Jong and costume designer Ellen Mirojnick.
“It was a very focused set — also a fun set, not too serious.” “But the work was serious, and the sweating over the details was serious,” Blunt explained. “Everyone needs to, or wants to, match Chris’ excellence.”
When it came to recreating the Trinity test, Oppenheimer’s chosen moniker for the first nuclear blast, art and life became inextricably linked.
“We wanted to put the audience right there in that bunker,” Nolan explained. “That meant really attempting to make these things as beautiful, frightening, and awe inspiring to the people at the time.”
Christopher Nolan has never been one to take a simple or obvious approach when developing a film.
Though no genuine nukes were used, many real explosions were employed to simulate the blindingly light atomic fire and mushroom cloud.
“To do those safely in a real environment out in the nighttime desert, there’s a degree of discipline, focus, and adrenaline, and just executing that for the film that echoes and mirrors what these guys went through on the grandest scale in a really interesting way,” Nolan explained. “I felt like everybody had that very, very tight sense of tension and focus around all of those shooting nights.”
The weather also “did what it needed to do, as per history,” Murphy added as the wind swirled about the stage.
“I’m rumoured to be extremely lucky with the weather, but this is not the reality. “It’s just that we decided to shoot regardless of the weather,” Nolan explained. “It was essential, central to the story in the case of the Trinity test, that this big storm rolls in with tremendous drama.” That it did. That truly brought the scenario to life.”
“The extremeness of it put me very much in the mindset of what it must have been like for these guys,” he added. It felt like we were in the middle of nowhere.”
Then there’s the sensation of viewing “Oppenheimer.”
“When you’re making a movie, you feel like you’re on the inside looking out,” Blunt explained. “Seeing it reflected at you, especially one of this magnitude, is overwhelming.” It was so strong that I thought my armor would break.”
The aim is that when “Oppenheimer” hits theatres, audiences will be just as invested and will seek it out on the biggest screen possible. The picture is playing at IMAX theatres across the country, which is unusual for serious, R-rated films during the popular summer season. This, however, is the fundamental Nolan impossibility. As more and more auteurs have had to compromise — to either go smaller or link up with streamers to receive the kind of funding they once had at studios, as Ridley Scott and Martin Scorsese have had to do this year — Nolan has continued to make his films on the biggest scale.
“Each of his films has been revolutionary in their own way,” Murphy says. “It’s an event every time he releases a film, and rightly so.”
SOURCE – (AP)
France’s Cannes — A film that tells the narrative of Donald Trump’s beginnings and paints a harsh picture of the former president in the 1980s debuted at the Cannes Film Festival on Monday, concurrent with the start of the sixth week of the Republican nominee’s hush money trial in New York.
Sebastian Stan plays Donald in the Iranian-Danish film “The Apprentice,” which was directed by Ali Abbasi. The primary bond in the film is that between Donald and Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong), the defense lawyer who served as lead counsel for Joseph McCarthy during the Senate hearings in the 1950s.
young Donald Trump | AP News Image
‘The Apprentice,’ About A Young Donald Trump, Premieres In Cannes
According to the narrative, Cohn has been Donald’s longtime mentor, teaching him the cruelty of New York City politics and commerce. Cohn initially supported the Trump Organization during a federal government lawsuit alleging racial discrimination in housing.
“The Apprentice,” a show that claims to be based on actual events, presents Donald’s interactions with Cohn as a sort of Faustian bargain that aided in his ascent to prominence in both business and politics. Stan’s Trump is a more innocent real estate aspirant at first, but Cohn’s schooling quickly changes him.
One sequence in the movie that is particularly noteworthy shows Donald raping his wife, Ivana Trump (played by Maria Bakalova). Ivana Trump claimed that Donald had sexually assaulted her in her 1990 divorce deposition. Ivana Trump later clarified that she didn’t mean it literally but rather that she had felt violated after Trump refuted the accusation.
young Donald Trump | AP News Image
‘The Apprentice,’ About A Young Donald Trump, Premieres In Cannes
Amidst the US presidential race, “The Apprentice” is a potentially explosive big-screen drama thanks to this and other scenes. There has yet to be a release date for the movie because it is being sold at Cannes.
Variety reported the alleged behind-the-scenes conflict surrounding “The Apprentice” on Monday. The trade magazine said, citing unnamed sources, that billionaire Dan Snyder—a former Washington Commanders owner and “The Apprentice” investor—had pressured the film’s directors to change how Donald is portrayed. Snyder has contributed to Donald’s presidential campaign in the past.
Snyder and the movie’s representatives could not be reached for comment immediately.
Abbasi, whose last film “Holy Spider” portrayed a female journalist pursuing a serial killer in Iran, stated in the movie’s press notes that he wasn’t trying to make “a History Channel episode.”
Abbasi declared, “This is not a biopic of Donald Trump.” “Every aspect of his life from point A to point Z is not interesting. We hope to present a specific story through their friendship and Roy’s relationship with him.
young Donald Trump | AP News Image
‘The Apprentice,’ About A Young Donald Trump, Premieres In Cannes
No matter how it affects politics, “The Apprentice” will probably be discussed a lot as a possible Oscar contender. The film, which has a grungy ’80s look, follows Strong back to a wealthy and powerful New York one year after HBO’s “Succession” ended. Strong, who plays “An Enemy of the People” on Broadway, was absent for the Cannes premiere on Monday.
“The Apprentice” is a competitor at Cannes, where it can vie for the Palme d’Or, the festival’s highest honor. The day following a film’s world premiere at Cannes, actors and directors hold press conferences. Tuesday is the press conference for “The Apprentice.”
SOURCE – (AP)
Anaheim, California – Disneyland actors who bring Mickey Mouse, Cinderella, and other popular characters to life at the Southern California resort voted to unionize after a three-day referendum that ended on Saturday.
The Actors’ Equity Association labor union announced Saturday that cast members at Disney’s theme parks near Los Angeles voted overwhelmingly for the union to become the bargaining agent for approximately 1,700 workers.
According to an association website that tracked balloting among cast members, 78.7% (953 votes) supported the passage, and 21.3% (258 votes) opposed it
AP – VOR News Image
Disneyland Character And Parade Performers In California Vote To Join Labor Union
“They say that Disneyland is ‘the place where dreams come true,’ and for the Disney Cast Members who have worked to organize a union, their dream came true today,” Actors’ Equity Association President Kate Shindle said in a statement on Saturday night.
Shindle described the workers as the “front lines” of the Disneyland guest experience. She said the association and cast members will address health and safety improvements, salaries, benefits, working conditions, and job security before meeting with Walt Disney Company executives to negotiate worker priorities into a contract.
The union now represents theatrical actors in Disney’s Florida parks.
According to the association, the National Labor Relations Board’s regional director will certify the results within a week, assuming no election challenges.
The NLRB did not immediately respond to The Associated Press’s email requesting confirmation or other information about the vote.
The election was held on Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday in Anaheim, California after employees filed cards earlier this year to join the “Magic United” unit.
Pixa Bay – VOR News Image
Disneyland Character And Parade Performers In California Vote To Join Labor Union
Parade and character workers who advocated for unionization said they like helping to create a fantastic experience at Disneyland. However, they were anxious when asked to begin hugging people after returning to work during the coronavirus pandemic. They also claimed that elaborate outfits and unpredictable timetables cause damage.
Most of the Disneyland Resort’s more than 35,000 employees, including cleaning crews, pyrotechnic specialists, and security personnel, are already unionized. The resort contains Disneyland, the Walt Disney Company’s oldest theme park, Disney California Adventure and Anaheim’s shopping and entertainment center, Downtown Disney
In recent years, Disney has been accused of failing to pay a living wage to its Southern California employees, who face excessive housing prices and frequently drive long distances or live in cramped quarters. Parade performers and character actors are paid a base rate of $24.15 per hour, up from $20 before January, plus premiums for certain roles.
Union membership has been declining in the United States for decades, but organizations have enjoyed increased public support in recent years during high-profile contract negotiations with Hollywood studios and Las Vegas hotels. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which protects workers’ rights to organize, announced more than 2,500 filings for union representation during the fiscal year 2023, the most in eight years.
PixaBay – VOR News Image
Disneyland Character And Parade Performers In California Vote To Join Labor Union
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, a union that normally represents transportation workers, organized those who play Mickey, Goofy, and Donald Duck in Florida over 40 years ago.
At the time, Florida performers complained about unclean costumes and harassment from customers, including youngsters who kicked the shins of Disney villains like Captain Hook.
SOURCE – (AP)
GENEVA – On Monday, the Paralympic Games begin their 100-day journey to the opening ceremony in Paris in August, with Paul McCartney assisting.
The former Beatles’ “We All Stand Together” — the theme song from an award-winning animated short he created and produced 40 years ago — will be featured in a promotional film for the International Paralympic Committee
“Sir Paul really understands what we stand for as a movement, and he was extremely generous to us,” IPC president Andrew Parsons told The Associated Press. “He was not difficult to convince, it was something that came very naturally.”
AP – VOR News Image
Paul McCartney Song Starts Paralympics On 100-Day Countdown To Opening Ceremony In Paris
On August 28, 100 days from Monday, the Summer Paralympics opening ceremony will occur along a stretch of the Champs-Élysées and Place de la Concorde. Over the next 11 days, the 4,400 athletes will compete in places such as the Eiffel Tower and Versailles Palace in front of up to 2.7 million spectators.
“We probably have the most famous avenue in the world,” Parsons stated in a recent interview. “That is very exciting. The city is really supporting Paralympic athletes and athletes with impairments.”
“With our games, we talk a lot about inclusion, and this is a fantastic representation of that. That extremely inviting attitude is a great way to start our games.
A watershed moment for the Paralympic movement occurred in London in 2012 when the host country rose to the occasion with record ticket sales and a completely new approach to broadcasting by Britain’s Channel 4.
“Still the benchmark games of our movement,” added Parsons, whose native country of Brazil staged the 2016 edition in Rio de Janeiro.
AP – VOR new Image
Paul McCartney Song Starts Paralympics On 100-Day Countdown To Opening Ceremony In Paris
Channel 4 produced the “We’re the Superhumans” musical film to promote the Rio Paralympics. The film was a landmark in terms of its high production values and inspirational imagery.
“Many broadcasters come to us in their preparations in different parts of the world and they normally ask, ‘What is Channel 4 doing?'” Parsons stated. In that vein, the IPC trailer, inspired by McCartney’s “Rupert and the Frog Song” film, follows suit.
The Paris Paralympics will record 164 broadcasters worldwide, with 549 events across 22 sports.
Beyond the field of play, the Paralympics strive to change society, particularly in the host nation—and have previously achieved this.
In France and Paris, Parsons admitted that “there is still a lot of work to be done when it comes to people’s mindsets and perceptions of people with disabilities.”
“It has progressed since they received the games in 2017, but there is still a long way to go. “And it does not end with the closing ceremony.”
Two weeks after the Paralympics end on September 8, the United Nations conducts a global gathering that Parsons hopes will spark change.
AP – VOR News Image
Paul McCartney Song Starts Paralympics On 100-Day Countdown To Opening Ceremony In Paris
The UN will assess progress toward its 17 sustainable development objectives during the Summit of the Future, which will occur on September 22 and 23.
“We do believe our movement has, in terms of persons of disability, been a little bit left behind, if you compare to other human rights movements such as gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity,” Parsons stated. “They have become increasingly prominent in the major debates at the highest level.
“We believe that these (Paris) games will be able to really remind global leaders that there is 1.2 billion persons with disabilities out there that need to be included in those conversations.”
SOURCE – (AP)
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