Oppenheimer (Christopher Nolan)

Sad Professor

No title yet but Nolan has settled on his next project: a film about one of the fathers of the atomic bomb, J. Robert Oppenheimer, which is expected to start shooting early next year. Following his falling out with Warner Bros over its day-and-date release strategy with HBO Max, Nolan has taken the project to Universal where he had made significant demands including a 100m production budget, 100m marketing budget, total creative control, 20 percent of first dollar gross, and a 100 day theatrical window. More info on this and the studios who competed for the film below:

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/christopher-nolan-pitch-to-studios-including-apple-seeking-his-next-film-1235014132/

After a string of big blockbusters, this would seem to be (relatively) smaller scale film for Nolan, his smallest budget since The Prestige.

MfMan

Will Cillian Murphy get a (the) job?

santana75

This has the potential to be an amazing film. Such and interesting subject matter in the hands of Nolan.......something in cinema to be genuinely excited about.

pixelburp

$200 million for what ostensibly reads like a typical Hollywood biopic? Now that's clout. Where would $100 million even go on something like that?

Slydice

Be cool if they include the Oppenheimer speech that was used in the 2012 Godzilla teaser trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRhx4UGwlbM

Slydice

found it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lb13ynu3Iac

Sad Professor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117912882#Comment_117912882

The production budget of 100m isn’t that much higher than what passes for mid-budget these days. A big name director with several big name stars would easily spend that much. Also this is Nolan - I doubt there will be anything typical about it.

[Deleted User]

Think there was a HBO movie made about Oppenheimer before, Murdoch played him!

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117913215#Comment_117913215

I dunno, I was thinking specifically about the typical Hollywood biopic; like if Google is to believed, Respect, the biopic about Aretha Franklin, has a $55 million budget. That would have been my guess for how much these kinds of mid-tier, prestige grasping films budget for these days. Even Joker was a mere $40 million and in theory, it had access to the superhero slush-fund.

You're probably right about it being a Noland film it won't be typical - but then. The director is due a palette cleanser, and wouldn't be the first director to knock out a small-scale passion project based on the accumulated clout.

Agent Coulson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117913634#Comment_117913634

That was Fat Man and Little boy with Paul Newman

The BBC made a great series on him back in the early 80's.

There has been plenty of Manhattan Project movies and mini series made over the years as well.

Sad Professor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117914388#Comment_117914388

A lot of prestige movies now days are indie films which get limited theatrical releases and rely on word of mouth from festivals. As biopics/Hollywood dramas go I think this will be more along the lines of The Aviator or anything Scorsese has done in the last 20 years, nearly all of which cost around 100 million to make, i.e. a film with aspirations to win awards and make money at the box office and featuring big name stars who want certain luxuries (the main one being time) while on set. Also, the way Hollywood accounting works you just can't spend more money on the marketing than on the production. If Nolan wants this to get a big theatrical release then he needs spend enough money to justify it.

Sad Professor

Title is officially "Oppenheimer". Cillian Murphy to star. Release has been set for July 2023.

The studio describes it as an “epic thriller that thrusts audiences into the pulse-pounding paradox of the enigmatic man who must risk destroying the world in order to save it.”

Hoytema and Göransson are returning (no Zimmer)

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/cillian-murphy-christopher-nolan-oppenheimer-1235028622/

JP Liz V1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117912672#Comment_117912672

Looks like a lead role for him

Slydice

Why do I feel tempted to (and sometimes do) rewatch that Oppenheimer clip each time I see it now?

pixelburp

I'm mostly curious where and how the movie makes a bunch of scientists fretting over their Inventions purpose an "epic thriller" but that's possibly just the marketing at work.

The real question in all this, so far unasked: given Christopher Nolan's love of shooting in-camera, practical FX - and knowing WB let him crash a real 747 jet for Tenet - will we see the same for this shoot? First Hollywood film to detonate an atomic bomb? 😁

reboot

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117913634#Comment_117913634

Also the Germans and Poles have made "Adventures of a Mathmatician,"from the book.Quite critical of the US philosophical/military position.

magicbastarder

This is a cracking - and long - read on the topic for anyone who's interested. 'American Prometheus', a bio of Oppenheimer.

https://www.easons.com/american-prometheus-kai-bird-9781843547051?gclid=Cj0KCQjwnoqLBhD4ARIsAL5JedIp0myImaBx1BSJRmDvr1Qv9YhAfs0ncfdAjGhFv3ALiQO7yA09L4YaAqeaEALw_wcB

TheValeyard

Delighted for Murphy, he's a great actor.

JP Liz V1

Emily Blunt in talks to join

Loafing Oaf

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117994765#Comment_117994765

I am become Scarecrow, destroyer of worlds

santana75

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118049260#Comment_118049260

She's a class act and I really hope she comes onboard. Can't recall a bad movie she's been in.

Agent Coulson

Robert Downey Jr. and Matt Damon have joined the cast.

pixelburp

Robert Downey Jr. in a Christopher Nolan film? That feels wrong somehow and I can't put my finger on why.

Without googling, I think this is his first role since the MCU? (cos I'm being kind and ignoring Dolittle!)

JP Liz V1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118107879#Comment_118107879

He has done more producing than acting so it is hard for him to distance himself from Tony Stark Iron Man, he is a good actor so looking forward to how he fairs in this

I enjoyed The Judge

Need a Username

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117912672#Comment_117912672

Whenever there is a Nolan film on know Murphy will appear and when he was announced as cast in this I rolled my eyes - another minor role for him when he could lead any movie.

I just found out he is actually playing Oppenheimer !!!

I nearly threw myself out of this tax!!!

Finally the starting roll.

Abraham Thomas

So, another Christopher Nolan biographical drama. I only found out about this last week and am looking forward to seeing it on the big screen. Whoo. With Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr., Emily Blunt, and Matt Damon, this film has a promising cast. Phew.

JP Liz V1

Florence Pugh, Rami Malek and Benny Safdie have joined the ensemble

Tony EH

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117912882#Comment_117912882

200 mil...

...for a biopic?

Fuck me that's some money to be tossing around for something like that.

It'll be interesting to see where this goes though. The history of WWII is pretty close to my heart and it has always been a part of my life due to family involvement, but there's always been a tendency to back away from the stories of the people who were associated with the Manhattan project and present an overly simplistic view. Oppenheimer was a very complex figure who later came to feel a very tangible guilt over what he'd done and how it had impacted the world. Leo Szilard too (I wonder if he'll be mentioned).

Looking forward to this based on Nolan's track record. I know some don't rate him. But I've always been, at the very least, entertained despite my own criticisms of his stuff.

JP Liz V1

Dane DeHaan is the latest to be cast

Agent Coulson

Kenneth Branagh joins the cast.

First look at Cillian as Oppenheimer.

Oppenheimer himself

Wombatman

Is that not Edward Norton in the bottom picture?