The Prestige

Successful producer, film director and writer Christopher Jonathan James Nolan famous by the name Christopher Nolan was born on the 30th July 1970 in London. Christopher holds dual citizenship of the United Kingdom and the United States of America as his father was from the UK and his mother hailed from the US. He married Emma Thomas in 1997 a film producer and ardent admirer of Nolan’s work. The couple is have four children residing with them in Los Angeles. His brother Jonathan Nolan is a renowned author with whom Christopher often collaborates during the production of his movies.

Nolan spent considerable time between London and Chicago during his childhood. Nolan was educated in an independent school known as Hailey Bury College, in Hertfordshire near Hertford, England. Later Christopher Nolan learned the intricacies of English literature at University College London. An early starter Christopher Nolan started shooting films with a super 8 camera borrowed from his father. As a child he made short films with Roko Belic a future producer and director based at Chicago. Nolan made many short films in the University College London film society. His First Short Film Tarantella was shown in 1989 on PBS. In 1996 during the Cambridge Film Festival Larceny the second short film by Christopher Nolan was shown.

In 1996 Nolan directed his first feature film Titled Following. The film portrays the story of a writer obsessed with following unknown people randomly. The viewer becomes a little disoriented as scenes disregard chronological order. The movie was produced within a budget of a mere $6000 and was shot on weekends. Due to its unconventional storytelling style the film received attention after premiering at the 1998 San Francisco Film Festival. As a result of that Nolan got the script from Newmarket Films for his next film Memento.

Memento is a highly praised movie and was nominated for an Academy Award and Golden Globe for best screenplay. It is story of a widower named Leonard Shelby played by Australian actor Guy Pearce. The principal character of the film is unable to form new memories because of an old head injury. Nolan’s unique technique of presentation distinguished the film from its counterparts.

The film Insomnia was directed by Christopher Nolan in 2002, an American adaptation of a Norwegian film released in 1997 by the same name. The movie’s star cast includes Al Pacino, Robin Williams and Hilary Swank. Insomnia was appreciated by the critics. Although Christopher Nolan was satisfied with his directorial abilities he always wanted to direct a blockbuster, this opportunity came in the form of Batman Begins in the year 2003.

On the 15th June 2005 Batman Begins was released and jumped to the position of 3rd biggest blockbuster of that summer. The movie was highly acclaimed in the global scenario and is often rated above its 1989 counterpart. At the 32nd annual Saturn Awards, Batman Begins emerged as a major winner bagging the awards for Best Fantasy Film, Best Writing for Nolan and Goyer and Best Actor for Christian Bale. Batman Begins was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography.

The next directorial endeavour of Christopher Nolan was The Prestige a film co-produced by his wife Emma Thomas, and co-scripted by his brother Jonathan Nolan. The movie got a positive response from critics and earned over $109 million worldwide. After the release of The Prestige, Nolan expressed his desire to direct a sequel to Batman Begins the outcome of this desire produced The Dark Knight in 2006, repeating a successful box office collection with $158 million in returns.

Christopher Nolan’s upcoming movie is an adaptation of The Prisoner a 1960s series based on the life of a British secret-agent. —www.christophernolan.org