Why Christopher Nolan Avoids Smartphones

TL;DR

Christopher Nolan avoids smartphones because he believes he would become addicted and lose valuable periods for thinking and daydreaming. He instead uses a flip phone while traveling, relies on people around him to relay information, and protects the unoccupied time that helps him imagine future films.

Transcript

-The movie is set in Greek mythology, but there's also a lot of mythology about Christopher Nolan, and I thought it'd be kind of fun if I read a few things out there on the internet, and you can tell me if they're true or debunk them. Is that -- Do you mind? -Uh, depends. -Yeah. Well, yeah. If you don't like it, we don't have to air it. -Okay. -Oka... Read More

Key Insights

• Christopher Nolan does not own a smartphone or use an email address, and cellphones are not allowed on his sets. He says the people surrounding him keep necessary information flowing, making it difficult for him to become disconnected from work-related communication.
• Nolan uses a basic flip phone when traveling because he believes a smartphone would become addictive. His larger concern is losing small, unoccupied periods when he can look out a window, think freely, daydream, and consider what his next film might be.
• Customs agents opened the IMAX film cans from The Odyssey while the production was traveling to Scotland. Nolan describes the incident as painfully real and highly stressful, but the film was not exposed and the production team successfully rescued the footage.
• Nolan watched the first Star Wars 12 times in a theater after it came out in 1977, when he was seven years old. Because home video was unavailable, repeated theatrical visits were the way he could experience the movie again.
• The otherworldly quality of Star Wars shaped Nolan's idea of cinematic possibility. He loved how a movie screen could open up, transport an audience elsewhere, and hold viewers in another world for hours, a feeling he seeks in his own films.
• Corporate training videos gave Nolan practical early production experience before he made feature films. Working in executives' offices taught him to set up a few lights quickly, satisfy people with little patience, make them look good, and keep the production moving.
• The Odyssey became a family production because Nolan and producer Emma Thomas put all four of their children to work in different departments. Nolan says he quietly enjoyed seeing them on set, while emphasizing that they worked hard and earned their pay.
• The Odyssey follows Odysseus after the Trojan War as he remains missing instead of returning home. The story alternates between Ithaca, where people hope for his return, and the extraordinary events encountered during his long journey back.
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Questions & Answers

Q: Why does Christopher Nolan avoid using a smartphone?

Christopher Nolan avoids smartphones because he thinks he would become severely addicted to one. He values the otherwise empty pockets of time in which he can look out a window, think, daydream, and imagine where his next film might lead. He uses a basic flip phone when traveling instead of adopting a smartphone.

Q: How does Christopher Nolan work without email or texting?

Christopher Nolan says he is constantly surrounded by people who help him and pass along the information others want him to receive. As a result, avoiding email and smartphones does not prevent essential communication. He jokes that, given all the people around him, escaping incoming information would actually be difficult even without those technologies.

Q: Are cellphones allowed on Christopher Nolan's film sets?

Cellphones are not allowed on Christopher Nolan's sets, according to his confirmation during the interview. The restriction aligns with his own decision not to own a smartphone or maintain an email address. He does carry a basic flip phone when traveling, but he protects periods of uninterrupted thought that smartphone use might otherwise consume.

Q: What happened to the IMAX film from The Odyssey at airport customs?

Airport customs agents opened all the cans containing IMAX film from The Odyssey while the production was traveling to Scotland. Nolan says the incident was real, painful, and extremely stressful because the footage could have been exposed. Fortunately, the film was not actually exposed, and the production team was able to rescue it.

Q: Why did Christopher Nolan watch Star Wars 12 times?

Christopher Nolan watched the first Star Wars 12 times because he loved its otherworldly quality and wanted to experience it repeatedly. The film came out in 1977, when he was seven, before home video was available. Seeing it again therefore meant returning to a theater, and he persuaded his parents to take him multiple times.

Q: How did Star Wars influence Christopher Nolan's filmmaking?

Star Wars showed Christopher Nolan that a movie screen could seem to open up and transport viewers into another world for a few hours. He was drawn to the feeling that anything could happen through the screen. Nolan says many of his films, including The Odyssey, attempt to recover that powerful sense of cinematic possibility.

Q: What did Christopher Nolan learn from making corporate training videos?

Christopher Nolan learned to work quickly while producing internal corporate videos for companies, including Intel. He sometimes entered an executive's office, set up only a few lights, and dealt with someone who had little patience but still wanted to look good on camera. The experience taught him to light efficiently and move forward.

Q: What is Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey about?

The Odyssey centers on Odysseus after the Trojan War has ended. He has not returned to Ithaca, so the story moves between events in his homeland, where people hope he will come back, and the events of his remarkable journey home. The film presents both the mystery of his absence and his travels.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Christopher Nolan confirms that cellphones are not allowed on his sets and that he has neither a smartphone nor an email address. He uses a flip phone while traveling and depends on people around him to deliver necessary information. Avoiding smartphones preserves quiet periods for thinking, daydreaming, and imagining future films.

• While making The Odyssey, customs agents opened a large collection of IMAX film cans during travel to Scotland, nearly threatening the footage, although it was ultimately rescued without exposure. Nolan also employed all four of his children across different departments, making the production a family affair while expecting them to work hard.

• Nolan saw the first Star Wars 12 times in theaters after its 1977 release, when he was seven. He loved how cinema could transport viewers into another world for several hours. He connects that childhood experience to The Odyssey and his continuing effort to make the screen feel full of possibility.