Christopher Nolan reveals his favourite seat in the cinema
Acclaimed director Christopher Nolan has shed light on where he prefers to sit when watching a film in movie theatres.
The 52-year-old auteur is known for not just impressive and mind-boggling storytelling but his penchant for the technical side of things too; his 12th and latest film, Oppenheimer, has been shot entirely on IMAX cameras on a mixture of regular and IMAX 65mm analogue film, and almost all of his previous films have had selected ‘special presentation’ screenings where die-hard audiences can catch the movie in a selection of 35mm, 70mm and IMAX formats.
It’s in keeping with this fixation that a technical detail entirely guides Nolan’s seat preference: it depends on what lens is being used. During an interview with The Associated Press to promote his new R-rated atomic-bomb movie, Nolan explained that the way a film is shot will decide for him where to sit in the theatre.
For films showing in IMAX, which most of his films — and certainly Oppenheimer — are prone to do, the director likes to sit “a little behind the centre line, right up at the middle”. For a more conventional Cinemascope showing, he will sit “right near the front, middle of the third row.”
Nolan’s love for shooting on celluloid is no secret, and he continued to praise the medium and explain his preference for 70mm, the largest film format filmmakers can shoot in. “The sharpness and the clarity and the depth of the image is unparalleled. By shooting on IMAX 70mm film, you’re really letting the screen disappear.”
The director gave a hint as to what the experience of watching Oppenheimer might be like: “You’re getting a feeling of 3D without the glasses. You’ve got a huge screen, and you’re filling the peripheral vision of the audience. You’re immersing them in the world of the film.”
For fans more interested in a conventional viewing experience, or those who can’t make a special presentation, there is no need to worry. On the digital version of the film, Nolan explains that the benefits of shooting on IMAX carry over. “This is the exciting thing about shooting an IMAX film: When you scan it for the digital format, you’re working with the absolute best possible image that you could acquire,” he said before adding: “That translates wonderfully to the new projector formats like the laser projectors.”
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