The movie Christopher Nolan wouldn’t want to make again: “I would never try something like that”
In any filmmaker’s career, the first step is always the hardest. Going from being an aspiring director to someone actually making a motion picture can often seem like an impossible leap, and it usually takes years to get that first film off the ground. It’s also guaranteed that mistakes will happen even though the filmmaker thinks they’ve been preparing their whole lives for this moment and they’ll know exactly what to do once they get on set. They’re inexperienced, after all, and embarking on a journey that had only been theoretical up until this point. It has happened to all the greats, too. Take Christopher Nolan, for example. He is one of the most successful directors who has ever worked in Hollywood, but even he admitted to making his debut film in a manner that he wouldn’t ever attempt again.
In his early days as a filmmaker, Nolan was honest about receiving very little help from the British film industry. So, after realising he wouldn’t be able to make any inroads with the establishment, he decided to take it upon himself to make his first film on his own. With a budget of only $6,000, which was extreme even for a so-called “no-budget” movie, Nolan began shooting Following over nearly four months of Saturdays – as that was the only day he, his cast, and crew weren’t working at their day jobs.
Every aspect of Following was approached from the perspective of being as cheap as possible. For example, Nolan shot it in black and white, so he wouldn’t need expensive lighting setups to make the colour shots look good. In the days before digital cameras and iPhones, the movie’s primary expense was the film stock, and Nolan was determined to get as much bang for his buck as he could. This is why he came up with a unique plan for his actors, which worked at the time. However, he’s confessed he’d never repeat it as a more experienced director.
You see, Nolan literally couldn’t afford to waste film, so he worked with his actors – mainly friends and his uncle John – to rehearse each scene extensively. He figured that if they knew their lines and movements like the back of their hands, he could shoot each scene in as few takes as possible. This would mean that he wouldn’t be left with lots of material of actors trying things and flubbing lines that ultimately wouldn’t end up in the film but would still cost him money. In practice, Nolan’s cost-saving exercise led to his actors rehearsing solidly for six months, almost as if they were doing a play.
Regarding how close Following became to live theatre, Nolan told an audience at the IFC Centre, “When there’s a little mistake, the actors don’t stop and go ‘I need another one.’ They just get through. So, I thought we could go to a location that we had for an hour, jump in, do a scene we’d done 100 times before, and film it, and give them one or two takes. Most of the film is first takes, some are second.”
However, the Nolan of today, with more than 25 years of filmmaking experience, would never use this tactic again. He now knows that he was placing his cast in an incredibly stifling situation that left little room for creativity and spontaneity. In truth, it’s only through sheer luck that he emerged with performances that didn’t feel robotic and over-rehearsed.
“I would never try to do something like that,” Nolan admitted. “It was mad, really. But that’s the joy of when you’re first starting out—you don’t know the restrictions you’re putting on your actors and they just rose to it and gave these great performances.”
