Director Christopher Nolan recently told the New York Times that Hollywood studios should take more risks with blockbusters because audiences are desperately “looking for something new.”
“If you’re really interested in movies and movie history, one thing you absolutely know is that to succeed you have to take risks. The biggest risk of all is to play it safe,” Nolan said. “That’s something that doesn’t consistently work in mainstream movies. Audiences are looking for something new.”
Nolan then began talking about pitching his 2000 blockbuster “Memento” to his wife, producer Emma Thomas. Nolan recalled that he “reacted well to the script,” but that structuring the film backwards “felt like we were taking a lot of risks.”
“I was able to say to her, ‘No, I can do it.’ There are a lot of filmmakers who could do it in a simpler way. In fact, bringing something new to the table reduces risk and gives you a way to differentiate yourself.”
The director of “Inception” explained that it was difficult to sell “Memento” to distributors, but that it ultimately found an audience. He added that his next film, Odyssey, also takes a lot of risks, and he hopes it will also be well-received.
“She was absolutely right because then we tried to sell it to people who didn’t get it,” Nolan said. “But in the end it got to the audience, and the audience appreciated it. It’s the intermediaries that are at risk: the investors, the studios. If we can get it to the audience, I mean, I’m not going to predict (‘The Odyssey’), but so far we’ve been well rewarded for trusting the audience.”
