Christopher Nolan recently told The New York Times that Hollywood studios should take more risks with their blockbusters, because audiences are desperately “looking for something new.”
“If you’re really interested in movies and the history of movies, the one thing you see absolutely is that you have to take risks to succeed. The biggest risk of all is to play it safe,” Nolan said. “That’s what, consistently in mainstream movies, doesn’t work. The audience is looking for something new.”
Nolan then launched into a story about pitching his 2000 breakout “Memento” to his wife and producer Emma Thomas. Nolan recalled that she “responded well with the script,” but “felt it was taking a lot of risk” to structure the film backward.
“I was able to say to her: ‘No, I can do this.’ There are a lot of filmmakers who can do it in a more straightforward way. Actually having something new to bring to the table mitigates the risk, it gives you a way to distinguish yourself.”
The “Inception” director explained that “Memento” was a difficult sell to distributors, but eventually found its audience. He added that his upcoming film “The Odyssey” also takes many risks, and that he hopes it too will be well received.
“Then we tried to sell it to people who didn’t get it, so she was completely right,” Nolan said. “But eventually it got to an audience and the audience appreciated that. The risk is the intermediaries — the financiers, the studio. If you can get to the audience — I mean, I’m not making any predictions for [’The Odyssey’], but in the past we’ve been well rewarded for having faith in the audience.”
