He’s renowned for having directed a range of critically acclaimed films that have both explored and further blurred the lines between science fiction and reality.
Yet Christopher Nolan has admitted that things remain far more simple in his own life, as he still doesn’t own a smartphone and remains reluctant to use email.
The 50-year-old director of such films as Inception, Interstellar and The Dark Knight has revealed that he shies away from such devices as he’s ‘easily distractible’.
Shunning smartphones: Christopher Nolan has admitted that things remain simple in his own life, as he still doesn’t own a smartphone and remains reluctant to use email
He told People: ‘It’s true that I don’t have a smartphone. I have a little flip phone that I take with me from time to time. I’m easily distractible so I don’t really want to have access to the internet every time when I’m bored.
‘I do a lot of my best thinking in those kind of in-between moments that people now fill with online activity, so it benefits me. When I’m working, I’m just surrounded by, I mean, everybody’s got a phone. I can’t hide, so I’m very easy to get in touch with when I’m working.
Of email, he added: ‘I just have never been particularly interested in communicating with people in that way. I prefer just calling people from a landline. So yeah, I mean, everybody finds their own way to communicate with people and deal with things.’
The British-born auteur, who lives in Los Angeles with his producer wife Emma and their four children, has previously spoken about not allowing phones on his film sets.
Avoiding distraction: The 50-year-old director of such films as Inception, Interstellar and The Dark Knight has revealed that he shies away from such devices as he’s ‘easily distractible’
He told Esquire Middle East back in 2017: ‘There’s a mass belief that if you’re texting, you’re somehow not interrupting the conversation — you’re not being rude. t’s an illusion of multi-tasking.
‘I started film-making when people didn’t expect to have a phone on set, when it would’ve been seen as unprofessional to pull out a phone. Phones have become a huge distraction, and people work much better without them.
‘At first it causes difficulty, but it really allows them to concentrate on what they’re doing. Everybody understands. I’ve had a lot of crews thank me. When you’re on a set, you’re trying to create a bubble of alternate reality.
The Academy Award-winning director recently spoke out against Warner Bros’ decision to debut its 2021 film slate on HBO Max and in theatres, saying the plan to release them on the ‘worst streaming service’ makes no economic sense.
Speaking out: The director recently spoke out against Warner Bros’ decision to debut its 2021 film slate on HBO Max and in theatres. Pictured with Tenet star John David Washington
In a shocking move announced this month, Warner Bros confirmed their upcoming films will be released simultaneously in theatres and on the streaming service as a ‘temporary solution’ for the industry that has been struggling amid the pandemic.
Nolan, whose thriller Tenet was released by the studio earlier this year, blasted the decision last week, saying the work of top talent was being used ‘as a loss leader for a fledgling streaming service’.
‘There’s such controversy around it, because they didn’t tell anyone,’ Nolan told TV show Entertainment Tonight. ‘I’ve never seen everybody so upset about one particular decision.’
In a separate statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Nolan also blasted HBO Max, calling it ‘the worst streaming service’.
Tenet: Nolan has long been a proponent of the theatrical experience, with his film Tenet one of the few major studio films to get a wide release amid the COVID-19 pandemic
It comes after Warner Bros had first sent shockwaves across Hollywood last month when it announced it would release Wonder Woman 1984 on HBO Max in December, along with a concurrent theatrical run.
The latest announcement means that all 17 of its 2021 movie releases including hotly-anticipated blockbusters Matrix 4 and The Suicide Squad will be available to subscribers on AT&T’s video streaming service to view at no extra cost.
HBO Max is a relatively new entrant in the online video streaming service industry, having been launched by AT&T back in May.
A subscription costs $14.99 a month and there will be no additional charge for the movies for subscribers, a Warner Bros. spokesperson confirmed to DailyMail.com.
Warner Bros executives said it’s a one-year plan to push its new movies out to market while the vast majority of US theatres continue to keep their doors closed due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
But the move could cripple the already-struggling cinema industry following years of dwindling ticket sales and a failure to compete with online streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime.
Nolan has worked with Warner Bros on every film since 2002’s Insomnia in a profitable and critically acclaimed run that’s included The Dark Knight trilogy, Inception and ‘Dunkirk.’
He has long been a proponent of the theatrical experience, with his film Tenet one of the few major studio films to get a wide release amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
While the film struggled at the US box office ($57.6million), with several major markets still closed and many theatres elsewhere operating at limited capacity, it still fared well internationally, for a global total of $359.9 million.
Family: The British-born auteur lives in Los Angeles with his producer wife Emma and their four children. Pictured in 2018