[Music] we imagine a future and our imaginings horrifiers
in the case of this film I wrote the script in the first person it's the only time I've
done that it made it clear to anyone who read the script that we're on this ride with Oppenheimer
it was very unusual it took me a minute to actually comprehend and then I realized oh
that's a huge responsibility I don't know if we can be trusted but I know a Nazis can't Gillian
playing Oppenheimer was the centerpiece of the film but I knew that he was going to need the
most extraordinary Ensemble around him let's go recruit some scientists if Chris Nolan calls you
and says that he'd like to meet with you like I don't care what it is you'd be mad to say no
um and I yeah I feel like that's probably everybody's answer with this from the second
I read the script I knew that he had a very acute vision and if he were able to render that
Vision that this film would be a masterpiece all America's industrial Mite and scientific
innovation connected here keep everyone there until it's done it feels to smell every single
character is significant because they're all historical figures of consequence there's a chance
when we push that button we destroy the world chances are near zero they tried to familiarize
myself with Groves and the history and then talked to Chris about what he needed from that part
Groves it was almost like a kindergarten teacher in some respects because these scientists were so
eccentric and not necessarily trustworthy I mean if you're looking from a military perspective why
would we go to the middle of nowhere for who knows how long why how about because this is the most
important thing that ever happened in the history of the world I was aware of who Lewis Strauss was
I came to have a pretty even-handed understanding of him he was a righteous guy I think it was a
great public servant but he's always behind the scenes I've always appreciated the people who are
backstage Truman needs to know what's next what's next with Kitty Oppenheimer what I really was
drawn to is she refused to conform to the sort of feminine ideal of the time she had this Defiance
against the system that felt so modern Jean catalog was blunt knew what she wants but at no
when did she ever punished for that and especially not by Oppenheimer Theory will take you only so
far Oppenheimer sees things in sort of different dimensions physicists operate on a completely
different level than we do and I think sometimes it's a burden so I was really interested in that
what we were looking for was a remarkably centered performance the heart of the film
but also an ensemble piece why was their answer every day surrounded by a team of actors who
knew more than I did about what was going on from their point of view and that's what you're really
looking for as a director it's a profoundly moving and overwhelming experience watching
it because you feel so compelled to watch what's happening with these people and how they're drawn
into the biggest of moral dilemmas and what they're wrestling with all of the characters
the sound design in the school of it variance when I saw it in its finished form I was kind
of like wow yeah that's what we were hoping this could be the world will remember this day
Trinity test and the revelation of the first atomic explosion to the world was one of the
most important moments in 20th century the Trinity test and the development and the race and the fact
that it was all intending to save kind of humanity from fascism World War II would be over our boys
would come home this is a matter of life and death but I can perform this miracle what was
really interesting was going back and trying to understand what these guys were thinking and the
terrible decisions that were placed in front of them I don't know if we can be trusted for such
a weapon but I know the Nazi scared we live in the world that we live in because of what
happened at Los Alamos this is the most important thing to ever happen in the history of the world
all through Humanity we've been blinded by ambition and pursuit and then the ramifications of
something else that's happening isn't it I think that's why it's so bizarre and amazing that Chris
is making this movie now we're seeing parallels it's a it's a profoundly overwhelming experience
watching it alvanheimer's story is just one of the greatest stories that there is president
needs to know what's next what's next when they were doing the Trinity test they were asked what
are the chances of this going wrong when they're blowing up the entire world chances are near zero
near zero what do you want for Theory alone zero would be nice didn't need a charge what
is that decision to just still go ahead and do it it's an extraordinary moment
in human history and I wanted to take the audience into that room and be there when
that button is pushed and really fully bring the audience to This Moment In Time [Music]
this is a national emergency I'll work here will ensure a peace mankind has never seen
the world will remember this day [Applause]
this is arguably the most important story of our time the stakes really couldn't be any higher
it's profound but it's told in a very human way everything Chris Nolan has done has been
a Prelude to this this is not a film this is an experience it is a heart in your mouth Thriller
good I've been interested in oppenheimer's story for a long time at some point I learned
this key piece of information that then would lead up to the Trinity test they were dealing
with the very small possibility that when they push that button to be set fire to
the atmosphere of the earth and destroy the entire planet and yet they push that button
I wanted to take the audience into that extraordinary moment in human history
[Music]
all America's industrial made its scientific innovation connected here
secret Laboratory Killian playing Oppenheimer was the centerpiece of the film but I knew that he was
going to need the most extraordinary Ensemble around it let's go recruit some scientists the
people involved in the Manhattan Project were charismatic individuals they're very talented
world that Oppenheimer inhabits is filled with rock star scientists and and I think because we
have all these fantastic actors you really buy that it felt like I was playing sports with some
of the best athletes every single person has come to set knowing that they have been hired because
somewhere along the line Chris thought that you did a good job and this goes for crew as well
my preference is to always do things in camera as much as possible it sets a big challenge for
every Department to actually bring the reality of a thing there for the actors every crew member on
this film has to adjust their work for the iMac screen IMAX can contain 18K resolution per frame
which is by far more than any digital camera it gets thrown up on a gigantic screen and the
moment you watch it it's very evident the quality is unprecedented this is a story of America in the
20th century so I think it can be painted on that big of a canvas and what better way to do that but
with IMAX cameras why would we go to the middle of nowhere for who knows how long I always try
to use real locations as much as possible with location shooting or sets the more things can
just be real the better they're going to feel to the audience there's almost no Studio work on this
film everything is location the sets were built in such a way that they felt incredibly authentic
we built Arlo's Alamos at Ghost Ranch New Mexico which is along the same mountain range that Los
Alamos proper sits on this was very important and I based all of this on Research we built
all of these buildings 360. we want it to feel like you are right there you are in this this
is happening this is real this isn't a Backlot it's just the most transporting thing you know
when you're there and it just looks exactly like Los Alamos 1940s must have looked and
you know that no detail has been overlooked you know we've also shot in a huge amount of the
real locations we shot in our Panama's house in Los Alamos we shot in Princeton walking
through Princeton it's really very funny because people you know they're walking around they go
shooting those scenes playing the characters who really had versions of
these events happen there and you just get a real charge out of it you know
this is a matter of life and death but I can perform this miracle when you do
Chris's movies things that when you read a script you normally would think would be visual effects
you know that you're going to be doing the stuff practically they had to film the world
of quantum physics their whole unit was one big science project I was daily very jealous
we did a lot of experimentation we came up with some very interesting analog methods
of how to approach this all of which was leading to the Trinity test which had to
feel nightmarish and terrifying in a way that computer Graphics never really is
what we were able to get into the finished film to me is
extraordinarily beautiful but also very frightening
working with this whole team was such a great camaraderie and with the commonality of we
are going to get this in camera I love Chris's dedication to that it really speaks to Chris and
the way he directs all of the energy goes around the camera like we're all here to do the same
thing Chris makes films for theaters for a movie going audiences you know so you want to see that
as it's designed to be seen watching this very different sort of film on that big screen it sort
of makes you gasp you're right in their experience this is I think a definitive moment in the history
of modern filmmaking do yourself a favor and go see this on as big a screen as you can with the
sound design and the score and the emotionality of it this is an unforgettable unmissable experience
in a theater you are the man who gave them the power to by themselves we've made Oppenheimer on
the largest scale possible because the idea is to come and experience this his story is
Monumental and epic and extraordinary it really has to be seen on the big screen to be believed
until they understand it and they won't understand it
until they've used it oppenheimer's story is one of the biggest stories imaginable
our film tries to take you into his experience and IMAX for me is a portal into a level of
immersion that you can't get from other formats IMAX is a format of spectacle and it's made for
Vistas and for the Grandeur of it but I got very curious to discover this as an intimate
format the face is like a landscape there's a huge complexity and a huge depth to it how can
we get this camera closer to people how can we get this medium to work also as a very intimate medium
always pushing the boundaries and innovating with each film he does on this one one of the things
that was really important in the script was the juxtaposition of color and black and white
I don't think Chris would be capable of doing something kind of the way everyone else does it he
kind of invented this idea of shooting an IMAX for feature film and so you're kind of on The Cutting
Edge of this stuff every time you work with him how are we going to do it because 65 millimeter
black and white was a format that didn't exist so there was a lot of engineering that went into that
we actually had to create the black and white film that we were using to shoot we were able
to test large format black and white put it up on a giant iMac screen and have a look at it and and
the results were just magical and inspiring I was sitting in the back of a 47 Packard with an IMAX
mag on my lap trying to get this driving shot and I just felt like I went back to some origins of
great Cinema School because you know these lenses are coming at you and they're this close and it
wakes you up we've shot with IMAX many times on other movies but watching the very different sort
of film on that big screen it sort of makes you gasp you'll write in their experience I think it
feels quite human it feels like you are in that moment with them you know it's a Mythic massive
story this is an unforgettable unmissable experience in a theater Chris makes films
for theaters for movie going audiences and the best the most immersive version of that is IMAX
it gets thrown up on a gigantic screen and the moment you watch it it's very evident the quality
is unprecedented 15 per iMac 70mm is the highest quality Imaging format that's ever been devised
it allows you to fully immerse yourself in the story where the audiences will see this on IMAX
on the big screen there will be experience an extraordinary moment in human history
[Music]
as soon as I read the script I'm putting the pieces together in my mind [Music]
for Oppenheimer we had a meeting sort of talking about different approaches and different types
of musical ideas the film School grew very organically very gradually from the smallest
elements and I had no preconceptions about the music for the film sometimes you have
an idea for the soundscape of the world the rhythm of it and sometimes you don't and in
this case all I had that I gave Little League was the idea of basing the score on the violin
[Music] there's so much in the performance of the violin but within a seconds you can go
from Something Beautiful to something completely horrifying and there's attention to the sound in a
way that I think fits the highly strong intellect and emotion of Robert very well [Applause]
and that's just the organic part of it that's just the strings and
then what comes on later is the production and the synthesizers
thank you
I think every process of scoring is different if it's to be tailored correctly to the demand
of a new project and and this was a type of film I hadn't made before and it was type of
music that I hadn't worked with before a lot of things you do in the beginning is about
experimenting and see where you can take things we would take as experiments and we would put
them to picture and edit them and try different things and show it to Ludwig and he would go and
bring more things to the table Oppenheimer is a visual Masterpiece you know I've never seen
that kind of intimate portrayal of a character on IMAX that's uh that's the sixth note up and
I felt like this movie was really pushing the boundaries in so many
different fields so I wanted to see how we can do that with music as well [Music]
I think Ludwig's work on the film is both deeply personal and historically expansive
I think it really achieves an enormous amount of the effect of drawing the audience into
the emotional dilemmas of the characters I think he's really put together a very remarkable School
[Music]
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