You can call Christopher Nolan a traditionalist. You can call him a visionary. You can even call him an auteur. But one thing you can’t call Nolan is cheap. Nothing about the blockbusters that the filmmaker creates would even remotely fall under the banner of low-budget or indie. Nolan is one of the few filmmakers working today that can actually demand a $200 million budget for an original film and studios will line up to write the check. And for his new film, “Tenet,” there’s a good reason his budget is so high—747’s ain’t cheap.
Speaking to Total Film (via GamesRadar), Nolan told a story about how it was actually more inexpensive to shoot an action scene where a 747 airplane crashes into a hangar with a real 747 versus using miniatures and/or CGI. So, because of that, Nolan bought and crashed a real, massive plane.
“I planned to do it using miniatures and set-piece builds and a combination of visual effects and all the rest,” Nolan explained. “We started to run the numbers… It became apparent that it would actually be more efficient to buy a real plane of the real size, and perform this sequence for real in camera, rather than build miniatures or go the CG route.”
He continued, “It’s a strange thing to talk about – a kind of impulse buying, I suppose. But we kind of did, and it worked very well…It was a very exciting thing to be a part of.”
According to “Tenet” star Robert Pattinson, the spectacle of seeing Nolan actually using a real 747 in the film for the stunt was something he’s not sure he will ever see again.
“You wouldn’t have thought there was any reality where you would be doing a scene where they just have an actual 747 to blow up!” said the actor. “It’s so bold to the point of ridiculousness… I remember, as we were shooting it, I was thinking, ‘How many more times is this even going to be happening in a film at all?’”
Clearly, Nolan is a filmmaker that definitely is more traditional in his filming techniques and ideas, always looking for practical ways to film things, as well as his commitment to shooting on film versus digital. So, if anyone has the clout and desire to buy a real plane to crash on screen, it would be Nolan.
“Tenet” is currently scheduled for a July 17 release. We’ll have to see if WB sticks to that plan as the COVID-19 pandemic is still causing massive closures for theaters around the world.