Opening to over $130 million worldwide this weekend, Christopher Nolan‘s "Interstellar" wasn’t quite a smash hit (the $50 million domestic haul is his lowest since "Batman Begins"), but it still has left lots for folks to talk about. From the experience of watching the movie on print vs. digital, to the actual content of the movie, in which love traverses space and time, "Interstellar" isn’t your average blockbuster. And according to screenwriter Jonathan Nolan, who has been with the project since the days when Steven Spielberg was set to direct, the original draft had some significant differences (warning, spoilers ahead).
"The original script featured more interaction with alien life, but I think Chris’ focus on the humanity at the heart of the film was important," Nolan told Movies. "My job is to come up with a lot of great ideas and pack them all into a completely unfilmable script, and then let the filmmaker make some choices. The one thing we were always reaching for with this film is that there would be this element of hope, but also surprise. Where is this going? What happens next?"
And it’s a sentiment that Christopher Nolan more or less echoes in a recent interview with Time (via Nolan Fans). "[You can use] science fiction as an escape from the constraints of reality," he said. And indeed, the filmmaker does take audiences far and beyond with his picture, which tries to couple scientific accuracy with fantastical space exploration. But what about a more earthbound, reality-based picture? It’s not for lack of trying.
The director tends to keep his moves close to the vest, but one project that fell by the wayside years ago was a Howard Hughes biopic that had Jim Carrey attached to star, that was unfortunately beaten to the screen by Martin Scorsese‘s "The Aviator." And speaking with The Daily Beast, Nolan feels like it was the one that got away. "I was definitely like, Fuck. I think it’s the best script I’ve ever written, and I had a really wonderful experience writing it. Yeah, it was a frustrating experience that the other movie got going. Will I revisit it? I have no idea," he said. "I really don’t think about what I’m going to do next until I’m completely finished, and for the next couple of weeks I’m still all about Interstellar. I wouldn’t necessarily rule it out, but I wrote it a long time ago."
As for other scripts squirreled away? "I couldn’t possibly comment on that. [Laughs] There’s stuff in there, but whether or not I want to revisit it I haven’t thought about," Nolan said. "I usually dig out my old scripts in between movies and see if anything sparks there, and sometimes you get a chance to finish it, like ‘Inception,’ and sometimes you don’t.
There is much, much more to discuss surrounding "Interstellar," so why not dive into over one hour of interviews below including a Google Hangout with the director and cast, a 22-minute Q&A from France, featurettes and more. And oh yeah, here’s another talk with Nolan at NPR.