The Dark Knight was absolutely snubbed for a Best Picture nomination in 2009, but hey, at least the Academy Awards knew about Christopher Nolan. On Sunday night, the purveyor of big-screen entertainment finally won his Oscar for directing the film Oppenheimer. The biopic, which picked up awards throughout the evening, was well positioned going into the ceremony, with Nolan’s win as director expected by fans and awards forecasters alike. But the win was a long time coming for a director who was surprisingly overlooked by the industry.
Nolan’s win comes from a history of a small number of nominations and zero previous wins. The filmmaker was nominated for the first time alongside his brother – and future Fallout TV director – Jonathan Nolan for their work on Memento. The duo lost to Julian Fellows Gosford Park.
Hollywood was abuzz in 2008 assuming that The Dark Knight would not only earn the director an award, but also break into the top five best films, shattering the belief that superhero stories had no place in the prestigious annals of Oscar history. But it didn’t happen. The Oscars would immediately remake themselves never to smell so loud again.
2011 Commencement brought Nolan back into the awards conversation, earning him nominations for Best Screenplay and Best Picture. But still, no love of direction. The man crashed a train down a city street – what more could these people want?! The answer was war films; Nolan’s lean, mean WWII thriller Dunkirk got him a spot at the director’s table, next to Guillermo del Toro (The shape of water), Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird), Jordan Peele (Out), and Paul Thomas Anderson (Phantom wire). Del Toro took home the award, but Nolan’s time would come just a few years later.
“Movies are a little over 100 years old,” he said in his acceptance speech Oppenheimer. “I imagine I’ve been painting theater for 100 years, we don’t know where that incredible journey goes from here, but to know that you think I’m a meaningful part of it means the world to me. “
Nolan arrives at his Oppenheimer moment not only as an accomplished filmmaker, but as a leader in the vocal industry for the theatrical experience, filming on celluloid, blowing things up in real life, projecting on IMAX, and how shitty it was when Warner Bros. Max put all his films on HBO for a whole year. He’s had ruffled feathers over the years and rarely relented, which may be why it took so long for him to score at the personality-driven Academy Awards. But that dedication to the craft created a cult of personality around him that went far beyond the usual film nerd community; during a summer of blockbusters, more people show up for his three-hour historical biopic than yet another Transformers movie. His Oscar win is a victory for artists struggling with a company that seems to prefer more… artificial intelligence.
If The Dark Knight raised expectations, perhaps even Nolan’s victory Oppenheimer will have a similar effect. As the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences tries to figure out how to attract more young people to the Oscar telecast each year — remember when we almost got a “Most Popular” category? – and the movie studios are scouring their IP files for something toy-like to spend $200 million on, the solution to the entertainment industry’s many woes seems to be staring everyone in the face.
Nolan just won an Oscar for doing what his heart desired. Imagine if more people had the chance?