logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2023
48m 37s

#313 Christopher Nolan

David Senra
About this episode

What I learned from reading The Nolan Variations: The Movies, Mysteries, and Marvels of Christopher Nolan by Tom Shone.

---

Join my free email newsletter to get my top 10 highlights from every book

---

(7:00) The only way I know how to work is to sort of burrow in on one project very obsessively.

(7:25) People will say to me, "There are people online who are obsessed with Inception or obsessed with Memento.”

They're asking me to comment on that, as if I thought it were weird or something, and I'm like, Well, I was obsessed with it for years. Genuinely obsessed with it. So it doesn't strike me as weird. . . I feel like I have managed to wrap them the up in it way I try to wrap myself up.

(8:30) The Futurist: The Life and Films of James Cameron by Rebecca Keegan and The Return of James Cameron, Box Office King by Zach Baron. (Founders #311)

(11:00) I don’t think of myself as an artist. I’m a craftsman. I don’t make a work of art; I make a movie. — George Lucas: A Life by Brian Jay Jones. 

(15:30) Steven Spielberg: A Biography by Joseph McBride. (Founders #209)

(22:45) Nolan is relentlessly resourceful. He wants to spend as as little money as possible so he can maintain as much control over the project as possible.

(23:30) He makes his first movie on the weekends while he working a full-time job!

(29:30) The efficiency of filmmaking is for me a way of keeping control. The pressure of time, the pressure of money. Even though they feel like restrictions at the time, and you chafe against them, they're helping you make decisions. They really are. If I know that deadline is there, then my creative process ramps up exponentially.

(34:00) The result of making a billion dollar blockbuster: Suddenly his position at Warner Brothers went from solid to unassailable.

(37:00) Stories can add to your own thinking but you need your own foundation to add them to first.

(38:00) I know it's more fun when we're all together and we can do the thing together. That's why we keep it as a family business.

(39:00) Rolls-Royce: The Magic of a Name: The First Forty Years of Britain s Most Prestigious Company by Peter Pugh. (Founders #287)

(43:30) Every time a new feature or product was proposed, he decreed that the narrative should take the shape of a mock press release. The goal was to get employees to distill a pitch into its purest essence, to start from something the customer might see—the public announcement—and work backward. Bezos didn’t believe anyone could make a good decision about a feature or a product without knowing precisely how it would be communicated to the world. — The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon by Brad Stone. (Founders #179)

(45:30) Once your children are born, you can never look at yourself through your own eyes anymore; you always look at yourself through their eyes.

(49:30) I often have terrible luck with the weather, but my philosophy is to shoot no matter what the weather is, always shooting no matter what weather, just keeping going, keeping going. Letting everybody on the crew and cast know we're really serious about doing that, no matter what the conditions are, so they're not looking out the window first thing and going, Oh, we will or won't shoot today.

----

I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested, so my poor wallet suffers.” — Gareth

Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

Up next
Jul 3
#393 The Marketing Genius of the Michelin Brothers
Your family asks you to take over a failing factory in a remote part of France. This “family business” comes with a stack of unpaid bills, a small team of workers who haven’t been paid in months, and a banker refusing to extend any more credit. You cut every unprofitable product ... Show More
55m 7s
Jun 23
#392 Michele Ferrero and His $40 Billion Privately Owned Chocolate Empire
You take over the family pastry shop and transform it into one of the most valuable privately held businesses in the world. Your father dies young. Your uncle does too. Everyone is relying on you and this keeps you up at night. You insist on differentiation and refuse to make me ... Show More
55m 10s
Jun 13
#391 Jimmy Iovine
You grow up in a rough neighborhood in Brooklyn. You drop out of college. Your dad is your best friend but you don’t want to work the docks like him. You’re determined to “do something special.” You get a job sweeping the floor at recording studio. You get fired—twice. You’ll do ... Show More
57m 20s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2019
#100 Simon Dawlat et Matthieu Stefani - GDIY - On fait le bilan pour l’épisode 100
Rendez-vous le jeudi 20 mars à 18h30 pour le prochain GDI-Live sur le thème : "Se lancer plus vite plus fort grâce à l'IA". Inscrivez-vous ici Puisqu’il paraît que pour savoir où tu vas, tu dois savoir d’où tu viens, j’ai réinvité Simon Dawlat, fondateur de Batch mais surtout pre ... Show More
1h 56m
Jul 2024
#HORS-SÉRIE 3 — Les recos de l’été : les coups de cœur de GDIY
Vous nous demandez très souvent des recommandations d’épisodes de Génération Do It Yourself.  Toutes les deux semaines pendant l’été, nous avons décidé de vous proposer dans une mini-série de nos recos d’épisodes à écouter pour vos week-ends, vacances, sessions de sport, ou pour ... Show More
10m 53s
Sep 2023
How Anyone Can Become a Great Public Speaker w/ Keith Ferrazzi | EP #65
In this episode, Peter and Keith discuss the art and business of public speaking. Keith Ferrazzi, a renowned executive coach and speaker, shares his insights on building a successful speaking career.  15:33 | Transforming Lives Through Speaking 31:11 | Get Good at Speaking Quickl ... Show More
1h 25m
Jun 2024
Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs denied the paternity of his daughter, and avoided paying child support, while the mother of his child and his daughter were on welfare. He also completely changed how pretty much every person on the planet interacts with technology (including this podcast!). Brittany a ... Show More
42m 34s
Jun 2024
Pat Grady - Relentless Application of Force - [Invest Like the Best, EP.378]
My guest today is Pat Grady, a longtime growth investor at Sequoia and one of the firms senior leaders. Pat has been a part of a long list of legendary investments, ranging from Snowflake, Zoom, ServiceNow, Qualtrics, Okta, Hubspot, Notion, and OpenAI, among many others. There ar ... Show More
1h 30m
May 2024
Advice Line with Andrew Abraham of Orgain
Orgain founder and CEO Andrew Abraham joins Guy on the Advice Line, where they answer questions from three early-stage founders about strategically positioning their products. Today we meet Brynn, who’s tackling cavities and dental anxiety with an electric flosser. Then Turner, a ... Show More
51m 48s
May 2020
#96 – Stephen Schwarzman: Going Big in Business, Investing, and AI
Stephen Schwarzman is the CEO and Co-Founder of Blackstone, one of the world’s leading investment firms with over 530 billion dollars of assets under management. He is one of the most successful business leaders in history, all from humble beginnings back in Philly. I recommend h ... Show More
1h 10m
Jun 2024
#294 - MakeMyMask : 3,5M€ du jour au lendemain... mais après 4 années de galères
Laurent Kretz rencontre Julie Pernet, la fondatrice de MakeMyMask, un laboratoire dermopilaire qui développe des masques pour les cheveux. Julie nous partage son parcours de solopreneure et les défis qu’elle a dû relever pour faire décoller sa marque. 4 ans après sa création, des ... Show More
1h 9m
May 2024
James Brown
James Brown's legal issues included being charged with domestic violence. He sang, "When I hold you, in my arms, I know that I can do no wrong." Many of the women in his life might disagree. You can find clips of the show on TikTok @wisecrackofficial or @scumbags.of.history, see ... Show More
52m 17s
Jun 2024
Outcast of the Stars by Ray Bradbury - Science Fiction Short Story From the 1950s
To the mighty lords of infinity he sent a burning message–“You can deny a man everything–everything but his heritage… the stars!” Outcast of the Stars by Ray Bradbury, that’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. One of the most celebrated writers of science fiction returns to the pod ... Show More
26m 28s