Information reaching Kossyderrickent has it that Christopher Nolan wrote ‘a chance to see you lead… Love, Chris’ note on Cillian Murphy’s Oppenheimer script.
“Oppenheimer” was notably marketed in the press as the sixth collaboration between director Christopher Nolan and star Cillian Murphy, who was finally getting his chance to lead a Nolan movie after five supporting turns in films such as “Batman Begins” and “Dunkirk.” Nolan has another longtime collaborator in Michael Caine, who got a special shoutout when the filmmaker accepted the BFI Fellowship this week at the British Film Institute chairman’s dinner (via The Independent).
Nolan, who many awards pundits agree is the BAFTA and Oscar frontrunner for best director and best picture thanks to “Oppenheimer,” remembered Caine joking to him about not being able to star in the atomic bomb epic.
”Okay, enough is enough,” Caine told his frequent collaborator.
“I had to go off on my own,” Nolan said about his reaction to Caine sitting “Oppenheimer” out. “So, okay, I haven’t got Michael Caine, I’d better get Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr, Kenneth Branagh, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Josh Hartnett, Cillian Murphy, Tom Conti, and hoped that all those greats would add up to one Michael Caine.”
Nolan later said: “So many people have helped me, so many people have been there for me, in so many different ways. I’m very moved to receive this, very moved by the presentation. This means the world to me.”