Shane
A destruction the world had never experienced before.
Emily Blunt stars as Kitty Oppenheimer and Matt Damon as Leslie Groves in the epic film Oppenheimer which chronicles the assignment of J. Robert Oppenheimer to work on the top-secret Manhattan Project. Oppenheimer and a team of scientists spend years developing and designing the atomic bomb.
Their work comes to fruition on July 16, 1945…
Thanks to Universal Pictures STG was able to have a chat to both Emily Blunt and Matt Damon.
STG: How was it to find out that you had been cast in Christopher Nolan’s new project, Oppenheimer?
Emily Blunt: We knew because Matt had come over to hang out with my husband right after Chris Nolan had been over to see him and given Matt the script to read. So, I knew that Matt was meeting him. And, I mean, any chance any of us could get to work with him has us all sort of champing at the bit…
Matt Damon: What was kind of funny was that – as we live in the same apartment building – when he came to see me, he knew that he was going to Emily with the part too, but he didn’t want it to seem like he was just kind of one-stop shopping. Then he bumped into John in either the elevator or the lobby and they talked for half an hour, just kind of director to director, you know. Chris later admitted that he knew he was coming to Emily with the part; but he waited five days or so, knowing she was going to be in LA, and then she came over to his house and read the script.
Emily Blunt: I guess he didn’t want to hear casting rumors like, “Who else is in your building?”
STG: What do you believe makes Nolan such a unique filmmaker?
Matt Damon: He’s just got the level of attention to detail that, for instance, Stanley Kubrick had, where no detail is too small. And then there is his depth of knowledge, his research, and his understanding of the dynamics at play between all these different characters, knowing the way to get these ideas in succinctly and fit them into a movie. I mean, the book that this is adapted from is like a tome, dense with fine print.
I remember needing glasses to even read the book! It was very thoroughly researched, but Chris somehow was able to kind of get all of it into this film, and what that means is that each frame is entirely packed and full of information. You could watch this movie 10 times and get something different each time because it’s so rich and dense.
STG: How is he as a director?
Emily Blunt: You just feel his command of excellence, which is vast; so, everyone has to match him where he is. And I don’t find Chris exacting, as some people have said. I find him really curious and interested in what you might bring or do, making you understand he’s cast you for a reason. He lets you know that and then wants to see what wings you have – which I love about him.
Matt Damon: I think he’s exacting about some details…
Emily Blunt: Yes, like the small thing. And I want to work with directors who sweats the small stuff because they see everything.
Matt Damon: But in terms of performance, you’re totally free with Chris. He really wants to see what you’re going to do.
Emily Blunt: And he’s such an authority on set. I mean, he appears to be very calm, but I’m sure there is a storm of information going on inside of him, even though it’s all cladded in this sort of serene exterior. Chris is really fascinating, and most people don’t know how funny he is too. I just love him.
STG: So, what’s the energy like on a Chris Nolan set then?
Matt Damon: The vibe on set is that everybody feels very lucky to be there, even if they don’t say it out loud. You just get this spirit from each department where everyone is doing everything the best they can. And you work till you are bone tired because you want to leave it all on the field and because that’s what he does too, as he is very demanding of himself. So, without having to say anything, you see that and kind of take your cue and work in a similar vein.
Emily Blunt: And even though he is a big guy and quite imposing as a figure, I don’t know how he is able to stay invisible. I didn’t notice him standing by the camera, staring at me. He is somehow able to disappear, which is cool.
Matt Damon: He’s like those directors before we had Video Village. I mean, that’s what Coppola said to me three decades ago. He said that Antonioni taught him to sit right next to the camera to see with your naked eye and understand human behavior because you feel it. Then you turn to the operator – who is the only one looking through the lens – to check in and make sure they saw what you saw, and they’ll give you a little nod to let you know you’ve got it. That’s how movies were made until whenever the monitors came around.
Emily Blunt: You get with Nolan the sense that his decision of when he is happy with the take is not led by the visuals but by the feeling he has. And he’s so English, which means there will be no sort of superlative praise. It will be like, “Good. Yeah. Happy. Okay. Moving on.” And you’re like, “Okay, that’s it.” It’s like that with my family too. I don’t want to tell him this, but he looks like my uncle – which is funny
STG: And how was the experience of watching Oppenheimer in a movie theatre?
Emily Blunt: I saw it with John, Robert, and his wife (Susan), and it was very emotional. I felt like I was inside of it, as if the arms of the movie came out, wrapped around me, and pulled me right into it. It was a bone-shattering experience. I loved it.
Matt Damon: Yeah, me too. Oppenheimer is great, and overwhelming. Watching it was like the experience I had reading the script, although that feeling was magnified by the film. It was written in the first person, which I’d never seen before. So, it just pulled you in, and you had this subjective experience that was overwhelming.
Emily Blunt: Watching it feels like being on a runaway train. It’s so exciting!
Oppenheimer is a 2023 biographical thriller film written and directed by Christopher Nolan and is in cinemas now.