Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’ Recreates Nuclear Weapon Test Without CGI
Written by SOURCE on December 13, 2022
Christopher Nolan said he considers his upcoming film Oppenheimer to be “one of the most challenging projects” he has ever taken on. Of course, the filmmaker isn’t doing himself any favors.
Nolan revealed in an interview with Total Film that he recreated the first nuclear weapon detonation without relying on CGI effects.
“I think recreating the Trinity test without the use of computer graphics was a huge challenge to take on,” Nolan said, referring to the first-ever nuclear weapon detonation, in New Mexico. “Andrew Jackson—my visual effects supervisor, I got him on board early on—was looking at how we could do a lot of the visual elements of the film practically, from representing quantum dynamics and quantum physics to the Trinity test itself, to recreating, with my team, Los Alamos up on a mesa in New Mexico in extraordinary weather, a lot of which was needed for the film, in terms of the very harsh conditions out there—there were huge practical challenges.”
Speaking of “huge practical challenges,” Nolan opted to buy an actual Boeing 747 plane and crash it into a hangar in Tenet, instead of putting the money toward CGI. “We started to run the numbers…it became apparent that it would actually be more efficient to buy a real plane of the real size, and perform this sequence for real in camera, rather than build miniatures or go the CG route,” he explained to Total Film in 2020.
Oppenheimer tells the story of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy), who spearheaded the Manhattan Project, which led to the development of the first atomic bomb.
“It’s a story of immense scope and scale,” Nolan said his latest. “And one of the most challenging projects I’ve ever taken on in terms of the scale of it, and in terms of encountering the breadth of Oppenheimer’s story.”
“There were big, logistical challenges, big practical challenges. But I had an extraordinary crew, and they really stepped up,” the 52-year-old continued. “It will be a while before we’re finished. But certainly as I watch the results come in, and as I’m putting the film together, I’m thrilled with what my team has been able to achieve.”
Oppenheimer is slated for a July 21, 2023 theatrical release.
