Editing Christopher Nolan (section)

== Early life ==
Christopher Edward Nolan was born on 30 July 1970, in [[Westminster]], London.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Heidmann |first1=Patrick |title=Christopher Nolan: "I did not intend any message" |url=https://the-talks.com/interview/christopher-nolan/ |website=The Talks |access-date=17 March 2025 |date=26 July 2023}}</ref> His father, Brendan James Nolan, was a British advertising executive of Irish descent<ref>{{cite web|title=Christopher Nolan, although a native of London, proudly traces his lineage back to Irish roots' |url=https://www.irishhistory.com/genealogy/irish-surnames/nolan-family-name-history/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20240312001606/https://www.irishhistory.com/genealogy/irish-surnames/nolan-family-name-history/ |archivedate=12 March 2024 }}</ref> who worked as a [[creative director]]. His mother, Christina Jensen, was an American flight attendant from [[Evanston, Illinois]]; she would later work as a teacher of English. He has an elder brother, Matthew, and a younger brother, [[Jonathan Nolan|Jonathan]], also a filmmaker. The three brothers were raised [[Catholic]] in [[Highgate]] and would spend their summers in Evanston.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Grimes |first=Christopher |date=21 July 2023 |title=Director Christopher Nolan: 'Oppenheimer is absolutely a cautionary tale' |url=https://www.ft.com/content/e47df8a6-21fa-4d8c-9817-351f1a438aef |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230918224920/https://www.ft.com/content/e47df8a6-21fa-4d8c-9817-351f1a438aef |archive-date=18 September 2023 |access-date=31 January 2024 |website=[[Financial Times]] |issn=0307-1766}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqGrR2Upz0M |title=Writers Bloc Presents: Christopher Nolan, Tom Shone and Kenneth Branagh |date=2 December 2020 |publisher=Writers Bloc Presents |time=56:02 |access-date=10 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230209153617/https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=PqGrR2Upz0M |archive-date=9 February 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> Nolan also spent time living in Chicago during his youth, and he holds both UK and US citizenship.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gomez |first1=Luis |title=Batman's Chicago connection |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2014/07/22/batmans-chicago-connection/ |work=Chicago Tribune |date=22 July 2014}}</ref>{{sfn|Nathan|2022|pp=12–13}}

[[File:Flaxman Gallery, UCL.JPG|thumb|alt=An image showing the top of the oculus in the Flaxman Gallery, University College London|Nolan attended [[University College London]] and used its Flaxman Gallery for a scene in ''[[Inception]]'' (2010).<ref>{{Cite news |date=14 July 2010 |title=Nolan's Mind Games |publisher=[[Film London]] |url=http://filmlondon.org.uk/news/2010/july/nolans_mind_games |url-status=dead |access-date=11 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101122213601/http://filmlondon.org.uk/news/2010/july/nolans_mind_games |archive-date=22 November 2010}}</ref>]]
Growing up, Nolan was particularly influenced by the work of Sir [[Ridley Scott]] and the science fiction films ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey]]'' (1968) and ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'' (1977).{{sfn|Mooney|2018|p=4}}{{sfn|Nathan|2022|pp=116, 159}} He would repeatedly watch the latter film and extensively research its making.{{sfn|Nathan|2022|p=159}} Nolan began making films at the age of seven, borrowing his father's [[Super 8 film|Super{{nbsp}}8 camera]] and shooting short films with his action figures.{{sfn|Nathan|2022|pp=11, 16}} These films included a [[stop motion animation]] homage to ''Star Wars'' called ''Space Wars''. He cast his brother Jonathan and built sets from "clay, flour, egg boxes and toilet rolls".{{sfn|Mooney|2018|p=4}} His uncle, who had worked at [[NASA]] building guidance systems for the [[Apollo program|Apollo]] rockets, sent him some launch footage: "I re-filmed them off the screen and cut them in, thinking no-one would notice", Nolan later remarked.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Purcell |first1=Andrew |title=Christopher Nolan's Interstellar brings back the Spielberg-style family blockbuster |url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/christopher-nolans-interstellar-brings-back-the-spielbergstyle-family-blockbuster-20141104-11gjqp.html |access-date=9 December 2022 |work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |date=4 November 2014 |archive-date=9 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221209185721/https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/christopher-nolans-interstellar-brings-back-the-spielbergstyle-family-blockbuster-20141104-11gjqp.html |url-status=live }}</ref> From the age of 11, he aspired to be a professional filmmaker.<ref name="telegraph">{{Cite news |last=Lawrence|first=Will |date=19 July 2012 |title=Christopher Nolan interview for ''Inception'' |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmmakersonfilm/7894376/Christopher-Nolan-interview-for-Inception.html |url-status=live |access-date=3 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131117141943/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmmakersonfilm/7894376/Christopher-Nolan-interview-for-Inception.html |archive-date=17 November 2013|url-access=subscription}} {{subscription required}}</ref> Between 1981 and 1983, Nolan enrolled at Barrow Hills, a Catholic prep school in [[Witley]], Surrey.{{sfn|Shone|2020|p=26}} In his teenage years, Nolan started making films with Adrien and [[Roko Belic]]. Nolan and Roko co-directed the [[surrealism|surreal]] 8{{nbsp}}mm ''Tarantella'' (1989), which was shown on ''Image Union'', an independent film and video showcase on the [[Public Broadcasting Service]].{{efn|Nolan has continued his collaboration with the Belic brothers, receiving a credit for his editorial assistance on their Oscar-nominated documentary ''[[Genghis Blues]]'' (1999).{{sfn|Mooney|2018|p=156}}}}{{sfn|Mooney|2018|p=5}}{{sfn|Shone|2020|p=48}} After a fan posted a copy of ''Tarantella'' online, in 2021, Nolan's production company filed a copyright infringement claim, to have the film removed.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kuo |first=Christopher |date=7 March 2024 |title=The Film Christopher Nolan Doesn't Want You to Watch |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/07/movies/christopher-nolan-larceny.html |access-date=7 March 2024 |website=New York Times |archive-date=7 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240307192552/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/07/movies/christopher-nolan-larceny.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Nolan was educated at [[Haileybury and Imperial Service College]], an independent school in [[Hertford Heath]], [[Hertfordshire]], and later studied [[English literature]] at [[University College London]] (UCL). Opting out of a traditional film education, he pursued "a degree in something unrelated", which his father suggested "gives a different take on things".{{sfn|Mooney|2018|p=6}} He chose UCL specifically for its filmmaking facilities, which comprised a [[Steenbeck|Steenbeck editing suite]] and [[16 mm film#Cameras|16{{nbsp}}mm film cameras]].<ref name="Tempest">{{cite news|last=Tempest|first= Matthew |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2011/feb/24/inception-christopher-nolan-film-oscar-director |title=I was there at the ''Inception'' of Christopher Nolan's film career|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005100119/http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2011/feb/24/inception-christopher-nolan-film-oscar-director |archive-date=5 October 2013|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=24 February 2011|access-date=21 September 2011}}</ref> Nolan was president of the Union's Film Society,<ref name="Tempest" /> and with [[Emma Thomas]] (his girlfriend and future wife) he screened [[feature film]]s in [[35 mm movie film|35mm]] during the school year and used the money earned to produce 16{{nbsp}}mm films over the summers.<ref name="British Cinematographer pt2">{{Cite web |year=2010 |title=Wally Pfister ASC on Christopher Nolan's ''Inception'' |url=http://www.thecinematographer.info/articles/18-wally-pfister.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120411005825/http://www.thecinematographer.info/articles/18-wally-pfister.html |archive-date=11 April 2012 |access-date=12 February 2013 |publisher=[[American Society of Cinematographers]]}}</ref>