Jonathan Nolan talks FALLOUT, THE DARK KNIGHT, MEMENTO, WESTWORLD I Happy Sad Confused

[@JoshHorowitz]

Thanks for watching! What's your favorite Jonathan Nolan project? Make sure to subscribe to the channel so you don't miss any of my chats.

[@KyleCorwith]

He HAS done interviews like this. I have two 40 minute audio interviews he did for Creative Screenwriting Magazine in 2008 for The Dark Knight AND The Prestige in 2006 on my phone right now.

[@maxthebean8047]

Westworld is very much where him and his wife just created something great. Season 1, real good television :)

[@khaluurihusky8761]

Interstellar! The many years of work did not go in vain, my favorite movie.

[@roadrollerdio565]

Excited for you to interview him again and chat in depth about The Prestige and Interstellar!

[@TheCinematicGamer]

Interstellar but honestly. That is a very hard question to answer the guy is brilliant as his brother no doubt about it

[@JayBrainsy]

I didn’t realize how heartwarming it can be listening to a writer talk about how much they love the source material instead of hearing, “well, they do it one way but wait until you see what we’re going to do”

[@frankytanky5076]

It's so refreshing to hear how much of a legit gamer Nolan was/is and how much he understands the feel of the franchise. The guy also just shows how much he respects games as a legit artistic medium. There's just no substitute to being actually invested and understanding the original material.

[@thomasscottwilliams6672]

Josh you do a great deal of giving your guests air to breathe, nothing is rushed, no interruptions, good conversational lanes.

[@tozar1]

For the first time in this interview he mentioned Tim Cain, the creator of Fallout. This is good

[@ziekboi]

he deserves it! I hope they went to Tim for some input on the story, or do later!

[@jacklonderr]

Agreed

[@KenTWOu]

Just in case, it's Tim Cain. I'm also really glad, he was mentioned.

[@jaycollins2036]

Meanwhile at the paramount mountain: Halo Producers,"We didn't look at the games."

[@ziekboi]

did yall see tim's video it's great they invited him to the premiere he even linked up with fargo

[@thedarkknight2221]

I love Jonathan Nolan just as much as his brother, he made 2 of my all time favorite tv shows in Westworld and Person Of Interest. And with Fallout added to his roster I hope wins just as many Emmy’s as his brother won Oscars for Oppenheimer.

[@ea09]

Yeah, PoI is amazing. Too bad interviewer didn't ask anything about PoI. i'd die to know why they ended it abruptly and what their future plans about PoI are.

[@jd899]

​@@ea09I concur.

[@iamthebatman6557]

His brother won zero Emmy’s for Oppenheimer … but yeh I agree.

[@1775adam]

Person of Interest is prophetic in many ways. And the scripts were tight and the villains were next-level. Elias is a masterclass in 3D antagonist. Samaritan and it's organization was quite a formidable opponent. And the main cast of protagonists was straight out of a Batman comic.

[@Tieno]

This guy is so easy to listen to. I can listen to him speak all day. What a great storyteller!

[@Abeja1225]

The way he's given so much credit to video game writing even as far back as 2000 is very cool to hear.

[@Starfield-Guy]

Let’s just thanks Nolan’s parents for giving us these two amazing directors! Fallout is 10/10 incredible and faithful to the source material, just impeccable, chefs kiss good

[@cadeonder3793]

Love his passion for all mediums. He gets TV, film, and gaming. Great interview!

[@roadrollerdio565]

Some of Jonathan's mannerisms such as his hand gestures when he is explaining how Memento was sold or TDK backstory are so reminiscent of his brother's - family resemblance in action, literally!

[@mikeregis3544]

Funny I said the same thing.

[@ivanessa_schnitzel]

I thought the same - it's uncanny sometimes

[@RoyalFlushFan]

...as opposed to their respective accents when speaking.

[@VerryJerry90]

This man gave me Person of Interest - one of the best and most underrated shows I’ve seen in my life

[@nicholasdoucet673]

First interview I’ve watched from start to finish in awhile. I could’ve stuck around for another hour of this.

[@jasonraschen1109]

This interview was fantastic. So many great stories. You can really hear in Jonathan's voice how much he really admires and loves his brother. Can't wait for you to have him back to discuss "The Prestige".

[@GuineaPigEveryday]

Westworld was one of my favourite shows growing up, it just blew my mind the sort of ideas they were grappling with and yet very accessible. But the performances, my god, you have to be some talented director to get such perfect performances from those actors. I mean I know Anthony Hopkins is great regardless of the movie/show, but his role in Westworld was one of his best, same with Jeffrey Wright and Thandiwe Newton. Such a visual masterclass

[@BooneLuleyo]

One of my favorite shows ever is Person of Interest. Jonah Nolan is a mad genius. Thank you for everything.

[@KyleOfTheNorth]

Jonathan seems like such a humble and good dude... The thing he said about the studio execs thinking the audience are rubes was such a refreshingly humble and true thing to say, especially when people are often wary to say such things about studios.

[@jrecon]

For my late brother Curtis and I, used to love talking about genre films and tv. He was dragging me to Trek and cons since the late 70’s. I wish he was still alive so we could talk about all the amazing content that has come out since covid. Also Josh you are doing great work. I really enjoy this podcast.

[@conorbrosnahan5464]

I'll forever be grateful to Jonathan for creating HBO's Westworld. Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Ford is one of my favorite characters. Same for Ed Harris and Jeffrey Wright as MiB and Bernard respectively.

[@montenegroafro4454]

This Nolan guy precisely understands the nature and need for adaptations. Not to change the essence of the source material, but adding/expanding what already made the original so beloved!

[@roadrollerdio565]

31:24 I knew The Dark Knight was heavily inspired by Heat of course, but I didnt know about The Wire connection! Goated show. David Simon is an exceptional writer and somehow still so underrated!

[@mrstardian]

I LOVE how the brother of Christopher Nolan (Jonathan) directed 3 of the episodes of season 1 of the Fallout show, they were absolutely amazing.

[@stephenveilleux4059]

The pace of this interview is so spectacular

[@jaimemitra2003]

Amazing work Josh. Chris is my favorite filmmaker and I love that Jonathan was one of his key collaborators over the years and their work together is just magical. Truly grateful for the both of them and their contributions to the films I absolutely adore. I’m Glad Jonathan is getting the recognition he deserves, 100% deserves it.

[@thomaschristopherwhite9043]

People give Goyer too much credit. This is the real brains behind the operation.

[@DavidOakesMusic]

Goyer is a complete hack. He's the McG of screenwriting.

[@SpFlash1523]

@@DavidOakesMusic The Blade trilogy proved that lol.

[@antona.8659]

Goyer wrote the first good Marvel movie, a movie which showed you can do dark and gritty superhero movies and be successful, and knew his way around DC. To say he had nothing to do with TDKT is to lie.

[@obscure.reference]

yeah why give credit to the guy who had been cultivating that tone since the early 90’s. like what, goyer’s done tons of solid stuff.

[@alcottdevalte7440]

Jonathan should have gotten a Golden globe and an Academy award for his script of Dark Knight, especially for writing Joker's character and lines

[@xsanctom]

Great to hear him talk about the dynamics of actually playing a Fallout game, hopeful for this adaptation!

[@elidasilva5558]

I can tell Johnathan Nolan is gonna kill it with Fallout, you can tell he actually cares about the franchise

[@Femalenun]

Wow, such a cool interview. We are in good hands. Nolan has been consistent for so long now, it would be quite the achievement for him to botch a project. Seeing how knowledgeable and appreciative he is of the universe, only gives me hope. He doesn't speak like other show runners who seem to have only skimmed the wiki page. And even if he did, knowing the quality of his writing, I would have still given him the benefit of the doubt. But he comes of as someone who knows they have something good on their hands and can't wait for us to see it.

[@fanpandatastic]

As someone who grew up a fan of the Fallout series and Jonathan Nolan’s work…this interview quieted my fears. I’m starting to let myself get excited for this show now

[@TeddyOG]

Jons description of his RPG playthroughs is exactly mine. Good playthrough, then I want to go full bad but get squeamish and still hold out on certain choices. It does feel like its a real moral decision that some entity is looking over sometimes. Spot on

[@JerahNeptune]

When he name dropped portal and bioshock, I knew we were in good hands

[@Stefan_1306]

Yes, he seems to have good taste. I'm cautiously optimistic too.

[@Oldhandlewasabitcringe]

Why? There are millions of people that have played these games, are they all safe hands?

[@JerahNeptune]

@Oldhandlewasabitcringe He also mentions how he brings up games when people ask him about favorite movies at the time. Also to answer your question, yes. Why so serious? ;)

[@UndeadKIRA]

@@Oldhandlewasabitcringe Games as artform. important perspective

[@puppetmaster8551]

Wish he was involved in the bioshock movie that Netflix is making, would probably end up a lot better than it’s going to.

[@sopdadope]

Surprised he's avoided doing interviews because he's really an engaging interviewee. This man has built a great body of work and I'm excited for his future work.

[@SiddyMta]

Man he's so talented. I can imagine him wanting to create his own identity very much due to his brother's massive success from early on. However, i think Jonathan doesn't have to compare himself to his brother and keep doing what he likes.

[@hamza5106]

I think he was the reason for a lot of his brothers success particularly in the first half of his career

[@RubyConn]

Extremely well done. Loved every minute of this.

[@thomasscottwilliams6672]

Jonathon you are a star, Westworld is my favourite of a decade, you are a truly amazing talented person, thank you for your contribution to tv and cinema

[@ziziozzie8571]

thanks for writing the line he's the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So, we'll hunt him, because he can take it. Because he's not our hero.

[@theunknowncommenter725]

He's a silent guardian, a watchful protector, a Dark Knight.

[@OrionInSpace]

When people think of films like Dark Knight, Dark Knight Rises or Interstellar and so on. They usually always think of Christopher Nolan most of the time but they never for one second realized that it was also his brother Jonathan that helped in creating those incredible pieces of cinema. This dude needs to have his name out there in the public eye more as a writer and filmmaker in general.

[@roadrollerdio565]

Speaking of Interstellar, that was yet another movie that Jonathan was writing originally, based on a story by Kip Thorne, and then he brought on his brother Chris to co-write and direct when Spielberg left the project. Their collaboration is so important!

[@OrionInSpace]

@@roadrollerdio565 indeed Interstellar is my favorite film of all time

[@doublep1980]

Don't forget, he wrote ''Memento'' as a short story, then his brother proposed to turn it into a movie and he adapted it into a script. This was what kickstarted both their careers in Hollywood.

[@Ruijor]

I love this guy, quite underated under big brother´s umbrella, it should have been The Nolan Brothers! Also, funny how the media outlets extrapolated so much of that little remark of Nolan stating he would have loved to make Westworld´s final season, of course he would but many people failed to appreciate the show so unlikely there is a fan base strong enough to rally for a 5th season. Eitherway I enjoyed the season 4 finale and found it fitting enough as a closure to Dolores story arc.

[@mtrps_]

finally! a long form jonathan nolan, ive longed to listen him and his process

[@andr4203]

you should watch his interview with the channel "pioneer works" it's a 1h20 interview

[@mtrps_]

@@andr4203 niceee. thank you for the suggestion!

[@keyseronthewire]

It's truly great for a filmmaker to basically say he/she isn't here to preach to us about anything... There's no agenda being pushed... Anything thats present in the story... It serves the story... And its up to us as viewers how we wish to think... We're presented with more questions than answers... Our job is to think and I greatly appreciate that viewpoint from a filmmaker/writer

[@kma1363]

An amazing, intimate interview. Thank you

[@outrunpilot]

I'm devouring this interview

[@keyseronthewire]

I love so much of this guy's work... Memento especially... An extreme talent... And its ALWAYS great to hear someone appreciate and respect the source material in which they are adapting. Apparently that's a strange concept for many to grasp nowadays and that's how franchises get ruined. I love the series Fallout 👏🏻 Looking forward to season 2!

[@fransstal6535]

This guy is an awesome guest. Maybe the best show you've ever done.

[@TheCinematicGamer]

This was incredible thank you for this

[@joso7228]

Yes your Audience is SMART. Thanks. And we will follow the good stuff.

[@IIFeedback]

This man definitely knows his fallout. Can’t wait to watch

[@maverickmegastar]

Didn't skip a minute! Well, except the ads, thank you for bookmarking those..

[@ziekboi]

Jona seeing the online "discourse" surrounding Starship Troopers in the last couple months is kind of oddly fun lol

[@Aussie27Legend]

Thanks, Helldivers!

[@ziekboi]

@@Aussie27Legend I gotta play it lol all I heard was super earth and I was in

[@Aussie27Legend]

@@ziekboi it is genuinely a lot of fun.

[@onil1325ms]

This is now my favorite HSC interview

[@KyleCorwith]

He HAS done interviews like this. I have two 40 minute audio interviews he did for Creative Screenwriting Magazine in 2008 for The Dark Knight AND The Prestige in 2006 on my phone right now.

[@Nineteen1900Hundred]

I remember a long time ago, J Nolan did an interview and he talked about The Joker in The Dark Knight, and he mentioned how Joker’s character is like a force of nature that materialised on the street in the first shot. But I’ve never been able to find that audio podcast interview all these years later.

[@KyleCorwith]

@@Nineteen1900Hundred Pretty sure it’s this one: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eX6uXpSbm7WUZ5Isi=m1uC9YJ8tEhpExMi 😎

[@gemelwalters2942]

so over 15 years ago? I don't think they were saying he has NEVER done interviews, but rarely does them.

[@4kfeatures720]

Holy smokes man Jonathan is such an amazing guest. Great job all around!

[@AngryShellback]

Very interesting conversation with the director, especially his own time playing FO3, at least he's familiar with the core material...

[@Kritikal_G]

This is incredible. Jonathan Nolan knows his shit with games. Thank you.

[@kptmaci4979]

Great interview! Lots of interesting stuff

[@kptmaci4979]

Fallout 3 was also my first introduction to fallout world. Spend way too much time there. But Im also glad they mention in show itself New Vegas, which wasnt developed by Bethesda itself, but stood on their ready engine and people think Bethesda resents this part due to it not being produced directly by them, yet being praised so high. Yet, the show proves them wrong, New Vegas is still held in high regard. Great stuff. Although I admit New Vegas has much more replayability, it always felt like a high effort mod to fallout 3 with many totally empty spaces in between areas and copied enemies and structures. Fallout 3 was much more consistent stylistically I feel and felt much richer + I just liked that core story that much better.

[@sirtorchington]

That quick bit about Chris Nolan not having a phone, and that Jonathan or Emma would have to field calls for him😂…I know everyone is like “wow no phone, cool!” but like how you gonna put that responsibility on everyone around you lol

[@SeeWhatISee101-ht3qk]

His comments about Heat having parallels to a Greek opera were so on point.

[@butaleo]

In what way was it like a Greek opera? I am not very knowledgeable about Greek opera

[@ive3336]

Legend for giving Tim Cain the recognition for Fallout 1 he deserves and the influence that initial game had on the whole franchise

[@coachjoshward3386]

What a hero 🫶🏽 You can tell his true passion as a gamer 🤌🏽

[@pavlikam]

No amount of time is enough time when it comes to interviewing Jonah. Really hope you get another opportunity to speak with him soon!

[@mariasolematta5046]

Amazing! I'm so excited to meet Jonathan Nolan and Overall VFX Supervisor Jay Worth next week at VIEW Conference and hear what they have to say about #FALLOUT and much more!! I think it will be wonderful!

[@andrimufid2195]

Very insightful interview. Thanks Josh for this gift.

[@KP-zd3hc]

This man needs to finish Westworld!!

[@UndeadKIRA]

Verhoeven discussion was great

[@ToolTalkChannel]

So excited for Fallout… I’m surprised West World season 1 had issues.. for me that was the peak (at least of what I’d seen).. idk even know how many seasons it went but it was an epic start.. sad to here he didn’t get to finish the story he wanted to tell… I’ll have to look more into that show..

[@PeterZeeke]

great interview

[@carlosedlv]

Jonahhhh pleaseeee keep doing long format interviews!!!

[@morriswein2386]

10:25 I was worried this guy and his brother were trying to start the apocalypse like vault tech on the show, but after that time stamp, I'm sold, this guy just knows what's up with games and story telling. Bioshock, yes great, but Portal. PUZZLES + COMPELLING STORY = BLISS

[@PursuedByAMemory]

It's interesting to see that he has Chris' mannerisms, (or Chris has John's) being brothers, they just assimilated each other's movements.

[@THEJoeDub22]

“Meet the Fablemans” 😂😂😂

[@Dave-np5wr]

Amazing interview!

[@22013]

Never knew he used to be a gamer. Hell he even mentioned Bioshock and Portal.

[@usersangsa]

i watched Memento on the screen when it came out!

[@oldnbaschool]

J Nolan is one of the best TV creators. Fallout was a banger!

[@BenchmarksIT]

I honestly think Jonathan liking portal games is the best thing ever, i'm optimistic about this fallout show.

[@PeaceIsWork]

He clearly has incredible imagination and enough knowledge to bring into reality. He needs to get over the little brother syndrome. The idea of time in Momento has made the entire career of Christopher.

[@flyinggecko3322]

It’s sad he did not meet the original creators of the Fallout franchise, Tim Cain, Leonard Boyarsky and Jason Anderson.

[@Dylongis]

Hope we will see the last season of Westworld

[@JacobOlli]

Pretty fun him and Chris growing up going to different schools in different countries, but still end up in the same business

[@TylersTrying]

What a cool guy.

[@user-friendly-b6q]

Very talented guy !!!

[@starpetalarts6668]

You forgot to include Person of Interest.

[@pmosh1]

ALWAYS TRUSTING JOSH TO ASK THE QUESTIONS THAT NEED TO BE ASKED. @38:07

[@kavkazE]

Jon is like me in taste but with talent and a budget lol. Respect.

[@G59METH]

Since Jonathan mentioned BioShock... if he made a BioShock TV show that'd be a dream come true cause the BioShock movie is cursed at this point. Gore Verbinski was interested in making it, never happened, Guillermo del Toro was interested in it, never happened, in the early 2022 Netflix announed a BioShock movie with Francis Lawrence as the director and Michael Green as the writer which sounds great but I wouldn't be surprised if it got cancelled/is in development hell for now, it has been over 2 years and no news whatsoever apart from the announcement itself...

[@MLGgoomba]

Good interview

[@OliverHollingdale]

I did not expect CN brother to not look much like Nolan or an american accent

[@Narsetz]

I like how Jonathan is more American Nolan and Chris is the British one

[@mikeregis3544]

If you notice, his mannerisms are more like Chris's in the way he speaks. Look at his hand.

[@darknexus6720]

For better of worse, Jonathan's name for his more solo projects before this show has sorta been synonymous with WestWorld and the direction that show went in. I hope he gets to expand his future projects in more different directions. I would like to see him do something a bit less cerebral and Sci-fi in the future. My guess is his first directed film could be for a streamer?!

[@doublep1980]

He was only involved in the first, excellent season of Westworld as showrunner, the later seasons he's only credited as an ''executive producer'', which in many cases means they just slapped his name on the credits. But he was the showrunner for the entirety of ''Person of Interested'', which is a great show.

[@lxve491]

westworld s1 is the peak

[@Sizzln-Rozes]

28:28 “Heat and The Wire….this fully naturalistic world, but by the end it’s a Greek opera. And it’s a bit of a magic trick with these two. This ability to, every beat feels plausible and real, keenly observed and naturalistic, but by the end, you’ve seen this Greek opera, there’s been this invisible movement into something more operatic, more tragic. So it was like with could you bring that into the next Batman, could you tell a story in that..key? That’s what I think a Batman should be.

[@scottlette]

It does sound like Jonathan Nolan ‘gets it’ when it comes to the setting.

[@tykjenffs]

Westworld has to get an ending. It would be a perfect loop to Season 1.

[@BobMcRoberts1991]

Excited for the fallout series. btw, when did Jonathan Nolan morph into Thomas Haden Church?

[@WeesloYT]

This show is gonna be so fucking good

[@kokomanation]

I think Fallout and Oppenheimer are about the same topic which is nuclear war.I don’t know if Nolan brothers had conversations over this.I remember Fallout 3 was extremely creepy as a game it almost traumatised me

[@Sachin_C10]

Should've asked more on The Dark Knight Rises and its convenient writing & why was it made that way with an epic scale.

[@Slask7]

I mean, how can you not go that route for the finale?

[@Sachin_C10]

@@Slask7 it's a good route but it takes risks that don't add up on what the characters and movie direction was.

[@Slask7]

@@Sachin_C10 at that point, risks had to be taken. The second film became a cultural phenomenon, they couldn't rest and make just a "more of the same".

[@redcomet0079]

So weird that he sounds nothing like his older brother (yeah I know he went to school in the states, don’t @ me) His eps of fallout that he directed were the best ones. Fantastic writer

[@HIGHTS]

Had no idea he came up with MEMENTO

[@수잔08]

His voice is kinda familiar haha😂 I can't help but recall chris nolan's one.