Acclaimed filmmaker Christopher Nolan has revealed there is one genre he has no plans to tackle anytime soon: romantic comedies, says The Hollywood Reporter.
The Oscar-winning director, whose filmography includes Inception, Interstellar, The Dark Knight trilogy, Dunkirk, Tenet, Oppenheimer and his latest epic The Odyssey, admitted he would be “terrified” to direct a rom-com.
Nolan made the remarks during his first appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where he discussed the ambitious production of The Odyssey, the first feature film shot entirely using 70mm IMAX cameras.
When Fallon jokingly suggested that Nolan should make an “easy” film next and asked about the possibility of a romantic comedy, the director dismissed the idea.
“I think doing a rom-com would be incredibly difficult,” Nolan said.
“I love watching those movies. But, no, I think people who direct comedy, people who do comedy, I think that’s one of the hardest things in the world to make people laugh that way.”
He added that comedy leaves filmmakers with little room to hide if audiences fail to connect with the humour.
“Particularly the risk they take. When you make a film… if I show a film to people and maybe they don’t respond to bits of it, I’m like, ‘Ah, they don’t get it. Whatever.’ There’s no hiding behind that when you do comedy.”
Summing up his feelings about the genre, Nolan said, “I would be terrified of doing anything like that.”
While romantic comedies are not on his agenda, the filmmaker suggested he is far more interested in exploring horror.
In a recent interview, Nolan said The Odyssey had strengthened his desire to direct a horror film, noting that the genre requires an exceptional concept above all else.
“I’ve always believed that horror as a genre has to be approached very carefully from a conceptual point of view. You have to have an amazing idea,” he said.
Nolan’s latest release, The Odyssey, continues to enjoy a strong run at the global box office.
The epic stars Matt Damon as Odysseus, alongside Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson and an ensemble cast, and has become the biggest opening success of the director’s career.
