Christopher Nolan really felt the burn for a while Platoon class.
The New York Film Critics Circle recently named the filmmaker best director for his film “Oppenheimer,” and Nolan decided to use his acceptance speech as an opportunity to wax poetic about why he doesn't care about just being an instructor. aerobics hurts him, according to Variety.
Nolan explained to a room full of professional film critics that he respected their opinions on his work because of their “objectivity.” But when it comes to someone else, not so much.
To emphasize this point, Nolan shared a personal anecdote.
“I was on my Peloton. I die. And the instructor started talking about one of my films and said, “Has anyone seen this?” That’s a few hours of my life that I will never get back! “, Nolan said. “When (film critic) Rex Reed makes fun of your movie, he's not asking you to practice! In today's world, where opinions are everywhere, there is a sort of idea that film criticism is becoming democratized, but I for one think that critical appreciation of films should not be an instinct but rather a profession.”
Although Nolan seemed to be joking when sharing this story, he may have been a little upset by this offhand remark, as he further elevated it due to his appreciation of film critics.
“What we have here tonight is a group of professionals trying to be objective,” Nolan continued. “Obviously, writing about cinema objectively is a paradox, but aspirations toward objectivity are what make criticism vital, timeless, and useful to filmmakers and the film community.”
Nolan didn't name which of his films was hated or the name of the hater, but Peloton has a pretty massive fan base, and it didn't take long for its members to dig up the evidence. According to a Reddit user, the culprit was Jenn Sherman from a 30-minute interval and gun tour from December 28, 2020. The Redditor appears to be right – and 404 published video of Sherman it absolutely goes on Nolan's 2020 film, “Tenet.”
In the clip, which 404 says it found on Peloton's official Facebook group on Thursday, Sherman works on the Travis Scott song “The Plan.”
“This song is from the soundtrack of a movie called 'Tenet,'” Sherman says in the clip. “Has anyone seen this shit?” Did anyone besides me see this? Because I need a manual. Someone needs to explain this. Yeah, I'm not kidding. What was going on in this movie? Do you understand? Seriously, you have to be a neuroscientist to understand. And that's two and a half hours of my life that I want to get back. I want it back.
So, uh, maybe Nolan is right about movie critics after all – especially when he concluded his speech by saying:
“In today's world, as a filmmaker, you cannot hide behind the author's intention. You can't say, “This is what I intended to do.” We live in a world where the person receiving the story has the right to say what it means to them. For my part, I love it. This means that the work must speak for itself. It's not about what I say. It's about what you receive. In this world, the role of the professional critic, or the interpreter and the person who tries to give context to the reader… is extremely important.