The Academy Awards are this evening, which means that by the end of the day, some of Hollywood’s biggest stars will be the proud owners of some gold statues. There are plenty of notable 2024 Oscar nominees, and one of them is the incomparable Christopher Nolan. The acclaimed filmmaker is part of a few major categories, thanks to his critically acclaimed historical drama Oppenheimer. While Nolan has never won one of the Academy’s prestigious awards, he has been nominated multiple times. And how many exactly you might ask? Well, let’s talk that out now.
Memento (2000)
Those who’ve watched all of Christopher Nolan’s movies know that he has an incredible body of work, and one of his earliest features is Memento, which has some interesting BTS facts. The film stars Drew Pearce as a man suffering from anterograde amnesia while trying to find the person who killed his wife and caused his condition. Critics lauded the film, which is only Nolan’s second directorial effort, and it also landed him his first Oscar nod.
He received a nom for Best Original Screenplay at the 74th Academy Awards in 2002. Ultimately, it was Julian Fellowes who won the award for his work on Robert Altman’s Gosford Park. Some probably would’ve assumed that the eventual Dark Knight helmer’s work might have claimed the prize that night. However, I’m really surprised that this next film didn’t win him any Oscars.
Inception (2010)
One of the filmmaker's most mind-bending pieces of work, Inception (especially its ending) is still widely analyzed by cinephiles. The Leonardo DiCaprio-led thriller sees the star play a thief – who steals information via a person’s subconscious – receiving the opportunity to wipe his slate clean. It may only have two Oscar nominations to its name, but they’re big. Christopher Nolan received a nod for Best Original Screenplay and was nominated for Best Picture as a producer on the film. Both of those awards were claimed by The King’s Speech on Hollywood’s biggest night in 2011.
Dunkirk (2017)
Before the historical box office behemoth that is Oppenheimer, the filmmaker made waves with the World War II epic Dunkirk, which centers on the Dunkirk evacuation. Like many of the writer/director’s other productions, it’s been critically acclaimed and is a visual spectacle to behold. Overall, it received eight nominations from the Academy, with two of those going to the man in the director’s chair. He once again received a Best Picture nod and, this time, he earned his first nom for Best Director. While both of those went to Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water, the war drama itself still won trophies in three of the technical categories.
Oppenheimer (2023)
We now come to Christopher Nolan’s latest cinematic triumph, Oppenheimer. The biopic focuses on the life and work of theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, whose pivotal work during World War II led to the creation of the atomic bomb. A sweeping masterpiece, it has a leading 13 Academy Awards nominations at this year’s ceremony. Among those are three nods for Nolan, including Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director and Best Picture. Some Oscar predictions point to at least a couple of those going to Nolan, with the latter two of the aforementioned awards seemingly being locked up for him. Of course, we’ll have to wait and see if that comes to pass.
Regardless of what happens though, it’s clear that Christopher Nolan has done some truly admirable work. I won’t lie, because it certainly would be wonderful to see him finally claim one of those highly coveted awards. Yet, should that not pan out, it surely doesn’t take away from the quality and magnitude of the work Nolan has done over the years.
We’ll find out if he takes home any trophies when the 96th Academy Awards air tonight, Sunday, March 10 at 7 p.m. ET on ABC. Those who want to check out the filmmaker’s work can also stream Oppenheimer with a Peacock subscription and watch Inception, Dunkirk and more online as well.
