MOVIE NEWS – The success of Oppenheimer proved that there is a huge interest in biopics about historical figures. Could it be time for Christopher Nolan to dust off his favourite movie idea…?

Christopher Nolan’s astonishing success with Oppenheimer proves that he can finally attempt his biggest biopic to date. Biographical films have always been popular, but recently, they have become a significant trend in cinema. Stories about Elvis (Elvis), Freddie Mercury and Queen (Bohemian Rhapsody) and Elton John (Rocketman) were all big hits. These music biopics are all based on famous artists. So it’s no surprise that they do well with audiences. But biopics do well in other subjects as well.

Some of the greatest biopics in film history have featured personalities whose incredible stories may have been largely unknown to audiences, from actors to politicians to scientists.

Christopher Nolan took the mainstream success of biopics even further with the blockbuster Oppenheimer. About the scientist who created the atomic bomb, Oppenheimer broke a colossal box office record by grossing nearly $1 billion worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing biopic of all time. It may come as a surprise, but Nolan once wanted to make a movie about the life of Howard Hughes. Now, after the success of Oppenheimer, there is more desire than ever for Nolan’s unfinished Hughes biopic to come to fruition finally.

Why does Christopher Nolan want to make a movie about Howard Hughes?

The film plan was inspired by Michael Drosnin’s book Citizen Hughes: The Power, the Money and the Madness. In the early 2000s, Nolan wrote a screenplay about billionaire Howard Hughes, one of the most influential businessmen, aeronautical engineers, movie moguls and pilots of the 20th century. When he originally planned the biopic, Christopher Nolan wanted Jim Carrey to play Howard Hughes. Moreover, he told The AV Club that he’s “the only guy … who can really do what the role calls for.”

In 2007, Nolan told The Daily Beast that the script for the Howard Hughes biopic was the best script he had ever written.

Hughes has been brought to life on the screen several times. But Nolan’s script would have given the historical figure the first large-scale biographical adaptation. Hughes’ life was very complicated and exciting, which fits Nolan’s signature. Exploring Human Errors, Philosophical Problems, and Scientific Minds. Unfortunately, Martin Scorsese preceded Nolan. Because The Aviator was released when Nolan was writing his Howard Hughes biopic. Scorsese’s film tells the true story of Howard Hughes’ career from the 1920s to the 1940s, starring Leonardo DiCaprio. So Nolan would have had difficulty competing with such a similar film.

Oppenheimer shows how good Nolan’s Howard Hughes movie can be

Nolan spoke to The New York Times about how his Hughes script influenced the writing of Oppenheimer. Because it “gave him insight into how to distill a person’s life and how to look at a person’s life thematically.” Oppenheimer’s unique film style, which alternates between the subjective views of the main character and the objective facts of the time, was a huge success. Highlighting how deeply Nolan explored J. Robert Oppenheimer. Hughes was another famously complex leader whose story would benefit from Nolan’s Oppenheimer treatment.

Hughes became known for his eccentric behaviour later in life, and his lifestyle was heavily influenced by mental and physical ailments such as obsessive-compulsive disorder and chronic pain.

Hughes’ exciting and bizarre life was full of dangerous moments. Like, for example, the near-fatal plane crash, which Nolan could raise to the same exciting cinematic level as the atomic bomb in Oppenheimer. But Oppenheimer also proves that Nolan can balance this with the inner human struggle very successfully.

Could Nolan’s Howard Hughes Movie Ever Be Made?

Nolan himself did not indicate that he would shoot the Howard Hughes film, but he did not necessarily rule it out. Hughes’ screenplay was written two decades ago. Hollywood is not averse to rebooting or reimagining characters’ stories. Not even in extremely close succession. However, Nolan himself seems less interested in making a Hughes biopic in the near future.

Nolan told The Daily Beast that he had no idea if he would make the film, as he prefers to focus on one film at a time, which for him will end with the audience.

Since Oppenheimer only recently came out, a Hughes biopic is unlikely to come anytime soon. Additionally, online campaigns have been launched for Nolan to direct the next James Bond film. Because Nolan emphasized how the Bond franchise influenced his own filmography. Making a Hughes biopic right after Oppenheimer may limit its success because of the similarities. So, keeping it in the background might be the right move. Its production may be unlikely, but after Oppenheimer, there is no doubt that Christopher Nolan’s Howard Hughes biopic would still be a huge success.

Source: The Daily Beast, The New York Times, The AV Club