“Chris chooses not to use his, but he has never banned chairs from the set,” a spokesperson told IndieWire.
Franck Robichon / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock
Christopher Nolan does not ban chairs from his movie sets, a spokesman for the director has confirmed to IndieWire. Social media buzzed over an alleged chair ban on Nolan’s sets exploded on June 29 after Variety posted a “Actors in Actors” video interview between Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman in which the former congratulated the decision of Nolan for not allowing chairs on set. Hathaway has appeared in Nolan’s blockbusters “The Dark Knight Rises” and “Interstellar”.
“For the record, the only prohibited things [Christopher Nolan’s] games are cell phones (not always successfully) and smoking (very successfully), ”Nolan spokeswoman Kelly Bush Novak of ID said in a statement. “The chairs Anne was referring to are the directors’ chairs grouped around the video monitor, assigned based on hierarchy rather than physical need. Chris chooses not to use hers, but has never banned chairs from the set. The cast and crew can sit where and when they need to and often do. “
Hathaway said in his interview that Nolan “does not allow chairs, and his reasoning is that if he has chairs, people will sit, and if they are sitting they will not be working.” The Oscar-winning actress added: “I mean, he has these amazing films in terms of scope and ambition, technical prowess, and excitement. It always comes to the end on schedule and on budget. I think he’s got something on the chair.
The interview prompted several film critics and journalists to speak out against an alleged “no chairs on set” rule. The reaction prompted acting extras from Nolan’s films, such as “Mandy” co-writer Aaron Stewart-Ahn, to show up and say there is no ban on chairs. Stewart-Ahn wrote on Twitter that “we had a lot of chairs and tables in our prep area” in “The Dark Knight Rises”. Journalists Jeff Jensen and Gregory Ellwood also turned to social media to say that there were plenty of chairs when they visited the set of the comic book movie. Jensen also visited the “interstellar” set and said there were chairs.
Next up for Nolan is “Tenet,” a spy epic starring John David Washington and Robert Pattinson that Warner Bros. will release in theaters on August 12.
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