NEWS
Christopher Nolan blew up real Boeing 747 plane for Tenet scene
27 May 2020
Christopher Nolan bought an old Boeing 747 plane to blow up for a key scene in Tenet because it was more efficient than using special effects.
The Inception director discussed details about the "time inversion" thriller in an interview with Total Film magazine, and revealed that he scrapped plans to use computer-generated imagery (CGI) for one scene after stumbling across a huge collection of old planes while scouting for locations in California.
"I planned to do it using miniatures and set-piece builds and a combination of visual effects and all the rest," Nolan explained. "However, while scouting for locations in Victorville, California, the team discovered a massive array of old planes."
The 49-year-old filmmaker joked that it was an "impulse buy", but proved to be just as efficient as using special effects.
"(It was) actually be more efficient to buy a real plane of the real size, and perform this sequence for real in-camera, rather than build miniatures or go the CG route," Nolan shared.
"It's a strange thing to talk about - a kind of impulse buying, I suppose," he continued. "But we kind of did, and it worked very well, with Scott Fisher, our special effects supervisor, and Nathan Crowley, the production designer, figuring out how to pull off this big sequence in-camera... It was a very exciting thing to be a part of."
A snippet showing the plane crashing into a building appeared in the film's new trailer, which was released last week.
When asked about the stunt in an interview with Cinemablend, star John David Washington said: "That was a real plane, and that was a real building that they crashed that plane into. And we, cast and crew, all witnessed it. It was epic! It was incredible, we all cheered and hurrayed and hurrahed when they yelled cut after Chris felt like he got it."
Tenet, also starring Robert Pattinson and Elizabeth Debicki, is due for release on 17 July.
The Inception director discussed details about the "time inversion" thriller in an interview with Total Film magazine, and revealed that he scrapped plans to use computer-generated imagery (CGI) for one scene after stumbling across a huge collection of old planes while scouting for locations in California.
"I planned to do it using miniatures and set-piece builds and a combination of visual effects and all the rest," Nolan explained. "However, while scouting for locations in Victorville, California, the team discovered a massive array of old planes."
The 49-year-old filmmaker joked that it was an "impulse buy", but proved to be just as efficient as using special effects.
"(It was) actually be more efficient to buy a real plane of the real size, and perform this sequence for real in-camera, rather than build miniatures or go the CG route," Nolan shared.
"It's a strange thing to talk about - a kind of impulse buying, I suppose," he continued. "But we kind of did, and it worked very well, with Scott Fisher, our special effects supervisor, and Nathan Crowley, the production designer, figuring out how to pull off this big sequence in-camera... It was a very exciting thing to be a part of."
A snippet showing the plane crashing into a building appeared in the film's new trailer, which was released last week.
When asked about the stunt in an interview with Cinemablend, star John David Washington said: "That was a real plane, and that was a real building that they crashed that plane into. And we, cast and crew, all witnessed it. It was epic! It was incredible, we all cheered and hurrayed and hurrahed when they yelled cut after Chris felt like he got it."
Tenet, also starring Robert Pattinson and Elizabeth Debicki, is due for release on 17 July.
