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Christopher Nolan runs a strict set and there were a few modern pleasures he denied his cast while filming the big-screen adaptation of Homer's The Odyssey.
Anne Hathaway has revealed on Royal Court that the 55-year-old director does not allow anyone to wear UGG boots, use cell phones or even sit in chairs - in order to 'create a bubble of alternate reality.'
Nolan, who doesn't have a smartphone or email address, is also said to ban smoking and water bottles and Robert Pattinson shared that he made the cast of The Odyssey hike 45 minutes to base camp while clad in sandals.
Speaking on CBS Mornings on Monday, the British filmmaker who won Oscars for best director and best picture for Oppenheimer explained and defended his approach.
Nolan reveals unusual on-set distractions
'The funny thing is you can be on set where you've got, you know, a guy holding a microphone. You've got a giant camera, you've got crew everywhere, but something like [UGGs] can actually weirdly take you out of the reality,' he said.
He went on: 'And for me, I think that's always been something where, you know, it's like if someone's eating a bag of chips off camera or something, you know, there are certain things that just remind you. You want to stay in the moment. You're in the real world as opposed to the world we're trying to create for the actors. I want to stay in the moment.'
As for making the cast hike up a mountain to start filming, Nolan didn't deny it.
'When [Pattinson] started on the film, we were shooting at the top of a mountain a thousand feet in the air and we hadn't been able to get any kind of road built up or anything,' he explained. 'But yeah, we're starting with this tremendous hike and then absolutely exhausted you [before starting] your day's work.'
Nolan enlisted his family for the film
The Daily Mail has reached out to the millionaire filmmaker's rep for comment, but did not immediately hear back.
The Odyssey was filmed in six countries and used over 2 million feet of IMAX 70mm film. Because the format was so large, it was only possible to shoot three-minute takes at a time.
The three-hour epic was truly a family affair for Nolan, who enlisted his wife Emma to produce, their 25-year-old son Rory to assist the art department, their 25-year-old daughter Flora to work as a costume assistant and their 18-year-old son Magnus to work as a PA.
The Odyssey has already earned back its $250 million budget in its first five days in theaters with a global total of $282 million.
The Odyssey earns stellar reviews
The Universal Pictures epic has a 'certified fresh' 94 percent critic approval rating (out of 421 reviews) and an even higher 97 percent audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Matt Damon, who stars as the story's protagonist, the Greek King Odysseus, told People this week about how he heard he got the job given Nolan has no cell phone or email address.
He said Nolan's wife and producer Emma Thomas 'had texted me, "Are you around for a call today?" Because Chris famously doesn't have a phone.'
'And then you get a phone call from a nondescript number, because he’s just picking up a line at Universal Studios.'
The ensemble cast also includes Zendaya, Tom Holland, Charlize Theron, Lupita Nyong'o, Jon Bernthal, John Leguizamo, Mia Goth, Elliot Page and Samantha Morton.
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