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Christopher Nolan touched down in Paris on Friday evening to receive an honorary César award at the 49th edition of France’s top film awards.
In attendance with producer and wife Emma Thomas, the Paris trip comes in the final days of the front-running Academy Award campaign for Oppenheimer, which is nominated in 13 categories.
Oscar-winning actress Marion Cotillard, who appeared in Nolan’s Inception and Dark Knight Rises, presented the director with the award.
“The magic of cinema is made by magicians and we have the honor of having the biggest magician of the 7th art with us this evening,” said the actress, also paying tribute to Thomas for enabling Nolan to work in complete creative freedom.
Nolan has a strong following in France. Inception sold 5M tickets there to gross close to $40M, while Dunkirk made around $20m at the box office.
The Oscar-winning director said the country had a special place in his heart as one of the first country’s to show his first film and also get behind his second film Memento.
“No-one in the world wanted to show it but Philippe Hellmann at UGC decided it at the Grand Rex and the success it had there changed my life… ever since I have had a great appreciation for the French audience and distributors.”
He spoke with awe about care the Paris Grand Rex cinema had taken to give Interstellar a 70mm screening, bringing a projector from Normandy and taking out seats to accommodate it.
“When I asked how long it was to run in that format they said it was just for the premiere,” he said, adding that the cinema had also laid on 70mm screenings for Oppenheimer.”
“When I tell them this story in Hollywood to shame them and to encourage this type of respect they don’t believe me,” he said.
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