Discover the secrets of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer with this exclusive behind-the-scenes look at 2023’s most anticipated film.Written and directed by Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer is an IMAX-shot epic thriller that thrusts audiences into the pulse-pounding paradox of the enigmatic man who must risk destroying the world in order to save it. The film is produced by Emma Thomas, Charles Roven, and Nolan.
The film stars Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer and Emily Blunt as Katherine “Kitty” Oppenheimer. Oscar winner Matt Damon portrays General Leslie Groves Jr. and Robert Downey Jr. plays Lewis Strauss.
Unleashing Oppenheimer [Insight Editions; October 10th] traces the creation of Nolan’s latest film from script to screen through exclusive interviews with the director and his cast and crew, plus electrifying visuals from the film including on-set photos, concept art, research materials, and storyboards. This book includes an all-access account of the creation of the film with interviews with key players, including Christopher Nolan himself.
Notably, the book was written by Jada Yuan of the Washington Post’s features desk. Jada has a special connection to the film’s history. She comes from a long line of nuclear physicists and her father, Vincent Yuan, still works at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Her grandmother, Chien-Shiung Wu, was a student of Oppenheimer’s and worked on the Manhattan Project from Columbia University. In 2021, Dr. Wu was featured on a U.S. Forever Stamp for her pioneering work in nuclear physics.
The Los Alamos set at Ghost Ranch that Ruth De Jong’s team built from scratch, telephone poles included. (Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures)
Nolan adjusts Murphy’s hat to achieve the precise Oppenheimer look. (Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures)
Murphy and Blunt film an emotional moment on the 1940s set at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico.(Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures)
“Oppenheimer’s” reproduction of the main Los Alamos security gate on the Ghost Ranch set. It’s identical to the reproduction that stands at the top of the cliff road just outside modern day Los Alamos. (Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures)
Christopher Nolan directs Murphy and Blunt at Oppenheimer’s real home on Bathtub Row. (Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures)
The foamcore “white model” of the Los Alamos set at Ghost Ranch that Nolan and De Jong created. (Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures)
Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer and Emily Blunt as his wife, Kitty, on set for the film ‘Oppenheimer’ in New Mexico. (Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures)
