Christopher Nolan to Receive Honorary Cesar

Oppenheimer director Christopher Nolan is set to receive an honorary Cesar, France’s top film prize, at this year’s Cesar Awards, the French Academy said on Friday.

The Academy of Cinema Arts and Techniques and CANAL+ said the British director will receive the career tribute at the 49th César ceremony on Feb. 23. Nolan will be feted as France’s top film honors are handed out in Paris.

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“Christopher Nolan is a master director, capable of redefining the boundaries of cinematic excellence and transporting us beyond the boundaries of space and time. He transcends cinema to make it an unforgettable experience,” the French Academy said in statement.

Nolan and the box office success of Oppenheimer — the director’s biopic about the father of the A-bomb — and the movie’s ascent during the awards season leading to the Oscars has helped create a banner year in Hollywood as filmgoers return to the local multiplex as the pandemic ebbs.

The drama about J. Robert Oppenheimer, the so-called father of the nuclear bomb and played by longtime Nolan collaborator Cillian Murphy, also has Emily Blunt portraying his wife and a troupe of other A-listers like Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Matt Damon and Josh Hartnett filling out the rest of the cast.

Oppenheimer has gone on to gross $952 million, which along with the success of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, has fueled hope for the success of the global movie industry after other challenges like the dual Hollywood strikes.

Besides Oppenheimer, Nolan’s career has included box office success with movies like Memento, Insomnia, The Dark Knight trilogy, The Prestige, Inception, Interstellar, Dunkirk and Tenet.

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