When Christopher Nolan calls, Hollywood appears to see Snake. This underlines the huge array of stars of “Oppenheimer”. In addition to Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr., Emily Blunt and Matt Damon, other prominent stars appear in rows. Important supporting characters include Florence Pugh, Dane DeHaan, Josh Hartnett and Benny Safdie (see photo). Casey Affleck, Rami Malek and Matthias Schweighöfer, among others, only appear in a few tiny scenes.
Despite this, Nolan managed to make Oppenheimer for just $100 million – and thus considerably cheaper than some of his earlier films, such as “Tenet” ($ 200 million) or “The Dark Knight Rises” ($ 250 million). How did it go? This was possible, among other things, because many stars handed in a lot of money.
For Nolan, Robert Downey Jr. only a fraction of his usual salary
Naturally, Malek and Co. not as much as they normally charge for their mini gigs and only shoot for a few days. But even the stars, who were almost always on set, made huge compromises. This is reported by the industry magazine so silver plated Emily Bot And Matt Damon “only” four million dollars each – though otherwise they won’t charge less than $10 million (and sometimes considerably more) for comparable offers.
This is especially evident in Robert Downey Jr. He plays the second leading role after Cillian Murphy. Since his successes as Iron Man at Marvel, he has become one of the most expensive stars in Hollywood, claiming $20 million. But for the chance to finally work with Christopher Nolan, he stepped down and also asked only four million dollars. The trio alone probably cut “Oppenheimer’s” budget by $30 to $40 million by moving away from the usual salary demands.
Incidentally, Cillian Murphy is said to have received $ 5 million (earlier reports of a salary of $ 10 million are said to be false). Apparently Nolan thought it was important that his protagonist, who also has to take on the biggest work, gets the highest salary.
Even Matt Damon’s wife had to make an exception for Christopher Nolan
A special story about Matt Damon shows how much it seems like a dream for many stars to be able to work with Nolan. The actor, who is also very busy as a producer, was desperate for some time off. This he had long promised his wife. After filming Air and the upcoming movie Drive-Away Dolls, it should be time. In the joint couples therapy it was agreed that Damon would not take on any more roles for the time being – but he made an exception in the agreement: If Christopher Nolan called, he could accept. Because since 2014’s “Interstellar” he wanted to work with Nolan again.
Little did he know at the time that Nolan was preparing Oppenheimer and had a role for Damon in mind. Shortly after the deal, the phone rang… and the ‘Good Will Hunting’ star had to reassure his wife that their time together isn’t going to work out, as he’s going to be spending some time in the New Mexico desert. In the meantime, however, Damon has taken the break and only interrupted it for the promotional tour for “Oppenheimer”.
Enthusiasm, but also criticism of the star show “Oppenheimer” in the podcast
If you want to learn more about “Oppenheimer”, we also recommend our on-screen podcast love.
In the current episode we talk about Christopher Nolan’s drama about the inventor of the atomic bomb. The huge star show that is running is also discussed. Is it perhaps also a bit distracting and distracting? Despite all the enthusiasm about the actions of those involved, the opinion is certainly expressed. And we even clearly criticize a star performance.