Memento
ThoughChristopher Nolanis now one of the most popular and celebrated filmmakers in Hollywood , few had see of him when he had his big break withMemento . The innovative thriller is tell in reverse and follows a man named Leonard , who suffer from short - term computer storage departure , trying to find his married woman ’s killer .
The moving picture was small yet made a big splash and showed many mass just how gifted Nolan was as a movie maker . Given the complex story and the miserable - budget approach , it ’s no surprise that there are plentitude of interesting behind - the - scenes stories about the qualification of Christopher Nolan’sMemento .
Conceived On A Road Trip
Coming up with such an interesting and complex estimation is something any filmmaker would desire to attain . As it turn out , the origins ofMementoat the hand of Christopher Nolan and his brother Jonathan Nolan developed during an extended route tripper .
As Jonathan was getting quick to give back to schooltime , he decided to join his brother on a road slip as Christopher moved toLos Angeles , where the film would at last be fix . Early on in the trip , Jonathan mentioned the idea for a story he was thinking of . By the fourth dimension they arrived , they had figured out the absolute majority of the story .
Jonathan’s Short Story
While Christopher Nolan has become a famous director , Jonathan Nolan has built quite an incredible career for himself as well . Along with collaborating with his sidekick on several undertaking , he is also one of the creators of HBO’sWestworld .
The original idea forMementostartedas a unforesightful report by Jonathanbefore he and Christopher turn over it into a film script . Jonathan worked on the curt taradiddle at the same sentence as the script . Though ground on that estimation , Mementois considered an original screenplay since the short story was publish after the picture .
Story In Reverse
Christopher Nolan was fascinated by the idea of a friend who could n’t form memories . However , one of the other roadblock he ran into was figuring out how to allow the audience to understand the protagonist ’s intellect as he navigatesthis noir whodunit .
As he struggled with this idea , he came up with the concept of tell the write up in reverse . This would permit the information that Leonard is miss in his own nous to also be withheld from the audience .
Emma Thomas Got The Movie Moving
Anyonewho follows Nolan ’s filmswill certainly know the name , Emma Thomas . Not only is Thomas a manufacturer on all of Nolan ’s films , but she is also now his wife . Back whenMementowas being written , the two were date stamp but she still had a huge encroachment on actually getting the motion picture made .
After the playscript was written , Nolan read it to Thomas who in twist passed it on to Aaron Ryder , an executive for Newmarket Films . Seeing the film as a unique chef-d’oeuvre , Ryder got the studio behind it .
Casting The Movie
While the flick is told alone from Leonard ’s point of view , there are some very significant characters that help create the report . One of those characters is Natalie , the distaff booster Leonard make during his journey .
After seeingThe Matrix , Nolan resolve Carrie - Ann Moss would be perfect for the role . Next follow the cast of the mysterious Teddy . While Dennis Leary was considered , Moss herself recommended herThe Matrixco - lead Joe Pantoliano . While Nolan was initially hesitant given Pantoliano ’s frequent villain theatrical role , he was won over after satisfy the doer .
Dubbing Joe Pantoliano
It ’s not unusual for a director to make appearance in their films . Alfred Hitchcockwas famous for bug out up in abbreviated cameos in his films . While Nolan has not follow in Hitchcock ’s footstep , his voice can be heard shortly in Memento in a surprising way .
During the scene in which Teddy and Leonard face up each other , Nolan felt that Pantoliano ’s deliverance of a certain line was n’t quite right . When Pantaliano was unavailable for looping the assembly line again , Nolan did his best impression of the actor and looped the line himself .
Stephen Tobolowsky’s Audition
One interesting aspect of the film is the tale of Sammy , a patient who suffered a standardized condition as Leonard . As Leonard recounts Sammy ’s story , we see him in flashbacks play by character actor Stephen Tobolowsky .
When asked about his involvement in the film , Tobolowsky explained how he feel he down the role through his own first - handwriting experience . During his sense of hearing , he told Nolan how , following a surgery , he experienced temporary blackout due to the pain sea wolf he was taking .
Foreshadowing Batman
Mementoended up found Nolan ’s life history in Hollywood . Without its success , it ’s possible that we would never have gotten any of his hugely democratic projects that followed , includingthe wildly successful Batman films . But in a strange coincidence , this cinema hint bode Nolan ’s later success .
Brad Pitt Almost Starred
WhileMementowas a success give the size of the production , it ’s entirely possible that it could have been a much magnanimous success if the original champion remain . After being given the playscript , Brad Pittbecame very concerned in the part of Leonard .
After discussing the part with Nolan , Pitt was forced to ill-use away due to scheduling conflict . Nolan then decide to go for less of an A - tilt name so as to keep the product costs equally pass around . After considering player like Thomas Jane and Aaron Eckhart , he settled on Guy Pearce .
Guy Pearce’s Preparation
Though many of the masses involved in the film find the scriptto be confusing to take , Guy Pearce immediately recognized the excited journey of the character which guided him through the film . He also institute it an interesting challenge to play each scene as an altogether new story since Leonard would not know what came before .
The end of production left a few days for Pearce to take all of his solo scenes in the hotel elbow room . The complex sequence were almost entirely improvise by Pearce .
NEXT : Every Christopher Nolan Film , Ranked By Their Rotten Tomatoes Score
