“If you ain’t first, you’re last.”
Christopher Nolan may be lighting up cinemas across the globe with his smash hit drama ‘Oppenheimer’, but according to a recent interview he prefers movies of a totally different nature.
The iconic director, who is currently duking it out with Greta Gerwig’s ‘Barbie’ for top spot at the Box Office, is known for drawing upon various influences in his work, but I don’t think many people would have anticipated one in particular: ‘Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby’.
Speaking to Rich Eisen, of the Emmy-nominated Rich Eisen Show, Nolan was asked to name his “remote drop” movie – that one movie you will always watch, without fail, if you see it on television.
“I didn’t know ‘remote drop’ as a phrase, but that’s a good one,” quipped Nolan. “I love it.”
The British-American director began by singing the praises of another iconic film maker, Stanley Kubrick.
“There are so many. I flick around and if there’s an old movie, oh God, I mean anything by Kubrick is an instant remote drop.”
Although Nolan paying homage to one of the most critically acclaimed directors of all time didn’t come as a huge surprise to fans, his next answer knocked people off their chairs.
“Some of the great comedies too. I mean, Talladega Nights, wow, I’m never going to be able to switch that off.”
“Really?” Eisner responded, while visibly struggling to keep a straight face. “The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is Christopher Nolan’s ‘remote drop’ movie?”
Nolan, quite brilliantly, responded with just one sentence: “If you ain’t first, you’re last.”
The whole studio erupted into laughter at his answer, which is probably the most famous quote from Will Ferrell’s character in the movie.
“You’re not wrong, Christopher. You’re not wrong. I mean, that’s fantastic, I’m just… Does Will Ferrell know this? Did you just reveal that?”
“He does now,” replied Nolan, bringing an end to the interview.
