UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was the surprise warm-up act at a prestigious film industry event in London on Wednesday night that saw Oppenheimer director — and BAFTA and Oscar front runner — Christopher Nolan receive the British Film Institute Fellowship Award for his outstanding contribution to cinema.
The premier hailed Nolan — whose credits also include the Dark Knight trilogy, Inception and Dunkirk — as “undoubtedly one of our preeminent filmmakers.”
However, before doing so, he delivered quips with an aplomb that had guests seated in the ballroom of London’s Rosewood Hotel in stitches.
“Politics is showbusiness for ugly people,” Sunak declared. The room liked that one, even though the line’s a golden oldie.
“So, I was pleasantly surprised,” he continued, “when I was recently mistaken for Timothée Chalamet.”
Then with a well-timed pause, he added, “At least, I think that’s why they were shouting ‘Wonka’ at me.”
The room welcomed that ‘zinger’ with a peal of wicked laughter.
Addressing the “luminaries” of British film and TV, including Tom Hiddleston and Kenneth Branagh, Sunak set in motion a nice swipe at Boris Johnson, his former boss.
“Tom Hiddleston… who played Loki the lord of mischief and chaos, and Kenneth Branagh, who played a very similar role [in This England] last year as Boris Johnson.”
He was also excited, he said, to meet with Bond franchise producer Barbara Broccoli. “Barbara, I hear you might be casting for a special vacancy. Wise politicians always keep their options open. So I just wanted to say, if you’re looking for someone with conflict experience, a strong track record of handling evil villains, or indeed someone who is comfortable with the risk of being replaced in a few years, then I’m your man.”
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 14: Barbara Broccoli,Tom Hiddleston and Actress Zawe Ashton attend the BFI Chairman’s dinner where Christopher Nolan was awarded a BFI Fellowship at The Rosewood Hotel on February 14, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Dave Benett/Getty Images for BFI)
“I’ve left my CV under your chair with a VHS of my showreels. There’s News at Ten, Newsnight, and of course, the 1988 Southampton Nuffield Theatre’s Christmas production of A Christmas Carol featuring my seminal performance as one of the Cratchit children, which was clearly colorblind casting ahead of its time.”
Who knew?
Sunak’s certainly never that funny when he’s in the House of Commons. Quite a few of the guests wondered if they could sign up Sunak’s gag writer. Broccoli was politely non-committal about his chances of becoming the next James Bond.
And, “no”, she said, “there’s nothing I can tell you about the next Bond film. There’s nothing. Nothing is happening yet.”
I nodded towards director Denis Villeneuve, in town for the world premiere Thursday of his exciting Dune: Part Two, who was seated with Dune producer and documentarian Tanya Lapointe at Broccoli’s table, and when I asked if she’d discussed the next Bond with him, she avoided the question. “I must go and say goodnight to the Prime Minister,” she uttered.
Denis Villeneuve and Tanya Lapointe. Photo: Baz Bamigboye/Deadline.
However, Villeneuve wouldn’t rule it out. In fact he rhapsodized about it. Bond “is a figure linked with my childhood. A charismatic figure I have adored through the years. A character that you can put a lot of your shadows into, a very interesting character,” he told me.
Night belongs to Nolan
But the night belonged to Nolan, a man full of grace. Loves his cuppa tea too.
BFI boss Ben Roberts praised Nolan’s list of movies and for passionately advocating for film preservation.
Then, outgoing chair Tim Richards lauded Nolan as “one of the greatest filmmakers of the 21st century.”
Nolan’s frequent collaborator Cillian Murphy, star of Oppenheimer, subsequently presented his friend with the BFI Fellowship award.
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 14: (L to R) Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Chair of Universal Pictures Donna Langley attend the BFI Chairman’s dinner. (Photo by Dave Benett/Getty Images for BFI)
It was a deeply touching moment. Nolan’s comments afterwards were, too. There was a particularly heartfelt instant when he noted that “there are some really amazing and eminent producers here tonight,” and he hoped they wouldn’t mind indulging “me for just explaining for a minute why Emma Thomas,” his wife and producer of his movies, “is so much better than all of you.”
Nolan also took time to salute Michael Caine with whom he has worked on eight pictures.
Cillian Murphy, Michael Caine and Christopher Nolan. Photo: Baz Bamigboye/Deadline.
The director recalled that the actor, now aged 90, had told him, ”Okay enough is enough” and with Oppenheimer “I had to go off on my own. So, okay, I haven’t got Michael Caine, I’d better get Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Kenneth Branagh, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Josh Hartnett, Cillian Murphy, Tom Conti, and hoped that all those greats would add up to one Michael Caine.”
Alongside Roberts and Richards, guests included NBCUniversal Studio Group Chair and Chief Content Officer Dame Donna Langley, Branagh, Thomas, Caine, Conti, Hartnett, Hans Zimmer, Jennifer Lame, Hoyte van Hoytema, Broccoli, Hiddleston, Zawe Ashton, Michelle Dockery, Gurinder Chadha, Misan Harriman, Molly Manning Walker, Stephen and Timothy Quay and incoming BFI chair Jay Hunt; as well as Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer and Chair of the Culture Select Committee Caroline Dinenage.
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 14: Chair of the BFI Tim Richards attends the BFI Chairman’s dinner where Christopher Nolan was awarded a BFI Fellowship. (Photo by Dave Benett/Getty Images for BFI)
Alan Yentob, Tim Rice, Caroline Michel and Theo Barrowclough, who produced Charlotte Regan’s Scrapper, were also knocking around.
Nolan joins the distinguished ranks of other BFI Fellows including film giants David Lean, Bette Davis, Akira Kurosawa, Ousmane Sembène, Elizabeth Taylor, Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, Orson Welles, Thelma Schoonmaker, Derek Jarman, Martin Scorsese, Satyajit Ray, Yasujirō Ozu and, most recently, Tilda Swinton, Barbara Broccoli, Michael G Wilson and Spike Lee.