‘NOLAN AND I HAVE GONE OUR SEPERATE WAYS’

Academy Award winner Wally Pfister tells us why he won’t work with Christopher Nolan as a choreographer again

You went from being a news cameraperson to a cinematographer and then took up direction. Was it a planned move?

It was sort of planned. I had done everything I wanted to do as a cinematographer and was looking to reach new goals. I was developing a passion for storytelling and wanted to try something new.

You are known to prefer films over going digital. Transcendence (2014) also questioned the use of technology. Is this why you chose it for your directorial debut?

Yes, I did get attracted to the script because it was a cautionary tale about technology. It was important to say technology is only as good as the people controlling it.

You worked with stalwarts like Morgan Freeman and Johnny Depp in Transcendence, which makes its Indian television premiere on July 26 on Sony PIX.

Although Hollywood director Wally Pfister’s (right) journey as a cinematographer was great with films such as Moneyball (2011) and the Batman trilogy, he yearned for a greater challenge, especially after he bagged an Oscar for Inception (2010). In a telephonic interview, he shares that he turned to direction because he was looking for new challenges. I was very fortunate to be able to have actors of that calibre in my first directorial project. To find a good story and then find the involvement of such people was a very lucky position for me to be in.

Now that you’ve become a director, will you team up with Christopher Nolan (director of Inception) as a cinematographer?

Probably not. We’ve gone our separate ways. He has a fantastic cinematographer working for him now. I’ve stopped shooting films for directors and I’m working on my own projects. I’ll not go back ... but you never know!

Do you miss the times when you and Nolan worked together?

I’m always nostalgic about those days. It’s an enormous part of my career. But once something occurs in your life and you move on, then you don’t look back. You just keep going; you appreciate it as part of your history and background.

Nolan has a great cinematographer working for him now and I’ve stopped shooting films for directors

Wally Pfister, director