Jonathan Ross has described Christopher Nolan's 2023 biographical thriller Oppenheimer as 'one of the most boring movies' and 'one of the dullest experiences' he has ever had at the cinema. Despite recently interviewing Nolan, the broadcaster insisted: 'I'm not part of the cult of Christopher Nolan.'
Ross criticises Nolan's writing
'I do enjoy some of his movies, but I thought Oppenheimer was one of the most boring movies, one of the dullest experiences I've ever had at the cinema,' Jonathan laughed. 'The final third of that movie… I was begging for release.'
He acknowledged Nolan's filmmaking skill as 'beyond doubt and unquestionable', but added: 'I do think, as a writer, I find him wanting sometimes. And that was possibly my problem with The Odyssey as well.'
Ross's love for film music
Ross, a lover of cult films, shared his passion for Nolan's Hans Zimmer scores but could not choose between Zimmer and John Williams as a favourite composer. 'I wouldn't want to never be able to hear the Harry Potter score again, or Star Wars, or Superman,' he said. 'But some of Zimmer's more interesting stuff, like his score for True Romance, The Thin Red Line, they were amazing.'
He also praised the Interstellar and Inception scores as 'extraordinarily good'.
Reflections on cinema and reality TV
Reflecting on his youth, Ross recalled a time when 'the world was such a different place' and there were no VHS players. He said he does not believe the current era is a golden age of cinema, noting the variety of films he saw in the 1970s including 'big hitters' like The Exorcist and Star Wars alongside obscure double bills.
Ross also discussed his appearance on The Celebrity Traitors, where he was hailed as 'one of the greatest Traitors'. He said he still speaks to the cast and has given advice to new contestants including Michael Sheen, Romesh Ranganathan, Rob Beckett and Maya Jama.
