Christopher Nolan has banned Ugg boots from the set of his upcoming film The Odyssey, a decision that has drawn criticism from some fans who label him pretentious.
Nolan's Reasoning
Speaking on CBS Mornings, Nolan explained that actors often wear the boots, which he called "fluffy slippers," between takes because their footwear hurts. He said: "You can be on set where you've got a guy holding a microphone, you've got a giant camera, you've got crew everywhere, but something like that can actually weirdly take you out of reality."
Nolan added: "For me the ugg boots are a signifier of modernity you know. Absurd though that is."
Previous Set Rumors
This is not the first insight into Nolan's set rules. Actress Anne Hathaway previously claimed Nolan does not allow chairs on set, saying "if people are sitting down, they're not working." A representative for Nolan later clarified to Indiewire: "For the record, the only things banned from [Nolan’s] sets are cell phones (not always successfully) and smoking (very successfully)." The representative added that the chairs Hathaway referred to are directors' chairs around video monitors, and that Nolan chooses not to use his but has never banned chairs.
Public Reaction
People online had strong opinions about the Ugg ban. One person said: "So he’s pretentious." Another commented: "He also doesn’t allow actors to sit down. Maybe he’s a genius at controlling his set?" A third wrote: "I mean he can do what he wants in his movies but like….they are actors…GREAT actors….who cares what they wear as long as they get the job done." A fourth defended Nolan, saying: "He’s brilliant. It’s art and he’s the director."
