Clubhouse Conversations — Oppenheimer

In this episode, cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema, ASC, FSF, NSC is joined by interviewer Alice Brooks, ASC to discuss his work on Oppenheimer — the biographical epic from writer-director Christopher Nolan that examines the professional and personal lives of the "father of the atomic bomb," J. Robert Oppenheimer.

Oppenheimer follows the eponymous theoretical physicist (played by Cillian Murphy) from his early 20s as an anxious doctoral student; to his leading of the Manhattan Project to develop an atomic bomb in the late 1930s; to his public battle with United States Atomic Energy Commission chairman Lewis Strauss (Robert Downey Jr.), who leads the charge to revoke Oppenheimer's security clearance amidst the Red Scare of the '50s.

In this interview, van Hoytema discusses his “musical” approach to cinematography; the challenges of using large and loud Imax cameras to capture close-ups; his work with 65mm black-and-white film stock; the filmmaking tools he and his crew make in their private metal workshop, and more.

Hoyte Van Hoytema, ASC graduated from the Łódź Film School in Poland, where, soon after, he started out in filmmaking by shooting documentaries. His storied career as a cinematographer includes such acclaimed features as Let the Right One In (2008), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), Her (2013), Interstellar (2014), Spectre (2015) and Ad Astra (2019).

Alice Brooks, ASC is a cinematographer whose credits include the features Tick, Tick... Boom! (2021), In the Heights (2021), and Queen Bees (2021).

You’ll find all episodes in our ASC Clubhouse Conversations discussion series here.