Christopher Nolan reflects on ‘Oppenheimer’ cast London premiere walkout

Christopher Nolan talked about the “bittersweet” moment when the entire cast of the latest blockbuster Oppenheimer walked out of film’s London premiere in support of ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike.

During an appearance on Today show, the acclaimed filmmaker seemed to be satisfied with the lead stars of the film, including Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon and Florence Pugh, for doing what was right.

“It was a bittersweet moment,” the Oscar-nominated filmmaker said of the stars’ walkout, adding, “We were all there. We were very fortunate.”

“We had the opportunity to somewhat celebrate the film and the actors were all there to support, but then when the time came had to down tools and go off in support of all of their fellow actors and then support the writers as well,” he added.

He went on to add that the strike marked “an important moment in the industry,” adding, “the business models have been rewritten by the companies we work for, and it's time to rewrite the deals.”

“Hopefully, with everybody unified, that can happen quickly as possible,” Nolan added.

After the entire cast left the premiere to “go and write their picket signs,” Nolan addressed the cinemagoers, saying, “You've seen them here earlier on the red carpet.”

“Unfortunately, they're off to write their picket signs for what we believe to be an imminent strike by SAG, joining one of my guilds, the Writers Guild, in the struggle for fair wages for working members of the unions, and we support them,” he added.