Christopher Nolan says his Peloton instructor slammed his movie while he was 'dying' mid-workout — and someone found the video
- Christopher Nolan got a surprise critique while working out.
- The director said that the instructor brought up his movie during a virtual Peloton class.
While accepting his best director award from the New York Film Critics Circle on Wednesday night, Christopher Nolan gave an example of how opinions about his movies are everywhere.
While onstage, Nolan said that he appreciates the craft of directing even though directors have a "complex emotional relationship with critics and criticism."
However, he'd rather hear these takes from a film critic rather than someone outside the profession. For instance, he was confronted with unexpected criticism during a Peloton workout.
During a virtual class, he said his instructor started going off about one of his movies.
"I was on my Peloton. I'm dying. And the instructor started talking about one of my films and said, 'Did anyone see this? That's a couple hours of my life I'll never get back again!'" Nolan told the room full of critics at the event, according to Variety. "When [film critic] Rex Reed takes a shit on your film he doesn't ask you to work out!"
"In today's world, where opinions are everywhere, there is a sort of idea that film criticism is being democratized, but I for one think the critical appreciation of films shouldn't be an instinct but it should be a profession," he continued.
Nolan did not disclose which movie it was that received the backlash from his workout instructor, but journalist Samantha Cole found the clip, which revealed the film to be 2020's "Tenet."
Cole also reported for 404 Media that the instructor is Jenn Sherman and the critique was delivered on December 28, 2020, during a 30-minute "intervals and arms" class.
"This song is from the soundtrack of a movie called 'Tenet.' Anybody see this shit? Did anyone see this besides me? 'Cause I need a manual. Someone's got to explain this," Sherman says in the video. "Yeah, I'm not kidding. What the fuck was going on in that movie? Do you understand? Seriously, you need to be a neuroscientist to understand. That's two and a half hours of my life that I want back. I want it back."
Nolan's latest movie "Oppenheimer" is a frontrunner this awards season. The movie has been nominated for eight Golden Globes, including best motion picture — drama, and best director.