Christopher Nolan is a man who enjoys great cinema, which tracks, because he himself has produced some of the greatest films to ever grace the silver screen. Most of his features can be a bit dark and emotionally heavy, as Memento, The Dark Knight and Dunkirk exemplify that. Still, that doesn’t mean the acclaimed filmmaker behind some of the best movies of the 2000s doesn’t enjoy his share of light-hearted fare. As a matter of fact, he revealed that a beloved comedy is one of his favorite “remote drop” movies. And you may not believe this, the flick that he can never turn off is a classic entry from Will Ferrell’s filmography.
The director was on The Rich Eisen Show (where he tapped in by phone), when the titular host asked him about the movies he can’t help but stop and watch whenever he’s channel surfing. Christopher Nolan may not have been aware of the phrase “remote drop” before Eisen muttered it, but he seemed to be totally game for the idea. As you’d imagine, he’s an admirer of vintage films, and name-dropped the great Stanley Kubrick while responding. But fans may be more shocked by the fact that he’s an admirer of a Will Ferrell-headed sports flick:
There are so many. I mean, I flick around, you know, and if there’s an old movie, playing… Anything by Kubrick [is] a remote drop. But some of the great comedies, too. I mean, Talladega Nights – I’m never going to be able to switch that off.
That’s right, folks. The Interstellar director is a fan of 2006’s Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. That detail alone is cool enough, but the icing on the cake is that he even quoted the film during his appearance on the talk show. When Rich Eisen double-checked him on his fandom, the British director simply said, “If you ain’t first, you’re last.” That line – which was first uttered by the father of the comedy’s titular character – has become incredibly popular amongst fans, and I never thought I’d hear the Tenet helmer say it. But I’m so glad to be surprised.
Talladega Nights marked the second big-screen collaboration between Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, who wrote the screenplay together. The film centers on successful and arrogant race car driver Ricky Bobby, whose career is turned upside down after a skilled Formula 1 driver hits NASCAR and upstages him. The film features a strong ensemble that sees Ferrell joined by John C. Reilly, Sacha Baron Cohen, Leslie Bibb, the late Michael Clarke Duncan, Jane Lynch, Gary Cole and Amy Adams, who reteamed with McKay for Vice years later. The movie proved to be a box-office success and earned positive reviews from critics at the time. Check out classic, chuckle-worthy trailer below:
For some time, fans were hoping for a follow-up movie that featured the further adventures of Ricky Bobby. Plans never materialized, but there was, at the very least, an idea for the plot. A few years ago, CinemaBlend caught up with McKay, who revealed that the story could’ve seen Bobby make his way to Europe to become a Formula 1 driver. The director acknowledged that there were plenty of potential ideas but at the time, said he planned to “stick with original [movies]” for a while.
Christopher Nolan may actually agree with that last sentiment. Aside from the Dark Knight trilogy, he’s mostly aimed to tell self-contained, one-off stories. In doing so, he’s crafted some jaw-dropping films, and his most recent is Oppenheimer, which received strong reviews and is making serious money at the box office. It’s probably safe to assume that Nolan doesn’t have any plans to do a screwball comedy of his own, based on his body of work. That’s totally fine with me, as I’m more than content with the simple fact that he enjoys a quality comedy like Talladega Nights. Here’s hoping that he, at some point, releases a ranking of his favorite laugh-inducing flicks.
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is available to rent if you have a Prime Video subscription handy. You can also see Oppenheimer in theaters now alongside other titles on the schedule of 2023 new movie releases.
