“Cast and crew can sit wherever” - When Christopher Nolan denied Anne Hathaway’s no chair on set allegation 

In the summer of 2020, amid the already chaotic world, Anne Hathaway, with a seemingly innocent quote, started a whole new internet discussion: Does Nolan really ban chairs on his film sets?

A ‘no’ answer is just as valid. Whatever the answer is, the discourse that emerged from the quote, the viral responses, and the clarification from Nolan’s team created a captivating moment in the film industry. The reasoning behind this is simple: People are extremely intrigued by Nolan.

“Cast and crew can sit wherever and whenever they need and frequently do,” Nolan’s spokesperson Kelly Bush Novak clarified to IndieWire on June 30, 2020 — a direct response to the chair ban rumor.

Let’s go back in time and explore this entire event.

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The quote that launched a thousand tweets

In June 2020, Anne Hathaway, who starred in “Interstellar” and “The Dark Knight Rises,” talked with Variety about Nolan’s efficiency and intensity on set. In the interview, she mentioned his infamous no-chair policy, which purportedly makes sitting on the set while filming off-limits.

“He doesn’t allow chairs, and his reasoning is, if you have chairs, people will sit, and if they’re sitting, they’re not working,” Hathaway told fellow actor Hugh Jackman.

In this case, she clearly attempted to show respect. It’s not as if she had to follow this up with him being able to consistently make “incredible movies... under schedule and under budget.”

But then came the social media firestorm; frenzied takes like the one we just discussed promulgated the idea that Nolan is a lackadaisical tyrant, even ableist, completely disregarding different perspectives on the claim.

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Nolan’s camp shuts down the rumor

One day after Hathaway’s dialogue started going viral, Nolan’s team set the record straight.

In a statement given to IndieWire, Nolan’s longtime press representative provided great context that blames the mix-up on the director’s chairs, usually found located in a jumbled mass around the video monitors.

“Chris chooses not to use his but has never banned chairs from the set,” Novak said. “The only things banned from his sets are cell phones (not always successfully) and smoking (very successfully).”

The explanation was crystal clear, which did not allow for additional theories. Even so, the instant was striking, contributing to Nolan’s circling lore of an unorthodox approach to directing and a fiercely pragmatic creative space.

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Industry voices speak out

Shortly after the explanation, others who had either worked on or visited Nolan’s sets came in to substantiate the claim.

Aaron Stewart-Ahn, co-writer of Mandy and an extra on The Dark Knight Rises, tweeted that there were ‘plenty of chairs and tables in our staging area.’

Journalists such as Jeff Jensen and Gregory Ellwood, who attended the sets of The Dark Knight Rises and Interstellar, confirmed through social platforms that chairs were indeed available.

Nolan’s logic has been regarded as “perplexing” as even a single claim has the power to put one’s reasoning skills in a tight spot. By early July, the “chair ban” had been hugely contradicted, though the rumor still existed due to Nolan’s unusual image.

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Not a chair ban, but definitely a burner phone

Even though the chair myth was debunked, leaning into some of his more peculiar practices certainly did not help Nolan’s “auteur mystique” image.”

During a 2024 appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, he confessed to using a “dumb phone” for calls and text messages, relying on no email or smartphone.

“I was inspired by The Wire, definitely,” he told Colbert, admitting he even breaks the phone apart “Jason Bourne-style” when he’s done. (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Feb. 8, 2024)

Furthermore, the host addressed the “No Uggs” scandal, and Nolan admitted to it being accurate, not for reasons of comfort, but because of preserving focus on set.

“They can be [distracting] for the other actors,” Nolan said. “You’re asking the actor to focus in on the reality… anything we can do to keep that reality, to keep that bubble intact.” (The Late Show, 2024)

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A glimpse behind the curtain

In hindsight, the chair scandal of 2020 may seem inconsequential, but it provided insight into the public's intrigue regarding Nolan's directorial style.

He is the sort of director who uses red and black ink on scripts to stop them from being photocopied, demands in-person readings of the scripts by the actors, and is devoted to focusing on the set is practically ascetic. But how about the allegation that he did not permit his team to sit down at any point?

“Cast and crew can sit wherever and whenever they need and frequently do.” (IndieWire, 2020)

There is always an explanation — it is simplicity that tends to overshoot complexity.