Christoper Nolan’s brother was accused of being an assassin who called himself Oppenheimer
And Roald Dahl museum cops to his racism
What to know
Christoper Nolan’s brother was accused of being an assassin who called himself Oppenheimer… Wait, what?! According to Newsweek, back in the late 2000s. Christopher Nolan’s older brother Matthew was accused of murder in Costa Rica. Authorities in the South American country claimed in 2005 that Nolan was hired by Luis Alonso Douglas Mejia to kidnap and kill American accountant Robert Cohen. Nolan allegedly used the alias Matthew McCall-Oppenheimer at the time. A 2010 article in the UK paper The Times suggested Nolan chose the alias
to connect himself to the “immensely wealthy Oppenheimer diamond family,” who are not related to J. Robert Oppenheimer. In 2009, Nolan was arrested by the FBI in Chicago and was formally charged by Costa Rica — but a U.S. judge didn’t see enough evidence to extradite him. So he was never convicted, but while being held in jail in Chicago, Nolan tried to escape and for that was sentenced to 14 months in prison. He was released after serving his time and his current whereabouts are unknown. You learn something new every day. 😱
Roald Dahl Museum says author’s “racism is undeniable and indelible”… It’s no secret that Dahl held anti-Semitic views, and this new statement from the museum—that will be displayed outside its entrance in the U.K.—is an interesting approach to acknowledging what makes him problematic. On comedian Pete Holmes’ podcast, he uses the phrase “scandal noted” when discussing disgraced famous figures, as an acknowledgment of their misdeeds. That’s kind of like what the museum is doing here. There’s great debate around separating art from artist, and in my opinion throwing out all of an artist’s work seems extreme. It’s up to the individual to decide how they want to engage with an artist who did or said bad things. I believe the museum has found a good middle ground here, but am sure others will disagree. 📕
Sound of Freedom passes $100M at the box office… Proving there is a movie for everyone and targeting specific communities can be a powerful tool. That said some of the discourse around this movie, namely its fans accusing critics and media that haven’t covered it of being pro child trafficking is asinine. 💰
AMC is killing its variable pricing plan that charged more for better seats… I guess they weren’t seeing the returns they wanted, but I expect variable pricing will come back to movie theaters at some point. It might be that certain movies are more, or that peak times are more. 🎟️
John Boyega puts Last Jedi as his least favorite Star Wars film… I can understand why, but that’s disappointing. And also, he thinks it’s better than Rise and Clones, come on. I’ll forever be in the Last Jedi is good camp, sorry! ✨
Wicked had 10 days of shooting left before the SAG strike… Hopefully Universal feels the sting of that. Will Wicked still make its Thanksgiving 2024 release date? Director Jon M. Chu says probably. 🧙🏼♀️
First 3 episodes of Secret Invasion to air on Hulu… People really must not be watching it. But please, keep telling me there’s no superhero fatigue. 🤔
American Psycho is getting a comic book adaptation… I do not understand the hero worship for this movie. 🪓
Upgrade to a full Pop Culture Brain Daily subscription for $1/month or $6/year.
What’s new
Justified: City Primeval - July 18 | FX/Hulu drama series | 🍅 93%
They Cloned Tyrone - July 21 | Netflix sci fi movie | 🍅 97%
Barbie - July 21 | Comedy film in theaters | 🍅 89%
Oppenheimer - July 21 | Historical drama in theaters | 🍅 92%
Returning: Sweet Magnolias s3, Minx s2
For all past ‘what to watch’ recommendations, see the full list here!