Tenet (film)

Writer and director Christopher Nolan conceived the ideas behind Tenet over twenty years,[8] but remarked "I've been working on this iteration of the script for about six or seven years".[4] The title is a palindrome, reading the same backwards as forwards.[9] Nolan made a conscious effort to abstain from any influence of the spy genre other than his own memory.[10]

John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, and Elizabeth Debicki were cast in March 2019.[11][12] The casting of Dimple Kapadia, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Clémence Poésy, Michael Caine, and Kenneth Branagh was announced as filming started.[13] Himesh Patel joined in August,[14] with Denzil Smith being added the following month.[7] Martin Donovan was revealed upon the release of the first trailer.[15] In January 2020, retired ice hockey player Sean Avery made his involvement known.[16] Jack Cutmore-Scott and Rich Ceraulo Ko were included that February and June, respectively.[17][18]

Nolan chose Washington for his performance in BlacKkKlansman (2018).[19] Washington, Pattinson, and Debicki said they were only permitted to read the screenplay while locked in a room.[4][8][20] Pattinson based his character's mannerisms on those of author Christopher Hitchens.[21] Kapadia's screen test was put together by director Homi Adajania while working on his 2020 film Angrezi Medium.[22] For one day of work, Caine was merely given his pages and had not heard from Nolan since.[23]

Principal photography, involving a crew of 250 people,[21] began in May 2019 and took place in seven countries[24] — Denmark, Estonia,[nb 1] India,[nb 2] Italy, Norway, the United Kingdom, and United States.[28][nb 3] Filming in Estonia happened in June and July, with the Linnahall, Pärnu Highway, and adjacent streets closed to facilitate it.[29][30] Tallinn mayor Mihhail Kõlvart expressed concerns about potential disruptions as the original shooting schedule required that the arterial Laagna Road be closed for one month.[31] Production eventually reached a compromise involving temporary road closures and detours,[32][33] after which the city government granted them a two-day extension.[32][33][34] Scenes were shot in Ravello, Italy and Hampstead, England at Cannon Hall late August,[35][36] and on the roof of the Oslo Opera House and in Tjuvholmen, Norway, and in Rødbyhavn, Denmark at Nysted Wind Farm early that September.[37][38] A five-day shoot occurred later that month in Mumbai,[28] where Nolan had traveled in February and April for location scouting.[39] He decided on Breach Candy Hospital, Cafe Mondegar, Colaba Causeway, Colaba Market, Gateway of India, Grant Road, Royal Bombay Yacht Club, and the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.[40][41][42][43] A restaurant set named "Chaand" was built near the hotel,[41] but never used, serving only as an alternative.[28] Forty boats were positioned at the Gateway of India, where the crew also rescued a man who had attempted suicide.[44] A stunt where someone jumps off a building was done in Grant Road,[42] and a helicopter was applied for aerial footage of the hospital.[28] They moved to Victorville, California soon after, disguising it as Oslo, and worked with more than ninety extras.[8] Instead of using miniatures and visual effects (VFX) for a plane crash sequence, Nolan determined that purchasing a Boeing 747 proved more cost effective.[45] October saw them in a desert outside Palm Springs, where an abandoned city had been constructed and hundreds were clothed in military camouflage uniforms.[4] Director of photography Hoyte van Hoytema used a combination of 70 mm film and IMAX.[46]

Ludwig Göransson composed the score as Nolan's frequent collaborator Hans Zimmer had committed himself to the 2020 film Dune.[47][48] During the COVID-19 pandemic, Göransson recorded musicians at their homes.[4] Jennifer Lame replaced Nolan's long-time editor Lee Smith, who was occupied with 2019's 1917.[49] DNEG created about 280 VFX shots.[8]