The Force Fed Sci-Fi Movie Podcast

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Back in 2010, the film Inception was released and became a Christopher Nolan classic! However, it forced audiences to really have to think about the movie; contemplating the importance of the Inception totem, coming up with an Inception ending explanation for themselves, how the heck did they film that hallway seen, and much more to consider. Listen to this episode of Force Fed Sci-Fi as Chris and Sean discuss these Inception topics and more (or read our show notes)!

 

How long did it take Christopher Nolan to make Inception?

Nolan actually came up with the idea of Inception and pitched it back in 2002. But wait, didn’t it come out in 2010? Why did it take so long for Nolan to finish this film? Let’s explore Nolan’s timeline a bit…

So, the original idea that was pitched and Nolan worked on was a horror film about “dream stealers.” Not sure what that movie was going to be all about. However, after pitching the film in 2002 and starting to work on it, Nolan himself actually put a stop and hold on it! He wanted more experience in the filmmaking process and directing.

Nolan went on to make The Prestige and Batman Begins. These were actually relatively low-budget films. Which comes as surprise if you think about it today since superhero movies are given pretty big budgets. However, Batman Begins was relatively successful, which of course led to the huge hit of The Dark Knight.

Now with some experience and success, Nolan along with Warner Bros. tackled Inception, and there was hardly any disappointment in our opinion!

Inception Cast and Character Analysis

Leonardo DiCaprio as Dominick “Dom” Cobb

DiCaprio’s involvement as the lead role in this film was a good move for him as it felt like he hadn’t been in a big successful blockbuster film in a while. It obviously helped that Nolan pursued him for the role in the first place. Other casting considerations though went to Will Smith and Brad Pitt. However, I think most people in the audience were pleased with DiCaprio’s acting in this film. We think that he portrayed feeling guilty and shameful for his wife’s death very well.

Sticking with that idea of feeling shameful and guilty though, we don’t get to see the character of Cobb at his best. We can infer that Cobb has at least been in the past one of the best at hacking into others’ dreams, but don’t get to see Cobb really that great at the job in this film since his projection of his wife, Mal, interferes constantly (the exception is when he pulls off “Mr. Charles”). However, we do have to keep in mind that the difficulty of him moving on from his wife is part of his character arc. In the end, we finally do see him let go of that guilt and shame.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Arthur

As Chris says in the podcast, “Mmmmm, JGL.” Yes, women seem to pine over him. He does prove himself well in this film, though. Supposedly, he did all of his stunts except one, which is impressive! This especially is true with the rotating hallway scene. The set makers actually built a hallway that spun, and this must’ve been difficult for the cameramen (who did a great job) and the actors like Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Luckily, James Franco’s schedule interfered with him taking on this role as Franco was the preferred actor.

Turning over to Arthur as a character himself though, we see him as Cobb’s partner. Is he really that great of a partner though? He vehemently says ‘no, inception cannot be done/shouldn’t be done’ when the team discusses it as oppo...

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