A hastily built town in the remote mountains of New Mexico dedicated solely to nuclear research and whose existence must remain secret? It's not just the plot of the film Oppenheimerbut also the story behind its creation.
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Like the father of the atomic bomb he portrays, filmmaker Christopher Nolan had to recreate his Los Alamos, the site where the atomic weapon was designed, from scratch.
The project “was obviously shrouded in mystery,” David Manzanares, manager of Ghost Ranch, a site converted into a historical replica of the city, told AFP.
AFP
Like all the other members of his team, he had to wait until last August, a month after the blockbuster's theatrical release, to be able to talk about his work.
“That’s what happens on Christopher Nolan’s set,” he smiles.
To get here you have to overcome barriers on which there is a sign saying “PROHIBITED ZONE”. After a few kilometers of dusty road we come across several wooden houses, offices and security posts that were built for the film.
There's even a chapel with the purple silhouette of the desert mountains in the background.
The real Los Alamos is about an hour's drive away and still houses a top-secret laboratory that ensures the safety and maintenance of American nuclear weapons. But since 1945, the mysterious village has become a modern city.
AFP
authenticity
In order to film the exterior scenes, it was necessary to build a replica of the street. A typical requirement from Christopher Nolan: The British director always attaches great importance to giving his films the highest level of authenticity.
For Oppenheimer, he limited himself beyond the sets to minimal special effects to film the scene recreating the atomic bomb test and hired real scientists from Los Alamos as extras.
In October 2021, Mr. Manzanares was contacted by a film executive friend who was looking for greenfield locations in New Mexico for a film set in the 1940s.
A month later, Christopher Nolan personally arrived at the Ghost Ranch.
AFP
“He was immediately excited,” says Mr. Manzanares.
His team had to deal with the demands of the director, who actually needed two nearly identical sets.
It was necessary to remain empty in order to film the scene in which Robert Oppenheimer, played by Cillian Murphy, shows an American army general the place where he wants to build the base of the Manhattan Project.
The other had to faithfully recreate Los Alamos to accommodate the rest of the filming the next day.
AFP
To make the illusion work, Mr. Manzanares chose two locations with similar “mesas,” those orange mountains with their broad, flat peaks that are typical of the American West.
Once the production was on site, “everyone, including the actors,” was bound to secrecy, he explains. “They grabbed pages, went to their hotel room and read, but they couldn’t get the script out.”
AFP
Rattlesnakes
Classic measures for a film of this magnitude. Photos, rumors, plot fragments… major productions absolutely want to prevent them from reaching the press before the cinema release.
After the Los Alamos scenes were filmed, the fake city's “laboratories” were removed, as were telephone poles that could be blown away by the wind.
But the film left behind a dozen wooden structures, a first for a production filmed at Ghost Ranch. For the on-site team, this meant keeping the film completely secret for a year after filming.
AFP
Before Westerns and other films were shown on the website, it is now shedding its mystery. Starting next month he will offer an Oppenheimer tour.
A way to take advantage of the numerous Oscars promised on March 10 for Nolan's feature, nominated in 13 categories and extremely popular for best film statuette.
AFP
After months without visitors, the place is currently being prepared to open to the public.
“We found rattlesnakes and black widow spiders,” says tour guide Julia Haywood. According to her, “the website is now completely safe.”
AFP