Christopher Nolan responds after having work roasted by random Peleton instructor

Eliana Bollati
Christopher Nolan directing.

Hollywood Director, Christoper Nolan, received some surprising unsolicited criticism about his films recently — from his Peloton instructor during a virtual workout.

Christopher Nolan is one of the world’s most successful movie directors, with box office smashes like Inception, Memento, Interstellar, and his Batman trilogy just to name a few.

Last year he smashed records again with the thrilling biographical blockbuster, Oppenheimer, which became the highest-grossing biopic of all time.

But not all of Nolan’s movies receive an equal level of praise, it seems. And in this case, the criticism of one of his films, Tenet, came from an unexpected place: his Peloton instructor, in the middle of a virtual workout class he was taking.

“Anyone else see this sh*t beside me?” The instructor asked out of nowhere, slamming Nolan’s 2020 action/sci-fi flick, Tenet. “That’s two and a half hours of my life, and I want it back.”

Funnily enough, this comment actually made its way to the man himself. Nolan soon spoke about seeing the criticism in the middle of his workout while accepting the award for best director from the New York Film Critics Circle.

“When Rex Reed takes a sh*t on your film he doesn’t ask you to work out!” Nolan joked, referencing an influential film critic.

Although the director seemed to take the unexpected comments in good humor, he did also say he still felt “critical appreciation of films” needed to be “a profession,” rather than just based on “instinct”.

Christopher Nolan's Tenet
Christopher Nolan’s Peloton instructor was not a fan of his 2020 film, Tenet.

But film criticism aside, hearing your workout instructor trash talk your day job has got to get your blood pumping.

About The Author

Eliana was formerly a staff writer on the Australian Dexerto team. A freelance journalist for a decade, she earned her master’s in international journalism from the University of Western Australia. She has written for a range of outlets and most recently served as a founding member of the editorial team for esports news and leaks website, BLIX.GG. A lover of JRPGs and strategy MOBAs, when she’s not writing you’ll most likely find her playing Dota 2 or FFXIV.