Iconic Director Criticizes Christopher Nolan’s Oscar-Winning Movie

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Iconic Director Criticizes Christopher Nolan’s Oscar-Winning Movie originally appeared on Parade.

James Cameron and Christopher Nolan seemingly have different ideas about what should have made the final cut of Oppenheimer.

As the Titanic director, 70, prepares to adapt the upcoming book Ghosts of Hiroshima about the 1945 bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Cameron spoke to Deadline on Friday, June 27, about his unfiltered reaction to the 2023 film Oppenheimer, which Nolan, 54, wrote, produced and directed about the World War II nuclear events.

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“It’s interesting what he stayed away from,” Cameron told the outlet when asked whether he was surprised by Oppenheimer’s seven Oscar wins and nearly $1 billion in box-office revenue. “I love the filmmaking, but I did feel that it was a bit of a moral cop out. Because it’s not like Oppenheimer didn’t know the effects.”

He continued, “He’s got one brief scene in the film where we see — and I don’t like to criticize another filmmaker’s film — but there’s only one brief moment where he sees some charred bodies in the audience and then the film goes on to show how it deeply moved him. But I felt that it dodged the subject.”

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Cameron was referring to a scene where the titular physicist, J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy), watched a slideshow presentation of the bombs’ casualties and had nightmares about a similar fate befalling people he knew.

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While Cameron is unsure who made the final decision to not show the bombs’ effects in Oppenheimer, he insisted that his film will face the harsh reality.

“I don’t know whether the studio or Chris felt that that was a third rail that they didn’t want to touch, but I want to go straight at the third rail,” he said. “I’m just stupid that way.”

Cameron then proposed that Nolan see the victims’ stories properly depicted in his Ghosts of Hiroshima adaptation.

“OK, I’ll put up my hand. I’ll do it, Chris. No problem,” Cameron added. “You come to my premiere and say nice things.”

Nolan previously reacted to the backlash surrounding Oppenheimer’s avoidance of the subject in a 2023 cover story for Variety.

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“The film presents Oppenheimer’s experience subjectively,” Nolan explained at the time. “It was always my intention to rigidly stick to that. Oppenheimer heard about the bombing at the same time that the rest of the world did. I wanted to show somebody who is starting to gain a clearer picture of the unintended consequences of his actions. It was as much about what I don’t show as what I show.”

Iconic Director Criticizes Christopher Nolan’s Oscar-Winning Movie first appeared on Parade on Jun 30, 2025

This story was originally reported by Parade on Jun 30, 2025, where it first appeared.