The director’s chair – typically an iconic and physical statement of creative control that every young filmmaker hopes to one day sit in – apparently has no place on the sets of director Christopher Nolan, said Anne Hathaway on a livestream with Hugh Jackman yesterday. In a virtual Actor’s on Actor’s Interview with Variety, Hathaway stated that, “Chris doesn’t allow chairs…” and that he feels that, “if you’re sitting, you’re not working.” While all directors work differently, this is certainly an interesting way to make sure cast and crew are always alert and ready to go. 

In response to this, Nolan’s team issued a statement saying that he doesn’t actually ban chairs nor sitting, but that he prefers not to use his. They also said that “cast and crew can sit wherever and whenever they need and frequently do.” Additionally, no other actor who has worked with Nolan has given up any information like this.

Hathaway has worked on two films with Nolan, 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises and most recently in 2014’s Interstellar. 

Nolan’s newest project is Tenet, which stars John David Washington as a spy attempting to stop World War III before it happens. Among others in the star-studded cast are Robert Pattinson, Michael Caine, Elizabeth Debicki, and Kenneth Branagh. Tenet has been postponed two times because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and is now slated to be released on August 12, 2020.