Jonathan "Jonah" Nolan (C'99) is a British film producer and screenwriter, famous for his films Memento (2000) and Dark Knight (2008).
Background
Nolan was born on June 6, 1976, to a British-American family. He was the youngest of three boys, including Christopher Nolan, the famed director who he would in the future co-write The Prestige (2006), The Dark Knight (2008), The Dark Knight Rises (2012). The Nolan family bounced around Chicago and London. Nolan attended Loyola Academy in Illinois, before attending Georgetown University.
Nolan at Georgetown
Nolan originally entered Georgetown as an SFS student in 1994 and struggled during his first few semesters. After two years at Georgetown, Nolan took some time off from school and traveled around New Zealand and Europe, during which time he was able to read. When he returned to Georgetown in 1997, Nolan transferred to the College as an English major. During this period, he wrote a short story called "Memento Mori," after taking Professor Daniel Robinson's Psychology 101 class and learning about anterograde amnesia. He noted that Georgetown's English department gave him a lot of flexibility to write short stories. "Memento Mori" would later become Memento (2000), a film that kickstarted Nolan's career as a screenwriter, and even a nomination for an Oscar.1
The most significant aspect of Georgetown for Nolan was Professor John Glavin's classes and mentorship. Glavin, himself a graduate of Georgetown, has been a professor of English at Georgetown for more than half a century. His students have gone on to be Rhodes and Marshall Scholars, successful playwriters and entrepreneurs. Nolan referred to the A he got in Glavin's class, and said, "I remain prouder of that grade from him than anything I've earned since."2
After Graduation
Shortly after graduation, Nolan served as a production assistant on Memento (2000). The movie was filmed with a $9 million budget but ended up earning $40 million and gained a huge cult following. Nolan was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
Nolan visited Campus to discuss Memento in February of 2002, a couple days before the movie was nominated for an Oscar.
Nolan continued to create films with his older brother, Christopher Nolan, and created Prestige (2006), The Dark Knight (2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012), and Interstellar (2014). Jonathan Nolan created CBS science fiction series Persons of Interest (2011-2016) and the HBO series Westworld (2016-2022). Nolan was nominated for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series and Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for Westworld.
During one of Nolan's talks at Georgetown, Professor Glavin proudly stated, "Those who these days survive the wreck of time... have Jonathan Nolan as their spokesman and defender."3
- 1Grappone, Jeffrey Y. "Oscar-Nominated Alumnus Visits Campus to Discuss His Story and Film, 'Memento'" Blue and Gray, Feb 19, 2002.
- 2Bacic, Ryan. "His class is famously tough. 'The Dark Knight' and 'Westworld' wouldn't exist without it." The Washington Post, Dec 3, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20231117152259/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/meet-the-tough-professor-who-inspired-jonathan-nolan-and-john-mulaney/2017/11/30/5f94d35c-be52-11e7-959c-fe2b598d8c00_story.html
- 3Brookland, Jenn. "'Memento' Man Revist Hilltop." The Hoya, Feb 8, 2002.
