Show notes
We said The Prestige is the "most" Christopher Nolan movie, and that Inception is his most autobiographical... but it turns out we were wrong, because both apply to Interstellar. It's a movie where a character literally says, "I'm not afraid of death. I'm afraid of time." It's a movie about a man who desperately wants to return home to his children, except that he wants even more to go do some cool stuff in outer space. The movie's working title was Flora's Letter, referring to Nolan's real-life 11-year-old daughter Flora, the inspiration for the character of Murph. And it's probably Nolan's best movie. Laci and Matt spend more than three hours celebrating this masterpiece, and talk a lot about whether you should even care if the human race got resurrected via a tube of sperm on another planet hundreds of years in the future. Watch this Interstellar podcast in full on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Glak3Nnn7As Get more 1-Week Rental on Patreon: https://patreon.com/1weekrental Next episode (Aug. 14, 2026): Tenet (2020)! The Summer of Nolan is our summer 2026 miniseries covering the movie career of Christopher Nolan through nine movies on the main feed (plus additional episodes on the Patreon!), presented in chronological order, starting with Memento and going through Oppenheimer. And don't be surprised if our old pal Odysseus drops by to tell us about his long journey home to his wife. Time stamps: 00:01:41 — What have we learned about Christopher Nolan so far? And how does it apply to Interstellar? 00:20:00 — History segment: Producer Lynda Obst and physicist Kip Thorne develop Interstellar for Steven Spielberg, with Jonah Nolan as the screenwriter; Spielberg leaves, Christopher Nolan comes aboard; the science of Interstellar is always emphasized during the movie's development; Nolan works with composer Hans Zimmer on the movie's music before shooting begins; casting Matthew McConaughey; release, reception, and legacy of Interstellar 01:24:43 — Movie discussion + Interstellar film analysis 03:10:55 — Star ratings + final review of Interstellar INTERSTELLAR (2014) was directed by Christopher Nolan. Screenplay by Nolan with his brother Jonah. Starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Mackenzie Foy, Matt Damon, David Gyasi, Bill Irwin, John Lithgow, Casey Affleck, Topher Grace, Timothée Chalamet, and Michael Caine as Professor Brand. Sources: "Interstellar: How Christopher Nolan's Space Exploration Movie Achieved Lift-Off" by Dan Jolin | Empire (2014) - https://bit.ly/451fLOh "The Nolan Variations: The Movies, Mysteries, and Marvels of Christopher Nolan" by Tom Shone (2020) - https://amzn.to/4yiNtw0 Sleepless in Hollywood: Tales from the New Abnormal in the Movie Business by Lynda Obst (2014) - https://amzn.to/4xjbtOa "Wrinkles in Spacetime: The Warped Astrophysics of Interstellar" by Adam Rogers | Wired (2014) - https://bit.ly/4wbvs0r "Writer with real stars in his eyes" by Jay Fernandez | The Los Angeles Times (2007) - https://lat.ms/4pSL4UO "All About Christopher Nolan's 4 Kids, Who All Worked on 'The Odyssey' With Him" by Bailey Bujnosek | InStyle (2026) - https://bit.ly/4bwYeRI "Meet the Woman Behind Dunkirk" by Rebecca Keegan | Vanity Fair (2017) - https://bit.ly/4bvzlps "Christopher Nolan on Dunkirk, Taking His Kids to Phantom Thread" by Christina Radish | Collider (2018) - https://bit.ly/3RP25mf "Steven Spielberg Worked on 'Interstellar' for One Year and Says 'I Became Fascinated With It' Before Dropping Out: 'It Was a Much Better Movie in Nolan's Hands'" by Zack Sharif | Variety (2026) - https://bit.ly/4cmPqht Transcript: https://1weekrentalpod.com/2026/08/interstellar/#transcript Artwork by Laci Roth. Matt has two monthly spin-off podcasts! PodJob: A James Bond Podcast on Apple Podcast (https://bit.ly/4jRL2K1), Spotify (https://bit.ly/4a8jM6E), and YouTube (https://youtube.com/@podjob007). The Sign Post Up Ahead: A Twilight Zone Recap Podcast on Apple Podcast (https://bit.ly/4vtO6jG), Spotify (https://bit.ly/4w1qDat), and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@TheSignPostUpAhead). Music by Rural Route Nine. Listen to their album The Joy of Averages on Spotify (https://bit.ly/48WBtUa), Apple Music (https://bit.ly/3Q6kOVC), or YouTube (https://bit.ly/3MbU6tC). Songs by Rural Route Nine in this episode: "Summer of Nolan" - https://youtube.com/shorts/CAIzthDLrT8 "Winston-Salem" - https://youtu.be/-acMutUf8IM "Snake Drama" - https://youtu.be/xrzz8_2Mqkg "The Bible Towers of Bluebonnet" - https://youtu.be/k7wlxTGGEIQ The "Summer of Nolan" theme song was written by Matt Stokes. Produced, engineered, mixed, and mastered by TJ Barends. Performed by: TJ Barends - backing vocals Wade Hymel - drums, percussion, and backing vocals Laci Roth - vocals Matt Stokes - vocals, guitar, and bass Follow 1-Week Rental, a movie podcast: Twitter: @1weekrental | @MattStokes9 | @LRothConcepts Facebook: @1weekrental Instagram: @1weekrental TikTok: @1weekrental | @mattstokes9 Letterboxd: @loadbearinglaci | @mattstokes9 Bluesky: @1weekrental.bsky.social 1-Week Rental used to be Load Bearing Beams.
