An ‘Interstellar’ Collaboration

One of the most interesting things about Interstellar is how it came to be. It’s a collaboration between Christopher Nolan, his brother Jonathan, and renowned theoretical physicist Kip Thorne.

This interview in WIRED shows how each of them played to their strengths while learning from the others, and how that led to spectacular results.

It was originally Jonathan Nolan working with Thorne, and although Jonathan is not present for the interview it’s vividly clear that their working relationship was very different from how things operated between Thorne and Christopher. Not that both partnerships weren’t enthusiastic and positive, but they differed in their process.

The most telling example of that: rules. Jonathan and Kip never codified the rules of their story world, whereas that was among the first things to happen once Christopher came on board. They make a compelling case that having that framework is how they were able to craft a successful story.

Every partnership is unique and the things that propel one author might bog down another. How do you approach “rules of the world” in your fiction?