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12 Years Before Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan Led a Football Field Explosion, in the Classic That Saw Batman Locking Horns Versus Fearful Monster, Bane

Published 07/23/2023, 8:09 AM EDT

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The month of July came with wonderful news for the movie-goers. The anticipation for the renowned director, Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’, finally came to an end. Going head to head against ‘Barbie’ with the same release date, it received a higher rating in the opening weekends. Although ‘Barbie’ is set to make more money in the coming weeks due to its insane marketing and influence over the millennials, Nolan’s masterpiece will be talked about for decades, much like his prior releases.

Known for his aesthetic visuals and highly conceptual narratives, the 5 times Oscar-nominated director never fails to impress the audience. Amidst the release of ‘Oppenheimer’ and its unique directing style, it brings back nostalgia from the time when he famously blew up an NFL football stadium.

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As the era of Superhero movies took the industry by storm, the torch was finally handed over to Nolan, with the “Batman Trilogy”. With massive success for the first two iterations of the trilogy and a captivating hospital blowing-up scene by the villain Joker, the audience only craved more to see what fate had in store for the protagonist. The stakes were already high, as the villain from the second movie won the best supporting actor Oscar for the first time in the history of cinema. Nolan needed to make as much of an impact in the third film, for which he chose the Steelers’ football field.

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An article by No Film School explained how the famous scene was filmed. The scene starts with the villain Bane walking into the stadium with sinister intentions while a child sings an anthem song as chaos unfolds. The whole football field is rigged with explosives and soon destroys the stadium while the players are on-field. They captured this scene using practical effects and CGI creatively, resulting in one of the best shots in cinema history. While the stadium wasn’t actually destroyed, the combination of practical effects and CGI made it look incredibly real.

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The scene was filmed at Heinz Field, where the Steelers usually play. Nevertheless, this is not the only instance when filmmakers chose a football ground for storytelling.

An opening scene for the movie ‘Oblivion’ was filmed in a football stadium

Plotting a movie centered around football is quite common, with actors like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson starring in a few of them. Even Oscar-winning movies like ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ had remarkable scenes shot on a football ground. Science fiction movies have also made a huge impact at the box office, with films like ‘Oblivion’ starring Tom Cruise, and ‘The Tomorrow War’ using football grounds for several scenes.

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Watch This Story: “Take 1 Trillion”: Christian McCaffrey’s Former Miss Universe Fiancée Garners Barrage of Attention Hours After Exciting Social Media Update.

Football stadiums are not just for movies; they host big-time events during the offseason. WWE WrestleMania, major music events, and other sports competitions often take place in these stadiums. Have you ever attended such a show yourself? Let us know in the comments below!

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Written by:

Samnur Reza

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Samnur Reza or “Rocky”, is an NFL sportswriter at EssentiallySports. He is an avid sports enthusiast with a particular love for football. Rocky looks up to Joe Burrow and Jalen Ramsey as two of the best athletes in the game.
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Edited by:

Hitesh Nigam