‘Oppenheimer’ is full of surprises, however, the most substantial surprise revealed in the previous month of May was how Christopher Nolan singled out scientists from the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico to play extras in his historical biographical science-fiction film. NBC Insider and SYFY WIRE reported how Nolan described the scientists as “the most knowledgable extras” he’s ever worked with on a movie. He specifically brought the audience’s attention to a scenario in which members of the Manhattan Project discuss whether the methods still justify the ends in the wake of Nazi Germany’s surrender in May 1945. After all, the $2 billion project was approved under the presumption that Adolf Hitler may develop his own atomic weapon.
What ethical considerations were present when using bombs to end the Pacific War? Nolan mentioned them as well. He said, “I was saying to the extras, not really thinking about where they were from, ‘Well if you could all be arguing about the shift in geopolitical tension [and] the use of the bomb. It was gonna be used against Germany, but now we’re talking about Japan. Could you just start shouting out whatever?”
According to him, the scientists gave their best in everything. Their scientific jargon was the crux of the movie. “We were hearing the most precise [jargon] and some were very passionate about it. They really got into it and the truth is it was wonderful … It gave you confidence because you had people there who knew what we were doing, but it kept you on your toes as well,” Nolan said.
The present director of Los Almos, Thomas Mason was extremely impressed by the way the movie backgrounds operated in depicting the precise life of J Robert Oppenheimer. Mason stated how he distinguished “familiar faces” and “historic sites” throughout the movie.
“What he brought to the position is still with us today in terms of the culture of the laboratory and the commitment to free and open debate within the walls,” Mason said. “My job is to enable the science of others, to protect them from all these external factors that might distract them, to make the case for the resources they need, and to speak truth to power, even when it’s uncomfortable.”