American Prometheus The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer

And man, I helped get into the business, Chuck Rovin, uh, the three of us together, David and I brought Chuck a book called American Prometheus and said, do you think you can call your associate and friend, uh, Chris Nolan, see if you could get him interested in this project that we've been trying to get off the ground for five years.

And the three of us together, David and I brought Chuck a book called American Prometheus and said, do you think you can call your associate and friend, uh, Chris Nolan, see if you could get him interested in this project that we've been trying to get off the ground for five years.

American Prometheus

do you think you can call your associate and friend, uh, Chris Nolan, see if you could get him interested in this project that we've been trying to get off the ground for five years.

And it's a very difficult, I read that book. It was a very difficult book, great book, but difficult to read and to keep track of.

For me, it was really a process of saying, okay what's the exciting story that develops, the cinematic story that develops from a reading of it, from several readings of it. I had this extraordinary sort of Bible to work from. And so for me, it was really a process... I had the benefit of this extraordinary book, American Prometheus that was written... Martin Sherwin who first started writing it, he spent 25 years researching Oppenheimer's story... it won the Pulitzer Prize.

And Marty said that what made it really compelling as a story was the arc, the fact that Oppenheimer in 1945 was hailed as America's most distinguished scientist. His image was on the cover of Time and Life. And then nine years later he's brought down and humiliated in this trial, this kangaroo court proceeding and he becomes a public non-entity.

But Marty said that what made it really compelling as a story was the arc, the fact that Oppenheimer in 1945 was hailed as America's most distinguished scientist. His image was on the cover of Time and Life. And then nine years later he's brought down and humiliated in this trial, this kangaroo court proceeding and he becomes a public non-entity.

I happen to be reading the Oppenheimer book, He spent all this time out, He loved New Mexico.

Yeah. I mean, it's interesting to read this book and then see the movie and see all of the stuff that's pulled almost verbatim out of it.

But this is a very, very faithful adaptation of the book, American Prometheus. Mills By the way, the book itself was tremendously long, I thought.

I mean, like the book is very interesting to me because it is a classic of a very specific sort of history of mid-century America that is written by progressives, by liberals.

And the book goes into this, the movie didn't have time for it, but later after the war, Oppenheimer went through a period, I think of kind of naivete where he thought perhaps there could be an international commission or agency that would control nuclear power and everybody would agree to it.

There's a line in the book, you know, the authors are saying he had become convinced that the military use of the bomb in this war might eliminate all wars.

I'm planning on doing is I have the book, American Prometheus. I think I'm going to try to read it before I even see the movie.

Oppenheimer is based on a 721 page Pulitzer Prize winning book about the Manhattan Project.

Oppenheimer is based on a 721 page Pulitzer Prize winning book about the Manhattan Project.

Oppenheimer is based on a 721 page Pulitzer Prize winning book about the Manhattan Project and Barbie is on a plastic doll with big boobies.

Oppenheimer is based on a 721 page Pulitzer Prize winning book about the Manhattan Project.

Oppenheimer is based on a 721 page Pulitzer Prize winning book about the Manhattan Project. And Barbie is on a plastic doll with big boobies.

The storyline I predict for Monday morning, we're gonna be talking about how Oppenheimer are swept the Oscars.

If you look at all the precursors and those are the best tea leaves that we have, right, the producers Guild Awards, that's the best predictor of what's going to win best picture because they use the same preferential ballot system and also the producers are the ones in voting there.

So that one Oppenheimer won for that.

So you have Oppenheimer and Barbie, as you mentioned. I think two fantastic picks.

And those were the movies of 2023. And I always like to think about when you look back, when you do the 10-year look back, right? What are the movies that define that year? And Oppenheimer and Barbie are the movies that define that year.

His book, *American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer*, was the basis for Christopher Nolan's film, *Oppenheimer*.

And the movie starts when Oppenheimer is a college student in his 20s.

This film is based on the biography of Oppenheimer, American Prometheus, which you co-authored.

And so he spent the next four months alone writing a script.

And only in September of 21 did he contact me and he invited me to come up to New York to meet him.

If you'd like to learn more about the Manhattan Project, we recommend American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwood,

If you'd like to learn more about The Manhattan Project, we recommend American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwood, and Bomb!

She contacted me and said, do you know about this film? And this was in January of this year. And I said, I certainly do. They filmed it here. And she said, we need to reach out to them. They need to tell at least part of the history of the Downwinders.

And he said he would do what he could. And he got back to us and said they're not interested.