In 1996, Christopher Nolan was “advised to abandon” his first movie. He did, and nobody has ever seen it since
Christopher Nolan made a feature-length student film called *Larry Mahoney* in 1996, but it has never been released publicly. His university friend Brian Barnes watched a cut and advised him to abandon it, saying the story did not work despite Nolan’s evident technical skill.
Nolan took the advice and set the film aside; the article says only a small circle, including Barnes and Nolan’s wife Emma Thomas, have seen it. Nolan’s next short, *Doodlebug*, appeared in 1997, followed by his first publicly recognised feature, *Following*, in 1998. Barnes also said he encouraged Nolan to try a noir-style film, though the article notes his influence on Nolan’s career is uncertain.
In short
- Nolan’s 1996 feature *Larry Mahoney* remains unseen by the public.
- Brian Barnes advised him to abandon it because its story fell short.
- Nolan went on to make *Following* in 1998.
Explained simply
Christopher Nolan is a British film-maker who later became known for films including Memento, Inception and Oppenheimer. Before his professional career, he made films while studying at University College London, where he met fellow student Brian Barnes.
A student feature is a longer film made as part of, or alongside, a film-making course. Nolan’s early work came before his short film Doodlebug and his first feature released to the public, Following; *Larry Mahoney* was not made available to general audiences.