“He always has a flask of tea in his pocket.”

November 1, 2014 9:33 AM

The Exacting, Expansive Mind of Christopher Nolan [New York Times]
posted by Fizz (27 comments total)

I believe Nolan to be one of the best filmmakers working today, and this article provides some excellent insight into the man himself. For some reason, I like the idea of having enough weight and respect in the industry that he can wear the same outfit for cold weather shooting and taking meetings with executives, I'm not sure if it's because it means he dresses rather formally on set, or that he doesn't care if he's seen in slightly worn clothing by the people providing him money.

I also really dig the idea of having a flask of tea, and may steal that from him.
posted by quin at 11:24 AM on November 1, 2014

I want a tea flask. It's insulated, I assume? It's either got to be really large, or hold a negligible amount of tea. Any candidates?
posted by leotrotsky at 12:16 PM on November 1, 2014 [3 favorites]

Nolan seems lovely and all, but I'm really glad that we're all focusing on the most important and interesting part of this article, which is, of course, the tea flask. I'd like one, as well.
posted by MeghanC at 12:46 PM on November 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

I've never heard of Christopher Nolan, but I, too, want a tea flask.
posted by moonmilk at 1:19 PM on November 1, 2014

I've never heard of Christopher Nolan

Have you watched any of the following films:

1998 Following
2000 Memento
2002 Insomnia
2005 Batman Begins Yes
2006 The Prestige
2008 The Dark Knight
2010 Inception
2012 The Dark Knight Rises
2013 Man of Steel
2014 Transcendence
2014 Interstellar

posted by Fizz at 2:03 PM on November 1, 2014

Have you watched any of the following films

So he's the guy making all those movies that I can't manage to sit through.

Going back to my collection of art house 60s filmstrips now.
posted by nerdler at 2:16 PM on November 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

I don't even own a cinema, so I have no idea what you guys are talking about.
posted by Literaryhero at 2:34 PM on November 1, 2014 [23 favorites]

I too was drawn in by the tea flask. I'm suddenly reminded of the character from Good Omens (I think) (or it might be Casanunda) with the entire breakfasting set.

I would probably fall a little bit in love with someone who had a tea flask, if I were in need of tea.
posted by geek anachronism at 2:40 PM on November 1, 2014

I have mixed feelings about Nolan-as-auteur, but that was a very well-written article.
posted by killdevil at 2:49 PM on November 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

That was a great article, but I don't know how you can talk about Nolan at length without discussing his habit of fridging the wives/female love interests of his protagonists. I'd been hoping that Interstellar might be the exception to this rule but the movie's not even out yet, and I've already seen a spoiler that indicates the pattern is maintained. I like most of his movies, but: sigh.
posted by immlass at 3:01 PM on November 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

That was a great article, but I don't know how you can talk about Nolan at length without discussing his habit of fridging the wives/female love interests of his protagonists.

Yes, that always bothered me especially about Batman Begins how Martha Wayne has absolutely ZERO fucking dialogue and is just this silent victim with no agency. I mean, at least Thomas Wayne had the various life lesson speeches about falling and getting up and talking about their gifts to the city. But Martha, you can just be silent and then die.
posted by Fizz at 3:45 PM on November 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

Googling Tea Flask just gets me things that are really either Thermos, caraffe, dewar, ect. So since we're all picturing a booze flask, I'm just going to fill my tweed-wrapped 8oz-er up with hot Assam and report back.

Oh and I'd like to loudly nth the fridging complaints.
posted by The Legit Republic of Blanketsburg at 4:21 PM on November 1, 2014

Perhaps that is euphemistic tea, he is drinking...
posted by littlejohnnyjewel at 4:54 PM on November 1, 2014

ctrl+f "tea flask"
oh good, the article will match my standard of quality.
posted by bigendian at 5:17 PM on November 1, 2014

Have you watched any of the following films

No. Great profile, though - kind of makes me want to see some of those movies. And get a tea flask.
posted by moonmilk at 5:40 PM on November 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

OK, I've done some research here. True insulation is out, there simply isn't enough room. Either go with a covered flask (e.g. leather or tweed) or knit a cozy. There is a long tradition in the UK among herdsman to head out to pasture with a large glass bottle of milky tea covered in a heavy sock, so that's also an (aggressive) alternative. Your two main options are glass or metal. I'd advise against metal, because it tends to impart unpleasant flavors to the tea. There's also the issue of leaching due to high temperature (particularly if any solder has been used). If you're determined, the Colonel Conk models get relatively good reviews.

That leaves us with glass. I'd suggest the 8 oz Bormioli Rocco Glass Flask, it's a little on the larger size, but that's preferable when we're dealing with tea. The wire bail enclosure provides an airtight seal, which is to be preferred. Due to the risks of adding hot beverages to cold glass, it is very important that you prewarm your flask before adding tea. For those wary of glass, another somewhat unorthodox solution would be the 12oz Nalgene Flask, which is a plastic, but one that does not impart odor or flavor.

My suggestion, the Bormioli Rocco tightly covered with a child's ragwool sock, trimmed to fit the base.
posted by leotrotsky at 5:44 PM on November 1, 2014 [12 favorites]

Yes, I agree with killdevil in that I have mixed feelings about him, but I thought the article was very well written. As for his works - I have to admit they are very well done - but not terribly original. I much prefer, for example, 'The Illusionist' to 'The Prestige' (came out the same year). I found 'Inception' to be a kind of Matrix knock-off. I did not know that 'Insomnia' was a remake of another film - but now, I'm not surprised. That's the best film of his that I've seen. I am also intrigued about the tea flask, as are a lot of others here.
posted by McMillan's Other Wife at 6:01 PM on November 1, 2014

McMillan, I think that Insomnia is his best work, there's something very sinister and dark about it and one of Robin Williams stand out dramatic roles.
posted by Fizz at 6:26 PM on November 1, 2014

“He always has a flask of tea in his pocket. No matter how hot it is, he has a big overcoat with a pocket big enough for his tea, and he quietly sips it. At a certain point, I thought, There must be something better than tea in there. I asked him, ‘You’ve not got vodka in there, have you?’ He said no, just tea.”

It's probably a perfectly ordinary thermos flask. The unusual thing is that he has a pocket in his coat large enough to carry one in (as do I - I call it my shoplifter's pocket, though I don't use it for that. Good for carrying wine bottles in, though).

Although I do like their films (mostly)*, it feels like I've woken up in this strange parallel universe where Christopher Nolan and David Fincher are seen as Great Filmmakers. They're really not Hitchcock or Kubrick. Or even Anderson (Wes, Paul T or Lindsay, take your pick**).

*I say mostly, because when I realised that the thing I liked best about Dark Knight Rises was the soundtrack, I got the soundtrack album and now never have to watch the film again.

**Better than Paul WS Anderson, though.
posted by Grangousier at 6:30 PM on November 1, 2014 [4 favorites]

The best small hot beverage containers are, in my experience, the small Zojirushi thermoses. They are "laptop bag" and not "vest pocket" sized flasks, though. There are various models in sizes 12-20oz and keep things hot all day! (e.g. this lil guy )
posted by thedaniel at 7:12 PM on November 1, 2014 [4 favorites]

One of my favorite things about visiting Shanghai is the ubiquitous toting of "tea flasks" by, well, pretty much everybody. Some folks have the nice zojirushi insulated kinds, others have cheap-o rubbermaid type doohickeys with a little built-in basket for the leaves...cops and security guards usually can be seen casually swinging large glass cylinders full of tea as they patrol/stand guard/direct traffics.

I'm not a huge tea person but it makes me kinda wish I was a little bit more.
posted by Doleful Creature at 8:10 PM on November 1, 2014

By 'flask', I'm picturing a sort of Thermos setup that are used for Yerba Mate in Uruguay, etc.

However, an actual small metal hip flask, except filled with a nice Jasmine tea, is also a very sexy idea.
posted by spinifex23 at 1:18 AM on November 2, 2014

NYT: “He always has a flask of tea in his pocket. No matter how hot it is, he has a big overcoat with a pocket big enough for his tea, and he quietly sips it. At a certain point, I thought, There must be something better than tea in there. I asked him, ‘You’ve not got vodka in there, have you?’ He said no, just tea.”

Wikipedia: Christopher Jonathan James Nolan (/ˈnoʊlən/; born 30 July 1970)[1] is a British film director, screenwriter, and producer.

See, you Americans just don't quite get quite how important tea is to the average Brit. This would pass almost without comment in the UK. "British man drinks tea" is right up there with "Dog bites man" in the uninteresting news story stakes :)
posted by pharm at 7:57 AM on November 2, 2014 [2 favorites]

I was picturing a hot-water bottle and tea bag like Mr Bean.
posted by um at 6:37 PM on November 2, 2014

I have this stainless steel water bottle that comes with a mesh filter that is perfect for loose-leaf tea on the go. It also keeps coffee/tea piping hot forever.
posted by any major dude at 12:01 PM on November 3, 2014

I believe the flask/thermos in question is visible in this image from the Times article. Definitely looks to be more of a thermos, or the sort of thing I see commuters bring on the bus every day with coffee.
posted by dnash at 8:07 AM on November 4, 2014

It’s also hard to see how “Interstellar” won’t make another billion-plus dollars...

After seeing this poorly written film and it's first weekend box office results, it has become clearly visible.
posted by fairmettle at 6:54 AM on November 10, 2014