- Christopher Nolan shares a story about a Peloton instructor criticizing his film Tenet during a workout.
- The instructor, Jenn Sherman, later apologized and praised Nolan in a social media post.
- Sherman invites Nolan to join her for a workout and critique her class in good humor.
Director Christopher Nolan has shared an experience where he was criticized by a Peloton instructor for his 2020 film Tenet while working out. Nolan told this story during a speech at the New York Film Critics Circle, where he won Best Director for Oppenheimer. He said, “I was on my Peloton. I’m dying. And the instructor started talking about one of my films and said, ‘Did anyone see this? That’s a couple hours of my life I’ll never get back again!’
Nolan continued, “In today’s world, where opinions are everywhere, there is a sort of idea that film criticism is being democratized, but I for one think the critical appreciation of films shouldn’t be an instinct but it should be a profession.” Tenet, which starred John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, and Elizabeth Debicki, was released during the pandemic and became one of Nolan’s most divisive films.
Since Nolan shared this story, the Peloton instructor, identified as Jenn Sherman, responded on social media, expressing surprise and admiration that Nolan knew who she was. She admits she didn’t understand Tenet and said, “I may not have understood a minute of what was going on in ‘Tenet.’ That sh-t went right over my head. But I have seen ‘Oppenheimer’ twice. And that’s six hours of my life that I don’t ever want to give back.”
Sherman playfully invites Nolan to join her for a workout and critiques her class, saying, “Mr. Nolan, I’m inviting you to come for a ride with me in the Peloton studio. You can critique my class. You’ll have a great time. You’ll sit in the front row. And I promise you it’ll be insult-free.” Both Tenet and Oppenheimer are available on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital formats.