Christopher Nolan calls this surprise Will Ferrell comedy one of the greatest ever

christopher nolan
(Image credit: Getty Images)

You'll never guess which comedy Oppenheimer director Christopher Nolan thinks is one of the best ever. 

Speaking on The Rich Eisen Show, Nolan revealed his picks for films that are "remote drops" – AKA movies he'll drop his TV controller to watch whenever they're airing. He made the comments two years ago, but they're doing the rounds online again. 

"Anything by [Stanley] Kubrick, you know? It's a remote drop," Nolan answered. So far, so expected. 

It's his choice of comedy that's really surprising. "And some of the great comedies too," he added. "I mean Talladega Nights, I'm never going to be able to switch that up." 

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is a 2006 film starring Will Ferrell and directed by Adam McKay, which sees Ferrell play the titular NASCAR driver Ricky. It's a sports comedy that sees Ricky go from pit crew to star driver – but of course, there's a rival (played by Sacha Baron Cohen) to contend with, as well as a partnership with John C. Reilly's Cal Naughton Jr. 

Nolan even proved his fan status by dropping a quote of Ricky's catchphrase: "If you ain’t first, you're last." 

We have to say, we're pretty intrigued by what a Christopher Nolan comedy might look like – we're sure it'd include some mind-bending twists and a cerebral exploration of time or two. 

Nolan's Oppenheimer is still out in theaters now, after a momentous opening weekend in July as part of the Barbenheimer phenomenon. For even more on both films, check out our pieces on:

Molly Edwards
Senior Entertainment Writer

I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.