20 Things You Didn't Know About Christopher Nolan
6. He Doesn't Use Temp Music
Another extremely common filmmaking practise which Nolan flouts is the use of temp music.
While editing a film, the overwhelming majority of directors will use a temporary musical score, typically the existing score of a movie the filmmaker likes, to help find the movie's tone and sense of rhythm during editing.
But Nolan has no interest in working with a score which he can't use in the final cut of the film, and his numerous collaborations with Hans Zimmer in particular have resulted in an uncommonly intimate relationship between director and composer. Nolan said:
"Each successive film I've done with Hans, I've tried to involve him at an earlier and earlier stage. Adding music to a film doesn’t work for me - it’s the reason I can’t temp a movie...To me the music has to be a fundamental ingredient, not a condiment to be sprinkled on the finished meal."