Anthony McCarten had a "holy s**t" moment when he heard Christopher Nolan was making 'Dunkirk'.
Anthony McCarten and partner Eva Maywald
The 56-year-old screenwriter wrote the new Joe Wright movie 'The Darkest Hour' - which follows the hero British Prime Minister Winston Churchill at the beginning of World War II - but even though he started writing the script four years ago, he admitted he was worried when he heard Nolan was also helming a Hollywood blockbuster about Dunkirk.
When asked if he was worried when he first heard about 'Dunkirk', he exclusively told BANG Showbiz at the Annual UK Honours Event hosted by Newport Beach Film Festival and Visit Newport Beach at The Rosewood Hotel, London, on Thursday (15.02.18): "No, not really.
"I started writing this four years ago so this is pre-'Dunkirk' and I didn't have any knowledge of that.
"There was a small 'holy s**t' moment when I heard that Chris Nolan will be doing a $200,000 movie about it.
"But in the end, our movie isn't about Dunkirk. It's about Winston agreeing to a peace deal with Adolf Hitler. It's a very different subject matter in the end."
'The Darkest Hour' tells the story at the beginning of World War II as within days of becoming Prime Minister, Churchill must face one of his most turbulent and defining moments of the conflict: exploring a negotiated peace treaty with Nazi Germany, which could guarantee Britain's independence and that of the Commonwealth.
As the Nazi forces roll across Western Europe and the threat of invasion of the UK, Churchill must resist attempts by his own political party and an initially sceptical King George VI, to stand firm against the dangers facing his country and not buckle to the Nazis.
The film has received critical acclaim and Gary Oldman won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture and has been nominated for a BAFTA and Academy Awards in the Leading Man category.
Tagged in Christopher Nolan Gary Oldman Joe Wright