Jonathan "Jonah" Nolan (born 1976) is an Academy Award-nominated author who was born in London and raised in the Chicago area. His most famous work is the short story "Memento Mori", which was used by his brother, director Christopher Nolan, as the basis for the screenplay for the critically acclaimed film Memento. He has also co-written the screenplays for The Prestige and The Dark Knight, with his brother.
Nolan attended Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Illinois, graduating in 1994, and then graduated from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., in 1999.
Nolan describes his successful working relationship with his brother in the production notes of The Prestige: "I’ve always suspected that it has something to do with the fact that he’s left-handed and I’m right-handed, because he’s somehow able to look at my ideas and flip them around in a way that’s just a little bit more twisted and interesting. It’s great to be able to work with him like that." In addition, they also contrast in the way they speak: both brothers have a mixed dialect of American and English, but Jonathan in a more American accent and Christopher in a more English accent.
On March 23, 2007, it was announced he would pen Interstellar, a science fiction film set to be directed by Steven Spielberg. It is based on the theories of Kip Thorne, a theoretical physicist known for his prolific contributions in gravitation physics and astrophysics and for having trained a generation of scientists.
At a Comic Con press conference on July 26, 2008, Nolan was confirmed by director McG to be the "lead writer" of Terminator Salvation.
