--- description: The 'Dark Knight Rises' director is in the early stages of planning a new project title: Here's How Christopher Nolan Staves Off Writer's Block image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3ab1b8e6da339d99/6987ec3dcd1bba22496f9137/christopher-nolan-time-100.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [TIME 100 Gala](/tag/time-100-gala/) ## TIME 100 Gala Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Here's How Christopher Nolan Avoids Writer's Block  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 22, 2015 2:19 AM CUT  Christopher Nolan talks to TIME reporter Nolan Feeney during the TIME 100 gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Christopher Nolan talks to TIME reporter Nolan Feeney during the TIME 100 gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015.Jemal Countess—Getty Images for TIME  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 22, 2015 2:19 AM CUT Attention, aspiring movie directors. The blockbuster auteur Christopher Nolan has revealed how he staves off writer’s block when working on a new project. “I do a lot of walking,” said the _Interstellar_ director, revealing he had recently started work on an as-yet-untitled new project. The director, who attended the TIME 100 Gala in New York City on Tuesday after being named one of the world’s 100 most influential people, told TIME about his process for writing — putting pen to paper for a couple of hours in the morning, and then returning to his draft in the evening. And when he’s running low on ideas? “I tend to just need to travel to new places,” he said. The _Dark Knight Rises_ director, whose tribute was penned by frequent collaborator Michael Caine, said he was sad to discover one of his fellow honorees wasn’t in attendance. “I was hoping to meet Putin,” he said. Sadly, that particular dark knight was unable to make the event this year. ### See the Stars at the 2015 TIME 100 Gala  Kanye West and Kim Kardashian West attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Brendan McDermid—Reuters  Emma Watson attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Andrew Toth—FilmMagic/Getty Images  Julianne Moore attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIME  Lorne Michaels attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, NY on Apr. 21, 2015. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIME  Kanye West and Kim Kardashian West, along with Amy Schumer, attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIME  Faith Hill and Tim McGraw attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Bennett Raglin—Getty Images for TIME  Amy Schumer attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Bennett Raglin—Getty Images for TIME  John Oliver attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Bennett Raglin—Getty Images for TIME  Misty Copeland attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Bennett Raglin—Getty Images for TIME  Jorge Ramos attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Bennett Raglin—Getty Images for TIME  Barbara Walters attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Bennett Raglin—Getty Images for TIME  Arianna Huffington attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Bennett Raglin—Getty Images for TIME  Lindsey Vonn and Karlie Kloss attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Bennett Raglin—Getty Images for TIME  Julianna Margulies attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Bennett Raglin—Getty Images for TIME  Brian Chesky and Elissa Patel attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Patrick McMullan—Sipa USA  Diane Von Furstenberg attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  Padma Lakshmi attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  Danny Meyer and Audrey Meyer attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  John Green and Sarah Urist Green attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  Abby Wambach and Sarah Huffman attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  Dr. Tom Frieden attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  Ina Garten and Jeffrey Garten attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  Chanda Kochhar attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  Rupert Murdoch attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  Arianna Huffington attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIME  Jenji Kohan attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIME  Lindsey Vonn attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, NY on Apr. 21, 2015. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIME  Guests at the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  Martha Stewart and Kim Kardashian West attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Larry Busacca—Getty Images for TIME  Bradley Cooper and Willie Geist attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, NY, on Apr. 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  Bradley Cooper and Emma Watson attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIME  Laverne Cox attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City April 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  Diane von Furstenberg and Julianne Moore attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  Christopher Nolan talks to TIME reporter Nolan Feeney during the TIME 100 gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Jemal Countess—Getty Images for TIME  Kim Kardashian West attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIME  Martha Stewart and Karlie Kloss attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  John Oliver attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City April 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  Samantha Powers, Ronan Farrow, Mia Farrow, and Cass Sunstein attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  Craig Venter and Elizabeth Holmes attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, NY, on Apr. 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  Bradley Cooper, Jane Boon, Norman Pearlstein attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Patrick McMullan —Sipa USA  Faith Hill and Tim McGraw attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, NY, on Apr. 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  Barbara Walters and Diane von Furstenberg attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Larry Busacca—Getty Images for TIME  Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe and Kira Orange-Jones attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, NY, on Apr. 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  Arianna Huffington, Nancy Gibbs and Samantha Power attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, NY, on Apr. 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  Brian Grazer and guest attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, NY, on Apr. 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  Lee Daniels and Clara Watson attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Jemal Countess—Getty Images for TIME  Tim McGraw performs onstage during TIME 100 Gala, TIME's 100 Most Influential People In The World at Jazz at Lincoln Center on Apr. 21, 2015 in New York City. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIME  Bradley Cooper, Nancy Gibbs, Kanye West, and Kim Kardashian West attend the TIME 100 gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIME  Kanye West performs at TIME 100 Gala, TIME's 100 Most Influential People In The World at Jazz at Lincoln Center on Apr. 21, 2015 in New York City. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIME  Kanye West performs on stage at the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIME  Julianne Moore and Bart Freundlich attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Clint Spaulding—Patrick McMullan/Sipa USA  Julianna Margulies and Keith Lieberthal attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Patrick McMullan —Sipa USA  George Lucas, Kanye West, and Elon Musk attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIME  Bradley Cooper and Lorne Michaels attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIME  Martha Stewart Kanye West attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Patrick McMullan —Sipa USA  Laverne Cox, Kim Kardashian and Naomi Campbell attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Patrick McMullan—Sipa USA  Marie Kondo, Julianne Moore and Jenna Lyons attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIME  Laverne Cox poses with a TIME 100 gift bag as she attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, NY, on Apr. 21, 2015. 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