Chris Corbould, the SFX Maestro Behind Bond and Batman’s Spectacle, Opens Up on His Craft at IFFI

25 November 2025: In a packed hall at Kala Academy, Academy Award-winning Special Effects maestro Christopher Charles Corbould OBE rendered the rarest of cinematic treats today. At the Interview Session, Corbould took a deep dive into the mechanics of spectacle, offering the audience an interaction with the man who has blown up James Bond’s world, flipped Batman’s truck, and bent the laws of physics for Christopher Nolan. The Interview Session titled ‘From Bond to Batman: SFX, Stunts & Spectacle,’ offered a riveting tour through decades of filmmaking ingenuity.

The session opened with film producer Ravi Kottarakkara playfully holding up his phone to play the unmistakable Bond theme, saying that the tune alone is enough to identify the legend behind 15 Bond films. He then honoured Corbould, the man behind special effects in three Batman movies, and the Academy Award-winning ‘Inception.’ Moderated by noted critic Naman Ramachandran, the conversation immediately set the tone: curious, energetic, and loaded with first-hand stories from the frontlines of blockbuster cinema.

Asked about the guiding philosophy of his craft, Corbould responded without hesitation:

“I always do as much as possible practically.” He recalled the early days of friction between practical and digital effects, but explained how the two teams have now learned to complement each other beautifully. “The departments realised they could help each other,” he said, noting that the best cinematic moments today are born from the seamless blend of both.

Inside the Nolan School of Precision

Having collaborated with Christopher Nolan on four films, Corbould described the director’s uncompromising belief in real elements. Whenever possible, Nolan demanded practical execution: real cars, real crashes, real structures. “We shoot it first physically. Then the digital team comes in to make it better,” he explained.

The audience was treated to video clips of scenes and behind-the-scenes, from the sinking Palazzo in ‘Casino Royale,’ the hallway fight in ‘Inception,’ to the unforgettable truck flip in ‘The Dark Knight.’ Each clip opened the door to detailed anecdotes of designing massive rigs, building rotating corridors, programming helicopters to move along precise paths, and engineering vehicles for extreme stunts.

On the Inception hallway fight, Corbould said: “I’d done revolving rooms before, but this needed long corridors. Anything more than three revolutions per minute could make someone fall. Nolan wanted to push the speed, and somehow, we made it work.” On the Dark Knight truck flip, he laughed: “I tried convincing him we couldn’t flip a real truck. But Nolan wouldn’t budge and, in the end, we did flip a real one.”

Precision, Testing & Safety Above All

Corbould emphasised that for every spectacular moment on screen, there are countless hours of meticulous preparation behind it. “We test our systems for 25 times at least. We think of every possible flaw, every contingency,” he said. On actor safety, he was unwavering: “I need my actors comfortable and confident. We line interiors, build fire-safety systems into vehicles for their safety and comfort.”

He described how multiple-department coordination is mandatory on his sets. “Everyone sits together. No surprises. Everyone must know exactly what will happen.” Corbould lit up while describing controlled explosions, one of his long-time fascinations. “Everything is timed down to milliseconds. A computerised detonation system triggers each explosion precisely when it should.”

On Digital Tech, Rajamouli & the Future

Speaking candidly, Corbould recalled how he once feared digital effects would make his work obsolete. “It didn’t happen, because digital must be a tool, not the whole event,” he said. He expressed admiration for Indian filmmaker S.S. Rajamouli, calling his films “wonderful to watch,” and asked enthusiastically about the upcoming ‘Varanasi.’

He also revealed that he has now stepped away from SFX supervision to pursue directing and would love to tell stories set in India. Corbould ended with a message for aspiring creators: “Practical effects are here to stay. It’s rewarding to overcome every hurdle and bring the director’s vision to life even when the elements are working against you.”

What emerged through the session was not just a celebration of iconic stunts, but a thoughtful exploration of how instinct, mechanics, collaboration, and creativity come together to create unforgettable cinematic moments. For IFFI’s audience, it was a rare look into how some of the most iconic moments in movie history were engineered: with the eternal desire to push the limits of what is possible.