Christopher Nolan isn't a man many in the film industry would dream of saying "no" to. The art-house-meets-multiplex film director, heir apparent to Stanley Kubrick, has chosen composer Hans Zimmer to write the musical score for his trilogy of acclaimed Batman movies, as well as Inception , Dunkirk and the utterly brilliant Interstellar .
But there was something very odd about taking a seat in the summer of 2020 at our local cinema The Light, in Stockport, to take in Tenet , his latest mind-bending epic (which after seeing it four times I still don't understand). The film was the first "big" release to hit cinemas during the pandemic. The money men behind it wanted to hold off on bringing it to the screens until Covid was "over", which would assure a bigger box office for a film that had set the studio back a reported $200million.
However Nolan, a cinema purist, demanded its release then and there. He's perhaps the only director in the film industry who could make such a demand and not be laughed out of the building, let alone actually be listened to.
So there were masks, and social distancing, and big plastic screens between you and the staff at the tills as you bought your popcorn. And there was something we hadn't had in a while: a massive, blockbuster experience.
Something was missing, though - the Nolan film had no Zimmer score, as he had turned down the director and instead elected to score Denis Villeneuve's Dune .
Nolan's reaction? "Not great," said Zimmer.
But he adds: "There’s another part to it as well, which people keep missing out on."
As well as juggling Dune , Zimmer had been crafting a new career for himself - one that few film composers could dream of - and that is live performance, in front of packed out arenas. "I went out on tour, and I suddenly got really interested in this thing that I never thought I’d do.
"And here I was, sixty-odd years old going, ‘Whoa. This is fun. I like this’. "Chris realised that, and he realised that that’s where my focus was at that moment."
So we take our seats in Manchester's AO Arena on a strangely summery Thursday evening in March as Hans Zimmer strolls into town with a band, an orchestra, a choir and a back catalogue that no modern film composer could rival. It's an interesting mix who turn up to fill the 21,000-capacity arena - some dressed up in smart blazers, others wearing football shirts (we're somewhere in between).
The screens are emblazoned with the Ukraine flag before the show begins and after the first two numbers are done, Zimmer addresses the crowd and let's them know that there's a Ukrainian contingent within his orchestra. They stand to show themselves and the arena stands in unison to applaud them.
So intense are the performances of well-known themes from blockbusters that as the three-hour gig goes on you increasingly find yourself detaching the music from the films themselves - they take on a life of their own as the band improvise, head-bang and cellist Tina Guo assaults her cello, rather than plays it.
During The Dark Knight theme, there's a slap bass solo. Why not?
Vocals from the Interstellar theme are otherworldly.
And the band of musicians that accompany Zimmer go on to show themselves to be stunning multi-instrumentalists at the height of their powers, egged on by Zimmer who so often steps aside during the show and lets them take the limelight as her grins from a distance.
When he does take the mic to address the audience, he's got a slightly awkward but honest presence as a showman.
After a stirring piece of music which I didn't recognise, Zimmer admits: "That one was more for me, than you."
He tells us that the piece is from Dark Phoenix. "The music was the best thing about that movie. Let's be honest, no one in Manchester went to see that movie" A quick Google on Rotten Tomatoes after the show tells us he's probably right.
Some of the crowd find themselves overwhelmed with a quiet awe at what plays out in front of them, others with a laddy enthusiasm more likely to be seen at The Etihad or Old Trafford.
During the intermission, the men's toilets are filled with quite the performance too. A batch of lads, some of whom are sporting neck tattoos and are transmitting an aura that they may have enjoyed the beer gardens of Manchester in the rare sunshine beforehand, give us all a rendition of the Pirates of the Caribbean theme music Zimmer has just performed moments earlier.
"Da! Na-na na na! Da da da na na!"
Meanwhile, during the Dune theme, a woman sat near us matches the on-stage drummer for enthusiasm and slaps and bashes her lap for about three minutes with her own recital.
And as the final number - the beautiful and solemn piece entitled "Time" from Inception - draws to it's almost-silent conclusion, a member of the crowd takes this as their cue to perform themselves.
"We f****** love you Hans."
Inappropriate? Yes. But it's true.
Far from being a dusty composer, or some reclusive genius you're supposed to respectfully witness sat up straight in silence, there's an unexpected rock star quality about Zimmer on stage with a 30-ish strong band of guitarists, singers, horns, drummers a bloke who plays "a chair leg" which inspires such devotion and admiration from the audience.
There are packed stadiums where pop stars or elite footballers aren't adored as much as this. It makes being the only person in the film industry to say "no" to Christopher Nolan seem the obvious choice.
