I mean it can't be an accident that both are thieves and their names are Cobb.
Do you think Nolan refers to 'Following'?
I don't know I've wondered, I know the script was written before insomnia, so it would lead me to assume it was just a name he was using at the time, like the name Scagnitti in early tarantino scripts.
shareI think the Inception Cobb may be a 'nod' to his first film. Of all the many names to choose from, seems like more than a coincide to me.
Your mind is the scene of the crime.
Nolan films tend to reference each other, sometimes deliberate (swipe card use in Memento and Insomnia), sometimes accidental (Batman logo in Following). I reckon Cobb is a reference to the Following Cobb.
Inception - A film by Christopher Nolan
*SPOILERS FOR BOTH FOLLOWING AND INCEPTION*
I agree with all of the above posts and would take it a step further. Inception Cobb takes Fisher deeper into the world he creates in order to get him to fulfill his wishes and plant the idea about splitting up his father's empire. Following Cobb takes the unnamed "Young Man" deeper into the world he creates (the staged robberies, the stolen credit card, etc.) in order to get him to fulfill his wishes and be framed as a murderer (in addition to being a thief).
Also, both Cobbs have the same sort of flair for business attire. But that might just be Nolan's trademark. All of his main characters dress like their director!
"What'cha gonna do now, Charlie?"
the unnamed "Young Man"
Here's something I posted on a different message board…
(Inception spoilers ahead)
Something occurred to me when I did a quick google search to find out whatever happened to Following's Cobb, Alex Haw. Something that I think supports the "it's all a dream theory" about Inception (which I already feel pretty certain of).
You see, I didn't know that Haw was not an actor, but actually an architect. So, in Following we have an architect who, in a film, takes on the role of a thief named Cobb. In Inception we have essentially the same thing. An architect who, in shared dreams (Nolan's metaphor for filmmaking), takes on the role of a thief named Cobb. Both architects in the real world. Thieves in the dream world.
Clearly Nolan reused the name for a reason, but until now I hadn't realized why. Sure, both men are thieves, but I doubt he would merely reuse the name if it wasn't supposed to tell us something about the nature of the character and the film itself. I believe that, if the dream world really is Nolan's proxy for filmmaking (which, I feel, is undeniable) then he's suggesting to us that DiCaprio's Cobb is really only a thief in his dreams. Now, you could argue that this would hold true even without the entire-movie-as-dream perspective, since technically DiCaprio's Cobb is really only a thief when he's hooked up to the dream gear, but then what about the name Cobb? In that case, we still only have a superficial connection between the characters. Nothing that tells us anything more about Inception's Cobb, by way of his Following counterpart. Not enough for Nolan to justify using the name and dual professions, in my opinion.
In Following, Cobb is only his name in the film/dream world. In real life he is a practicing architect name Alex Haw. I think Nolan could be suggesting that DiCaprio's Cobb may not be "Cobb" at all. For all we know he too, could be just a normal architect. Just as Haw's Cobb isn't a professional filmmaker, Dicaprio's Cobb isn't really a professional extractor. He's just a guy that dreamed himself that way once…
I think you're really reaching with this analysis. Like, really reaching.
Think about the basics of each character; "thief" doesn't describe what Cobb does in Inception, nor is it the most significant characteristic of the Cobb in Following. Rather, they share a talent for breaking into people's personal spaces (Following--homes/boxes, Inception--minds/subconscious) and manipulating things (Following--box contents/personal items/young man's life, Inception--planting an idea) in such a way as to influence someone's way of thinking and acting.
They share the name because they are similar characters.
oh please!! Inception was concieved of years ago, he only just recently was able to get the budget that would allow him to make it. My guess is that he wrote the scripts (or the outlines) in the same period and Cobb was a name he was fond of at the time. Probably a deeper meaning with the word Cobb that strikes a cord with him, in terms of being a theif. I thik he mayb have decided to keep the name in inception to give a slight nod to his first film, but im guessing the name was always Cobb to start with. Please not get too deep into this lol
shareSimple. So there would be a thread (or multiple threads) like this. ;-)
the reason he done it is pure and simple. To make the millions of fanboy kiddies jump all over it like wildfire. It's working right?
sharethe reason he done it is pure and simple. To make the millions of fanboy kiddies jump all over it like wildfire. It's working right?Well its a 2 page thread so i wouldn't say a million fanboykids jumping over it, more like five or so.
You are right. It probably is not an accident. It probably is an inside nod to his work that the more devoted fan will get. A nice little easter egg if you will. Now I wonder if in the Nolan universe the two Cobbs are related.
Dalton and Craig! Accept NO substitutes!
I'm sure it is meant as a reference back to his first film, yes.
this one we call, "f_ck you HBO".
http://tinyurl.com/83bp3dj