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Nolan, McConaughey surprise with ‘Interstellar’

By WTOP Staff

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Christopher Nolan and Matthew McConaughey came to Comic-Con unannounced and surprised attendees with a first look at “Interstellar,” but neither offered many details about the highly anticipated space adventure.

“I can tell you a lot, but I’m not going to,” McConaughey said at Thursday’s Paramount Pictures panel.

The Oscar winner plays a pilot and engineer grounded in a dystopian land where all space exploration has ceased. His character is a widowed father of two who is given an opportunity to travel into the stars long after he gave up his dreams of flight.

“It’s by far the most ambitious film Mr. Nolan has ever directed,” McConaughey said before the director of “Inception” and “The Dark Knight” trilogy emerged on stage for his first Comic-Con appearance.

“We thought it’d be fun to come down and see what all the fuss is about,” Nolan said to raucous applause. “It’s an incredible event. There’s nothing like it anywhere in the world.”

A lifelong sci-fi fan, Nolan was inspired to make “Interstellar” because he felt real space exploration had fallen off greatly in recent decades. When he was a kid, he said, becoming an astronaut was the highest ambition of any child.

“Growing up when I did, the idea of a journey that would take you not just through the solar system, not just through this galaxy but into a whole other galaxy, that’s as big a journey you can try to imagine telling on film,” the 43-year-old filmmaker said.

The moody trailer showed a spaceship launch with McConaughey and co-star Anne Hathaway in space suits traveling to another galaxy. In one particularly haunting scene, the pair is seen in peril amid raging waters on an alien world at the other end of a wormhole.

Nolan shot the film in IMAX from a script co-written by his brother, Jonathan Nolan. Kip Thorne, a theoretical physicist who’s an expert in space and wormholes, helped the Nolans base their story on real-world research.

Christopher Nolan cited “Star Wars,” ”2001: A Space Odyssey” and “Blade Runner” as the films that influenced him most. He recalled watching “Blade Runner” with his family in London.

“We really have an ambition with this film, not to do what that one did because I don’t think anybody ever could, but to tell a similarly ambitious story in scope and scale,” he said. “That is to say I want kids today to be able to go with their parents and sit and watch this story unfold on an enormous screen and really feel engaged with it.”

“Interstellar” is set for release in November.

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Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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