Jordan Peele, photographed at the Fairmont Century Plaza hotel in Los Angeles on November 13, 2022.
(Vivien Killilea/Getty Images/IMDb)
“There is no terror in the explosion, only in its anticipation,” Alfred Hitchcock once said, and there may be no filmmaker in today's Hollywood better at heightening that anticipation than Jordan Peele.
As a writer and director, Peele’s mastery of the art of provocation has helped him achieve a hat-trick of era-defining, genre-bending hits: 2017’s “Get Out,” 2019’s “Us,” and “ Nope” from 2022, which together have grossed more than $680 million at the global box office and earned three Oscar nominations and an award for original screenplay. Peele earned an additional Oscar nomination for producing Spike Lee's best picture-nominated 2018 drama “BlacKkKlansman.”
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What truly sets Peele's work apart, however, is his ability to hook audiences with the promise of thrills, only to subvert their expectations with deeper, often disconcerting meditations on race, class, spectacle, and surveillance. In the wake of each of Peele's films, a cottage industry has sprung up around decoding what it all means, which isn't exactly something you can say about the average horror movie.
“Jordan toes the line in a unique way,” said actress Keke Palmer, her “Nope” co-star. “He makes promoting his films very enjoyable, but once you sit in that room, you see that he didn't take any shortcuts and that he is truly dedicated to bringing cinema to his audience.”
Since appearing on the comedy show “Key & Peele,” the 45-year-old writer-director has proven to be a force on the small screen as well, producing series like CBS All Access' reimagining of “The Twilight Zone.” ”, “Hunters” from Amazon and “Lovecraft Country” from HBO. And between his groundbreaking film and television projects, including this year's action thriller “Monkey Man,” which he produced, Peele keeps his comedy chops sharp with voice roles in shows like “Big Mouth” and movies like “Toy Story”. 4.”
However, no matter how busy he is, Peele's commitment to craftsmanship never wavers. “Jordan is fierce, knowledgeable and always curious,” Palmer said. “But he also takes his time, and that's the hardest thing to do in this world.”
