Jordan Peele – This Had Oscar Buzz

With another Oscar ceremony coming to a close, it’s time to crack the seal on the Class of 2022 movies and we couldn’t wait to talk about Jordan Peele’s Nope! Priming audiences for a big summer alien invasion film, Peele also delivered a film with a lot on its mind about society’s relationship to witnessing and capturing violent spectacle, the film industry’s history of disregard for Black artists, and how we package our own traumas. With a terrific ensemble led by Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer as siblings who discover an unexplainable phenomena in the skies, Nope is perhaps 2022’s biggest head-scratcher among films not recognized by the Academy.

This episode, we talk about the 2022 box office dynamic that unfairly tainted Nope as a box office disappointment and its many, rich avenues for narrative interpretation. We also talk about Kaluuya’s underrated performance, Palmer’s contrasting performance that was campaigned in supporting, and what makes the movie a monster movie vs. an alien movie.

Topics also include Gordy going off, Hoyte van Hoytema’s cinematography, and breakthrough star Jean Jacket.

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Few filmmaking ascents have been as exciting and heralded as Jordan Peele’s with the arrival of Get Out in 2017. After creating lasting cultural importance and winning the Best Original Screenplay Oscar, Peele’s follow-up was one of the most eagerly awaited films before it was even announced. And in early 2019, the follow-up would be Us, a sci-fi/horror film with American societal divides on its mind and a daring performance by Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o at its center. The film was an equal box office success to Peele’s debut, though it received a less unanimous response in terms of how well he pulls off its metaphors. What kept the film in awards discussion was Nyong’o performance, including SAG and Critics’ Choice nominations, but missing out on the Oscar lineup.

This episode, we discuss our feverish anticipation of Jordan Peele’s upcoming Nope and unpack the layers of Us’ allegory. We also look at the brilliant and less recognized performances from Winston Duke and Elisabeth Moss, the 2017 Oscars where Get Out faced stiff competition, and the 2019 Best Actress race.

Topics also include supposed genre bias against other actresses, critics groups as awards influencers, and our 2019 Best Actress ballots.

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Tag: Jordan Peele

279 – Nope

202 – Us