New direction
Jordan Peele tackles filmmaking
WRITER and comedian Jordan Peele is known for the popular sketch comedy TV series “Key & Peele,” but for his debut as a director, he chose an unlikely genre (horror) and a touchy topic (race).
Here, Peele lets The Post in on “Get Out.” How did you decide on a horror movie about race?
The idea first came to me during the beginning of the Barack Obama presidency. And it was meant as a way to address racism and the idea that we were in this post-racial America — this lie that was being told that we are, in fact, past race. Part of the evidence that we weren’t past race is that every other human horror has been tackled by my favorite [movie] genre — thrillers — except race.
Did you ever think the movie was too funny?
You’re always thinking about that. We ended up with this movie, which I feel hits the right balance. But any time something was too funny, or felt like a joke, or didn’t belong, we had to confront it and say, “Either we’re gonna get rid of this, or we’re gonna deliver it in a more grounded way.” It needs the levity because the movie has some very tense scenes. Speaking of tense scenes, that moment where Georgina, the maid, breaks down: How did you do it? Betty Gabriel is an accomplished dancer as well as an actor, so she’s very precise. I instantly knew this was a real moment in the movie. I had her do it about seven times, and each time she nailed it.
Another great actor is Daniel Kaluuya. How did you find him?
I first found him in Episode 2 of “Black Mirror.” It was exciting to find Daniel, who should’ve already been a leading man. But I get to take a little piece of his rising star and get a little credit for it. He resembles a Sidney Poitier meets Jimmy Stewart to me, where he’s the Everyman — the perfect surrogate for us.