USA TODAY International Edition
Is ‘ Get Out’ already garnering awards talk?
Director Jordan Peele serves up a horror hit in debut
LOS ANGELES The party setting was fittingly creepy for a hit movie exploring the underbelly of affluent white life.
The horror thriller Get Out celebrated its $ 206 million worldwide box office with a garden party held Tuesday on the Wisteria Lane set from TV’s Desperate Housewives at Universal Studios Hollywood, a sly nod to the film’s sinister outdoor fête. Organizers insisted the event was strictly to mark the movie’s home viewing release ( available now in digital HD; May 23 on Blu- ray).
But the event’s lavishness and the guest list — including members of groups such as the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which hosts the Golden Globes — posed a bigger question: Could writer, producer and first- time director Jordan Peele’s acclaimed film, which has a staggering 99% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, be gearing up for an awards run this fall?
“It did feel like Universal just threw the first awards event of the season, way ahead of the pack,” says Claudia Puig, president of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association ( and former USA TODAY critic), another awards group out in force at the party. “The intention was reminding influencers, critics and journalists how much they like Get Out, and solidifying it as an important film worthy of awards consideration.”
Peele and producer Jason Blum, along with stars Daniel Kaluuya ( who plays an AfricanAmerican man who visits his girlfriend’s ominous family estate) and Allison Williams ( the character’s white girlfriend), hosted a panel discussion targeting the film’s social message and dissecting key Get Out scenes.
Any awards talk at this point “makes me feel uncomfortable,” Peele says. “I’ve been so overwhelmed seeing people get this movie in the way I’d hope they’d get it. I’m content to sit in this fantasy world and enjoy it.”
Scott Feinberg, awards columnist for The Hollywood Reporter, says Get Out is “definitely an early contender” in awards consideration, despite being released in February. Early films often get lost in the fall awards rush.
“But if you get the kind of reviews Get Out received and the money it made and the timely subject matter it tackled, you have to be taken very seriously,” Feinberg says.
Anne Thompson, editor at large for film site IndieWire, sees hurdles for the horror thriller, a genre rarely recognized by awards groups. But she’s “confident” that Peele’s lauded screenplay will find its way to an eventual Oscar nomination (“That’s the most likely scenario”) and could be part of the awards discussion in other categories, including best director.
“Awards consideration would be a nice thing. But we’re still focused on making the film a big worldwide success,” says Blum. “Fall is a long way away. I wouldn’t say there’s no thought of awards. But right now, ( those are) hopes and dreams.”