For his third outing, director Jordan Peele takes on the alien-invasion genre in his new thriller ‘NOPE’. ‘NOPE’ tells the story of a brother (Daniel Kaluuya) and sister (Keke Palmer) who work as caretakers at a California horse ranch that encounter a mysterious force that affects everyone around them.
Inspired by the classic films from his childhood, Peele tells Dave Morales about the stories that inspired his latest creation.
Often touted as an incredible storyteller, Peele credits the team behind his films for their captivating stories. “The story and the storytelling is something that’s done by a whole group of amazing talented artists,” stated Peele.
Taking inspiration from several films, Peele explains that it all began with one. “It probably started with ET, it was so formative and so different. What Spielberg was able to do was take a sci-fi premise and bring magic to it and that’s something a few people have been able to do.”
Classic Inspiration
Peele goes on to praise another of Steven Spielberg’s classics films, Close Encounter of the Third Kind. “Such an awe-inspiring cinematic feat and I think the ambition with a flying saucer film and taking that on, he brought the appropriate ambition to it and so I felt a sort of responsibility to take on that ambition and do things in my style,” remarked Peele.
Peele not only drew inspiration from sci-fi films but from westerns as well. “I’m a big fan of Unforgiven, one of my favorites, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Once Upon A Time was actually pretty formative for this one as well.”
‘NOPE’ may be perceived as a western but the director notes that “I don’t know at what point that became at the forefront but I think the movie is not a western itself but it is in many ways about the Hollywood take on the wild west and the spectaclization of it.”
Universal Picture: Nope
Nope hits theaters on July 22, for all of your movie news be sure to follow BackstageOL on Twitter.
