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A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Wednesday 20 March 2019
Jordan Peele dares everyone to look at the horrors of ‘Us’

By LINDSEY BAHR standing in your driveway
Associated Press late at night looks exactly
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jor- like you.
dan Peele’s sweet spot as Peele knows how to get
a filmmaker are the “pit in under your skin and stay
your stomach” moments. there, and it’s what made
That thing that happens him the must-see horror
when you realize the wom- filmmaker of the moment.
an stirring the tea isn’t just “Us,” out nationwide Fri-
there for conversation. day, is only his second and
When you notice that the yet it’s been an event-in-
help is a little off. Or, as in the-making ever since it
his new film “Us,” when you was announced. That’s
see that the family of four what happens when your

This image released by Universal Pictures shows Lupita Nyong’o in a scene from “Us,” written,
produced and directed by Jordan Peele.
Associated Press
debut is “Get Out.” on ‘Get Out,’” Peele said. leading by example.”
“Get Out” wasn’t even “But this group sort of al- And Peele put them both
finished when the former lowed me to stretch a little through the wringer. The
sketch-comedian started bit more.” days on set as the Wilsons
cooking up the idea for his Duke was impressed by his were full of laughter and
follow-up about doppel- calm. He knew there were fun. But the days as the
gangers, loosely inspired by “sophomore pressures” murderous doppelgang-
the “Twilight Zone” episode — he had his own set fol- ers known as The Teth-
“Mirror Image.” Then the lowing his breakout role in ered, Peele said, felt like “a
wild success of “Get Out” “Black Panther” — but said morgue.”
— four Oscars nominations, Peele never brought any of “The air getting sucked out
one win (Peele for original that to set. of the room is an under-
screenplay), over $255 mil- “Day one, (Peele) said, statement. But it was kind
lion in tickets sold against ‘Before we do anything I of cool,” Peele said. The
a $4.5 million budget, and just want to let you guys actors went “pretty meth-
general cultural impact — know that I’m here for you. od” on those days.
put Peele on another level. I won’t stop until we get the Nyong’o had it especially
So by the time Universal shot. When I say cut, we hard. She’d chosen to af-
Pictures agreed to make got the shot. So trust me, fect a strained vocal con-
“Us,” not only did he have believe in me,’” Duke said. dition — spasmodic dys-
a budget over five times “And I was like, that’s all I phonia — to make Red
higher than his first, but he need.” even more haunting. And
had his pick of collabora- Duke and Nyong’o already she had to do Red’s first big
tors too. had a short hand working monologue 11 times with
“Because of ‘Get Out’ I together. that raspy, painful sound-
was privileged enough to Yes, they had just both ing voice.
be able to tap the best tal- been in “Black Panther,” “Us” is chock full of pop cul-
ent in the industry,” Peele but they were also Yale ture references, subtle and
said recently. Drama School graduates overt: A “Jaws” t-shirt here,
That goes for stars Lupi- and have seen one an- a C.H.U.D. VHS there. Even
ta Nyong’o and Winston other do everything from the setting, the Santa Cruz
Duke, who play dual roles clown work to Chekov. boardwalk, is a callback to
as the nuclear American “It was great to be able “The Lost Boys.” And every
family, the Wilsons, and to perform with someone reference works “on two
the terrifying red jumpsuit- who I value as much more different levels and hope-
wearing and gold scissor- than a friend — I value her fully more,” Peele said. But
wielding Red and Abra- as a cohort. I value her as don’t stress if you don’t
ham, as well as the below- an ally. I went to work ev- catch or decipher them all.
the-line talent: Production ery day trying to make “There are many of these
designer Ruth De Jong sure we could create a things that only I will ever
(“Twin Peaks”); cinema- space where she could ex- know,” Peele revealed.
tographer Mike Gioulakis cel. I thought that was my Although one thing is not
(“It Follows”); and costume duty,” Duke said. “We had really up for interpretation:
designer Kym Barrett (“The a female lead and in our The genre. He tweeted the
Matrix”) among them. climate in Hollywood we other day that “’Us’ is a hor-
“I had an amazing team were doing the work and ror movie.”q