Theatrical release of “Nope”
Jordan Peele’s next horror stroke of genius?
Oscar winner Daniel Kaluuya in “Nope”, his second collaboration with Jordan Peele.
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Jordan Peele’s new film “Nope” will start on August 11th. In many areas it connects seamlessly to “Get Out” and “Wir”.
The summer slump in the cinema, which is difficult to overlook, will be filled from August 11th, at least for all fans of the darker pace. Then the latest coup by director Jordan Peele (43), who has blossomed into the most promising horror filmmaker alongside his colleague Ari Aster (36) in recent years, will start in this country. What to expect from “Nope” and how does it differ from Peele’s two acclaimed predecessors? The spoiler-free answers.
Dark clouds are gathering – that’s what it’s all about
Is there a term for “a bad miracle?” Em (Keke Palmer, 28) and OJ (Daniel Kaluuya, 33) wonder. The mismatched siblings own a farm in the middle of nowhere in California where they train horses for Hollywood productions. But business has faltered since the film studios have increasingly relied on computer technology instead of real animals.
Suddenly, strange and frightening things called “bad miracles” start happening on their remote property. But instead of packing their things right away, the two see a great opportunity in the mysterious phenomena. Regardless of the dangers, they hope for their big “Oprah moment” that promises fame and glory – provided they survive.
Special praise for Kaluuya
As the congenial comedian duo Key and Peele, Keegan-Michael Key (51) and Jordan Peele have become a phenomenon in their native USA. The latter has celebrated the greatest successes of his career so far with a genre that is usually as far removed from comedy as possible. In 2017, he hit the big time with the clever, socially critical horror film “Get Out”. The film was nominated in four of the “Big Five” categories at the Oscars, in the end Peele went home with the golden boy for “Best Screenplay”.
Peele had already worked with Kaluuya on “Get Out”, and the actor later became an Oscar winner (“Judas and the Black Messiah”). Referring to “Nope,” Peele is once again full of praise for his leading actor: “I’ve never seen an actor work so hard.” He said that in reference to the riding training that Kaluuya had to go through in order to pass as a “modern cowboy”.
Symbolism and Sci-Fi
Of course, with “Nope” Peele again happily plays with genres, symbolism and the expectations of the viewers. In “Get Out” he packed the latent everyday racism of the white upper class into a horror setting. With “Wir” he did it with that section of the population that feels rejected by society and is forced to live apart from it – but no longer wants to accept it. “Nope” is now dedicated to the subject of sensationalism, the hunt for the “money shot” for which some people risk their own lives and sometimes those of others. Just so the Oprah editors might call…
Without wanting to reveal too much: In contrast to the two previous films, “Nope” has become a melange that, in addition to horror elements, also diligently makes use of the science fiction genre. Cameraman Hoyte Van Hoytema (50) was won for the project in order to capture this ambitious mixture as epoch-making as possible on the screen. As Christopher Nolan’s (52) house and yard cameraman, he proved that he can deliver impressive visual values like no other on “Tenet”, “Interstellar” and “Dunkirk”.