ComingSoon Editor-in-Chief Tyler Treese spoke with Nope director Jordan Peele and star Keke Palmer. Nope is now available digitally and releases on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD on October 25.
Tyler Treese: Jordan, one of the elements that really resonated with me is how humans expect animals and thus nature to confine to the standards that they’ve created. Gordy is killed when he acts naturally, as a frightened chimpanzee would act. The horses aren’t used in commercials if they’re not acting the right way, and Jean Jacket is acting naturally. Can you speak to that element of nature and taming? Because it’s really stuck with me and made me examine my own, you know, actions.
Jordan Peele: A lot of people, I don’t think, even picked up necessarily in [their] first viewing on the connections between Gordy the chimp, who is a trained animal who shouldn’t be in this situation, and Jean Jacket, who is, for all intents and purposes, also a trained animal. The underlying connection between these animals and our characters, I think, is also present. In a way, I look at all of them as trained animals, and I look at all of us as trained animals as well. So the film in itself comes back to being about this system of exploitation we’re all kind of wrapped up in, in our own different ways.
Keke, Em’s a hustler. She’s so ambitious in so many different facets of her life and she wants to achieve it all, and she can go into salesmen mode so well. You’re so multi-talented yourself and stay super busy. How is it bringing that element to the character and shining when the light’s put on her?
Keke Palmer: It was an honor because I think that’s a part of my artistry that has only ever existed online. Before this project and this opportunity, I think primarily I was known for very dramatic stuff with Akeelah and the Bee or maybe some kid work, but that aspect of my artistry, I never really got to showcase in this regard. So it was a lot of fun being able to explore that and then also explore the transition out of that to when Emerald is faced with bigger themes in this film, from family to life or death. That whole evolution … I think that was so exciting because it’s so rare to get a character that you get to explore all those different places. That’s how humanity is, but we don’t always get to see it in a movie. So I was really excited about being able to start at that point, this vibrant place, and then really come to this grounded, introspective, and confused state.
Jordan, you had such a wonderful conversation with Hideo Kojima recently. Are you interested in working in an interactive medium, either games or something else?
Jordan Peele: It’s funny; he asked the same, but absolutely. I do love games. I think that they are very connected to storytelling in that I truly believe the art form is about empathy. It’s about putting yourself in somebody else’s shoes and understanding what it might feel like to be someone else. So yeah, yes is the answer.
Keke, I haven’t seen any other film this year create a dialogue like Nope. it just resonated with people. People are still talking about the themes and it’s really stuck with people. As a creative yourself, what does it mean for you to be working on projects that are connecting with people and have a lasting impact? It’s not “you watch it one day and you forget about it the next.”
Keke Palmer: It’s the gift that keeps on giving. It really, really is. It means so much as an artist to put out something that’s impactful. And I think with Jordan, it’s exceptionally unique because not only is it something impactful, but it’s also something that can be commercial in a really real way. So many people seeing it and many people having a different perspective of it, and at the same time, it all still is rooted in something that is truthful. I think that is the part for me that’s just massive in that regard, and it’s totally something I’ve never experienced before.
