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From behind the scenes bon mots to how the film might even be connected to Get Out and early prognosticating for its Oscar chances, here's what you need to know before you see acclaimed filmmaker Jordan Peele's 2019 horror outing, Us.
After getting his start on the sketch comedy series Mad TV, where he spent five seasons, it might have seemed unlikely that Jordan Peele would soon shoot to the upper echelon of filmmakers and earn himself an Academy Award, but once audiences got to see his whip-smart social satire on Key & Peele, the hit sketch show starring Peele and his comedic scene partner Keegan Michael Key, they may have realized what a bright future Peele had ahead of him. From his pitch-perfect Obama impression to his enthusiastic valet, Peele quickly made his mark on sketch comedy before setting his sights even higher.
"Mmmm, baked to perfection. Can you believe it?"
Peele's 2017 film Get Out, chronicling an extremely bad weekend away for Chris at his girlfriend's family's country house, ended up making its mark as the most profitable film of the year as well as netting an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Peele along with nominations for Best Director and Best Picture. Peele has since retired from acting, noting that he prefers directing, but word is that he hasn't changed despite moving behind the camera he brought his Obama impression back, among others, to lighten the mood on set during Get Out.
After Get Out, which paired veteran actors like Bradley Whitford and Catherine Keener alongside lesser-known performers like Daniel Kaluuya and Allison Williams, Peele had to assemble a noteworthy cast for his second film, and he certainly didn't disappoint. Two of the first names announced were Winston Duke and Lupita Nyong'o, the former of whom is known for roles in Person of Interest and other small film and television roles while the latter made an unforgettable debut in Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave while she was still attending Yale Drama School and even won an Academy Award for her work. The two actors also notably appeared together in 2018's Black Panther, the juggernaut Marvel superhero film starring Chadwick Boseman and Michael B. Jordan that crushed box office records.
Aside from Duke and Nyong'o, the film features two other stars familiar to TV fans: Elisabeth Moss and Tim Heidecker, who are known for vastly different projects. Elisabeth Moss rose to fame on serious prestige dramas like Mad Men and The Handmaid's Tale, while Heidecker's biggest claim to fame is his work on the Adult Swim original Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!
After Get Out, which was a completely original concept for a "social thriller," many fans probably expected Peele to produce a new and completely original concept. But it's important to recognize the genesis of Us came from one of the best works of horror in history. When Peele was only a kid, he watched a 1960 episode of The Twilight Zone called "Mirror Image," about a woman waiting for a bus on a rainy evening who spots her exact duplicate after a series of odd and disconcerting events. Convinced that her double is sent from an alternate universe to replace her, the woman begins to unravel and is eventually carted away, even though her double is all too real.
This isn't Peele's only brush with the famous horror anthology series he's producing and hosting the next generation of The Twilight Zone, which will air on CBS in 2019. Though there have been a few Twilight Zone reboots since the original series aired, this one is perhaps the most highly anticipated. Keep watching the video to know why you must watch this before you see us!
#Us #UsMovie #JordanPeele #GetOutSequel
Peele's journey | 0:14
An incredible ensemble | 1:26
Getting in the Zone | 2:40
Getting back to Get Out | 3:35
More horror | 4:32
A festival debut | 5:34
Oscar chances? | 6:16
Nyong'o is the standout | 6:54
A bigger budget | 7:49
The message of 'self-examination' | 8:44
Critical acclaim | 9:42
Some specific inspirations | 10:21