Jordan Peele has comfortably been able to fill the gap left by a “lack of imagination in Hollywood”.
The 39-year-old rose to fame as one half of comedy duo Key & Peele with Keegan-Michael Key, but gained critical acclaim and box office clout after penning and directing smash hit 2017 horror movie Get Out.
After winning Best Original Screenplay at the 2018 Oscars, a full year after Get Out was released, Jordan has become one of the industry’s most in-demand talents.
“There has been a lack of imagination in Hollywood, which sets us up to bring in really new, creative ways of storytelling,” Jordan, who also runs Monkeypaw Productions, told Variety. “The imagination, especially, when we talk about representation, has been dull. For years and years and years, there’s this preconceived notion that diversity presents a struggle for projects. Well, the truth is, we haven’t invested in diversity. We haven’t invested in artists. So there’s a lack of courage, and I think, when you take leaps and you bring courage and confidence to projects, it works.”
After the success of Get Out, Monkeypaw, founded by Jordan in 2012, went from a small scale organisation only producing Key & Peele, comedy movie Keanu which starred Jordan and Keegan-Michael and Get Out, to hot Hollywood property.
The Oscar winner’s latest projects include Spike Lee flick BlacKkKlansman, upcoming Lupita Nyong’o horror flick Us and the highly anticipated The Twilight Zone reboot.
While it’s important for Jordan to tackle serious social issues in his work, he also wants to have fun with it.
“I think when you entertain first, you can get at something socially profound or intellectual much easier,” he mused. “I think people prefer a story to a lecture or a history lesson. At least I do.”
