Jordan Peele Quotes
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I'm obsessed with giving the audience something they don't see coming.
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Part of what horror is, is taking risks and going somewhere that people think you're not supposed to be able to go, in the name of expressing real-life fears.
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I'd been taught from an early age that I was in the 'other' category on the standardized tests. You know, I had to go down the checklist - Caucasian, African-American, Latino, Asian-Pacific Islander, and then, you know, at the bottom is other. So, you know, very early on I was taught, in a way, that I was somehow this anomaly.
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I was raised that emotion was a good thing.
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Black people who want to do comedy go into standup, where our heroes opened a lot of doors. Improv doesn't have a ton of heroes that you can look to.
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I was a very scared child. Not, you know, not so much of life but of the demons that lurked in the dark. And horror movies terrified me. You know, I'd love watching them but then at night, I would just be up in sweats all night.
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Little Haley Joel Osment in 'The Sixth Sense' can see dead people. Well, I can see racist people.
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I think the lesson is that when you give black voices a platform and the opportunity to tell our story, we will tell good stories just like anybody else.
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I'm a true believer in story. I think when you just tell people to think, people tend to get resistant and defensive and feel like you're accusing them of not thinking.
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You never want to be the whitest-sounding black guy in a room.
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As far as writing and directing, I'm very focused on the thriller genre.
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I think, before Obama, there was a glass ceiling. That's a big change. As a president, I think he was the best. I felt like I could trust his judgment, and he'd take a measured, empathetic approach. I don't see there ever being another Barack Obama.
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I want to believe in ghosts. I love ghost stories.
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I want to produce untapped voices, find people and help them get their platform.
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You can track elections by who was playing that president on 'SNL' at that time. There's the theory that the more likable or charismatic impression would help get the president elected.
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I find campfire stories and urban legends are kind of the bread and butter that inspires a lot of people who are making horror and thriller. There is a nugget of truth behind these sort of cautionary tales.
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The best comedy and horror feel like they take place in reality. You have a rule or two you are bending or heightening, but the world around it is real.
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I am a huge fan of Quentin Tarantino, who takes time to figure out what his next movie is.
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I'm a bigger fan of my directing than in acting. Acting is just harder. You know, not harder, per se, because directing is the hardest thing I've ever had to do. But it's harder to enjoy my work as an actor, you know.
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It's a no-win situation with politics; it's always going to be stressful. I'm more into the comedy of life.
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You hear it said time and time again by successful directors: You have to make a movie for yourself. Don't make it for anyone else.
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There is something transformative if you're a black person cheering in a theater and turn to see a white person cheering for the same thing you are.
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Racism comes in many different forms. Sometimes it's subtle, and sometimes it's overt. Sometimes it's violent, and sometimes it's harmless, but it's definitely here. It's something that I think we're all guilty of, and we just have to make sure that we deal with our own personal racism in the right way.
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I define 'social thriller' as thriller/horror movies where the ultimate villain is society.