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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.
Jordan Peele -
'Thelma and Louise' was a pretty important film for me and still is. It's a social film about many things - gender, freedom - and it puts someone like me into the place of these protagonists. Watching that movie, you are living through the eyes of these women.
Jordan Peele
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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.
Jordan Peele -
The way I look at it is, when you allow people to submerge themselves into a story, they will react by thinking through what it's about. That's just so much more fun and effective, I think, than a lecture.
Jordan Peele -
I was raised that emotion was a good thing.
Jordan Peele -
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.
Jordan Peele -
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.
Jordan Peele -
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.
Jordan Peele
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You never want to be the whitest-sounding black guy in a room.
Jordan Peele -
I want to believe in ghosts. I love ghost stories.
Jordan Peele -
Little Haley Joel Osment in 'The Sixth Sense' can see dead people. Well, I can see racist people.
Jordan Peele -
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.
Jordan Peele -
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.
Jordan Peele -
I am a huge fan of Quentin Tarantino, who takes time to figure out what his next movie is.
Jordan Peele
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As far as writing and directing, I'm very focused on the thriller genre.
Jordan Peele -
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.
Jordan Peele -
It's a no-win situation with politics; it's always going to be stressful. I'm more into the comedy of life.
Jordan Peele -
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.
Jordan Peele -
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.
Jordan Peele -
I want to produce untapped voices, find people and help them get their platform.
Jordan Peele
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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.
Jordan Peele -
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.
Jordan Peele -
Now that the black experience isn't viewed as box-office death, people are catching up to untapped auteurs.
Jordan Peele -
I define 'social thriller' as thriller/horror movies where the ultimate villain is society.
Jordan Peele