NOPE
In the summer blockbuster season, the movies that make their way to AMC Theatres tend to be bigger. Superhero properties and the dinosaurs that break free from JURASSIC WORLD serve up eye-popping visuals that captivate audiences as they munch on their concessions. But NOPE is a different animal, a unique breed. Director Jordan Peele came up with the idea so that his movie could comment directly on our fascination with spectacle. And he filmed it in a way that delivers the biggest thrills possible.
The less that you know about NOPE going into it the better. So for now, we can tell you that the movie stars Daniel Kaluuya (GET OUT) and Keke Palmer as siblings who train horses to appear in motion pictures. And when they begin to suspect that something is lurking in the clouds over their farmhouse, they become obsessed with the idea of capturing this entity on film. NOPE is playing at AMC Theatres while we speak, so grab tickets and see how this turns out.
How Would You Photograph A UFO?
During a recent press day for NOPE, Jordan Peele sat down with CinemaBlend’s official podcast, ReelBlend, to discuss his process for capturing his enormous visuals. Specifically, he opened up about his collaboration with cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema, who has experience working IMAX camera rigs for director Christopher Nolan. Opening up about Hoytema’s influence on him as a filmmaker, Peele references a shot in the horror thriller LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, a long shot captured in a pool that had audiences squirming.
“Hoyte was the only cinematographer that I felt was capable of tackling the many challenges, many technical challenges, of this film,” Poole told ReelBlend. “And when I sat down, I asked him, we started talking about the making of the film, and I started talking to him in terms of if he had to photograph a UFO, just to say for posterity’s sake. ‘What cameras would you use, as the world’s foremost expert on this?’ He said, in his Dutch accent, ‘I would use IMAX cameras, because the resolution is just the best on Earth.’ So that became something we use in the film, and we use IN the film.”
Yes, NOPE is one of those movies that shoots a movie inside of the movie. The siblings recruit a cameraman to help them capture… whatever it is that they think they are seeing. And the challenges they encounter are not of this Earth.
Why IMAX Is Worth It.
Throughout the summer season, you might notice that your IMAX screen at your favorite AMC Theatre rotates out to the biggest offerings, whether it’s THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER or the massive spectacle that is TOP GUN: MAVERICK. But when you experience a movie like NOPE, where the director has thought about the ratios of that larger screen and calibrated their visuals to fill it, it can be a far more immersive experience than you are used to getting. It literally can put you inside of the movie.
This is the scenario that Jordan Peele and Hoyte Van Hoytema strived for in NOPE. There are moments in this new film where you will feel like you are part of the action. (TOP GUN director Joseph Kosinski also paid close attention to how his IMAX footage was deployed, immersing audiences into his storyline.) Which is why, when you head out to see NOPE at AMC Theatres, contemplate the IMAX upgrade. It delivers a different kind of moviegoing experience, one you won’t soon forget.
If you want to hear more about what NOPE director Jordan Peele had to say during his interview with ReelBlend, you can listen to the full interview here.
NOPE
