That feels good.
That feels-- that feels absolutely wonderful.
Feels appropriate.
You think so?
Feels appropriate.
That's what we're going-- it's just going to be half an hour
of applause for you.
That's overwhelming.
That's an overwhelming response.
That's what you deserve.
That's how you make people feel.
That's what you deserve.
No, that's what you deserve, my friend, and I mean that.
[cheering]
I mean this honestly.
You know, I was scrolling on my TV the other day.
And, you know, I was bouncing around everything
between, like, YouTube, and then going to Netflix,
and then bouncing, like, different apps
and watching-- it's amazing to see the impact that you
have had on the culture.
Obviously-- no, really, with Key and Peele,
some of the funniest moments and ideas
still existing on TikTok, kids loving them today,
and then you move into, like, what you did with Keanu,
and then the new range of movies.
I do want to understand this.
JORDAN PEELE: OK.
You're one of the funniest people out there.
You were for a very long time putting out
some of the funniest content.
And now it's just like scary shit.
[laughter]
Is this for balance?
What happened?
Is it weird that I think it's funny?
[laughter]
Is it?
You know, I think the comedy part of my career
is still going.
I think it's still active.
TREVOR NOAH: Wow.
And part of that--
I talk about it as sort of like the difference between comedy
and horror is the music.
And it really does--
it does feel like that.
When we--
I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
[laughter]
What are you--
Now I'm picturing the scene in Get
Out where the guy's running--
like, you know when he's running at the camera,
and he's like head on. But now I'm picturing like--
[harmonizing circus music]
[laughter]
I mean--
Just like Benny Hill, and it's funny.
It's funny.
And it's very funny.
And I could have done that.
I was at the finish line with that film.
- [laughs] - I could have gone either way.
It would have been a very different film.
But thank you for saying that.
Yeah, no, I love comedy.
It became very complex somehow, making comedy
in this world as it is complex, I think,
making anything or getting anything accomplished
in this world right now.
It feels like you were the only person
who wasn't surprised about the filmmaker you would turn into.
And I think it's because you came
from this world of sketch.
And sketch always seems unplanned and unprepared.
It seems off the cuff.
But there's so much work that goes into it.
And now you've turned into-- or rather you've been revealed
to us as this film maker.
Like, when I was watching Nope, you're
sitting in that movie theater.
Nobody knows what's going to happen,
why it's going to happen, how it's going to happen.
You successfully got people to not
spoil any of the plot points.
I don't know how you did that.
Because people who saw, they're like, have you seen Nope?
I was like, no, I haven't. How is it?
They're like, mm.
Nope.
[laughter]
Yeah, yeah.
But you create, like-- you create a feeling.
Thank you.
Well, I just have this love of my audience.
And I think what my audience has been telling
me and responding to is that very thing is
something that they love and that they're
going to show up for it.
And so when-- and you say I knew.
When I made-- when I wrote Get Out,
I didn't even know if they would let me direct it.
I didn't--
TREVOR NOAH: For real?
Yeah, that's how much has changed in my life.
You know, I was trying to push this thing.
And so I-- luckily, I found a wonderful home and
wonderful producers for it.
But when I made Nope, then I was like,
OK, now hold on a second.
They're going to let me direct a film.
They're going to let me direct a big movie.
TREVOR NOAH: Right.
And so there's a responsibility there.
Is there a pressure?
Do you ever feel the weight of your own pressure?
Because Get Out is one of the greatest movies
that has ever been made.
From that moment onwards, everyone
is expecting you to create the greatest movie ever made.
There's always going to be that pressure.
There's always going to be the criticism.
There's always going to be the critics.
Do you feel that as well, or do you find yourself just
making what you want to make?
Well, you know, a lot of people hate Get Out.
And there's a certain--
TREVOR NOAH: Who are these people?
Well, they're out there.
[laughter] They are out there.
TREVOR NOAH: Oh, wow, OK.
I get-- I still get hate from that era.
I mean, there's a lot of people that don't like
the agency that it brought--
Interesting.
--me and other people.
I truly feel that.
And so, you know--
and in Key and Peele as well.
You realize people are going to respond.
But there's always going to be people who don't respond,
and that's OK.
That's part of the adventure of doing something risky,
doing something you're not supposed
to do is that you're going to be pissing people off.
But that's OK.
TREVOR NOAH: I wonder if some people are
pissed off at what you illuminate in the stories
that you tell.
Because it's one thing to create a horror movie.
It's one thing to create thrill and suspense.
It's another thing to weave into that story everything
that we're experiencing in real life, you know?
There are themes of race.
There are themes of gender.
There are themes-- like, everything
is encapsulated in a story.
It's like you went and went, what if there's racism,
and what if there's sexism, and what if there's
also a monster, which seems--
[laughter]
You know?
Which is very much the real world.
It's, once again, a documentary, but no.
I-- yeah, you know, I mean, this one
wanted to be about this idea that was sort of forming
in my head that there's some people,
there are some things in this world
that are these bad miracles.
These are these things that are so entertaining that we're
blinded to the danger of them.
TREVOR NOAH: Wow.
And so I wanted to make a film about the human response
to these things and how we interact with it
and how we will chase it off a cliff.
TREVOR NOAH: Wow.
You do that with everything though.
Because when they told me you had a podcast,
I thought you were going to be interviewing people
or there's going to be a conversation.
They're like, no, he made a horror podcast.
So--
I was like, but that's not possible.
And then they send it to me, and I
was like, oh, this is terrifying because I
just have to use my ears.
We actually have a clip.
Here, we can play a little bit for you.
Just listen to it.
Even close your eyes if you want.
Listen.
OPERATOR: 911, what is your emergency?
RICK: I-- I-- I need to report a-- an accident.
This guy-- he's hurt his head.
There's a lot of blood.
OPERATOR: Is he still breathing, sir?
RICK: Uh, I'm not sure if he--
[gasping]
Yes, yes, he's definitely still breathing.
His head-- his head looks like it's cracked.
Jesus, there's blood everywhere.
OPERATOR: That's what heads do, Rick.
RICK: I'm sorry.
What?
OPERATOR: (CREEPY VOICE) Bleed.
[distant creepy laugh]
[phone tone]
[applause]
So think, important to say, directed by Mimi O'Donnell,
brilliantly directed.
This was something all of us at Monkeypaw Productions
were very excited about, like, trying
to make the scariest horror podcast of all time.
And--
TREVOR NOAH: Do you know what people
normally use podcasts for?
[laughter]
Are you familiar--
It's sort of like you're driving.
You're on, like, a drive.
You know, some people play podcasts go to sleep.
I've heard of this.
And then this slides into your playlist.
You know, and this is something
we talk about in horror all the time, which
is this idea that it's the things you don't
see that are the scariest.
TREVOR NOAH: It is terrifying because you've
created this podcast that is essentially-- it sounds real.
It sounds like an actual conspiracy theorist.
And we're following him and his journey of creating this radio
show that sort of sets in a pre-Trump world.
And he's talking about everything that's happening.
He's digging into conspiracies.
And it feels too real, Jordan.
And this is brilliant, and Tracy Letts wonderfully
plays this character.
And this whole Faustian thing, it ends up being--
I'm not going to give away what is going on.
But then-- - Whatever it is.
Yeah.
But there's something of-- yeah.
Because--
Yeah.
--as discussed, we need to--
but it's a story that needs to be told in the sound medium
because there is a sound element to this parasite.
And it's scary.
I say this all the time.
When you tell your stories-- and this is something that I
feel you've always done-- whether it's in a sketch,
whether it's in a movie, and now even in a podcast,
it feels like you are commenting on the aspects
of the world that we oftentimes take for granted or ignore.
Because they're almost seamlessly happening to us.
And you take them.
You amplify them.
And then it becomes a horror we can't look away from.
Like, why do you think it's important for us
to focus on those moments, to focus on what's
happening in real life?
Well, it is.
It's important for us to pay attention
to the real-life monsters.
And I think it's important to--
and it's important for us to feel fear as it is.
So much of this--
so much of this doomscrolling and stuff,
it really is about us--
the fact that fear is something we bury.
Fear is something that we don't like.
We don't like that feeling.
We will convert it into ang-- other things.
TREVOR NOAH: Yeah, yeah.
And so, anyway--
TREVOR NOAH: And so it numbs us as we scroll.
Yeah. - Yes.
So-- yeah.
[laughter]
Did I answer-- did I answer the question with that?
I--
Well, can I just say, I've loved everything
that you've created.
I enjoy how original your art is.
I also really appreciate how you work with the talent
that you work with.
I mean, Keke Palmer--
people have been loving her forever.
[cheering]
To see her in the movie, to see what you did with her--
obviously, Daniel-- we've loved him since forever.
You don't just create a story.
You also create stars.
You also give people an opportunity
to shine on the screen.
And I would love to know what you
look for in these performers that you think will--
I mean, as it does-- successfully
convey the feelings that you're trying to get to the people?
Well, you know, first of all, I'm also--
I'm trying to hitch my wagon to these moving trains, right?
I'm trying to find people who are
ready to do their greatest role, you know,
and in that perfect place.
So I very much--
I'm so thankful that the Daniels
and the Kekes of the world will come out and do it.
But I'm also looking for somebody
who is really smart enough to take
over the character for me.
I do the work to build this character up
to a certain point.
And then I need somebody to come in and become the expert.
So I can ask them, how does Emerald feel?
And she can answer that question.
We can kind of move from there.
And so, you know, I have the privilege
of working with people like Daniel
and like Keke, who are just the best actors in the world.
And then we have the privilege of enjoying
everything that you all create together,
the privilege of having on the show.
Thank you, my friend.
Absolute, absolute joy.
Thank you again.
Jordan Peele, everybody.