Desde Hollywood was present at the global press conference for the anticipated new horror film NOPE, described by its creator as “a truly horrifying UFO film where we’re able to be immersed in the situation.”

Read below some highlights from writer-director Jordan Peele, and part of the movie’s main cast: Keke Palmer, Daniel Kaluuya and Brandon Perea.

The actors on how they reacted to being cast in the movie

DK: I felt really blessed because I just wanted to watch it. So Jordan sending me the script and asking me to be in it, and being able to reconnect with him and do genre stuff again, was amazing. It was a challenge, though, because there were a lot of non-dialogue scenes. But I really enjoyed doing [Nope], especially after Judas [and the Black Messiah].

KP: I feel super blessed and excited to have experienced working with Jordan in this kind of way in this genre, with this kind of character. I really loved what I read on the page of the character that I played, so I was really excited to get to do it.

BP: Jordan thought my initial interpretation of Angel during my first audition was far different from what he wrote.
We were then in the final call-back session…and Jordan asked, “You’re familiar with the scenes, right?” I said, “I am, but I was told this was an improv session.”
He said, “Okay, but I kind of wanted to see you do it again because the character you first brought was far different than what I wrote… So I’d have to rewrite my entire script in order to include the character you brought to the table.”
I said, “That sounds like a lot of work, so you probably don’t want to do that.” He said, “You know what? That’s what I’m going to do.” I was like, “Woah!,” and he said, “You’ve got the job.”
I started crying and said, “I’ve been in this game for a long time, and I’m so thankful for you giving me the opportunity.” I also got Jordan and the reader I brought to cry, but I was so happy to get the job!

On collaborating with their fellow actors.

BP: It’s a dream come true to have been able to work with the rest of the cast. I look up to my co-stars in so many ways.
I watched a lot of interviews with Daniel, and watch his films all the time. So it was crazy to work with him and get to know him in person.
Keke is the funniest person ever, and it’s crazy how much energy she brings to her performances…She’s so talented, and that’s inspiring to see. I’m so floored by her performance in this film, as it has so many layers.

KP: I learned a lot from Daniel. That’s also why I was so excited when Jordan told me that I was going to be working with Daniel.
I’ll never forget when I watched the Black Mirror episode that he started out on [in 2011]. He really gave such a nuanced performance, so I thought to myself, this is a great actor, and I would love to work with him.
When you work with great actors, they only make you better. So when we did the film, I was very excited about what I was going to learn from him.
He’s a very generous actor. He’ also very patient and listens.
He also trusts himself and doesn’t second guess himself, which I think is so important to do sometimes as an actor. Part of our job is to get approval, or to get someone to say, “That was it.”
But he doesn’t have that; he knows intrinsically what’s right to him, and I think that confidence also encourages the other person who’s watching him. I imagine that works well in his relationship as a filmmaker with Jordan, because he knows what he wants to do, and it’s good to see that.

DK: It’s a very hard to naturally be extroverted while you’re filming; it’s harder than people realize. In terms of being joyous and exuberant, and having a realness to it, is very difficult.

But with Keke, it’s natural – she’s just got it. I was taken in a lot by the decisions she made, and I thought, that’s how you can do that; I didn’t see, or think about, it in that way.
What I also loved about [OJ and Emerald’s] dynamic is that he’s the classic man and she’s the funny woman. Emerald is just running around, doing this and that, and he’s just not. The more that he is not, the funnier it is.
I just love that Jordan wrote it in that way. The two of us also stretched those moments while we were acting on set.

On working with a filmmaker like Jordan Peele.

KP: He’s a great collaborator. Every director is different, but the way that he’s a leader is by being very collaborative. He has a level of humility that I think empowers everyone on set, while at the same time, we’re all supported by his obvious and clear vision.
But at the same time, he encourages us to take our artistic liberty and interpret it and what we can do with it. He also allows us to inform him about the characters he created. He really trusts the actors, and also the cinematographer and the rest of the crew. So his collaboration is to be admired.

DK: He is one of the most collaborative directors I’ve worked with. He knows that the actors see things from a different point-of-view, and he wants to hear it.
A lot of the things we would say about our characters is already in the script, but since he’s so close to it, we’re seeing it from a different point-of-view. He’ll then say, “Oh, I see,” and becomes more aware about what he’s already doing.

BP: Seeing how collaborative he is was one of the most surprising things I learned about Jordan on set. You wouldn’t expect that from such a detailed director…but I learned that you can be detailed while still being collaborative. That was a great lesson I learned from Jordan.
I never expected him to be open to so many ideas, and be so communicative. I thought he’d be like, “I know what I need and what I need to do.”
But he was very inclusive and was like, “What do you think about this? What if I did this?” So it was cool that he really respected my opinion.

Jordan Peele on how he processes the expectations surrounding his projects.

JP: I think of expectations as gifts. That’s the only way you can work. Otherwise, you’ll be smothered by overthought.
By taking control of what the expectations are gives me power when I craft a story. The more I know what the audience is expecting I can try to deliver on that or flip it on its head.

On how the two protagonist are expressions of his different aspects.

JP: They represent two distinct parts of my personal relationship to the need for attention. I think most of us have two halves within us. Most people would say they are an OJ or they are an Emerald. The Emerald in me wants to be out there, get the laugh. The other part of me is OJ, which is where I get nervous.

On the special attention paid to how key elements of the film sounded.

JP: Johnnie Burn, who hails from London, is my sound designer. He has a brilliant team. We started early talking about this UFO and how in various ways you can sense something is close. The first thing was wind — and Johnny had a library of wind. We were taking this science fiction project and making it as elemental, grounded and tactile as possible — and Johnnie excelled with that particular type of immersion.

Universal Pictures’ NOPE is now playing in theaters nationwide.

The film reunites Peele with Oscar® winner Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out, Judas and the Black Messiah), who is joined by Keke Palmer (Hustlers, Alice) and Oscar® nominee Steven Yeun (Minari, Okja) as residents in a lonely gulch of inland California who bear witness to an uncanny and chilling discovery.