It’s scary to think how many people love Jordan Peele’s movies. The Oscar winner’s latest effort, “Nope,” hits theaters Friday and it has at least one person pondering the possibility Peele is the greatest horror movie director in history — a claim that Peele feels is hogwash.
The movie comes after 2017’s “Get Out” and 2019’s “Us,” two chillers that signaled Peele’s arrival as a force to be reckoned with in the horror genre.
“I know this is a hot take but at what point do we declare Jordan Peele the best horror director of all time?” Twitter user Adam Ellis wrote Wednesday. “Can you think of another horror director that had 3 great films, let alone 3 in a row? I can’t.”
He included a graphic of “Nope,” “Us” and “Get Out.”
“I’m open to discussion but if you’re coming into my mentions to say Get Out and Us are anything less than modern classics you might as well just show yourself out because I’m not open to that (wrong) opinion,” he added in another tweet.
Peele himself would have none of such talk.
“Sorry. I love your enthusiasm but, I will just not tolerate any John Carpenter slander!!!” he replied, alluding to the director of such beloved offerings as “Halloween,” “The Thing” and “Christine.”
“Sir, please put the phone down I beg you,” he added in another tweet.
The horror genre features a roster of directors who have shaped the art form over the years, from William Friedkin (“The Exorcist”) and Sam Raimi (the “Evil Dead” franchise) to Alfred Hitchcock and Rob Zombie.
Ellis’ tweet sparked a conversation about just which director is the master of films that will scare the holy heck out of you.
“Excuse Me Sir, Do You Have a Moment to Talk About John Carpenter?” someone wrote, siding with Peele.
“In a row possibly, but carpenter, (Wes) craven and (George) Romero definitely have more than 3 great films,” another person pointed out, referring to Carpenter and Wes Craven, who created “A Nightmare on Elm Street” and directed the first four “Scream” films. Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead” series remains one of the most celebrated zombie efforts in cinema history.
Another person brought up David Cronenberg, who directed “Scanners,” “The Fly” and “The Dead Zone.”
“Cronenberg in the 80’s had quite a run, which is the closest i can think of. But so far Jordan Peele’s run is pretty unmatched,” the person wrote.
Without mentioning Peele, one fan suggested a lot of horror directors tend to stick to a formula.
“most of the notable ones also made a single series of horror movies, which gets stale fast compared to making a set of horror movies that are all different,” the person commented.
Another fan tried to put the matter to bed easily by naming a slew of celebrated horror directors.
“Hitchcock, Kurosawa, Craven, Friedkin, Carpenter, Cronenberg, Hooper, Zombie, De Palma, West, Haneke, Roth, Lynch,” the person wrote.
For his part, Peele has embraced the type of films he makes and says “Nope” is in line with flicks that give moviegoers chills.
Daniel Kaluuya), left, Keke Palmer, center, and Angel Torres star in “Nope,” which was written, produced and directed by Jordan Peele.Universal Pictures
“I do consider it a horror film in that horror is my favorite genre and I hope it honors horror,” he told TODAY last week.
“It’s about a lot of things,” he added. “The first notion that I latched on to when I was writing this movie was this idea of making a spectacle. I wanted to make a flying saucer movie because I just felt like if we can feel like we are in the presence of something other, something … we feel like that’s real, then that’s just an immersive experience worthy of going to the movies.”
Drew Weisholtz is a reporter for TODAY Digital, focusing on pop culture, nostalgia and trending stories. He has seen every episode of “Saved by the Bell” at least 50 times, longs to perfect the crane kick from “The Karate Kid” and performs stand-up comedy, while also cheering on the New York Yankees and New York Giants. A graduate of Rutgers University, he is the married father of two kids who believe he is ridiculous.
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The Battle Rounds are always tough for The Voice coaches, but on Monday, Niall Horan might be ready to throw in the towel!
The rookie coach dooms himself in a new sneak peek at a Team Niall Battle between Michael B. and Ryley Tate Wilson, who take the stage with a stunning rendition of Giveon’s “Heartbreak Anniversary” that blows all four coaches away.
“That was one of the best performances we’ve seen in the Battle Rounds,” Chance the Rapper praises.
“Michael, I don’t know how you weren’t a four-chair turn,” Kelly Clarkson marvels, to which Blake Shelton replies, “I don’t think I was here that day.”
However, when it comes to their coach, who has to pick a winner and loser of the Battle — or will he use his Playoff Pass? — Niall is hurting.
“If they ask me to come back, I’m not coming back,” he laments. “Because I cannot tell you how hard this is.”
Calling the pair’s performance “off the charts,” Niall praised the pair for making the song their own, before bemoaning the fact that he has the toughest decision to make.
Watch the full Battle below and tune in on Monday to see who wins!
ET spoke with the season 23 coaches ahead of the premiere, who all shared how excited they were to be on the show for The Cowboy’s last go-round.
“I texted him,” Kelly shared. “If he was gonna do a last season, I wanted to make sure I was there.”
However, the talk show host insisted that she won’t be letting nostalgia affect her competitive nature.
“If [Blake] wins, I am very happy for him, because that is super cool to win on the last season and he’s literally the show, from its conception,” she conceded. “But, like, I’m not, like, rooting for him to win. I’ll be happy for him if he does, but I’m obviously trying to win myself.”
As for the show’s new coaches, Niall and Chance said they were ready to put in the work against the Team Blake dynasty.
“It’s been awesome,” Chance said of joining the show. “Kelly’s very, very sweet, very nice to me. And Blake is… here.”
The Voice airs Mondays at 8 p.m. PT/ET and Tuesdays at 9 p.m. PT/ET on NBC.
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