Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1480624
1 6 P E R S P E C T I V E | S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2 0 2 2 Jordan Peele called me the summer of 2020 to discuss what is today Nope. The way people feared getting into the water after watching Jaws, Jordan explained over several hours, was the same reaction he wanted people to have with the sky. He was determined to pull off this larger-than- life spectacle and make this immersive film about the presence of something other. "If we make this 'real,' then we've achieved," he told me. The script was still in the process of being written, and my notes from that call—raw, unfiltered, early conceptualizations—provided the framework to which I constantly referred throughout the preproduction. I couldn't have been more excited for what I realized was a unique opportunity to truly world-build. This would be my second collaboration with Jordan, and unlike on Us, I started early so we had the time to dream big. And BIG we went! My task from Jordan was to use my imagination but make sure to ground the world in the most honest, natural way possible. The spectacle was the unbelievable, but what if, all of a sudden, it was fully believable? The film industry was still in the throngs of COVID, but the plan was to start prepping in the fall of 2020 with filming to begin in February 2021. I can't remember how far into prep we were when Jordan eventually made the call to push to a June shoot start, primarily because COVID was still unpredictable, and waiting would mean a smoother shooting experience. An added benefit B u i l d i n g a T a n g i b l e U n r e a l i t y D E S I G N I N G N O P E B Y R U T H D E J O N G , P R O D U C T I O N D E S I G N E R A. EM LAUNCHING THE 'JUPE' BALLOON. ILLUSTRATION BY JOANNA BUSH. B. THE WINKIN' WELL AT JUPITER'S CLAIM. GROUND UP BUILD ON LOCATION IN AGUA DULCE. SET PHOTO. A