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The film world changed whenJordan Peelewon the Best Original Screenplay Oscar forGet Outlast year.
But Peeles rising tide is lifting the boats of other black creatives in horror, too.
The Octavia SpencerfrontedMaarrivesin theaters later this year.
Peele tapped Nia DaCosta to helmCandyman.
If Peele was a boulder falling into a lake, these hustling writes and directors arethe ripple effects.
Writer and director Nikyatu Jusu has done everything right to work her way up the entertainment-industry ladder.
Shes participated in workshops.
Shes done incubator programs.
Shes won awards, and shes even an assistant professor teaching screenwriting and directing at George Mason University.
It was time for something bigger.
Her pitch was selected for competition.
And then she won.
For the most part, agents have to find you.
Like, it doesnt matter how badly you want representation, Jusu tells Vulture.
Its such a pain in the ass.
I would watch people get it and theyd be like, You should get representation!
And Im like, No shit!
Thats something I want.
(A recent study characterized the situation asradical underrepresentation.)
Jusu has weathered the storm of buzzwords before inclusion!
but thanks to the success ofSuicide,she finally feels like shes leveling up.
And why the future of horror is black and female.
It just felt like such an opportunity to explore a world in which blackness was a biological advantage.
Yes, it basically seems like a superhero gene.
Its something that is grounded in scientific fact, but is being explored through the genre of vampirism.
Theres so much symbolism in a being who subsists off the blood of others.
It forces you to think about community.
It forces you to think about who is the monster and who is literally just surviving.
And obviously the idea of being marginalized falls right in line with who is the monster of the era.
Vampires are queer people.
Vampires are black people, and we talked about the biological advantage of being black in this world.
Im really exploring that, because vampirism for so long has been really centered in Eastern European mythology.
You need dark skin to get to assimilate into dominant human society.
Ive done a few incubators.
Ive done a few workshops.
Rachel Weisz was amazing.
She asked such smart questions.
I sat across from Mira Nair, who was a judge.
It was enriching in so many other ways outside of just winning the grant.
Ilene has written recommendation letters for me.
Horror is something that people are paying more attention to right now.
Everybody wants new blood.
Everybodys tired of biding their time.
We need diversification of content.
I wanted to go back to what you said about microcosms, and pulling from African vampire lore.
Your family is from Sierra Leone, correct?Yeah!
Did that point of origin factor into your world-building at all forSuicide?Absolutely.
Thats a major goal of mine.
Its no longer theoretical.
Its no longer a blind pitch.
Im having meetings because of the film, so peoples interest is piqued.
Its rare that people get to jump from a short to an original series.
They go to directors whove done like 20 features!
And Im so I am at a point where Im like,Come on.
I dont have to prove it to you.
I dont need to do a feature to show you that we can do this.
We have everything ready to go and its been done.
Premiering at Sundance is a win, you know.
Through Her Lens was a big win.
Now new people have their eyes on you, people who can take you to that next level.
I have found collaborators who are so brilliant and believe in our vision collectively.
I wont even call it my vision because it takes on a different form when you attach these collaborators.
Ive found such immensely talented people that I want to take with me.
So, it just adds fuel to your fire.
My director of photography Daisy Zhou, who shotSuicide by Sunlight, shes brilliant.
The short really is gorgeous.
It looks like if Barry Jenkins made a spinoff ofBlade.[Laughs.]
Im so happy that I chose her because I want to work with her forever.
There are people who make this all worthwhile, like my producer, Nikkia Moulterie.
I want to work with her forever, too, and my co-writer Robin [Shanea Williams].
Youre not doing it alone ever in film.
Youre very gracious on Twitter about the people you collaborate with.[Laughs.]
Speaking of my Twitter!
I cannot wait for somebody to be like, you better tweet less.
If I notice a drop-off Ill just assume something massive is happening for you.[Laughs.]
A lot of people are sitting on information that they dont need to be sitting on.
It really doesnt need to be a huge mystery.
