TV - Movies
Nope Editor
Nicholas Monsour
Tells What
Grabbed Him Most
About The Movie
By DON KAYE
Jordan Peele’s “Nope” tells the story of siblings O.J. and Emerald Haywood (played by Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer, respectively), struggling horse farm owners who discover an alien object hiding in the clouds. Editor Nicholas Monsour, who previously worked with Peele on “Us,” told Looper that the film “ticked a lot of the boxes” that he found interesting.
In addition to the “cultural specificity” of the film’s California setting, Monsour was drawn to the film history angle, as the Haywoods claim that a Black man riding a horse in the earliest known moving picture — shot by photography pioneer Eadweard Muybridge — is actually an ancestor of theirs. “I loved [Peele's] inspiration with the Muybridge as a film nerd myself,” said the editor.
Monsour was also drawn to the blend of history, genre, and social commentary that “Nope” offers, saying that Peele combined all of these elements “effortlessly.” Of course, working around a team of talented professionals interested Monsour as well, and he specifically mentioned his excitement about working with production designer Ruth De Jong and composer Michael Abels.