It was March 2019 and we were all sitting in our respective local theaters, watching Jordan Peele’s Us. We subsequently became freaked out listening to Red’s (Lupita Nyong’o) cracked voice as she started her eerie backstory with, “Once upon a time, there was a girl and the girl had a shadow.”
Well, it looks like we’ll be getting another bone-chilling tale from another member of the cast.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Evan Alex confirmed he’ll be writing his very own horror script during the UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital’s 20th annual Party on the Pier.
“I’m working on my own project,” the 11-year-old actor told THR on Sunday. “I’m writing a script. […] I’ve talked to Jordan about it. I’ve talked to him about the horror and about how I want this to be a little like Game of Thrones.”
Wow, imagine an epic black family horror, equipped with various royal houses, fantasy creatures and scandal. Maybe someone will be poisoned by a potion inside of an errant Starbucks cup.
THR added:
The actor also said that he dressed up as Peele for Halloween and experienced tons of fans dressed as both his characters — Jason Williams and Pluto — from the horror film.
The Party on the Pier took place at Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier and raised money for unrestricted funding to run high-priority programs to support children treated at UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital as well as other locations.
Let the record show, I love this energy. As a champion of the arts, I am buoyed by the visual of Alex on set watching and shadowing the master Peele and subsequently gaining inspiration from it to create. We always tout the phrase “representation matters,” but it is not just an abstract theory. I certainly didn’t know that screenwriting was a job until my freshman year of high school, but I definitely knew I wanted to make movies ever since I was a child. Beyond that, I certainly didn’t see or know of any black screenwriters at that age, let alone had the opportunity to shadow one on set.
I’ll be front row to this movie should it be produced. Popcorn? I got five on it.