Last year, Jordan Peele became the first black writer-director with a $100 million debut when Get Out passed the box office mark in a mere 16 days. On Tuesday morning, Peele made more history when the nominees for the 90th Academy Awards were announced.
Get Out earned a nomination for best picture in addition to Peele receiving nods for best director and best original screenplay. As The Hollywood Reporter points out, the feat makes him the third person in history to earn nominations in all three categories with their directorial debut. He follows in the footsteps of Warren Beatty (Heaven Can Wait) and James L. Brooks (Terms of Endearment).
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Peele also has the opportunity to become the first African-American to win the best director category. He’s only the fifth African-American to earn the nomination, and none of the previous nominees have won. Last year, Barry Jenkins was nominated for Moonlight, while Steve McQueen earned a nod in 2013 for 12 Years a Slave and Lee Daniels was nominated in 2009 for Precious. Back in 1991, John Singleton was the first African-American nominee for the classic film Boyz n the Hood.
Get Out also joins a select group of horror films which have earned best picture nominations, including 1973’s The Exorcist, 1991 Oscar winner The Silence of the Lambs, and 1999’s The Sixth Sense.
In December, Peele’s reboot of The Twilight Zone received an order to series from CBS.
