In the Movies: Kasper Serves as Scientific Consultant for ‘Nope!’

Professor Justin Kasper, Ph.D., of U-M Climate and Space, served as a scientific consultant for the film “Nope” directed by Jordan Peele, an Oscar-winning filmmaker.

The summer movie was imagined as a pop epic with a premise based in science fiction. According to the film website, following their father’s death, Hollywood animal wrangler OJ (Daniel Kaluuya) and his sister Emerald (Keke Palmer) begin observing unexplained phenomena on their vast Southern California ranch that leads them down an obsessive rabbit hole as they plot attempts to capture the mystery on camera. Along with a former child star turned family theme park ringmaster, the pair’s efforts to chase the spectacle soon bring terrifying consequences and horror. The result is a complex social thriller that explores violence, risk and opportunism from the romanticized history of the American West, and from show business itself.

The film from Universal Pictures hit theaters in July 2023, and it was released for streaming in September.