Whenever you pair two black talented artists together, you get nothing short of a black excellence cocktail. Cue Jordan Peele (fresh off his Get Out one year anniversary!) and Janelle Monae (still getting props for both her Hidden Figures and Moonlight performances), who decided to combine their respective doses of magic for W Magazine. 

Entitled "Noir Town," the photoshoot's theme captures the essence of film noir and Hitchcock, but re-envisions the female lead of those films as a black woman. Monae is the shoot's star, and Peele directed the shoot. 

And. We. Are. Here. For. It! 

“I wanted to create a Hitchcock moment that doesn’t really exist in a Hitchcock film,” said Peele. “I wanted the Hitchcock hero. That way, we can reclaim this movie that we never got to see. The fear of gender and race robs us of beautiful pieces of film.”

The Get Out director continued, “I’ve come to think of gender and race as related in a civil rights sense.”

To create an authentic atmosphere, Peele played the Vertigo soundtrack on set. 

And Peele spoke for all of us in explaining why Monae was the perfect choice to execute his vision. “Putting Janelle in that character is all you need to create my new favorite movie,” he mused.

Go, Janelle and Jordan! So… when can we buy tickets for a movie from this creative team? Please, and thank you. 

film noirHitchcockJanelle Monáejordan peeleW Magazine