Universal
Allison Williams in "Get Out."
Jordan Peele's directorial debut "Get Out" became a surprise critical and box-office sensation earlier this year thanks to its chilling look at racism through the guise of a horror movie.There are countless fascinating things about the movie, about a black man who joins his white girlfriend for a visit to her parents' house, but one standout comes toward the end. (Warning: Spoilers ahead.) Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) has been brought down to the basement and is about to have the brain of a white man put in his skull when we are given a glimpse of the real Rose (Allison Williams), his heretofore "girlfriend."
What's quickly become known as "the Froot Loops scene" shows Rose wearing all white with her hair pulled back tight in a ponytail listening to "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" white eating Froot Loops in a bowl and sipping milk from a straw out of a glass. Sitting on her bed, with framed photos of her past conquests hanging on the wall, she's doing a Bing search on her laptop for "Top NCAA Prospects."
The brief scene is a sublime mix of comedy and horror that has stayed with people long after they've watched the movie.
It's also launched some great memes, like Peele tweeting a picture of Donald Trump Jr. eating cereal with the hashtag #getoutchallenge.
Then there's this creative meme that went viral featuring a photo of White House adviser Kellyanne Conway sitting awkwardly in the Oval Office while looking at her phone during a visit from leaders of historically black colleges with a picture alongside it of a search box and the entry "Top NCAA Prospects."
But it turns out the already infamous Froot Loops scene wasn't even in the original script.
"It was added while we were already on set in Alabama shooting," Williams told Business Insider.
And many of the genius details in the scene were thought up right at the moment of shooting it.
"The decision to use Froot Loops was one that went right down to the wire," Williams said. "And I can't remember who came up with the idea to split them up, but Jordan and I brainstormed about what would be interesting, and it was decided to make the milk separate from the Froot Loops. I know my contribution were the tiny sips and tiny little bits."
Williams said that Peele wrote the scene to drive home just how disturbed and terrifying Rose really is.
"This is our chance to see what it's like to be Rose every day," Williams said. "It drives home the point that she has stalled developmentally at the age that she started doing the job. She still dresses somewhat androgynous, she's totally meticulous, total control freak. She has her teddy bear and Froot Loops and milk. And the idea of her going upstairs and immediately putting all her photos back in frames and putting them up on the wall is also really chilling."
Universal
"Get Out."
The scene was one of the last shot for the movie, and Williams said she was grateful for that, as it was unpleasant to play evil Rose."I really only did one or two takes for those scenes and if he could Jordan would just keep the camera rolling because it helped keep me focused. That was a really strange experience shooting that scene."
However, Williams admits that she can't help but laugh every time she sees the scene, with its bizarre reveal and the cheesy '80s pop playing over it. The scene also reminds her how much fun Peele had shooting it.
"When Jordan was watching the monitor and I was the real Rose character, he would grin and rub his hands together, like, 'Yes, this girl is so evil,'" Williams said. "That was all the validation I needed when I was trying to stay in that evil version of Rose."
With the movie becoming a huge hit, Williams believes the Froot Loops scene has the "potential of being iconic," and she gives all the credit to her writer and director.
"This is a guy who from the beginning knew what he wanted the movie to look like, sound like, feel like," Williams said of Peele. "It's just perfect."
"Get Out" is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.
#getoutchallenge pic.twitter.com/EpTGTsiVUq
- Jordan Peele (@JordanPeele) March 7, 2017