Jordan Peele Becomes First African American Writer to Win Best Original Screenplay

Even though many of the older Oscar voters dismissed Get Out, Jordan Peele went on to make history tonight during the 90th Academy Awards ceremony, becoming the first ever black writer to win for Best Original Screenplay.

Jordan Peele’s directorial debut Get Out found an enormous amount of success this year. Along with becoming the boldest and most important studio releases of 2017, the film went on to break box office records and be crowned the highest grossing debut film for an original screenplay. With that, it’s no wonder Peele’s film has achieved something so extraordinary; seamlessly being able to blend comedy with horror, helping to craft Get Out as one of today’s most culturally relevant films.

Get Out was nominated for four Oscars in total this year: Best Picture, Daniel Kaluuya for Best Actor and Peele for both Best Original Screenplay and Best Director. Peele was only the fifth black director to ever be nominated in the directing field. Watch his acceptance speech above. Make sure to check out this year’s winners from the 90th Academy Awards which will be updated live.