[FILM INTERVIEW] SINNERS – Ryan Coogler Interview

In a time period where cinema trailers are often accused of giving away plot points that should have remained secret it is has been kind of nice to see a trailer released that actually leaves the public asking questions.

When the trailer for Sinners dropped audiences were left with the following question ‘okay it looks like a horror or a thriller, but what kind of horror is it?’

When director Ryan Coogler is asked about the specifics for Sinner he laughs – it almost feels like he enjoys being back in the realm of making audiences guess what he is doing after a foray into the world of comic book movies with two Black Panther movies.

“Well the film is actually pretty genre fluid,” he says still with a big smile right across his face. “It actually pushes into a lot of different genres but yes vampires are one of the elements of the movie but that is not the only supernatural element. The film is about more than just that and I think that will surprise people in a good way. “

Some of my favourite films in this genre have been done in such away that you could take away the supernatural element and they are still saying something,” he continues. “I really wanted to make a film in that tradition. This film has all the elements of things that I really love. This really is a personal love letter from me to cinema and to the art form itself. Specifically the theatrical experience. It is interesting working in a post-Covid time because the theatrical experience what was I missed most during that time. And this is a film that needs to be seen in that way.”

Despite the fact that this is primarily a genre flick Coogler says this is still a film that has a very deep personal connection for him.

“I have been blessed because every time I have made a film I have been able to make it more and more personal,” he explains. “With this one I was really digging into some true relationships. One with my maternal Grandfather who I never met, he died about a year before I was born, but he was from Mississippi and only moved to Oakland to marry my Grandmother.”

“There was also my Uncle James who I grew up with and he actually passed away while I was working on post-production on Creed,’” he explains sadly. “He was also from Mississippi but he wouldn’t really talk about his time in Mississippi to me… unless he was listening to the blues. Then he would reminisce. I miss him profusely and with this film I was able to dig into my own history here in the States. With the Panther films I was able to do that as a generational thing but this time I was actually able to go to the South and the film is actually about the music that was so special to my Uncle. I have to say I could not be happier about that and with the film.”

It is here that Coogler explains just how important the music of the South is to the film.

“This film is very different,” he says. “The musically element of this film is ever present. It is a film about American music and I have never seen a score like this before. In many ways I wrote this film with my composer in mind. He was there with us on set everyday, because he is an Executive Producer as well, and his father was a guitar teacher and that was how he got into music. When we were doing our preliminary scout for this film his father came with us on the Blues Trail in Mississippi and his father grew up in Sweden so this was the first time for him to come to the home towns of his heroes. We went to B.B King’s hometown and these guys got to play on B.B King’s stage.”

Of course the other big element of Sinners is the cast led by regular Coogler collaborator Michael B. Jordan – someone that is obvious that he is really happy to work with.

“Working with Mike is incredible,” he laughs. “Mike was a working actor when I met him. He had been on some incredible television shows and had been a working actor since he was a school-aged kid but he hadn’t had a feature film role where he was the lead yet. So when we worked together on Fruitville that was his first time in the lead in a movie and it was my first time making a movie so in many ways we have grown up together.”

“I have definitely found a kindred spirit in him – he is someone who is incredibly gifted and he has this God-given charisma,” he continues. “He has this ability to channel empathy without even trying. He also has an amazing work ethic and a true dedication to the craft and he has this desire to want to push himself – you can really see him stretch and to have all those things rolled up into one makes it something special.”

“We are around the same age and we became work friends and eventually we have become like family,’ he says. “It is an incredible gift to have someone like that. He is someone that I can call up and be like ‘hey I have a new one here for you what do you think.’ I know that he is always trying look for new challenges constantly. I know that he doesn’t want to rest on his laurels and I thought that this role would be something where we could challenge each other.

Coogler is also full of praise for the rest of his cast.

“My Casting Director did an incredible job,” he says. “The first job was to find our Sammy and we found a young man who is incredible and he holds his own with all the great actors and actresses around him. This is his first film. I have had some incredible casts – I have been really blessed but this one, and I feel that it is because these characters are original so it will be the audience’s first time meeting these characters, really turns out some amazing performances. Because this is original I don’t think I have ever seen anything quite like what they did. They formed a unit down there in New Orleans when we were shooting.”

To finish off the interview Coogler explains why Sinners is a must see in cinemas.

“Because that is what it was made for,” he says with a serious tone in his voice. “It is my love letter to the theatrical experience, and it is an experience that there has been some anxiety over. It is an experience that some feel is under threat. We shot on large format and that is why we were working so hard on it because it is a love letter to the exhilarating experience of being to watch a movie in a packed house full of strangers and where you never know what is going to happen next. There have been so many incredible movies that have given me that feeling and I wanted to try my hand at giving it back to the audience.”

Sinners will be released April 2025.