Ryan Coogler just seems like the kind of filmmaker you want to hang out with, not at an awards show or some sort of gala, but like in real life. Maybe you get a beer at a bar or walk around a museum together,
He’s full of this creative energy that makes it fun to watch him describe the perforations on 70MM film and to read about him in this excellent New York Times profile on the director.
Coogler was already one of the biggest and most well-known filmmakers in the world, but Sinners set him on a different trajectory, from someone who was innately good at finding the personal stories in studio IP to someone who also had a lot to say in worlds he created himself.
There are a ton of great quotes in that New York Times piece, so I wanted to isolate a few and share them with you.
Let’s dive in.
Ryan Coogler Can Accomplish Anything in Hollywood
One of the things I most admire about Coogler is that he is just so thoughtful about all his work and what he chooses to spend his time doing.
His approach to his work and his life is evident in his words, showing how he manages to stay grounded even while his movies are such giant hits.
Coogler says, “You get used to compartmentalizing. … I can’t engage with it as the kid whose dreams were to come to Hollywood and make movies. I have to engage with it as a professional shepherd of the story.”
When it comes to being a filmmaker in general, Coogler takes it very seriously and treats it like a real job. One of the things I love is that while the stars get a ton of glitz and glamor, the art of actually making movies is done mostly by normal people.
That’s something I think about all the time, so it’s easy and fun to see it reflected here, too.
He said, “People see the tuxedo, they see the red carpet, but it’s real blue-collar folks making these movies happen. … Most days, I’m wearing coveralls and Columbia gear, trying to find solutions that aggregate up to a story. And that enabled me not to engage with any narratives around what it is that we do.”
I think staying grounded, like this, is incredibly important. No matter how much success you get, you need to show up and keep working. In Coogler’s life, that ability to stay focused and on task led him to Sinners, which many think is his best movie yet.
It took real effort to get there.
Coogler tells the story, “We would talk about how this movie had to be the sexiest movie any of us had ever made because it was carnal.”
That carnality took Coogler to a place he hadn’t been in a long time. A place that opened him up as a director and as a storyteller.
He expanded, “I did feel more vulnerable. I ended up talking to actors about things you don’t normally share on other movies and getting to a place where they understand, ‘Oh, my director experienced a loss that maybe he still is not at peace with yet.’”
That new openness as a director is what makes me so excited to see where Coogler takes all of this, even if his next movie is Black Panther 3. He puts so much of himself on the screen.
And he’s able to tap into a universal resonance that brings audiences in as well.
Coogler explains, “There’s got to be something deep down within us that understands. My mission every time I pick up a camera is to know that the only reason I have this job is because we’re basically all the same in different circumstances.”
Summing It All Up
It’s clear that even as he rises to the industry’s highest ranks, Ryan Coogler remains dedicated to telling personal stories and treating his work as a craft, not a celebrity exercise.
He’s tapping into his potential now, and he’s excited to hear about potential ideas and where all this talent will take him.
Head over to The New York Times for the rest of the interview.
Let me know what you think in the comments.