Ryan Coogler talks about one of the most stressful moments he faced while directing Sinnersand surprisingly, it had nothing to do with vampires or the 1930s setting of the film.
Instead, the director says the scene that nearly broke him involved timing, precision and a moving car.
After the film received widespread praise and major awards, Coogler reflected on the experience filming it. EW Awardist Podcast.
He pointed out a driving sequence featuring Michael B. Jordan and his double, Percy Bell, who play twin brothers Smoke and Stack.
What looks easy on screen, he says, is anything but.
“Every day was different. Every scene was different. Watching the movie, there are certain scenes that you wouldn’t think were difficult,” Coogler explained.
Then he recalled what stood out to me the most: “Remember the day I almost lost my mind – where you had to drive the car and go into the bushes? Pulling off that plan was really crazy, because Mike was driving, and we had to do a repeated pass of the car going up and down, getting out of the car with the right timing, and then interacting with the bush with the right timing.”
The challenge went beyond just hitting targets.
Coogler noted that twins move differently in subtle ways, from the way they walk to the way they exit a vehicle.
“You can see the difference in performance, but also, because of the timing, they have to go into the bushes in a certain way,” he said, explaining how even small mismatches could ruin the illusion.
Despite the pressure and repetitions, Coogler admitted the hard work paid off.
He said the scene “ultimately looked good” in the final cut, a particularly gratifying result given how close it came to happening on set.
Sinnersreleased by Warner Bros., became one of the most hyped horror films of the year and is currently nominated for seven Golden Globes, including Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Motion Picture, Drama.
The film follows twin brothers Stack and Smoke, played by Jordan, who return to their Mississippi Delta hometown in 1932 to open a juke joint that quickly turns into a death trap when musical vampires descend.
For Coogler, this moment is a reminder that sometimes the most difficult scenes are the ones the audience never suspects.
