Ryan Coogler-Michael B Jordan's latest venture Sinners proved to be a massive hit at the box office, earning rave reviews from critics and audiences for its themes and screenplay. However, Coogler first thought he gave Jordan a wrong impression while writing the script.
Speaking on the Good Hang with Amy Poehler show, Coogler remembered the first time he had a conversation about Sinners with Jordan. "I was trying to get the screenplay together, 'cause Mike’s busy, and I didn’t wanna say, 'Hey, I got a thing,' and then have him waiting for a script; I didn't need him blowing my phone up, like, 'Hey, where it's at?' But what ended up happening was he called me and pitched me something while I was working on this for him," he revealed.
"And at first I was like, 'Mike, I can't work on that right now.' And he got upset, like, 'Hey man, what’s going on? I wanna get this going. There’s something you’re not telling me'," he further added, stating that he explained the story to Jordan.
"I'm like, 'Look, I'm working on a thing, I'm bringing this to you, this is what it is: it's twins, it's period, it's vampires. And I remember how he reacted 'cause he just got quiet for a long time, and I was like, 'Oh shit, did I lose him?'," he shared his reaction to Jordan's silence. Thankfully, the actor was intrigued by the idea and said, "Man, you know what, that sound pretty interesting, man."
Sinners was released on April 18 last year amid high expectations and eventually won positive reviews and was critically and commercially acclaimed. Our CE review of the film read, "Sinners is replete with pulsating action and thrilling moments thanks to plenty of vampire-assisted gore. We also get philosophically dense conversations between vampires and humans. A vampire finally gets a hold of Sammy and as the Preacherboy desperately starts reciting Bible verses, the vampire joins him and then points to what he observes as absurdities and hypocrisies in theological safety nets."
Coogler's first original film since 2013's Fruitvale Station, Sinners tells the story of identical twins (Michael B Jordan in a dual role) who return to their hometown in Mississippi to start a juke joint. They are faced with a sinister supernatural evil and must strive to stay alive through the night along with their pals. Also starring Miles Caton, Hailee Steinfeld, Jack O'Connell, Omar Benson Miller, and Delroy Lindo, among others, Sinners reportedly grossed over $360 million from theatres worldwide. Longtime Coogler collaborator Ludwig Göransson composed the film's score and served as an executive producer.
Sinners secured four awards at the 31st Critics' Choice Awards and two wins at the 83rd Golden Globe Awards, including Cinematic and Box Office Achievement. Warner Bros Pictures had also submitted 'I Lied to You' and 'Last Time (I Seen the Sun)' songs for the Best Original Song Oscar award.