Ryan Coogler, Michael B. Jordan, and The Cast of Sinners Talk Action, Music, and Culture
In Sinners, Michael B. Jordan leads us on a journey as twin brothers Smoke and Stack who want to come back home to Mississippi in 1932. They plan to open a juke joint filled with blues-inspired music. What they don’t expect is a dark force to appear. The film ties in historical realism with horror as the townspeople confront supernatural forces at the grand opening. Pop Culture Planet sat in at the Sinners press conference to learn more about the action, music, and culture in the film from the cast and director.
Director Ryan Coogler is no stranger to working with Jordan after they collaborated on projects like Creed and Black Panther. In fact, the two have developed a short hand when it comes to communication. “The short hand has done nothing, but get stronger over the years, especially with this one being my first movie that I've done since I directed my first film. [I have] a deeper sense of empathy of what Ryan goes through on a day-to-day basis. All the hats that he must wear, the amount of places that he has to be at the same time, especially for this one,” Jordan said about the director. “For me to be able to be an extra set of eyes for him and help where I can or anticipate his movements or needs allowed us to maybe get a little bit more done, especially when time is always an issue on set in general. It's a mutual understanding.”
Coogler expressed his admiration for Jordan who he got to watch first hand direct and act in Creed III. “Even what he did when he was directing Creed III, he was acting in that movie, you know what I'm saying? He was having to go get punched in the face and then go look and check and see how he did, and then go back and get punched again. I'm not on screen ever when I'm directing. I'm behind the camera,” he said. “What I like the most about working with him is he has an incredible work ethic, but he's also a very kind and family-oriented person.”
“When you're number one on the call sheet — in this case he was 1A and 1B — you have that culture. Often times, it's going to come from there and it trickles down. People are watching how the lead actor communicates with the PA, with the assistant director, the AD, with the camera operator, with the sound,” Coogler continued. “Do they like to let the sound person mic them, or do they want to complain? All of these things, man. He's such an incredible sport and just moves. Kindness is the default. That's infectious on the set in terms of establishing the tone that everybody's going to work with.”
Set during the height of the blues era, when the genre dominated jukeboxes and juke joints alike, and Sinners features real life musicians like Miles Canton who plays Sammie Moore. Canton shared that he was on tour with H.E.R. when he got a call to audition for the film. “Towards the end of that tour, I got a call one day saying, ‘Little bro, there was somebody in the crowd that heard you sing and they want you to audition for this role.’ I took that and I ran with it,” he said. “Just being on this project, I got to grow so much. Every day was a learning experience. From the time I got on set to the end, I really did push myself every day to be better. Being around actors at this level, they all showed me so much love, man. To be here in this moment, I feel super blessed.”
Jack O’Connell plays Remmick whose vampire character sparks conflict, arriving with his band of undead followers and setting the drama in motion. “He's all about fellowship and love. All he wants is just to bite you on your neck and then that's everlasting love, just a little bite. He's constantly saying, ‘I promise I won't hurt you.’ It's the easy way, but we end up going the hard way,” said O’Connell about playing the film’s villain. “There's a real richness, a real depth to Ryan's writing. What we were striving towards, it wasn't superficial. It was grounded in something that's rooted in history. That, to me, was the main thing I was loving to latch onto, the cultural richness that our characters were representing in individual ways.”
The film weaves together so many elements, from music and love to rich historical and cultural context. For Li Jun Li, who plays Grace Chow, it also became a personal learning experience, offering a deeper connection to her heritage as a Chinese American. “I was not aware of the Chinese American community in the Mississippi Delta at all. I had no idea about them. All I knew was that when I was presented with the sides during my audition process, I had no other information other than the fact that she was a Chinese American with a very thick, deep Southern accent, which was what really piqued my interest and also obviously because it was Ryan's project. When we dived into the research, it was fascinating,” said Li. “They were such a crucial part of the world at the time. They were the only people who were able to open up grocery stores specifically for the Black and white communities, but they also endured a lot of prejudice themselves.” She even shared that she watched a documentary by filmmaker Dolly Li that focused on a woman named Frieda Kwan who served as the inspiration for the dialect used in the film.
While music plays a big role in the film, there's also no shortage of action thanks to some intense fight choreography led by Delroy Lindo, who plays Delta Slim. Lindo described the fight scenes as “like a dance,” drawing from his theater background to approach the movement with rhythm. Viewers can definitely expect some thrilling and high energy moments. Wunmi Mosaku, playing Annie, and Hailee Steinfeld, playing Mary, found the Louisiana set locations to be more than just backdrops. The setting helped shape their performances in subtle, powerful ways. Mosaku recalls Annie’s dimly lit shop, filled with real spider webs and floorboard smoke, as “really magical… it added to our intimacy.” For Steinfeld, filming mostly at night in the juke joint, the creaking floorboards and soulful blues made the space feel instantly familiar and grounding.
The cast said the set had such good energy and was one of the best learning experiences they’ve had. They gave Coogler props for keeping things supportive and fun to be around. Omar Benson Miller, playing Cornbread, values that on set everyone is treated equally including the set crew. Everyone’s on a first name basis. Jayme Lawson expresses the same gratitude. “This is, hands down, my favorite experience. The way Ryan really set the tone, it felt like we could bring our stories with us as he shared his with us. It made for this collaboration where […] we found a level of freedom that often times you don't get to tap into because you're being led by somebody that has so much faith in you and trust in you with his brain child,” said Lawson. “At no point did he ever feel so precious about it. It was a gift that he was willing to share. Every day […] I would show up when I didn't have to be at work. I don't know anybody else that would want to do that, but, to be able to watch Ryan work, I had to. I just wanted be in that room at all times and I am forever grateful for that.”
Sinners is out now in theaters.
