Ryan Coogler on “Sinners,” His Epic Film about Race, Music, and the Undead

The New Yorker Radio Hour

WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

Politics, Arts, News, Wnyc, Books, David, Storytelling, Society & Culture, Yorker, New, Remnick

4.2 • 6.2K Ratings

🗓️ 10 March 2026

⏱️ 19 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The director talks with staff writer Jelani Cobb about his movie, which has been nominated for a record-setting sixteen Academy Awards.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is The New Yorker Radio Hour, a co-production of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker.
0:14.1	This is the New Yorker Radio Hour. I'm David Remnick. When the Oscar nominations were announced this year,
0:20.5	a record was set.
0:21.6	Ryan Cougler's Sinners received the most nominations of any film ever, 16 in all.
0:27.6	The fact that Sinners is a vampire movie, sort of, makes that only more remarkable.
0:34.6	What y'all doing? Just step aside and let me on in now.
0:39.3	Why you need him to do that?
0:41.3	You big and strong enough to push passes?
0:43.3	Well, that wouldn't be too polite now, would it, Miss Andy?
0:47.3	I don't know why I'm talking to you anyway.
0:50.3	Smoke.
0:51.3	Don't talk to him.
0:52.3	You're talking to me right now.
0:53.3	Why you can't just walk your big ass up in here without an invite, huh?
0:57.6	Go ahead.
0:58.8	Admit to it.
1:00.7	Admit to what?
1:02.3	That you dead.
1:06.2	Sinners was nominated for Best Picture and Ryan Coogler for Best Director and Original Screenplay.
1:12.8	Coogler was also the director of the first Black Panther movie, as well as a favorite of mine, Creed,
1:18.2	a sequel to the Rocky films. Staff writer Jelani Cobb profiled Coogler and the New Yorker,
1:23.9	and they also sat down to talk last year when sinners had just come out.
	...

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