Is 'The Sinners' based on a real story? Here's what the director, Ryan Coogler said
With 'The Sinners,' it's all coming up roses! The film has been the talk of the internet since its release, with the scenes that have the audience on a chokehold and the storyline that entranced even A-listers in Hollywood.
Starring Michael B. Jordan in a double role (Smoke and Stack), the film also features Hailee Steinfeld, Wunmi Mosaku, Delroy Lindo, and Miles Caton. 'Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers return to their Mississippi hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back,' according to the film synopsis. However, is the vampire-driven horror blockbuster based on a real story?
Is 'The Sinners' based on a real story?
Nope, the film is not based on a real story, but it has been inspired by the true events of the 1930s. The director, Ryan Coogler, stated that the plot is based on the stories that his late uncle James told him while he was growing up. While Coogler was shooting 'Creed' in Philadelphia, his uncle passed away, and to cope with the loss, he used to listen to the blues music that his uncle liked.
In an interview with Indiewire, Coogler said, 'It all started with the fact that I would listen to that blues music to think about my uncle, and I thought, 'Man, who was he thinking about when he was listening to it?' Did he listen to that [music] and was it people that he was conjuring?'
For inspiration, he connected with his 'trans-generational' community to understand their lifestyle, dating stories and working while they lived in Mississippi. Additionally, Ryan asked his grandmother about her first date with his grandfather. 'It made me realise the youthful nature of these people, their virility and vitality.'
The inspiration behind the twins in the film
In an interview with The Breakfast Club, Ryan disclosed his inspiration for the iconic twins in the film. 'They sit side by side, you know, I mean they are completely identical… you'll notice this about identical twins who [are] rolling around, a lot of times they'll be like touching each other,' Coogler said. 'And I'm looking and I say, 'Hey man, I noticed y'all be like touch each other… y'all close enough to each other to touch.' And they like, 'Yeah.' And I'm like, 'When y'all sit side by side like that, is that for me, or for y'all?' They said, 'It's for you',' he added.
The 'Black Panther' director continued that the twins tend to do similar things to not throw off other people, as it gets uncomfortable. However, if they sense any danger, they split up in seconds.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
10 hours ago
- Mint
Some of my favourite movies are musicals now: Wes Anderson
Los Angeles, Jun 1 (PTI) Acclaimed filmmaker Wes Anderson says some of his favourite movies are musicals, and the credit goes to his eight-year-old daughter, Freya. Known for projects such as "The Royal Tenenbaums", "The Darjeeling Limited" and "Fantastic Mr. Fox", Anderson said he began to watch films he would never think of, in search of the ones that his daughter prefers. "Your entire life is different once you have a child. You're watching with different eyes with a kid," he told entertainment news outlet IndieWire. "I started trying to find movies that she would like. She likes old movies, she'll watch a black and white movie, she'll watch all variety of things, but she doesn't like 'em all. With her, I've seen a lot of musicals that I had never (seen),' he said. "I never got that into musicals, and now some of my favorite movies are musicals, 'Meet Me in St. Louis' for instance, I didn't know this movie, maybe I'd seen it on TV when I was 12 years old or something. It was not a movie I focused on, or 'The Pajama Game' for instance, 'The King and I,' there's a whole range of musicals that I got into because of her, because she likes them and we've watched them again and again, and some of these are masterpieces," the 56-year-old filmmaker added. Anderson's next work is "The Phoenician Scheme", which is slated to hit the big screen in India on June 6. Starring Benicio del Toro, Scarlett Johansson, Bill Murray, Mia Threapleton, Tom Hanks, Riz Ahmed, Michael Cera, Benedict Cumberbatch and Bryan Cranston, the film had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival as part of the main competition.
Time of India
a day ago
- Time of India
Content creator goes viral for unique 'get ready with me' video on Delhi Metro
Delhi-based content creator Seikhohao Haokip, known as @ has become an internet sensation by filming his morning beauty routine on the Delhi Metro's Yellow Line. The viral video, showcasing his effortless application of blush, lip balm, and hair gel, has garnered millions of views and transformed him into a beloved on-the-go beauty guru. What happens when you swap your bathroom mirror for a metro window and your vanity for a commuter's seat? You might just become the internet's newest beauty icon. That's exactly what happened to Delhi-based content creator Seikhohao Haokip, better known online as @ - who turned heads (and algorithms) by filming his morning glow-up on a moving Yellow Line train of the Delhi Metro. The now-viral video shows Ryan casually applying blush, lip balm, and hair gel in a "Get Ready With Me" (GRWM) moment that looks more like a Vogue Beauty Secrets episode than a routine subway ride. With over 2.6 million views, 83,000+ likes, and 1,400+ comments, the clip has launched Ryan from regular office-goer to internet's favourite on-the-go beauty guru. In the video, Ryan starts with a dewy blush dabbed across his cheeks and nose, followed by a slick of tinted lip balm and a quick style-up with lightweight hair gel. After a swift 'fit check, the scene cuts to him riding an auto rickshaw on his way to work. It's minimal, effective, and quietly confident, exactly the kind of content Gen Z and millennials are loving. And love it they did. The comments section is a goldmine of fan reactions, from 'Bro's skin is literally glowing' to 'Corporate skincare king!' Beauty influencers like Sahira Taneja and Diipa Büller-Khosla chimed in with heart emojis and fire reactions. But it's the background character, a man watching with fascination that became an unexpected star. Comments like 'The dude in pink wants in on the glow' and 'He's falling for you, bro' flooded the feed. In a world where skincare is now mainstream and self-care isn't gendered, Ryan's impromptu GRWM stands as a sweet, slightly cheeky reminder: glow wherever you are, even if it's on public transport. We loved Ryan's video, tell us how did you like it in the comment section below. One step to a healthier you—join Times Health+ Yoga and feel the change
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Hindustan Times
Coogler's 'Sinners' brings cinematic spotlight to Clarksdale, Mississippi
* Community screening highlights film's portrayal of African American history * Coogler sees potential for Clarksdale's cultural and entrepreneurial growth * Clarksdale musicians contributed to 'Sinners' script and score CLARKSDALE, Mississippi, - Clarksdale didn't just provide history and blues for director and writer Ryan Coogler's hit movie about art, Jim Crow and vampires. One of the Mississippi Delta town's musicians contributed to the "Sinners" script. After a special screening in the town, which has no cinema, Coogler told the audience gathered in a community hall about the first time he described the movie's plot to a group of Clarksdale blues musicians he had asked to contribute to the score. He said he hesitated when he got to the part about the vampires. He went ahead. Then, Grammy winner Bobby Rush filled the silence. "I had a girl once that was a vampire," the musician joked. The line was given to Delta Slim, played by Delroy Lindo, a piano-playing character who brings both comic relief and depth to the movie. Thursday's screening and discussion came after Tyler Yarbrough, a community organizer and movie buff in Clarksdale, wrote an open letter asking Coogler and Warner Brothers to bring the movie to a town where people drive 80 miles to Memphis, Tennessee to get to a cinema. Warner Brothers outfitted the Clarksdale Civic Auditorium with a big screen, projector and sound system. There was even popcorn. "Sinners" has been widely acclaimed by reviewers and moviegoers, who praised the film for its stars' performances, its showcasing of African American art, and its wrestling with painful history and big ideas. According to Variety, by the end of its opening month of April "Sinners" had grossed $122.5 million in North America and $161.6 million worldwide. At what was billed as a community screening, it was apparent the community was not just the geographical entity of Clarksdale. The audience came together around art and American history, including Jim Crow, the legal and often brutally policed racial hierarchy that subjugated Black people in America's South. Shelby Simes arrived at 7 a.m. from nearby West Helena, Arkansas, earning first place in a line that had grown to hundreds by the time the doors opened about an hour before Thursday's 11 a.m. screening, the first of six scheduled over three days. Simes said Coogler's film, which she had already seen seven times, was particularly important at a time when what many see as the truth about the Black American experience has been criticized by President Donald Trump as "improper, divisive or anti-American ideology." "They're taking books off shelves," Simes said. "They're not teaching us properly in the schools." She said with "Sinners," which is fiction but offers a realistic portrayal of the Jim Crow era, Coogler and his team made the past tangible. "I love how they were able to create a path to talk to our ancestors," she said, echoing the reaction of other Black viewers. Michael Johansson, who has worked with community members to memorialize lynchings in the county where the University of Mississippi is located, said it made sense for Coogler to weave vampire folklore into his storyline. "The horror genre is appropriate for the damage, the cruelty, the barbarism of what has been done to Blacks in this nation," said Johansson, who came from Jackson to see the movie on Thursday. Andrea Driver, who supports library sciences students at the University of Mississippi in Jackson, was touched on a personal level. She cried when she saw that a young character had survived horror and reached old age. "He somehow carried that experience with him for years and didn't perish, didn't take his own life. I don't know that I could live with those memories my whole life," she said, saying it spoke to the experience of many Black Americans. Poet C. Liegh McInnis, who was born and raised in Clarksdale, noted the hometown audience recited the Lord's Prayer along with a character during a tense moment in the film. He said Coogler had drawn from history, folklore and religion. "I love the fact that Coogler gave us a three-dimensional film," he said. "Sinners" is set at a time when Clarksdale was a bustling agricultural center in which Black residents were exploited. Many fled north, bringing the blues to cities such as Chicago and Kansas City. While Coogler set his movie in Clarksdale, he filmed it in neighboring Louisiana, in part because Mississippi lacked infrastructure such as the soundstages he needed. Clarksdale Mayor Chuck Espy said the attention "Sinners" had brought could help revive his majority Black town of about 14,000, where 40% live under the poverty line. He hoped to capitalize on Clarksdale's status as a cultural capital by expanding performance and educational opportunities. Coogler saw a future for Clarksdale because of the entrepreneurial spirit that led residents to reach out for Thursday's screening, and its cultural resources. "The thing that you guys have is a thing that can't be taught," he said.
