Latest news with #Clarksdale
Gizmodo
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
Hell Yeah, ‘Sinners' Comes Home to Streaming Next Week
You've seen it in theaters, and probably in IMAX. Pretty soon, you'll be able to watch Sinners in the comfort of your own home, as it comes to VOD platforms beginning Tuesday, June 3. Ryan Coogler's period piece vampire thriller has been the talk of the town since its mid-April release, and you'll be able to watch it on Prime Video or Apple TV. Price-wise, Prime Video and Fandango list the film at $25 to buy, but there's no prices to rent it at time of writing. For the physical media crowd, Sinners hits all the standard formats the following month on Tuesday, July 8. Special features include standard deleted scenes and behind-the-scenes featurettes on the movie's music, creature FX, and more. An HBO Max release date wasn't set. Earlier this week, Sinners finally came to the people of Clarksdale, Mississippi—where the film takes place—following a passionate online movement to get it screened in the theaterless town. It's playing in town six times over a three-day period, and per Reuters, WB provided the city's civic auditorium with a big screen, projector, and sound system. Coogler attended the screening with production staff, including composer Ludwig Göransson and actor Miles Caton, who plays Sammie. Clarksidale residents and those in the area flocked to see it, and 'hundreds' came to attend the first screening of day one. Attendees praised the film for its portrayal of their town and the Jim Crow era, and mayor Chuck Espy told Reuters the film's attention could help draw attention to the town. At time of writing, Sinners is still playing in theaters in standard, non-IMAX formats. WB's not in a rush to pull it from theaters, but you'll be glad to have it at home once they do.
CBC
a day ago
- Business
- CBC
Mississippi town at heart of Sinners refused to be left out of the movie's success
The Mississippi town of Clarksdale is, in many ways, the heart and soul of the movie Sinners. But, until this week, its residents had no way to benefit from the film's massive success at the box office. In fact, many of them couldn't even see it, because the town doesn't have a movie theatre. That all changed when community members joined forces to organize a local screening of the film, featuring filmmaker Ryan Coogler and other members of the cast and crew. "We had people from all over the world that came into Clarksdale to experience our culture," business owner Dave Houston, who helped organize the event, told As It Happens host Nil Kӧksal. "It was a great thing for our city." 'The birthplace of blues' Sinners, a blues-infused vampire horror starring Michael B. Jordan and set in Jim Crow-era Mississippi, has grossed $339 million US at the box office so far. It's set in Clarksdale, a town of roughly 14,000 people in the Mississippi Delta, an area widely known as the " birthplace of blues." Jordan plays twin brothers hustling to open a juke joint where Black residents can eat, drink, gamble, and most of all, enjoy live music. But they face violent opposition from monstrous villains, both human and supernatural. "The juke joints still live on in Clarksdale as we speak," Houston said. "So to see that being on a big screen, man, it makes you feel great about your city." But while Clarksdale is the soul of Sinners, the movie was filmed in neighbouring Louisiana, as Mississippi lacked the necessary infrastructure. And when Sinners hit theatres, Clarksdale residents who wanted to see their town portrayed on screen had to drive more than 130 kilometres to the nearest cinema in Tennessee. "To use a likeness of Clarksdale and not acknowledge Clarksdale, that didn't sit well with me," said Brenda Luckett, a retired teacher, historian, and local tour guide. Seizing an opportunity As Sinners generated more and more buzz, Houston couldn't let this opportunity to shine a light on Clarksdale slip by. He teamed up with community organizer Tyler Yarbrough, who wrote an open letter and petition addressed to Coogler, Jordan and the rest of the film's cast and crew, inviting them to collaborate on a public screening of Sinners. "We know that Sinners was born from a deeply personal place, inspired by your uncle, a Mississippi native, who often played blues music and told you stories about Mississippi," Yarbrough wrote to Coogler. "Just as your uncle's blues music and making this film lit a fire in you, we believe a visit to Clarksdale from you could light an even bigger one for the next generation." It worked. The petition garnered thousands of signatures. The town's mayor joined the effort. And, eventually, Coogler got wind of the campaign. On Thursday, the director, along with Sinners actor Miles Canton, composer Ludwig Göransson and others, were on hand for the first of six screenings at the Clarksdale Civic Auditorium, which Warner Brothers outfitted with a big screen, projector and sound system. Local vendors and food trucks were on site, local musicians performed, and Coogler did a Q&A with the audience. "We had a lot of emotions pouring out," Houston said. "We had a line all the way out around the building yesterday, and we're expecting the same thing today." Shelby Simes arrived at 7 a.m. from nearby West Helena, Ark., earning first place in a line that had grown to hundreds by the time the doors opened a few hours later. She said Sinners, which she had already seen seven times, was particularly important in an era where the U.S. President Donald Trump is actively silencing Black history in schools, targeting what he sees as "anti-American ideology." Brandice Brown Williams, a theatre teacher, brought two of her students to the screening. "Anytime that filmmakers take the time out to pay homage to the Delta, especially, because we're the root of music, the blues culture, that means a lot," Williams said. Clarksdale is 'open for business' During Thursday's screening, Coogler shouted out the people of Clarksdale for having the organizing skills and entrepreneurial spirit to bring the event to life. "The thing that you guys have is a thing that can't be taught," he said. The next day, Houston spoke to CBC Radio from Dooney's Barbershop, one of several Clarksdale businesses he runs. In the background, his customers, some of them musicians, were still buzzing about the previous evening. One of them, blues singer Jaye Hammer, performed at the event, and even hopped on the phone with Köksal to croon for CBC listeners and plug his newest single, Turn This Party Out. Houston says the town has fallen on hard times in recent years, but he knows Clarksdale is full of talent, and he believes the future looks bright. "If we get the eye on Clarksdale, I think the people will invest," he said. "We're open for business."
The Guardian
a day ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Sinners finally comes home to Clarksdale: a three-day festival premieres the film in its hometown
In April, the director Ryan Coogler released Sinners, a thriller about two brothers in the 1930s who return home to Clarksdale, Mississippi, to open a juke joint. Less than a month after the film was released, Sinners made over $200m in the US and Canada, something no original film has done in almost a decade. But residents in Clarksdale, a town with about 14,000 people, the majority of whom are Black, had no way to see themselves on screen in their community. There are no active movie theaters in or near the town. Tyler Yarbrough, a Clarksdale native and community leader, published an open letter on behalf of 'an intergenerational group of organizations, creatives, entrepreneurs, farmers, and community leaders' inviting Coogler and the Sinners cast to town. 'We are extending an open invitation to you, the cast, and the creative team behind Sinners to visit Clarksdale, to walk the streets your vision reimagined, to meet the people whose real stories echo through every frame, and to experience firsthand the living, breathing legacy that inspired your work and the people who are sustaining and reimagining its future,' Yarbrough wrote. 'We would also be honored to collaborate with you to host a public screening and celebration here in Clarksdale. A homecoming not just for the film, but for the history, culture, and future that continue to define our city and to connect Mississippi creatives with you and your work.' The letter quickly went viral after Capital B, a Black-led non-profit news organization, reported about it and it was picked up both by other news outlets and on social media. 'We're also hoping for them to see the people who are actually doing some badass shit right now when it comes to the juke joints, keeping them alive, when it comes to some of the farmers who are rethinking farming, from cotton to produce,' Yarbrough told the Guardian in early May. 'The blues is the foundation of all American music and American culture. There's so much power in that that originates here. As we think about our national story, our community story, I do think Clarksdale and the [Mississippi] delta, specifically, is going to be a part of this retelling of America to this connecting all Black people in this country back to this ancestral land too.' Coogler and Warner Bros heard and answered the call, and on 29 May, people in Clarksdale were finally able to see themselves in their own community. As a part of Clarksdale Cultural Capital, a three-day festival sponsored by Warner Bros and others, residents of Clarksdale have multiple free opportunities to see the movie in their home town. Coogler; his wife, a producer and co-founder of Proximity Media, Zinzi Coogler; Ludwig Göransson, the film's composer; Sev Ohanian, another producer and co-founder of Proximity Media; and executive music producer Serena Göransson attended and introduced the 29 May morning screening, which was held in the Clarksdale civic auditorium. Both Cooglers have family from Mississippi – Zinzi's grandparents are from the state as are one of Ryan's grandfathers and an uncle, who inspired him to make the film. 'This is a love letter to our elders, to our recent and relatively distant ancestors, and we are so proud to be here in Clarksdale to share this movie and this moment with you guys,' Zinzi Coogler said ahead of the first screening. 'We heard the call that there isn't a theater for the local community, and said, 'Wait, wait, wait, we will show up.'' Ryan Coogler, an Oakland, California, native, shared that he hadn't visited the Magnolia state before working on the movie. 'Coming here, it blew my mind,' he said of his first visit to the state. 'I got to meet musicians, I got to meet community members, business owners. It really changed me just to come here and do the research.' Coogler invited the audience to be responsive to the film, and they acquiesced – cheering, laughing and gasping at various times throughout the movie. When the film opened, and 'Clarksdale, Mississippi October 15, 1932' splashed across the screen, the audience was rapturous. Christone 'Kingfish' Ingram, a native of Clarksdale who is featured in the film and attended the screening, likewise received thunderous applause and cheers when he appeared on screen. After the morning showing, the Cooglers, Göransson, Ohanian and Miles Caton, who had his debut role in the film, and Lawrence 'Boo' Mitchell, Cederic Burnside, Tierinii Jackson and Bobby Rush, all musicians who worked on the film, participated in a question-and-answer session hosted by Clarksdale native Aallyah Wright, of Capital B. The community has bought into Sinners: A sign outside New Roxy, formerly a Black movie theater and now a music venue, reads: 'Welcome to Clarksdale, Sinners Festival.' Ground Zero, Morgan Freeman's juke joint, offered Sinners-themed drinks: the Smokestack, the Dance with the Devil and the Juke Joint Julep. 'We owe Clarksdale so much, as Mississippians, the world owes Clarksdale and Mississippi as a whole so much for being a staple in the global culture landscape. For me, Sinners was one of my very first experiences of seeing Mississippi in a full and beautiful light on the big screen,' Jasmine Williams, founder of 'Sipp Talk Media and one of the festival's organizers, said in a statement. 'I think this film coming home and being made accessible to the people that inspired it is so important, so people here understand our impact on the world.' On 29 May, Clarksdale residents had two opportunities to see the film: the 11 am showing and a 5pm showing, both of which were introduced by Coogler himself. Those screenings were part of Clarksdale Cultural Capital, a three-day festival full of panels, music performances and other events featuring people from Clarksdale, across the delta and Mississippi. The festival is sponsored by Warner Brothers, Visit Clarksdale, Capital B, Rootswell, Higher Purpose Hub, Mississippi Humanities, Griot Arts, and other local and regional organizations. Panels include Coffee With Kinfolk: Our Future of Clarksdale, Building a Blues Economy Rooted in Dignity and Cultural Diversity in the Mississippi Delta: Conversations With Choctaw and Chinese Americans, among others, while musical performances include music inspired by Sinners, held at Morgan Freeman's Ground Zero; a show by Keith Johnson, Muddy Waters' nephew; a Son House recording and jam session; and others.
Reuters
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Reuters
Coogler's 'Sinners' brings cinematic spotlight to Clarksdale, Mississippi
CLARKSDALE, Mississippi, May 30 - 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 (130 km) 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.
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Ryan Coogler attends Sinners screening in Mississippi town where film is set
Hundreds of people packed inside a local auditorium on Thursday to see the hit film Sinners, set in their community and steeped in Mississippi Delta culture. The special screening of the blockbuster horror film included an appearance by director Ryan Coogler and was made possible by a community petition. 'I have family from Mississippi – my uncle, my grandfather – and I had never been until working on this script,' Coogler said, addressing the crowd. 'It really changed me, just to come here.' The movie, starring Michael B Jordan as twins, is about two brothers coming home to Mississippi to launch a juke joint. It's also a supernatural vampire flick that blends elements of drama, action and music. Sinners composer Ludwig Göransson, actor Miles Caton and others who worked on the film also attended the screening. 'Any time that filmmakers take the time out to pay homage to the Delta, especially, because we're the root of music, the blues culture, that means a lot,' said Brandice Brown Williams, a theater teacher who brought two of her students to the screening. The film is set in 1930s Clarksdale, Mississippi, but current-day Clarksdale doesn't have a movie theater, making it difficult for people to see the film about their hometown. Community organizers decided to change that, starting a petition to invite the cast and crew to Clarksdale and to collaborate on hosting a public screening. 'The love you have for southern folk, Mississippians and Clarksdale came to life through your commitment to writing us right,' community organizer Tyler Yarbrough said. 'We are ready. We are waiting. And we would be proud to welcome you back to where it all began.' During the screening, the crowd was expressive – in response to various scenes, they gasped, laughed and cheered. Afterward, Coogler and others stayed for a Q&A. One attendee, Cindy Hurst, praised the film, calling it a 'really good visual representation of the beauty of the Black culture'.
