Latest news with #Sinners'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Stylist testifies Cassie dated Michael B. Jordan, Andre Branch during Diddy relationship
NEW YORK — Sean 'Diddy' Combs' former stylist testified on Thursday to the former flames of Cassie Ventura, saying she dated both Michael B. Jordan and Andre Branch during her contentious on-and-off relationship with the hip-hop mogul. Deonte Nash — who worked for Diddy from 2008 to 2018 — took the stand for a second day in the rapper's federal sex trafficking trial, testifying that he set up Ventura with 'Sinners' star Jordan after she found out Diddy was seeing another woman in 2015. Nash also confirmed he knew that Ventura had dated Branch, now a 35-year-old former NFL linebacker, but that he 'never met him' during their brief relationship in 2016. Branch was alluded to earlier in the trial when Ventura testified that she cheated on Diddy with an NFL player, though she didn't identify him by name. While Ventura's relationships with other men have nothing to do with the charges against Combs, prosecutors have used them in attempt to paint a picture of his possessive, controlling and violent behavior. The R&B singer also testified to her relationship with rapper Kid Cudi, revealing the pair briefly dated in 2011 during a time when she and Combs were 'not in the greatest place.' She said Combs filled with rage upon learning of the romance, allegedly telling Ventura 'he was going to hurt' the two of them and blow up Cudi's car. In January 2012, police did in fact respond to a vehicle arson at Cudi's address in L.A., where his car was found engulfed in flames. No suspects were ever arrested. On Wednesday, Nash testified to witnessing Combs physically abusing Ventura on numerous occasions and hearing him threaten 'to beat her a–,' get her parents fired from their jobs and send out humiliating sex tapes recorded during 'freak-offs.' Nash's testimony brought into focus the power imbalance between Combs and Ventura, 17 years his junior. Prosecutors have used this to back up their claims that Combs coerced her into sex sessions with male escorts, which his lawyers have tried to frame as consensual. If convicted of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution, Combs faces life behind bars. He has maintained his innocence.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Stylist testifies Cassie dated Michael B. Jordan, Andre Branch during Diddy relationship
NEW YORK — Sean 'Diddy' Combs' former stylist testified on Thursday to the former flames of Cassie Ventura, saying she dated both Michael B. Jordan and Andre Branch during her contentious on-and-off relationship with the hip-hop mogul. Deonte Nash — who worked for Diddy from 2008 to 2018 — took the stand for a second day in the rapper's federal sex trafficking trial, testifying that he set up Ventura with 'Sinners' star Jordan after she found out Diddy was seeing another woman in 2015. Nash also confirmed he knew that Ventura had dated Branch, now a 35-year-old former NFL linebacker, but that he 'never met him' during their brief relationship in 2016. Branch was alluded to earlier in the trial when Ventura testified that she cheated on Diddy with an NFL player, though she didn't identify him by name. While Ventura's relationships with other men have nothing to do with the charges against Combs, prosecutors have used them in attempt to paint a picture of his possessive, controlling and violent behavior. The R&B singer also testified to her relationship with rapper Kid Cudi, revealing the pair briefly dated in 2011 during a time when she and Combs were 'not in the greatest place.' She said Combs filled with rage upon learning of the romance, allegedly telling Ventura 'he was going to hurt' the two of them and blow up Cudi's car. In January 2012, police did in fact respond to a vehicle arson at Cudi's address in L.A., where his car was found engulfed in flames. No suspects were ever arrested. On Wednesday, Nash testified to witnessing Combs physically abusing Ventura on numerous occasions and hearing him threaten 'to beat her a–,' get her parents fired from their jobs and send out humiliating sex tapes recorded during 'freak-offs.' Nash's testimony brought into focus the power imbalance between Combs and Ventura, 17 years his junior. Prosecutors have used this to back up their claims that Combs coerced her into sex sessions with male escorts, which his lawyers have tried to frame as consensual. If convicted of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution, Combs faces life behind bars. He has maintained his innocence.
Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Entertainment
- 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.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Hollywood comes to the Mississippi Delta with special screenings of ‘Sinners'
CLARKSDALE, Miss. (WJTV) – Warner Bros. and director Ryan Coogler brought Hollywood to the Mississippi Delta. Special screenings of the hit film 'Sinners,' which is set in Clarksdale, will be held at the Clarksdale Civic Auditorium from May 29-31, 2025. Residents advocated for the film to be shown in Clarksdale due to the fact that the city does not have a movie theater. Philadelphia honors Quinta Brunson with key, mural at alma mater that inspired 'Abbott Elementary' 'The Delta is such a special place, and to see something so big and so major happen here, I wanted to be a part of history. I wanted to be a part of something amazing. I wanted to be a part of something that the world is taking a look at right here in Clarksdale, Mississippi,' said Katina Washington, who attended Thursday's screening. 'Sinners' is Coogler's first original film. It blends elements of supernatural horror, gangster drama, romance, blues music and action across one eventful day in Clarksdale, Mississippi, in 1932 in which a community opens a juke joint and then has to defend it from a vampire army growing outside. The setting of the film was also inspired by his family's ties to a Mississippi of the past. One was his maternal grandfather who originated from Merrill, Mississippi, and moved to Oakland, where the family remains. The other was the man who introduced him to blues music, his Uncle James, who died while Coogler was making 'Creed.' The Associated Press contributed to this report. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Ryan Coogler hosts 'Sinners' screening in Mississippi town where film is set
Clarksdale, Miss. (AP) — Hundreds of people packed inside a local auditorium 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 Canton and others who worked on the film also attended 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,' 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.'
