It's twins, it's period and it's vampires: How Ryan Coogler pitched 'Sinners' to Michael B Jordan

Los Angeles, Jan 20 (PTI) Filmmaker Ryan Coogler says he initially thought frequent collaborator Michael B Jordan didn't like his pitch for "Sinners", the 1932 set Mississippi drama about twin brothers who open a juke joint.

The movie, which is an amalgamation of different genres with Blues music and its history as the primary thread, received glowing reviews by critics and earned over USD 368 million at the box office. During an appearance on 'Good Hang with Amy Poehler', the "Black Panther" director recalled the initial phone conversation between himself and Jordan.

"How it ended up working: I was trying to get the screenplay together, 'cause Mike's busy, and I didn't wanna say, 'Hey, I got a thing,' and then have him waiting for a script; I didn't need him blowing my phone up, like, ‘Hey, where it’s at?’ But what ended up happening was he called me and pitched me something while I was working on this for him," Coogler said.

The director said when he declined Jordan's offer to direct the film, the actor became upset and said, "'Hey man, what’s going on? I wanna get this going. There’s something you’re not telling me'. I'm like, ‘Look, I’m working on a thing, I’m bringing this to you, this is what it is: it's twins, it's period, it's vampires. And I remember how he reacted 'cause he just got quiet for a long time, and I was like, 'Oh s***, did I lose him?' And he's like, 'Man, you know what, that sound pretty interesting, man.'” In "Sinners", Jordan played identical twins and World War I veterans Elijah Smoke and Elias Stack Moore. The two brothers, rich after stealing money from criminal syndicates, decide to open a juke joint for the Black community. They rope in the help of their cousin, a singer and guitarist, and Blues musician Delta Slim.

But what they don't anticipate is the evil that their great music conjures up on the opening night of the juke joint, unleashing mayhem beyond their imagination.

"Sinners" is expected to earn multiple nominations, including in the category for its music and direction. PTI BK BK BK