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Sinners (2025) with Ayron La’Vell Walker
96 Plays1 month ago
With awards season just getting started, it's time to let in one of 2025's best horror, if not best overall films, in Ryan Coogler's Sinners. Rick and Trav welcome filmmaker Ayron La'Vell Walker, as they cover customary vampire etiquette and the outsized impact this genre film has had on the culture.
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Transcript
Return from Winter Break
00:00:00
Speaker
Let me in, There's some weird shit going on out here. You keep dancing with the devil. One day he's gonna follow you home.
00:00:23
Speaker
you home
00:00:36
Speaker
We're back. Let's Winter break is over. our Our long solstice here. We ended up pretty much taking three weeks off and it was much needed. don't know about you, Rick, but it it felt great to take a break. We love the pod, but man, it was great to rest and focus on family and and other things for a while, but we are excited to be back.
00:00:58
Speaker
Excited. Definitely excited. i did miss you, Travis, again, um but like not so much that I was pining after this pod every Saturday. Yeah. And I have to say, our only real interaction over the last few weeks was on Christmas Day, and I i really have to praise you here because this was a welcome surprise.
00:01:21
Speaker
for a dad of three where Christmas
Christmas Surprise for Travis
00:01:23
Speaker
is all about making it special for my little girls. Rick, you surprised me by mailing a package to my house here in Denver, Colorado. And I did see the package. I knew you had done something and it was like a tube. So I'm. But I addressed it to Anna. You should. I was trying to be sneaky. Yeah, our home is so small. It's impossible to hide that for me, especially when I'm already using all the good hiding spots for my kids gifts.
00:01:49
Speaker
But so i I had a feeling it was likely a movie poster. um But then Christmas Day comes and got two gifts on Christmas. One in my family, we do like a secret Santa.
00:02:01
Speaker
So the person who got me, he got me a new pair of jeans, which I needed. And that's what I asked for. I was excited for that. Practical. My only other gift I opened on Christmas was your gift. And so again, knowing it was a movie poster, I unraveled it. and It was one of my not my favorite horror film of all time. Top three easily.
00:02:18
Speaker
and the thing, John Carpenter's The Thing. And that was enough to get me very excited. We're moving
Introduction to Guest: Erin Lavelle Walker
00:02:25
Speaker
homes. I'm getting finally a home office. i don't have to record out of my closet anymore. So it's going to be the centerpiece. I'm going to miss the closet. to be behind But then I did a double take.
00:02:34
Speaker
And in the middle of the poster, You got your recently acquired friend of the last few months, Kurt Russell, to write a personalized autograph made out to me that that I was literally happier than my kids were opening their Christmas gifts like I was a child again. i My sister I was smart enough to record a video of me opening it. so I know I was able to share that with you, but literally it was back to like, you know, eight year old Travis on Christmas. I believe at at one point you're trying to explain what it is and then you just stop and you say the word yay
00:03:09
Speaker
Yeah. I think you exclaim yay. And I was like, man, he is he's back to being a kid at least. Yeah, man. so Of course, dude. I was like, once I realized that he was super cool, i started scheming like, right, I want to get an autograph poster for myself.
00:03:25
Speaker
for my brother and then for old Trav to commemorate a first first six months of the pod. And I know you like Kurt and ah he is super cool. I could have probably asked for more, but I did i wanted to cap it at three. So I'm glad you liked it, man. Yes, I'm so appreciative. It's literally going to be the centerpiece of my new office. um It's probably going to be right behind me. Well, it's going to be awkward when we both have the same exact poster behind us
Erin's Project 'Sour'
00:03:50
Speaker
in our new space.
00:03:51
Speaker
um Well, another gift that I'm bringing to this pod is by way of one, our guest by way of yes ah Aaron Lavelle Walker.
00:04:04
Speaker
Erin is a good friend of mine in the film world of Dallas. She is a writer director. We've met on a few sets, few commercial sets doing our side work together. And um hello. Hey, hey.
00:04:19
Speaker
um First, I want to say thank you for having me. It means a lot to be a part of something. like this and especially because I remember when we first kind of like started talking about making this podcast for Ricky. So, you going through it this is really cool. Going through the names, I was like, should it be Sunday Sparys or Dun Dun Dun? Yeah, I remember Dun Dun Dun. I was like, Dun Dun, sold. I know. I know. Aaron was one of aaron was was one of like two people on set that voted for Dun Dun Dun. Dun Dun Dun is so much more fun. i was just worried like searchability is going to be tough because people might yeah occasionally stumble on so Sunday Scaries, but very few people type Dun Dun Dun in the search browser. Real.
00:05:00
Speaker
That's real. Of course, we're happy to have you, Aaron. But yeah, what are you working on? tell us before Before we get into Ryan Coogler's masterpiece, what's what's this future masterpiece you're working on? Yes. So this has been how long? This is 2026. It's been like three years in the making. Back in college, I had an idea for dramedy called Sour, which is basically kind of like Insecure Israe meets Fleabag, um where, you know, you have women, young women, early 20s trying to figure out life. But what makes it fun and exciting is that they are each able to break the fourth wall and like
00:05:38
Speaker
discuss through these crazy experiences that they're having with the audience, which is typically only something that the main character can do. So probably say it just creates like a really interesting dynamic. um So it's something I'm very proud of this year is the year of really making it happen. There was a proof of concept that I shot um back in 2023 and that went through an amazing festival run where it was nominated for some awards. And now we're, Moving to more than just the pilot. So yeah we're, and we're part
Main Topic Introduction: 'Sinners'
00:06:10
Speaker
of your um announcement campaign. that You were were one stop on the way to your debut. This is we're glad it is your press tour right now. Yeah, exactly. The sour press tour starts now. Yeah. Yeah. Travis, we could probably even say that we turned down and a ah Oscar contending Dutch filmmaker to have Aaron on instead. yeah we We did get reached out to by a Dutch filmmaker and his assistant who are campaigning to be nominated for Best Born Film.
00:06:40
Speaker
and It wasn't really a horror film. It was thriller. And so we we had a few conversations back and forth. Maybe maybe we'll eventually have them on. But ah yeah. Yeah, y'all should. we chose you. We bumped them for you, Aaron. USA, baby. USA. USA. No, yeah. Well, I will say I'm honored, of course. But y'all might need to tap in with them. um and And so, yeah, we'll we'll get into ah some Sinners discussion with you. before we do that, just little brief movie news. um Not much to discuss other than the fact that Paramount is still
00:07:15
Speaker
ah desperately trying to make bids for a wholesale of Warner Brothers. They want to get all the all the bits and pieces, not just the streaming rights, but the cable package and everything um and the theatrical release movies. um Aaron, you reminded us, though, that's another wrinkle to all this is something that we, Travis, you and I talked about a couple weeks ago that we assumed would happen. And now Netflix is just saying it out loud is, yeah, we're interested in ah keeping the theatrical windows down to 17 days, which is would essentially decimate the film film industry as we know it. I mean, it'll evolve and adapt and change. But movies like Sinners probably don't get made much more um as far as like big swings, big original swings that rely on box office and word of mouth and all that.
00:07:59
Speaker
And the that the theatrical experience, like I watched Sinners at home and it was fine, but it did not compare did not compare to the theatrical going in experience. Yeah, it is wild. A great movie um no matter what, but just being there with people and the music just awesome. There's just nothing like walking out of a movie theater after seeing a film. It's like, especially when you go in there and like the sun is out, but you leave and it's like, it's dark. It's like. Transform.
00:08:24
Speaker
Transported. Yeah. Seriously. Like I'm a whole new person. I'm forever changed. Yeah. You're, you look different too, Erin. Post centers, you know, you're glowing. You know what I'm saying? Thanks.
00:08:35
Speaker
um The only other thing I had ah was that I just noticed, like, you know, trying to follow the Oscars a little bit, like the pre Oscar buzz is that there's a lot of um acting contenders ah for horror films this year across three different horror films. So Amy Madigan is getting some serious buzz for her role um as Aunt Gladys in Weapons. um You also have Jacob E. Lordy, who just won the Critics Choice Award for best supporting in his turn as the Frankenstein's creature and Frankenstein.
00:09:05
Speaker
um So he's becoming somewhat of a stalwart in that race. And then you have three from this film we're talking about to talk about. So Michael B. Jordan for ah best actor, Umi Musaku for best supporting actress, and then um Miles Cadden for best supporting actor. um I don't know if either all three any of three of them have a shot to actually win, but I think at least one or two of them will be nominated, which would be awesome. um I think Kugler did win our prestigious Scream Queen of the Year in our Spookies episode for Best of Horror, which might be released before this comes Which, of now, has not been released. It has been recorded.
00:09:45
Speaker
Our end of the year episode will be released at the beginning of the following year, 2026. twenty twenty six uh but yeah i mean center we'll talk about centers rewards chances in more detail later but there's like 14 categories that it could be nominated and
'Sinners' and Its Impact on Horror Genre
00:10:00
Speaker
and i think it's bigger for war and could win um original screenplay so yeah we could have our first year with multiple horror films nominated for best picture you get only seven nominated all the time and we could have a year with two both nominated coming off the heels of last year when the substance was nominated so
00:10:18
Speaker
one kind want our Our little subgenre here is getting a little more mainstream. why don't we do Why don't I do the synopsis and then we just jump in into ah what are what we thought? First off, this is the Sunday Scariest. I'm Travis Telerik. I'm Ricky Townsend.
00:10:32
Speaker
Today we're covering Ryan Coogler's 2025, completely original, fresh, took the world by storm, Sinners. This was a movie we intentionally pushed off of our recording slate last year, A, because it came out before we started the podcast, and B, when we said we have to cover this.
00:10:53
Speaker
Let's wait a little closer to award season here and start of 2026 because Rick called it very early on. He saw it before I did. and He said there's something really special here.
00:11:03
Speaker
And thanks for joining us. We're so excited to talk about this. um we We always like to start with just describe, you know, when you saw it um and kind of that, you know, we you could go as far as into your initial reaction or at least give us the details of where you were when you first watched this movie.
00:11:21
Speaker
Ooh, we, so I think it was in March. We definitely made a day out of it. We dressed up like Western S. Um, just out for the movies.
00:11:31
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. That's amazing. I know where are we, me and my friends go really hard about movies. So yeah this was one that was on our list. All of us had like work and stuff. So we were like actively trying to avoid spoilers online. So it was like a really big buildup to going to go watch the film.
00:11:48
Speaker
Um, The first time I seen it, it wasn't in 70 millimeter, but was in IMAX. So it was still, yeah, exactly.
00:11:59
Speaker
um But it was still a really, really amazing experience. Upon the first watch, I was definitely jumping in my seat and I cried. especially at the end. And then I went back for more four times after that. One of those times being four. four you see So you saw it five times or four times total? did Five. I have never done that.
00:12:23
Speaker
Yeah. that Like that movie is very serious to me. shaaron And I were trying rip before we started recording and that blew my mind. i i think my record is seeing a film three times in theaters. So five is incredible. record is three as well. That's now I'm motivated Hey, you know.
00:12:37
Speaker
my record is three as well that's aarin now now i'm motivated to hey you know i see I feel like it deserves all of that because every time I went back to go watch it, i noticed something I didn't notice before. and it's almost like that's what kept making me be like, OK, well, let me go watch it again. I also have a really big friend group, not even friend group. I just have a lot of friends and they'll be like, hey, have you seen Sinners yet?
00:13:01
Speaker
Well, yes, I have. I will watch it again with you. I'll do this for you. Were you by the fifth time? Were you were you like were you still finding new things or at that time was it just like getting to know the movie?
00:13:12
Speaker
better and like you're just like all right this is this is my last time this is like the finale like what was your i'm curious about your first and your fifth time for some reason oh first time first time the audio was a little messed up so i really kind of had a hard time understanding them so i remember that being a vivid thing where i'm like i feel like i missed some some points you're already planning your next visit exactly um fifth time i was noticing more like, and this was actually like kind of today I was rewatching it a little bit.
00:13:45
Speaker
Um, I was noticing like the small, i guess like jokes and ad libs. I think I had like maybe wrote something down that I was like, LOL. Um, but yeah, at this point it's really just like, I'm mouthing the words as the characters are saying them.
00:14:03
Speaker
Um, but like also like, discovering deeper meanings. And like one of those things was like the, this wasn't LOL, but it was the pick poor Robin clean. scene yeah yeah Yeah. For some reason it just, i I got what they were saying, but this time around I was like, oh, yeah no, they're sick.
00:14:24
Speaker
Yeah. Were you thinking beyond just the the life force stuff or you think because one of the takes that I had and and some people disagree with this, some people know latch on to it is like that they were culture vultures, you know, of of ah people outside of the black experience coming in and being like, hey, we'll just pick your music clean and we'll pick your culture clean. Or were you thinking of it more as like we're just going to suck your blood or like when you heard that song, I guess, what were you thinking?
00:14:52
Speaker
um Definitely the former. Well, at least this time. I think I experienced it more on like a service level of like, okay, what's this little silly song? But literally, that's that that's they were culture vultures. you know That was Remick's entire mission was um he heard Sammy's voice and he said, i he i think he literally says, like I want your stories. or like I want, like yeah. um So that's quite literally what it means is they're coming into a culture that's not theirs and they're wanting the beautiful benefits of being part of that culture, but not...
00:15:31
Speaker
be the the the serious detrimental implications they didn't earn it yeah yeah they didn't experience the pain necessary to create that kind of voice and that kind of sound i i agree completely and i and this i guess this is my fourth watch i i realized that you know and aar i want your take on this too that we can talk about later but like this is a movie that that touches on the capital s struggle right but it is a lot about you know, joy and music and sex and and just being free, um which is, you know, it's it's beautiful to see that that even in the Jim Crow South, the that they could still find a way to like have community because you have to have to to survive, right? But you can't make a movie like this without touching on why it is like this. And I thought the drive with Delta Slim um and he's telling the story of his friend
00:16:24
Speaker
And you can hear the sound effects of him getting lynched and like the robbery gone wrong or whatever. And ah it to me, that was cool to be basically saying like, this is why we sing the blues. Like, here's the blues so all these people can tap their feet and have fun. um And what do they say They say like
Ownership Theme in 'Sinners'
00:16:40
Speaker
ah these white folks, they they like them like the blues. They just don't like who plays it.
00:16:45
Speaker
Exactly. And that whole car ride kind of, I think, synthesizes the the the tragic, complicated, beautiful nature of the blues with like where it came from.
00:16:56
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. I love the line later in the film, too, where he just says like, you know, they essentially they force their religion on us. But the blues is ours. Like this is original. This is us. And I like that as well. But just the music's so integral.
00:17:12
Speaker
to the film and thent done really well. Yeah. Incredibly well. I was listening to the soundtrack in the car today. um No. Yeah. And just kind of echo. It's also a form of self soothing. I think that's what was interesting. And if I'm not mistaken, that was kind of um ah but but but but but improv. I don't think that was like in the script for some reason. i I might be lying, but um his I remember the story.
00:17:39
Speaker
No, yeah, well, not the story, but him like starting to hunt hum and like tap himself. It was like a form of self soothing that I don't think was originally in the script. um What is it?
00:17:52
Speaker
Is it Delroy? What's his name, Travis Delroy? Delroy Lindo. Yeah. look What my favorite performance of his is probably gone in 60 seconds, which is not a great movie, but great performance by Lindo. yeah He was good in that. That movie is horrible. Yes. Not horrible. It's just I mean, I like it for Nick Cage being in it. I like Delroy Linda, but not when I'm going to go back and watch it.
00:18:15
Speaker
Trav, where did you see it first? So I'm sure I was the last of us to see it then based on how many times you saw it, Aaron and Rick, you were the one who brought it to my attention. I mean, there was a decent amount of marketing leading up to it.
00:18:28
Speaker
This was probably the movie that got me back to theaters because i was still on a cold streak. We hadn't started our pod yet. i have three young girls coming out of the pandemic. And I used to be an avid movie goer.
00:18:39
Speaker
And this is kind of when the switch flipped and I started getting back because Rick, really because of you hyping it so much. And I'll say, you know, that's bittersweet because there's this unbearable weight of great expectations where what you were saying is this is a few weeks in its theatrical run and you had hyped it up so much. and that's when the press was starting to turn to a bit more positive on the film.
00:19:03
Speaker
And while I was worried because of that, because when a movie is that hyped up, I'm worried I can't help but be disappointed when I see it because I've construed something far greater in my head than what I see. And so it's an extra special movie with such high expectations when you can go see it and you feel like it still delivers on that. And that's amazing. And so, know, this is why in the end we'll see when we release our Spookies Awards episode. but This is why it's one of my favorite films of the year easily. And um you know I guess the only other thing I'll i'll add, because think you guys have covered a lot, is I watch a lot of horror films. Now, I've brought this up before in past episodes.
00:19:41
Speaker
But horror is a genre, you can get a pass on character development, on themes, on humanization. like You can make a plot-focused horror movie if it has good scares, and it can still be wildly entertaining. I think of Weapons. Weapons is another one of my favorite movies of 2025.
00:19:59
Speaker
And I thoroughly enjoyed it. But they didn't necessarily need to in that movie, you know, leave you walking out of the theater feeling like you've learned something, feeling differently going in. It didn't really, you know, play into the culture as it is today as much as movie like Sinners does. And that's because it's a lot harder to make a movie like that, that that, you know, speaks so well to these greater themes in our culture here in the US.
00:20:31
Speaker
You know, it's a period piece. It's about the blues. It's about the Jim Crow South. And that's a very big swing to take. And the fact that you're able to incorporate that into a horror movie, a genre that typically doesn't have that. know. many things. It's very ambitious. Extremely impressive.
00:20:46
Speaker
Yeah. A very American film, too. yeah Yeah. Yes. um Aaron, I know we don't have you for much longer, so I think in in in lieu of production notes, maybe we could just go into themes a little bit and like talk about kind of what rose to the surface for us. um And something I wanted to bring up was the idea of and I guess it kind of does tie into production notes a little bit, but like the idea of ownership and Coogler's very unique deal that he struck with Warner Brothers. So um he had, you know, he he has already established himself as one of the preeminent um
00:21:29
Speaker
young, ah solid filmmakers who can his box office earnings and Metacritic scores. No other filmmaker in their first five films has achieved what he has done since Spielberg's first five films. It's incredible. yeah It's so bankable. And so obviously after his turns at, you know, Creed and the Black Panther movies,
00:21:52
Speaker
um a huge bidding war for whatever he was going to do next. And he knew he wanted to do something to do with the South and vampires. So it was Warner Brothers, Sony and Universal. But his demand was, I need to have first, I need to have final cut.
00:22:05
Speaker
First of all, I need to have, um, first dollar gross, um, which for those who don't know, that means that typically, When a filmmaker is getting anything on the back end of a movie, the studio has to make its money back first because they're the primary investor. Right. So that's very normal. um But if you have cash and you have some leverage and Kugler does, he said, I want first dollar gross meaning I start I start getting my end by the very first ticket that sold just like the studio does. But the big thing that was different was that
00:22:38
Speaker
the rights of the film revert back to him in 25 years, which is extremely rare. That does not happen. Like typically who is paying for the movie keeps the movie, which is Warner Brothers or Universal or Disney.
00:22:51
Speaker
And that's when Universal and Sony were like, we're out. And Warner Brothers was like, we don't care. We'll do this. I thought that that was such a, so and hes he said on interviews and stuff that he'll never do this again. This was a special thing. And I, I think it has something to do with black ownership and like the importance of taking back what is yours and in, in a sea, in a world where things are taken from you so often. Um, and it just was a meta and I'm making some assumptions here, but, um, I, I feel like there had to be something symbolic there going on about like,
00:23:24
Speaker
Taking something back that's his that he worked for. um I think there was a backlash, which we can talk about. I think i'm I'm saying this to you guys because off the pod, we were talking about the way that Variety covered this film.
00:23:35
Speaker
Variety is owned by the Penske Corporation, which also owns Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter. Rolling Stone and they're all in bed with the studios. And so it kind of made sense to me that this movie was covered really poorly about saying how it's not going to make us money back. Because I don't think the big wigs want people to have these kind of deals. So I wanted to put this out there for us to talk about it because I guess it's both production notes and themes of how important ownership is and how the established status quo can shiver or or recoil at that because it's changing something and something that they don't like so absolutely
00:24:15
Speaker
Yeah, and I really think a lot of that also had to do with the fact that this is a Black filmmaker doing this. Yeah. like big, big no-no. Yeah, we can't we can't be having that No, what? A Black man owning his film and the film is doing good in theaters? no way. And so I feel like that also kind of played a role into like how this award season has gone so far and the way the variety completely played in Sinner's Face. And it's really just led to me like being very...
00:24:46
Speaker
hesitant to listen to what anybody or like what these, what the outlets that you listen to. The trades, yeah. Yeah, i don't want to hear what y'all have to say um because it's just, it's very dismissive of the hard work, but also i feel like it's just one of those things where it's like too much power will completely, too much power being in his hands will just kind of completely change the industry that they built in a very specific and strategic way, because it's not necessarily built for black filmmakers to be in charge. and It was like a double whammy. It was like, not only are we going to revert the rights over to the filmmaker, which come on, and we all know the studios have power here. It's a black filmmaker. It's like. There's two levels. That's like it's one too many for us. And I'll I'll go ahead and read what righty posted. So this is after the movie opened to sixty three million dollars globally. It opened to forty eight million dollars domestically, which I'll have, you know, good enough for the largest opening for an original film since twenty nineteen, which another black filmmaker, Jordan Peele's Us pulled in seventy one million.
00:25:56
Speaker
And at this point, it's still good for the 17th all time. OK, best opening domestically for an original film and number one in the 2020s. So given all that, given all those records ah that it broke and it would go on to break many more.
00:26:12
Speaker
But it Variety says Sinners has amassed $61 million dollars in its global debut. It's a great result for an original R-rated horror film. Yet the WB release has a $90 million dollars price tag before global market expenses. So profitability remains a ways away. Yeah. My girl bye. Yeah.
00:26:34
Speaker
This was one of those. And like you guys are saying, it sounds like they had the story in the angle yeah that they wanted
Media Coverage and Criticism of 'Sinners'
00:26:40
Speaker
to put out there. And then despite the contradictory evidence and coming forth to say, wait, this is this is a success. This is not just a success, but a sensation. And they.
00:26:51
Speaker
stuck to this script, which at least we have the benefit, at least all of us as movie fans, of seeing how poorly it aged, what they were saying. like they They couldn't sing that tune forever because the movie continued to gain momentum after its release, and they look so foolish now for questioning it in a way no other smashing successes, at least for their first weekend, have ever really been questioned or that I've seen in the past few years. where It's like, yes, but...
00:27:21
Speaker
after you put up these kind of numbers for your opening weekend. It was, yeah, such a thinly veiled agenda attack. It really came from the top of somewhere, you know.
00:27:33
Speaker
Especially compared to how they covered Marty B. Marty B. What is that movie called? Marty Supreme. Why did I make up the B? Marty B. It's the sequel. I just made that up. But the way that they talked about Marty Supreme, I'm like,
00:27:49
Speaker
Well, Aaron, yeah, let's let's look at the numbers there. It's a $70 million dollars price tag, which is not far off from 90, and it made $35 million in its opening weekend, and they they hailed Timmy C. as the box office king. Written by the same author, Rebecca Rubin, who wrote the first article about sinners, uh...
00:28:09
Speaker
Very interesting way to couch how this was going. Yeah. Very telling. Yeah. um But fortunately, a lot of people did tear up that article. I mean, Ben Stiller replied to it. um A Luke Cage showrunner called Cheo Hodari Koka replied to it and and was just like, Calling it for what it was. um But what spoke the loudest was not the replies. It was the results. So it it goes on to make $368 million dollars worldwide, which is impressive. But even more impressive, it's what it did domestically. $279 million dollars domestically. That is good enough for seventh all ah for the year. But I think what's interesting is the movies that it surpassed. OK, so if you were to tell me five years ago that an R rated horror film by a black filmmaker set in 1932, Mississippi would gross more than the following films domestically, I would tell you you're crazy.
00:29:02
Speaker
Fantastic Four. How to Train Your Dragon, the live action adaptation, Captain America 4, Mission Impossible 8, and then another Marvel movie, Thunderbolts.
00:29:13
Speaker
It made more money than all of those films. 100%. has a lot of strikes against it for like limiting its audience. Like R-rated movies, you don't get as big of a turnout. Period pieces, you don't get as big of a turnout.
00:29:25
Speaker
Black filmmakers, you haven't seen as big of a turnout. And Coogler just goes... no, no, like hold my bear. And yeah, let me show you something. yeah It is incredible. Is that his Rick? Do we know? Is this his highest grossing film of all time? Well, no, because Black Panther has got to sky be Marvel. Like it's got to be Black Panther. I think that Almost almost hit a billion. There 800 million something.
00:29:51
Speaker
But a yeah, first original film to cross 200 million dollars since Coco from 2017. If you go want to go even further back, it was the first live action
Excitement Among Young Filmmakers for 'Sinners'
00:30:00
Speaker
film to cross 200 million original film, I should say, since 2013 is Gravity. So more than 10 years ago.
00:30:06
Speaker
um So given all that, um Aaron, when you said that your friends were asking you to go see it, what what do you think was drawing your friends to see it? Why were people asking you to go see it? what was the mean Because you're're you're younger than Travis and i You talked about your original series being about women in their twenty s What do you know about being a woman in their 20s? Are you in your 20s, Aaron? Tell us. Is this...
00:30:28
Speaker
I am. i'm in my early 20s, which is something that's not often covered on screen. So that was like my draw. So but your generation is your generation is is not known for going to the movies too often, um unfortunately. So did you did you see an aberration? you see a bump in people going and talking about it? Or was this normal because you hang out with a lot of film friends anyways?
00:30:51
Speaker
um I would say this is the first time that my community of like young filmmakers have been this excited about a film. So our excitement was really stemmed from, this is Cooper's first original film. He's already had a ah record of really, really amazing film. So it's like, OK, one that Michael we Jordan, we love Michael Jordan. He doesn't. And then they're twins. And I'm just so happy to be a twin, too. So I was like, oh, yeah, you're twin. Oh, I am. I have a twin brother. Oh, yeah. there's just in. Sorry, Aaron, did you know that in this film there, if you look in the credits, there was a twins consultant and they're and next to it is two twins.
00:31:39
Speaker
What? Yes. I guess that is necessary because there's something to be said about being identical. I'm not identical, but there is, I guess, something to be said about that. i don't know. Fascinating. But sorry, you were saying- Yeah, well, really just um the the attraction to go see that film was originally because it had all of like the exciting things.
00:32:00
Speaker
Black filmmaker, vampires, it's sexy, it's thrilling. So um that was what got us in the theater the first time. But what made us keep coming back, I think really the online discourse did a lot because Man, TikTok and Twitter.
00:32:19
Speaker
Tell us about TikTok. We don't know much about. i mean, yeah, I'm not on either of those platforms. So this is fascinating here. I'm oh yeah someone i'm not TikTok or Twitter. Honestly, save yourself. TikTok is essentially an echo chamber of whatever it is you're interested in. So if you like one video or just read the comments on video, you'll just keep receiving the same. Erin and I, our friendship started because she hurled a meme at me based on my name. She said, Ricky, I'm going to catch you, Ricky. And I looked at her like, OK, what are Sorry, come again. What did you say? And you're like, oh, it's that thing on TikTok. I'm like, I'm 36, man. I know I don't look it. old and then I was like, oh, kicked off a beautiful. no Yeah.
00:33:00
Speaker
Seriously, love it here. What was the, I guess, what was TikTokification of it? Was it like... funny moments the memes yeah yeah okay there were very funny moments till this day people use shots or stills from sinners as memes um and people just it was just like very it was a lot of ongoing jokes and then of course like i'm kind of on film tiktok but also just like pop culture tiktok so there was a lot of think pieces about it and hey did y'all realize this yeah um but it was just a really big like culture gonna call it like a culture shift because this is the first time that we've seen a movie that's this black at least in my lifetime of being like that i guess that transcended yeah or like just like or me being like aware because like yeah there's movies like um but but but ba
00:33:56
Speaker
like boys in the hood and stuff, but I wasn't alive for all that, you know? So this was feeling like the start of like a black Renaissance in a way. So that's what kept us going back. So we're like, this is unheard of in our lifetime. Yeah.
00:34:12
Speaker
Yeah, ah there's a there's a quote in the movie. They were talking about making the the the juke joint and he said for us by us. yeah And I was like, what? Yeah, fubi I thought i did think of FUBU. I actually had a pair of FUBU jean shorts when I was younger. i don't remember wearing them, but they were in my closet. I i think is there's some Gen Z girl wearing them now. Probably. And they or they're being sold on Depop. Probably.
00:34:42
Speaker
But it is interesting. had a pair of Timbaland boots too. So that was. Hey, we're trying our best here. Back in the day. Yeah. You these things matter. But these things do matter. I mean, it changes perception. It opens doorways. It does.
00:34:56
Speaker
I think it's crazy because it's like it can do those things. But there are some people who watch this. They don't even think about that. They're just like, oh, this is an entertaining film. And um I think that's a it you can consider that sad because somebody's not seeing through it. But it's also very impressive that Kugler was able to make something that can speak to so many people in a very personal way, but then do what he does best and make a high concept genre popcorn film.
00:35:21
Speaker
that yeah also is being hailed critically. It's like he did all the things, you know, he spoke to his community. He spoke to film film goers at large. He spoke to the critics and ah he didn't speak to variety for some reason, I guess. um But they they learned their lesson. But yeah, I mean, it really establishes him as like a top five most exciting filmmakers that we have.
00:35:43
Speaker
um And I can't wait to see what is next. i I feel like, oh, what is it? Didn't. Have you guys heard of his next thing? i've i've read this shortly before and I'm starting to forget like what the next thing he's going to do. Vaguely. ah I don't think it's Black Panther 3.
00:36:01
Speaker
is it Which I welcome, by the way. i would i think I guess it is. I guess it is. yeah hey He's making a Manson Musa project I see on Letterboxd too. He's pairing up with Michael the Jordan again. Who's Mansa Musa? The story of the richest Black king that ever lived. Oh, cool. I'm in. Hey. yeah Something that I kind of wish I said earlier about why that film was so pivotal was the fact that whenever we had went to go see it, it was literally like, well, when is the first time we're seeing like a genre Black film? you know Typically it's just like, oh...
00:36:43
Speaker
Black people in the hood. Yeah. Or yeah or it's like Tyler Perry's newest video movie. Or it's like an all black cast. yeah But it's not actually like speak into the culture. Exactly. It wasn't speaking, the films that we've seen in the past weren't speaking life. And we also weren't seeing black people as vampires, which is something that like my friends and I and like my community online and and in person, say like, you know, can do more than just like be regular people on the street. We want to see black people as mermaids and vampires. So this was the first time we were able to see that, but also in a very unique way where we're looking at these characters, but it's also like, oh, I recognize that character because my uncle is Delta Slim. Or I recognize um that one person in the community who,
00:37:27
Speaker
isn't black or, um, now i'm I'm talking about Mary because she is black, but she, she's white passing, but it's like you, you recognize a lot of these characters in the movie, um, as like people that, you know, personally.
00:37:43
Speaker
And so that was also something that really made it special for me. Yeah, and and doing it like if you if you told the story with with black vampires and did did not address you know what the Jim Crow South meant or what the struggle meant, it's odd.
00:37:59
Speaker
If you focus too much on it and then it's no longer a fun movie, I feel like he struck a great balance between like being earnest and and um showcasing like...
00:38:11
Speaker
a very pivotal part of history but then is able to squeeze fun out of it like is that kind of what you're talking about is is like it's yeah there's a absolutely higher concept he didn't beat you over the head with it no yeah not to bash too much because stranger things was a great television series and rick i know you don't watch it but the pen ultimate episode got um thoroughly made fun of recently on social media now this is the you know my generation's social media. This is like Instagram. Travis is talking about MySpace.
00:38:42
Speaker
they They essentially are gearing up for the final battle and they take about a 15 minute hiatus for one of the characters who is clearly gay, but to have his scene where he comes out to his friends. And it was it was so heavy handed and so rejected by like the LGBTQ community that it's just like, I think that's true, right? Like you could try to speak to the culture, but you still have to make a good film at the same time. And that's why it's the delicate balance. I think Google does well where yeah by its own merits. This is a fantastic film. And it did not come on too heavy handed, which I love where you've seen other movies and what shows try to hit that deeper meaning. And it just it it seems too heavy handed. It seems, you know, at the end of the day. Yeah, I agree. Because if you handle it the wrong way, either becomes cringy or just like, all right, i'm not listening anymore. Yeah. Yeah. And don't get me wrong, like there's a there's a place for those movies that that are you know ah more more serious and more difficult to watch that that are subtle. and but like Moonlight is one that I'm thinking of. Both of these, the intersection of of the gay community, black community, that like that is a beautiful film. It's one of the best films made in the last 25 years. But people aren't hooting and hollering during the movie. you're you're not like yeah It's a different experience. And so, yeah, the...
00:40:03
Speaker
having the genrefication of this story is is amazing. you You mentioned, Aaron, um noticing like you're seeing your uncle as Delta Sim. It made me think of reading about one of the things that inspired Kula to make it was that his maternal grandfather was from Mississippi. um And he was also close to his late, his Uncle James, who had passed away, but loved blues music. And like those two guys kind of helped usher in you know, the inspirations that he had to be root this story, the Delta Blues, um not just as a soundtrack, but like as a cultural historical backdrop.
00:40:40
Speaker
um And I think it's so great that he got Ludwig Goranson to score the film because they've been buddies since US. They went to USC film school together, and I think he scored almost every one of his films and has gotten two Oscars out of it.
00:40:55
Speaker
um So, yeah, the it It would have been a shame for a movie so and entrenched in music to not have a good score. And i this one has an amazing one. um It absolutely does. Speaking of music, what were y'all's opinions about that very, and I would say controversial scene because not everybody loved it, um the piercing the veil when...
00:41:17
Speaker
all we time traveled through music and sound, and it was very abstract. It starts with Future Boy's performance correct at the sawmill, at the joint, the juke joint, and then it transitions. Like you said, that you have this like meandering camera kind of going around the entire mill, and you're saying ah time travel, would you say that, or capturing you know not just...
00:41:39
Speaker
the blues of the 1930s, but going back and also going forward to the, the you know, music from West Africa to music of today to hip hop. Yeah, well, how'd you get? I'm just setting context for for I'm sure everyone's familiar. but Yeah. a Erin. I can't imagine a world where that wasn't the best scene in the film. Hell yeah. and All right i'm on I'm on your page. yeah on your scene That was my highlight, Rick. That was my highlight for the film, too. All right. Nice.
00:42:06
Speaker
you You have to like that. if you If you like music. If you like music, really. And maybe if you like movies and you don't like music, maybe that's what I'm getting rubbed the wrong way. But yeah.
00:42:19
Speaker
Yeah, no, that scene, I think, is literally the whole point of the film in the sense of like whenever you're listening to music, what what it may what it reminds me of is like you're listening to a song, but say like I'm listening to a song in this year that was just made this year. This song was most likely a song that um they sampled from like 2016, but that 2016 song is originally a song from the ninety right right right And it's like this music has like traveled across time and touched like many different um cultures and generations. And it was literally just like that scene of like music connects us and it it ties back to
00:42:57
Speaker
the very first scene whenever um we hear Annie talking about the the the legends of, I can't remember. was talking about that that opening scene.
00:43:07
Speaker
I know. um It's it's some some culture, some people from many years ago that that talked about yeah pi piercing the veil. And then they they re-echo those words. And it's about reaching. I think it's about reaching how how some things transcend time, that some things transcend time and place to be something bigger than yourself. And it's what attracted Renick and the vampires to want to capture that because they have to be alive for a long time and they want to harness something beautiful and again, you know, sexy and exciting. And like, here's this thing. It's the house is literally burning down, you know? Yes. Burn the house. He burns the roof off. Yeah. Yeah. When we were Sarah, my girlfriend, we were watching together and, um,
00:43:49
Speaker
Before it pans up to see it's completely obliterated, she's like, oh my gosh, the roof's on fire. Like, oh, they got to get out of there. i was like, I think I think it might be symbolic. Just might be. Maybe. Well, hey, we're starting to talk about categories and Aaron, since we sadly cannot have you for the whole category session, you did mention that you might have had some um that you wanted to share. Was there you said something about the do not go in there award? Did you have one or do you want to hear ours?
00:44:17
Speaker
I want to do both because I kind of need you to remind me again that don't go in there. So so that I'm not confused. The don't know going the reward is, you know, one of the tropes in horror films is that characters often make dumb decisions ah for our benefit so we can see them get slaughtered or ah have a scary monster in front of them or.
00:44:37
Speaker
Whatever. ah And so because that happens so often, we decided to make a category about it. like So just to point out, like yeah, they shouldn't have done that. They should not have gone in there or gone up there or gone out there. And so that's what the award is about.
00:44:50
Speaker
Okay. I have a controversial one, but I want to hear y'all's first and then I'll share mine. you You go for it, Rick. Okay. So mine is, wouldn't say controversial, but it's I think it's not one that most people would choose.
00:45:03
Speaker
And that is ah um Haley Steinfeld's character, Mary, is a vampire at this point. Spoilers for anybody who knows this. She's the first turn. Yes.
00:45:15
Speaker
Yes. I also think she has a gun on her thigh at this point because Stack had given her one to go outside. I'm not trying to sympathize with the vampires here, but she could have done a lot more damage rather than just running out of the barn. She just runs out. She already has all these people there. I see dumb decision by Mary not to like turn a few more people to vampires before you bail out of there. I know she just got shot, but just...
00:45:43
Speaker
Shouldn't do anything to her. She should have gone over to the the dancing part of the place where nobody's suspecting anything. Bite at least three or four people. Build your army a bit. I just thought she shouldn't have gone out there. She ran out there too quickly. Go in there, bite a few more people, then leave. That was my don't go in there award.
00:46:01
Speaker
LOL. I did not expect that. I've never heard anybody be against that. yeah I kind of read it as like ah just a plot thing. But now that you say it, she could have... you know I just was like, you had an opportunity. Missed it. I'm i'm not intimately familiar with vampire rules.
00:46:17
Speaker
But when you turn, if you're already in a place, do you have to exit it and then be invited back in to re-enter? Or since you you know you turned within there, are you allowed to just stick around?
00:46:29
Speaker
ah yo wait that's a plot hole i think don't know i think you i think the rules reset because she's not able to get in next time she's waiting out there with everybody else yeah well that's why i was wondering because she was in there that she leaves and then she has to wait outside so i guess every time you have to continually get the equivalent it's the equivalent of going to a club and it's like you don't get the in out privileges like the the wristband like Or Disneyland, right? you If you don't get the Park Hopper a pass, you can't go back in. you Once you leave, you're done. So maybe it's one of those things. they they have dog
00:47:06
Speaker
That is a really, really good point. Because she should have been able to just go back in and so should have Stack. Yeah, because Stack was in there too. Yeah.
00:47:17
Speaker
But hey, you know the great thing about Vampire Stories you can just kind of make your own rules. Right. It was pretty faithful. It was pretty faithful to a lot of vampire tropes, though, in this movie. Oh, I think so. I like that. I like that. I like that Coogler respected his audience enough to not hit it over the head to say, now, you know, you have to be invited in like you could just see them trying. They can't get inside without being invited. And like they're tapping into our own.
00:47:44
Speaker
At this point, anybody watching the movie, if you know anything about storytelling, you know that vampires have to be invited in. And I like that he assumed that rather than just reminds us because you don't we don't need to be reminded of that. And it's fun because it's ah it's a club, so you're going to have a bouncer.
00:47:57
Speaker
So there's already that permission structure to get in in the first place. Cornbread. It lends itself really well. to I love cornbread. Yeah, RIP cornbread. Oh, gosh, yeah. But a him in that scene with him and Annie, I was like, that's so perfect because it was a lot of show don't tell. One of her being like this intuitive character, but also she's like, well, you've been walking in and out of here all night. Why can't push past us? Right, right. No, that was like a really great way of like,
00:48:24
Speaker
This is, they didn't call too much attention to it. Yeah. It's the antithesis of don't go in there where some characters made some really smart decisions for being like, nah, you're not coming in here. yeah you ain't going to go in there.
00:48:35
Speaker
I really, ah i could talk about Wunmi for a long time. She's, she's got my heart. ah well Did you have one? Ooh, okay, so my don't go in there, Ward. It's like, you can argue both sides.
00:48:49
Speaker
Mine is for Grace opening her big ass mouth and saying, come on in. Come on in. Oh yeah. So on one hand, I was like, so first two watches, I was like, I hate her for that. But then i was like, sister has a point because it's like, either we handle them right now or they're gonna kill everybody in the whole city. Including their daughter.
00:49:14
Speaker
including her daughter. And I think if they did not, if Cooley didn't add that shot of their daughter in that scene, then I i don't i think everybody would ate her up.
00:49:24
Speaker
Yeah, but there's been more sympathy recently. But she gets like an honorary award. I don't know. No. Yeah. I mean, if the point is to survive, ah this doesn't really help. if I understand the heroism, but I feel like what I think is like you she maybe should have like consulted with the other folks and like had a plan because the twins have a trunk of weapons that yeah at least could subdue them. But they're like, it's, you know, it's it's ah buried somewhere. i don't know. That's. Yeah.
00:49:56
Speaker
They could have figured out a way to make that make sense. And then she did all of that just to die immediately. I was a sister. You guys know the the old, now I'm dating myself here, the old meme about Leroy Jenkins? Yes. Do I know Leroy Jenkins? Erin, do you know Leroy Jenkins? There's no way.
00:50:12
Speaker
I've heard the name. Oh, do you know World Warcraft? Enlighten us. Oh, you don't even know World of Warcraft. Oh, my God. No, I kind of do because I'm watching Arcane on Netflix right now. Okay, yeah. League of Legends is a video game, as is World of Warcraft. So we're in the same same universe here. Right? Are they kind of related? This is like original OG YouTube video. here of people playing World of Warcraft where they're trying to be very organized. a large group of people playing online together to go attack a boss. A big fight that takes a lot of preparation.
00:50:45
Speaker
And one guy just yells out his character's name and like, Leroy Jenkins! And just runs in and charges in by himself. so it's kind of like that. in Sinners where one character is just taking it taken in upon herself to be like come on in but it messes it up for everybody else is the thing like he charges in and and disturbs the hornet's nest and then everybody else is like we have to go we have to go figure this out so she Leroy Jenkins did she did as that's me 13 years ago would have said that needs to be an award category of that's ah exactly what I was just thinking if we could find that happening more often in horror films I would love a Leroy Jenkins award so we' we'll our eyes out for it we have to bring it back
00:51:24
Speaker
um trad did you have one no i didn't have anything stronger than that honestly there's not that you know the the easy gimme in vampire movies is the person who invites them when they clearly should know not to do it but you do see a lot smarter character choices if anyone's to be faulted it's probably uh bo chow that's the yao's character um who who goes out first before his wife does. to like but
00:51:55
Speaker
He's going to check the car or he kind of just goes out on He's going to go get the car ready. yeah but to be fair, he didn't know that it was vampires out there. That's why he gets a little grace from me. Because he was like, okay, I'm going to start the car and we're going to leave. And then he got bit.
00:52:10
Speaker
And I would like to actually blame Mary one more time. Because why would you completely turn your back and then he jumps on you and bites you? You had a gun. you should have been walking backwards gun on them. right there In fairness, he jumped like 50 yards. like you're You're not anticipating a dude to just...
00:52:29
Speaker
Just set the world record for a long jump while you're walking away. like She probably thought she was a safe distance. That that definitely caught me off guard. i i guess vampires can fly, right? But I never have thought of them as long jumpers. When we first see him, the very first shot of him, when they show that old house in the middle of the field, he like jumps into frame from the right. yeah And he's like steaming with with smoke. And if you watch that scene again, i mean and and you've seen it five times, so... you know what I'm talking about. like he
00:53:00
Speaker
He's he's like coming from a high point. like it It feels like he yeah did a long jump into that scene. yeah his His powers, and we don't see them fully realized, but he's he's a pretty powerful dude. He's a good jumper. He's like the oldest vampire or something.
00:53:14
Speaker
He's the OG or something like that. Or at least a survivor from a very, very long time ago. I think just for limited time, like I want to jump around to some awards that I think might be fun to talk with Aaron about. so like Another one, this is a dull knife. and We use dull knives. Aaron basically means like this thing, these are things that don't make sense within the story. It doesn't mean it's it's not a criticism of the film. It is like, oh, why, why would this person say that if they're going to go over here? Like it doesn't make for somebody, it doesn't make sense for somebody with this profession to ask this person with this, you know what i mean Like it's just like confusing things.
00:53:47
Speaker
Or if you're confused by something, I was confused by this. When you were bitten, does your does your sense of morality go away? does it come back later? Because Mary is clearly you know mary is clearly like ah trying to trying to manipulate people that she loves so that she can turn them.
00:54:09
Speaker
Grace's husband is doing the same thing when he comes back in. But then later in that very now infamous you know post or mid-credits scene, yeah he and Smoke, sorry i sorry, Stack and Mary they don't kill smoke or, um, sorry, the cousin miles, his character, preacher boy. And there's a sense of reverence there or something. So like, what do you think they're in a trance or something? I wanted to get your take of like, what happens to your consciousness when you become a vampire in this movie, at least like, are you, are, are you still, that they clearly are seeing life through a different lens. Um, and they, it's like, they want to build a big community together, um,
00:54:54
Speaker
at the expense of your own freedom. Like, you don't have a choice in this matter. We're gonna bite you. And you come in and then you'll have fun with this. but So, I think it's a few things.
00:55:04
Speaker
In this film in particular, it seems like they have hive mind. o Based on the fact that Remick, they can feel Remick's pain. So i I understood it to be, okay, whatever Remick wants is what everybody else also wants. And Remick wants community, love and fellowship. Love and fellowship. Love and fellowship.
00:55:25
Speaker
So um that was my understanding of why they were so like gung-ho on Remick. Oh, we got to like, we, everybody has to like, we got to do this together. Like, and I think Mary said, like, we, I want to be with you guys. I want to be alive with y'all. So I think it was that mixed with the fact that once Ramek was dead, i guess hive mind dies. Oh, okay. And so, and also what did, what's his name?
00:55:51
Speaker
What did Sammy gain from becoming a vampire at that point? I feel like, or what did you what did anybody gain from turning him into a vampire? Like, I think they were able- mean at the end? At the end? Yeah, at the end. Like, that made sense to me. Because I felt like at that point, so much time had passed. They just came to hear a song. They just wanted to come back and see him real quick.
00:56:12
Speaker
and they And they probably weren't that hungry. You know, they probably ate before they got there. They probably had some lamb. I like your take because I was thoroughly confused by, like, I love the mid-credits scene. I love Buddy Guy.
00:56:22
Speaker
But to suddenly see these, like, pacified, like, cool vampires that are like, nah, it's all good. We're just chilling. And I've always wondered, like, what was the mental shift? But I think your point on maybe like hi the hive mind. The hive mind makes sense, Aaron. and k I think does a good job of it's helping explain that one.
00:56:39
Speaker
They still have the thirst, right? For blood. That's not going away anytime soon. If they want to survive, they're going to have to do some bad things. But it does seem like they have more control of their faculties. They have more control of like what they want to do or who they're going to kill. But versus being in this like little tra this trance underneath Renegh.
00:56:59
Speaker
Yeah. and ah ah And on top of that, we know that they still feel emotion because they were sad whenever Annie died or whenever. um Yeah. Whenever Smoke had to kill Annie.
00:57:11
Speaker
So it made sense. And especially because what's his name? Stack was like, yeah, I could tell you don't have much time left. So it was like, why would I kill you? You know, you should you deserve to just like be for the rest of your days. Yeah.
00:57:26
Speaker
That's what we out of it. we fit in one more category here? Yeah, one more for the road. Do you want to pick one, Erin? I'm looking at the list now. um Is there one that speaks to you more than others?
00:57:38
Speaker
um Honestly, these have... oh let's do best lines, actually. Oh, okay. All right. Can I start? Because I mean, me and Sarah were just watching it and we both just cracked up at it. And I don't remember this, I guess. I don't remember this from the first few times I watched it, but it's when Mary Mary comes back in to the barn after she's been bit and she's trying to get stacked to sleep with her. And he's like, yo, you're married. Like I'm trying to run this juke joint here. And she goes.
00:58:11
Speaker
you know, you rob all those banks and all those trains, but you can't steal this pussy for a night. i was like, dude, I I was laughing. Wait, that took me out of it for a minute. You didn't like it.
00:58:29
Speaker
Just because were, let me just say this. There were a lot of lines around like, that doesn't feel natural to come your mouth. Damn. But that one those things. There's such smooth talkers in this movie. Like it feels raw and real, but at the same time, incredibly smooth to the point where I know have never once articulated myself like that before. I think I just like. will never be anywhere close to that level of.
00:58:52
Speaker
I think it was like it just came out of left field for me. I was like, I was just not expecting that to come out of her mouth. I was like, oh, just like, come on, come see me. And she like strings together this allegor, this like metaphor or this like ah idiom, I guess, of like related words and and then just hits it, hits it on home on the latter half. And I was like,
00:59:13
Speaker
Damn, what does he say to that? I don't know. No, seriously. Like and he he was going for it. It worked. And maybe and she had a moment like that earlier at the train station, too. Oh, yeah. Yeah, who I know. Well, hey, dude, props props for ah the movie not shine away from the the not enough mentioned act of cuddling us. We have to so we have to we have to applaud Kugler for getting us there because, you know, important, important to everybody has has their fun.
00:59:41
Speaker
The boys were eaters. Yeah. No pun intended. He was not subtle in this movie. He's like, hey. okay ah This movie's about a few things. The Jim Crow South and going down on a woman. Hello? Vampires on the side. That should have been poster. That should have been on the poster.
00:59:59
Speaker
All right. There's there's my cringey line. what do you what What did you guys like? You go ahead, Travis. Travis. Yeah, I mean, you know, I think it's probably the most notable, might not be the most fun, but I love when Preacher Boy's dad tells him just from the outset of the movie, like, keep dancing with the devil, one day he's going to follow you home.
01:00:21
Speaker
um to That's the line that I think will probably have the most staying power for this film. You know, it'll be on like the AFI's top 100 quotes full-time poster in like a few years from now.
01:00:32
Speaker
I love that. That's great. love that. That's a great one. Very, very great foreshadowing. Yeah. Yeah. that Yeah. Yeah. And like it, it I love that one felt more natural. It it did I think it, ah it taps into the whole, like the desire he has to, you know, dance with the sinners and get on the edge and, and stay out late. And it's like, you can do that, but you're doing it a, at a cost that there's, there's a risk here. It captures that danger really well. I like the one day aspect, you know, like,
01:01:09
Speaker
Sure, you've done it for a while and you haven't faced any repercussions, but you keep at it. you know One day, this could happen. And sure enough, that just happens to be the one day the entire film is focused on.
01:01:20
Speaker
Yeah. right in the middle of things. All right, Erin, do you have one? I'm kind of debating between two. I'm trying to think of the one that I quote the most.
01:01:34
Speaker
um Golly. Okay, I really, really like that, what is that called? That back and forth between Delta Slim and Kornbrow at the door. He's like, Kornbrow's like,
01:01:47
Speaker
um where there Now yeah y'all to let me in so we can do what we supposed to be doing. those I was like, well, what are we supposed to be doing? kind one another. another. was so funny to me because I'm you're so unserious. That and love and fellowship. Right, right. Love and fellowship. Yeah. Doesn't he say something like, does he sayly oh, it's it's it's always one of your own or something like that when they're not loving it? Yeah, always your own people. Yeah, it's always your own people. Which, on the flip side, um when redit ah when the vampires get turned down for the first time, um or like I guess the the only time, um when they're still trying to weasel their way in there, Remick is... ah
01:02:33
Speaker
so somebody I think some one of the twins says, hey, there's a there's a white bar down down the street. And he goes, and we're we're not on video. We're on video. So I'm going to try to say it out loud. like He goes, oh, it's because, and he puts his hands on his fingers. And then you hear the audio. You can hear the sound of him rubbing hand. really? Rubbing his hand. Oh, it's because, okay, I see how it is.
01:02:54
Speaker
Can't for one night we just all get along. Literally. And then he said, well, what is she doing back there? He pointed Mary. You know what's funny is like it shows how manipulative he is because like I always find myself and maybe it's because I am white. I'm like, oh, like they seem nice. Like, them in. Like, they're all there.
01:03:13
Speaker
They have good music and like, I feel sad. And like, you know, every single person that in that juke joins like, dude, we're not we're not touching these people with a 10 foot pole. But i always find myself and like maybe that's my bias. I'm like, come let them Just like me. Yeah, she's the first one to go out.
01:03:32
Speaker
Yeah. um What's another one? Oh, when when Delta Slim is like, you guys smell something? And they're like, what? He's like, I think I just shot myself. That was the other one. There's just so many good one liners.
01:03:49
Speaker
Oh, what a movie. um All right, Aaron. Well, we're going let you go. got to go do some work on NFL hard knocks, I think, if we're allowed to say that. I do. Yes, you are allowed to say that. I'm going to get up early and finish wrapping up NFL hard knocks in season.
01:04:04
Speaker
OK, awesome. Very cool. um Well, it's been a great time. We are going to do something that we do at the end of every episode. are at the same time. We are all going to say who we think won the movie. So so it's like it could be the person or concept. It's it's usually like either ah you know, an actor, the director, the writer, or it's maybe it's a character that really wowed you, or it's a concept about the film that really got to you. So, um, it's who you think
01:04:37
Speaker
this movie wouldn't exist without this thing or it's the biggest thing about this movie or it's your mvp it's your mvp of the movie so we usually do like a one two three and then we all say at the same time so i would i would love that to be kind of our sign off so that we can get your your answer for it and i would love that you don't have much time let we chew on it for like 30 seconds you can While you're chewing, Trav, um after we do this, do you, I'm fine releasing this episode just as like a abbreviated weirder version or we can go back and fill in. like that's a
01:05:13
Speaker
That's a fair point. I'm okay keeping it shorter. We're going to lose a lot of the heart of it if we have to go back and fill in other pieces. I like that. Yeah. I mean, I think people are going to miss Aaron when she's like yeah not there. Aaron, we're nothing without you is what it comes down to. You leave us.
01:05:30
Speaker
down um All right, you know, Rick, you want to count us down? All right, so to say one, two, three. And after I say three, you say the one who?
01:05:41
Speaker
what Okay, one, two, three. Ryan. Ryan. Hey. Is this the first time been on the same page?
01:05:57
Speaker
I think Rick and I, yes, we've had everyone except for me be on the same page before. we Yeah. So it's nice to have a truly unanimous. Right. This is the first three person total agreement ah winner, which it's, it has to be right. I mean, it has this came original lately from his brain on himself.
01:06:16
Speaker
And he's getting swinging. He gets the rights back in 24 years. It's his after that. That's amazing. Exactly. He won it in the theater, but also outside of it at the box office and in in the meta sense, like you said, betting on himself.
01:06:30
Speaker
Yeah. Writes back. And so good job. Like this is, I mean, this is my favorite film of it. I haven't seen Fruitvale Station. It's good. it's I guess I'm OK. Which some some might say, oh, that's an original. It's not because it's based off of a real thing that happened. So it's not this Sinners is truly his first original. um but the Yeah, that one. Michael B. Jordan and all of his films so far.
01:06:52
Speaker
Yeah, he don't play about Michael. No. He likes Michael. There's a lot of close runner-ups in the cast, but it's got to be Coogler for what he's there. Yeah, seriously. Seriously. um He wins. All right, guys.
01:07:05
Speaker
Well, thank you for joining us, Erin. Thank you for having me. Of course. This has really been such a delight. Let's not let this be the last one. Hey, yeah. There's other movies out there. And you're not a big horror person, so this is great that we found one. I was him that. He was what? Exactly. What was Ricky doing asking her to be on this? That was like the first thing Aaron told Like, you're not on the call. Aaron and I were here for the first time. And she's like, yeah, I don't really watch horror movies. was like, all right, let's go. All right, cool. I didn't know your bonafides either. So I was like, you have watched Sinners, right?
01:07:39
Speaker
And she was like, yeah, I saw five plus of theaters. I was like, okay, good, good. um That's so funny. Yeah. And yeah. All right with me. And guys, we're, for those who are still with us, we are, we're going to keep this one short, y'all. I know that we usually do a lot of more awards, but we've, Aaron's been a joy to be with us. So we're just going write Trav. You're yeah usually close us out. So just wanted to make sure you were cool. Thank you guys for listening. We'll be back next week with a new release.
01:08:06
Speaker
28 years the bone temple please god please be good don't kill the franchise see you guys next week bye