Ryan Coogler’s Proximity Media gets keys to Warner Bros. Studios

It’s not every night you get to share the stage with blues legend Buddy Guy. It also doesn’t happen every night that you’re given the keys to a major movie studio.

But that’s how Sinners director Ryan Coogler and Proximity Media co-founders Gingy Coogler and Seb Ohanian spent their Friday night when they received the keys to a Warner Bros. lottery ticket to commemorate the huge success of the vampire epic.

“It was crazy coming to work on the Warners property every day,” Ryan Coogler recalled when the trio took in the historical artifact. “Even on the really tough days, when we came out of the post-production suite, we were like little tour buses with people coming and going, paying their hard-earned money just to see us work.”

“At first, I couldn’t get used to it and just looked away. But by the second week, I was smiling and waving like I was on a sitcom. It reminded me how lucky we are to be able to do what we do.”

If you ask Pam Abdi and Mike De Luca, co-chairmen and CEOs of Warner Bros. Picture Group, the Proximity team took full advantage of the opportunity presented with “Sinners,” which has grossed more than $367 million worldwide and is considered a major awards season contender.

“They are the best ambassadors of what cinema is about, and we are so grateful that they chose to work with us,” director De Luca said as he and Abdi handed them oversized keys to the studio. WB co-founder Jack Warner started the tradition, and Abdi and De Luca revived it last year after the success of “Barbie” by gifting keys to Lucky Chaps Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley and Josie McNamara.

In his remarks, De Luca also cited Francis Ford Coppola’s recent social media posts about what makes Sinners so special. “You can’t ignore something this big, this grand, this outrageous,” Coppola wrote. “Watching this film means immersing yourself on so many levels of so many things, through the eyes and soul of a genius who defies explanation or definition.”

Abdi described “Sinners” as a “totally unique” film, one that only Proximity Media could make. “With that, they reinforced what we already knew,” she said. “Ryan is a once-in-a-generation craftsman who brings all of himself, mind, heart, body, and soul into his work.”

De Luca added, “We think Proximity will be responsible for many, many new films from fresh storytellers over the next few decades. We look forward to working with you on whatever you want to do.”

For Ohanian, receiving the keys to the studio’s property felt like “a symbol of how[Abdi and De Luca]paved the way for us to show that culturally rich stories can resonate with audiences around the world.” “Warner Bros.’s support in producing and releasing this film worldwide really allowed us to really demonstrate our mission. With Proximity, from the beginning, our goal has been to tell event-driven stories with an element of proximity.”

Zinzi Coogler pointed out that “Sinners” was the first film the company produced independently. “Your trust in us was an incredible motivating factor every day on set,” Coogler told his studio partners before leading the creative team. “Many of us have become family through this work, and some of us have always been family,” she said. “We created a special community when we made Sinners. It was a work so sacred to us that we just wanted it to translate on screen.”

The community was well represented at the event, held in Somerville in South Los Angeles, and transformed into the Club Juke of the movie. (Issa Rae, who has an overall deal with Warners, is co-owner of a Windsor Hills supper club with a unique vintage vibe.)

The film’s cast, including Michael B. Jordan, Delroy Lindo, Wunmi Mosaku, Jamie Lawson, Omar Miller, and breakout talent Myles Caton, join Cooglers and Ohanian, and casting director Francine May Numerous staff members also participated, including Zurer, executive music producer Selina Goranson, costume designer Ruth E. Carter, production designer Hannah Beachler, cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw, and editor Michael. Schober, makeup department head Ken Diaz, music editor Felipe Pacheco and re-recording mixer Brandon Proctor.

It was a treat for Caton to join composer Ludwig Göransson (also a Proximity partner) and Grammy Award winner Rafael Saadik on stage to perform the film’s moving original song, “I Lied to You.” (As happens every time they play the national anthem, the audience marveled at Cayton’s baritone and cheered positively when he hit the climactic high note.)

Alice Smith then joined Caton for a moving rendition of the end credits song “Last Time (I Seen the Sun).” And they saved the best for last. Ryan Coogler grabbed the microphone to introduce a special performance from blues legend Buddy Guy.

Director Coogler explained how he scouted the 89-year-old musician to appear in “Sinners” because he was a favorite of Coogler’s Uncle James, to whom the film is dedicated, and Guy blessed the audience with a few soulful poems.

The guest list for the star-studded gala included Sterling K. Brown (who starred in Coogler’s Black Panther) and Ryan Michelle Batté, Don Cheadle and Brigid Coulter, Abbott Elementary’s Janelle James and William Stanford Davis, Anika Noni Rose, Djimon Honsou, Jurnee Smollett, Lamorne Morris, Taylor Page, Morris Chesnutt and Lynne. Whitfield, Vivica A. Fox, Mara Brock Akil, Niles Fitch, Karen Pittman, Reginald Hudlin, Randall Park, Natasha Lyonne, and Daniel Scheinert.

Akira Akbar, Maria Conchita Alonso, Kathryn Bostic, Effie Brown, Julie Carmen, Loretta Devine, Glen Marshall, Alex English, Ryan Fleck, Rebecca Neusteter, Tati Gabriel, JuJu Green, Hit-Boy, Lil Rel Howery, Skai Jackson, Sharon Leal, Yasir Lester, Jerry Lorenzo, Derek Luke, Tarell Alvin McCraney, Barbara Muschietti, Rudy Pankow, Kimberly Peirce, Kyla Pratt, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Kendrick Sampson, Jasmine Savoy Brown, Lauren Spencer, Rod and Kyla Lurie, Taura Stinson and Dara Taylor also attended the celebration.

The “Sinners” weekend continued Saturday with a screening and Q&A moderated by Barry Jenkins, with voters filling the Academy Museum’s 939-seat Geffen Theater. Jordan then made a special appearance at Santa Monica’s Aero Theater as the culmination of a series of retrospective screenings of his filmography sponsored by the American Cinematheque.