Christopher Nolan has revealed that he gave Ryan Coogler a confidence boost before Sinners was filmed.
The 55-year-old iconic director shared that Coogler called him because he wanted advice before deciding to shoot the vampire movie with IMAX cameras.
Nolan said Coogler seemed unsure, so he encouraged him to trust his idea. Speaking to The New York Times, Nolan said, “Ryan called me before he committed to Imax.”
He explained that he first introduced Coogler to the format years ago by inviting him to watch an IMAX screening of Dunkirk.
“I love to show filmmakers the potential of the format,” Nolan said.
He also recalled that Coogler was looking for some reassurance.
“I think he was sort of looking for someone to tell him it wasn’t crazy to shoot his vampire film that way. I was like, no, I’d love to see that.”
The advice, however, proved to be the right call. Sinners became a huge success, while cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw won the Oscar for Best Cinematography.
Nolan is now taking IMAX even further with his next movie, The Odyssey, which is the first feature ever filmed completely with IMAX cameras.
The filmmaker added that he hopes other directors will also start using the format.
“My excitement for having finished the film entirely in IMAX is: what other filmmakers might want to do that. I just want to go see somebody else’s film when they do it this way.”
2026-06-28 18:44:00
