Ryan Coogler has never been one to chase the spotlight. While Hollywood scrambles to position contenders for Oscar gold, the Sinners director has quietly reshaped the narrative, not just through his work, but also through his refusal to play by the industry’s oldest rules.
In a recent New York Times profile by Kyle Buchanan, Coogler revealed that he declined an invitation to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences back in 2016. His reason? It wasn’t bitterness or protest. It was honesty.
“It’s not out of animosity,” Coogler said. “And I’m not good at judging things, bro. The act of ‘Hey, pick the best thing’ is very stressful for me, even when there’s no stakes involved.”
His response is both refreshing and telling, especially in an industry that often prioritizes prestige over purpose.
Coogler, who runs his own film school and remains active in various film unions, says he’s far more interested in the working-class engine behind the art form than the red carpets it produces.
“People see the tuxedo, they see the red carpet, but it’s real blue-collar folks making these movies happen,” he said. “I fell in love with filmmaking once I understood that, at its core, it’s a job.”
Yet despite stepping back from The Academy’s inner circle, Coogler is now at the center of the most talked-about film of the year: Sinners.
The film, a raw, urgent, and soul-stirring story of grief, survival, and transformation, has catapulted Coogler back into awards conversation. Sinners recently swept the American Film Critics Association Awards, taking home eight wins, including Best Film, Best Director for Coogler, Best Ensemble, and Best Supporting Actor for breakout star Miles Caton.
And with seven Golden Globe nominations under its belt, including Best Picture and Best Director, the film is widely expected to be a frontrunner at the Oscars.
But history, as Coogler and many Black filmmakers know too well, is complicated.
Despite Black Panther becoming the first superhero film to earn a Best Picture nomination, Coogler himself has never been nominated for Best Director, a glaring omission in the Academy’s near-century-long history.
In fact, no Black filmmaker has ever won the award for Best Director. Not Spike Lee. Not Ava DuVernay. Not Barry Jenkins. And not yet, Ryan Coogler.
The Academy has long wrestled with issues of racial equity and representation. While progress has been made, especially after the #OscarsSoWhite backlash in 2015 and 2016, the pace has been glacial. And Coogler’s decision to decline membership quietly challenges the notion that proximity equals progress.
Instead of playing the game, Coogler is rewriting the rules, championing Black talent both on screen and behind the camera. Sinners is a shining example of that ethos: emotionally resonant, artistically bold, and unflinchingly Black.
With Sinners leading this year’s awards season and Coogler’s name once again being mentioned in the same breath as “Oscar,” the Academy may be forced to recognize a man who never needed their invitation to begin with.
