News has already broken that “Sinners” has received the most nominations in Oscars history with 16. What readers may not know is that one of the three producers for the film and potential winner of the Best Picture award, Zinzi Coogler, is a Fresno State alumna.
Before she was an Oscar nominee, Coogler was a student-athlete at Fresno State. While she ran track for San Lorenzo High School, it wasn’t until Coogler became a Bulldog that she would take up running cross country as well. She would quickly become one of Fresno State’s top runners in cross country as she majored in communicative sciences and deaf studies.
In an interview with Marie Claire, Coogler looked at her time as a student-athlete as foundational to her current work, as it is where she perfected endurance and excellence.
“There’s something about that diligence that filmmaking requires,” Coogler said in the interview. “Once I knew that ‘Sinners’ was the project in front of us, it was just heads down.”
Having worked behind the scenes as an executive producer before, her work on “Sinners” is the first time Coogler has worked as a lead producer on a film. While executive producers typically negotiate deals and secure finances for a movie, producers are working on a myriad of tasks hands-on and essentially manage how everything works together. This is why when a film wins Best Picture, the award is given to the producers of the film.
At the Critics Choice Association’s 8th Annual Celebration of Black Cinema & Television, Coogler’s husband, Ryan, was honored with the Director’s Award for “Sinners.”
In his speech, Ryan honored many of the cast and crew who worked on the film, sharing funny stories and praising their performances. The end of his speech was dedicated to Zinzi, and he took a moment to prepare before he spoke again, beginning with the story of how the two of them met in high school.
“In 2003, I saw a young girl kicking everybody’s ass on the track,” Ryan said. “I didn’t get her number that day, but I built up my courage and got it at the next track meet. And she changed my life. She made me a better football player then, a better student, a better person and she made me a better filmmaker when we figured out that’s what we was going to do.”
Ryan then went on to describe the work Zinzi has put into their films from behind the scenes.
“She was there on every set, always in the background, never getting credit,” Ryan said. “And on this movie, she was my boss, and it was fucking awesome. I think she’s the biggest reason why this movie is so good. Zinzi thank you, I love you.”
As people cheered, many sitting next to her stood to applaud, and soon the room stood to give her a standing ovation.
Readers can tune in to see the Oscars on Sunday, March 15 at 4 p.m., televised live on ABC and streamed live on Hulu, and potentially see another Fresno State alumni win an Oscar.
