Sinners was one of the biggest movies of last year that was able to win big at the box office and at the recent Academy Awards. It was a rare non-franchise success story, but it did have one thing in common with some of those bigger movies: it had its own code name.
It’s not uncommon for major film productions to be filmed under code names, either because full titles haven’t yet been decided on or in an attempt to reduce the number of prying eyes trying to dig for spoilers. Ryan Coogler was used to having code names for movies, having worked on two Black Panther movies for Marvel. He came up with his own code name for Sinners. He called it "Grilled Cheese". Oscar-winning director of photography Autumn Durald Arkapaw recently told CBS Mornings the name wasn't random and had a very specific meaning. She said…
It was something that Ryan wanted to do, kind of like, down and dirty, something you can make quickly, but it tastes really good. You know? So that was kind of where that came from. That was his first iteration of the concept of how we were going to do this film was like grill cheese, you know? Something that can be quick, fast, and gritty.
As somebody who has made more than his share of grilled cheese sandwiches specifically because I wanted something that I could make quickly, but would be tasty when it was done, I can fully support this code name.
While Sinners certainly doesn’t look or feel “down and dirty” compared to a major blockbuster production like a Black Panther movie, it probably felt that way from a production standpoint. It’s understandable that Ryan Coogler might want to go back and try to make something closer to his breakout hit Fruitvale Station in between his major tentpole releases.
Unfortunately, while the code name may have tried to make the shoot feel like it was some sort of indie production, it absolutely was not that. Arkapaw admits that the movie ended up becoming much bigger than originally planned. Apparently, a somewhat different food-related code name would have been more appropriate. She continued…
It did not turn into that. It turned into a Michelin 12 courser.
While I love a tasty grilled cheese, I won’t turn down a fine dining experience either. Sinners may have ballooned into something bigger than it was planned to be, but perhaps that’s part of what made it the incredible hit that it was. It made millions at the box office, took home multiple major Oscars, including for star Michael B. Jordan and writer Ryan Coogler, and may have changed the way filmmakers work with studios for decades to come.
It’s unclear which of Ryan Coogler’s upcoming projects will be his next directorial effort, but I’ll be on the lookout for its codename. It may not tell us much about what the movie will be, but it will potentially give us insight into what Ryan Coogler thinks it is.
