Ryan Coogler Recalls One Of ‘Sinners’ Most Difficult Scenes To Film: “I Almost Lost My Mind”

After pulling off one of the most acclaimed horror movies of the year, Ryan Coogler recalled one of the most difficult scenes to film for Sinners had nothing to do with vampire or the period setting.

The 2x Oscar nominee recently recounted “the day I almost lost my mind” trying to film Michael B. Jordan and his double Percy Bell as twins Smoke and Stack during a driving sequence, which required precise timing.

“Every day was different. Every scene was different. Watching the movie, there are certain scenes you wouldn’t think were difficult,” Coogler said on EW‘s Awardist podcast. “You remember the day I almost lost my mind — where you guys had to drive the car and get into the bushes? Pulling off that shot was f***ing crazy, because Mike’s driving, and we had to do a repeated pass of the car driving up and landing, them getting out of the car with the correct timing, and then interacting with the bush with the correct timing.”

Noting that the twins move differently in the ways they walk, drive and even exit the car, Coogler added, “You can see the difference in performance, but also, because of the timing, they have to enter the bushes in a certain way.”

Despite the challenge, Coogler admitted the scene “looks good” in the final cut of the Warner Bros. film, which is currently nominated for seven Golden Globes, including Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Motion Picture — Drama.

In Sinnerstwin brothers Stack and Smoke (Jordan) return to their Mississippi Delta hometown in 1932 to open a juke joint, which quickly becomes a hunting ground for a group of musical vampires.