Quote Of The Day By Ryan Coogler: 'i Have To See The Good In Things, See The Value In Things...'

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Ryan Coogler is, without question, one of the coolest guys around — and he also happens to be an Oscar-winning writer and nominated director. Throughout his press tours and interviews, Coogler, who broke onto the scene in 2013 with his independent film "Fruitvale Station" — marking his first feature collaboration with his friend Michael B. Jordan — has proven himself to be an exceptionally thoughtful, empathetic, and insightful guy who makes very, very good movies. Frankly, based on the 2025 video he made explaining all of the different film formats, aspect ratios, and stocks, I think he'd make an amazing teacher if he could ever find the time.

Personally, I'm a fan of Coogler's entire body of work, from his work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with "Black Panther" and its sequel "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" to his Rocky reboot "Creed" to his 2025 film "Sinners," which finally earned Coogler a well-deserved Oscar for best original screenplay. ("Sinners," an astonishing story of twins played by Jordan who open a juke joint together in Mississippi and unwittingly attract vampires, and is the most-nominated film in Oscars history.) The Bay Area native, who works alongside his wife and producing partner Zinzi Coogler, didn't make an original concept until "Sinners" — between reboots, the MCU, and the Rebooted Rocky franchise — and with that, he's definitively proven that he's one of Hollywood's brightest minds.

Vitally, Coogler has also experienced a loss in the public eye ... specifically, the loss of his friend and "Black Panther" star Chadwick Boseman, who died due to complications from cancer in 2020. That's why he opened up about his struggles with imposter syndrome and the regrets he carries about how that impostor syndrome kept him from living in the moment with Boseman during "Black Panther."

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"Engaging with [Chadwick Boseman] on an artistic level, conversations that will forever just be between me and him — I was about 30 years old, stressed, completely out of my mind, sleep-deprived, convinced that the movie wasn't going to work. I robbed myself of truly enjoying that privilege — even of sitting there and enjoying the countless Chadwick Boseman takes, because he didn't have a bad take. So when he passed, I'm like, 'Oh my God, how much stuff have I not allowed myself to enjoy because I was in my own head — feeling like I was unworthy?'

I'm going to take the lessons from Chad for the rest of my life. That includes all of this. I have to see the good in things, see the value in things, and not let impostor syndrome or guilt or negativity rob me of moments with my cast who I love — or with folks who want to say, 'Hey, good job.'"

It's genuinely heartbreaking that, in the moment, Ryan Coogler felt unable to access the pure joy of working with an actor and collaborator whom he also called a friend. It's also genuinely important for him to highlight this, though, because it's more universal than it seems at first glance — and illustrates what he learned from working alongside Boseman.

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According to Ryan Coogler, who spoke to The Hollywood Reporter in February of 2026 — ahead of the Oscars that would net him his first trophy — he feels like he missed out on living in the moment while he was working on "Black Panther" with Chadwick Boseman, largely because he was so in his head about the whole thing. This is truly tragic; Boseman's many collaborators have been sharing memories about him in the years since he died, and by all anecdotal accounts, he was a good person and inspiring artist who routinely delivered excellent work and motivated his colleagues to do the same.

Coogler's quote speaks to a larger issue, though. Diversity is still a struggle for Hollywood, despite all the strides made by the industry in recent years; the vast majority of directors, in particular, are white men. For people of color like Coogler and female directors like one of his audacious contemporaries, Greta Gerwig (the subject of a "quote of the day" article as well), the unfortunate truth is that you could wonder why you're in the room in the first place. Coogler's movies are also unapologetically built around his own life experiences in various ways, and while it's clear that he's the furthest thing from an outsider, that's how he felt, and it's important to recognize. 

The end of the quote, though, is what's important, and when you listen to Coogler talk about working on something like "Sinners," it feels like he has come a long way. It's well-deserved; Coogler and, in particular, Michael B. Jordan have proven themselves to the point where I personally hope they can cut way down on self-doubt.

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• "This movie was, like, all about dichotomy, you know, and that's something that I've been dealing with my whole life. You know, this feeling of not totally fitting in or things not totally squaring with each other."
• "And the reality is, as I've gotten older in this business and in this craft, you know, I realized that if I can make something true, it's up to the viewer to draw those parallels. You take the thing, and you analyze it. And in your analysis, you might project your own experiences, your own knowledge. You know what I'm saying? And you might draw certain parallels that weren't the parallels I always intend, you know?"
• "This is why we need films from people who are naive, the reason why we need films from people who aren't old enough or jaded enough to understand that art can only do so much. There's a place for optimism. There's a place for youthful ignorance. It's a vital place." 
• "The way I approach filmmaking is, I'm always conscious of the place and what its effects are on the characters, what its effects are on the story, what the characters' effects are on the place."
• "I'm not a big soda person, but like, when they started to let you mix and match the drinks, I got involved with that."