Day 2 speaker
A Conversation With Ryan Coogler
Ryan Coogler is the co-writer and director of the Academy Award-winning film Black Panther, and the writer and director of the acclaimed film Fruitvale Station. On Day 2, we’ll talk about the power of using diverse teams to bring a vision to life and how he made a film that’s become an important cultural touchstone.
About Ryan Coogler
Black Panther isn’t your typical superhero movie, and that’s exactly as Ryan Coogler imagined it. Wakanda, its breathtakingly-designed futuristic African nation, is vividly and purposefully rendered, carrying a powerful message about universal themes including racism, sexism, equity, and oppression. It’s a blockbuster movie with purpose, and one that’s fueling the conversations influencing brands, industries, and our collective consciousness as a society.
In a recent interview with Time Magazine, Ryan said, “You get into dangerous territory if you expect the art you make to change people’s minds. But if someone can watch a film and then go home and talk about it, that’s doing a lot.”
“You get into dangerous territory if you expect the art you make to change people’s minds. But if someone can watch a film and then go home and talk about it, that’s doing a lot.”
He began developing his first feature film, Fruitvale Station, after graduating with his MFA from the USC School of Cinematic Arts. The film debuted at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and went on to win both the U.S. Grand Jury Prize for Dramatic Film and the Audience Award for U.S. Dramatic Film, two of the festival’s top honors.
After its success at Sundance, Fruitvale Station competed at the 2013 Cannes International Film Festival and won the award for Best First Film in the Un Certain Regard section. The film was produced by actor Forest Whitaker, and stars Michael B. Jordan and Octavia Spencer.
Later, Ryan went on to write and direct Creed for MGM starring Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone. Black Panther is his latest film. It won three Academy Awards and was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Production Design, Best Original Music Score, and Best Costume Design.
Event details
Saturday, June 8, 8am
Las Vegas Convention Center