Ryan Coogler Discusses John Singleton’s Influence, Chadwick Boseman & Future Projects During Emotional BAFTA David Lean Lecture
13.12.2022 - 04:23
/ deadline.com
Black Panther filmmaker Ryan Coogler received a standing ovation as he wrapped an emotional edition of BAFTA’s David Lean lecture series in London Monday.
The annual lecture is the centerpiece of BAFTA’s public program. Previous speakers include Martin Scorsese, Robert Altman, Paul Greengrass, David Lynch, and Spike Lee.
Coogler’s session was packed out with a mix of general cinephiles and industry professionals, including several members of London’s Identity School of Acting, best known for producing talents such as John Boyega and Coogler’s Black Panther star Letitia Wright.
Coogler opened the lecture by telling the audience that he felt “deeply unworthy” to be giving the Lean speech, which he said he accepted while “in a rush” to finish Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
“I feel like I’m standing in a place that maybe I shouldn’t be. It’s a feeling I’ve grown accustomed to over my life and career. Moments like these, they never change,” he said.
Coogler continued to say that he has had a “complicated relationship” with cinema that has been heavily shaped by his family and the “shared experience and responsibility” of being a Black filmmaker in the industry.
“I didn’t know if I would be a Black filmmaker that made independent cinema or a Black filmmaker that made major motion pictures. But I knew that I was joining a very important group,” he said. “I felt it when I shook John [Singleton’s] hand for the first time, and I felt it when I shook Spike [Lee’s] hand for the first time.”
Coogler spoke extensively about his relationship with John Singleton, telling the audience that the filmmaker’s 1991 debut Boyz N The Hood was the first film he remembered seeing in theaters with his father, at which point he took a long pause