Ryan Coogler, whose Sinners just made Oscars history with 16 total nominations, is bringing joy to the masses with his recollection of how he “got involved” with the art of mix-and-match soda concoctions.
During an appearance on Amy Poehler’s Golden Globe-winning Good Hang podcast earlier this month, the Creed and Black Panther director looked back on his earliest days as a fan of the theater-going experience. Per Coogler, he first “fell in love with movies” at the multiplex, noting that he didn’t start going to arthouse theaters or film festivals until he was “a fully baked adult.”
This led to a question from Poehler about Coogler’s go-to movie theater snacks as a kid, spurring a characteristically sincere response from the recent Critics’ Choice Awards winner.
“I can neither confirm or deny any snack smuggling, but if I did, I might have brought a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or two,” he said, as seen below. “That was what I would do if I was into that. But no, there was a period in time where they used to let you weigh the candy and you pay by weight. I would do experiments trying to see what candy is lighter. … We in there with limited funds, you know.”
Coogler tucked in a shoutout to theater employees for not “tripping” when he and his friends would “get a little bang for your buck” by seeing another movie despite only paying for one ticket, then returned to the topic at hand: snacks.
“My go-to was peanut M&M’s,” he said. “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. So yeah, it was peanut M&M’s, and then obviously the Junior Mints if they in the freezer. If they got ‘em in the freezer, then I’mma do it.”
Presumably, Coogler is referencing the Coca-Cola Freestyle machines that can be found in select theaters across the country, allowing moviegoers to carefully craft their own blend of different sodas and flavorings. Some readers may also recall a similar practice of making what were once as “suicides,” in which a self-serve soda machine at any given fast food restaurant could be utilized to make endless combinations of carbonated magic.
Either way, the world was quick to embrace Coogler’s soda memories, as seen below.
During the same conversation with Poehler, Coogler also detailed what he and many others believe is so special about the theatrical experience. In short, seeing a film on the biggest screen possible remains the best way to take in a story.
“You in there with a bunch of different types of people,” he said. “There’s teenagers in there because that’s the only place they can go be alone, it’s retired people, it’s groups of friends. … When a movie is great, everybody kind of unifies. You can feel everybody’s energy focused on the same thing.”
He’s absolutely right, of course. In March, Coogler and the rest of the Sinners crew will compete in a record-breaking 16 Oscars categories, including Best Picture. See here for the full list of this year’s nominees.