For nearly a century, vampires have haunted the cultural consciousness, particularly in the movie scene. Whether it be those 1920s horror movies,  Abraham Lincoln fighting vampires (yes, that’s a real thing), or “Twilight,” blood sucking soulless monsters have stalked not just unsuspecting subjects, but also movie theaters for almost a century. 

But there’s another creature even more vicious than vampires that has been stalking movies since the beginning—studio executives. The people and corporations that fund movies have also been increasingly detrimental to directors and their visions for their projects. There have been many, many movies that have been sunk by corporate and management meddling. As Rafa Boladeras, a writer for MovieWeb, describes in an article, “There are times when collaboration makes for a better product, but other times, studios can ruin the director’s vision. It’s called ‘too many cooks in the kitchen,’ at least colloquially”. 

Many times, people at the top of movie studios fundamentally misunderstand a director’s vision, and in pursuit of profits, completely distort the image. And more often than not, this makes the movie less authentic and, by proxy, less successful. Many franchises have been corrupted and sucked off all their metaphorical blood in the name of “palatability” and “appeal,” as studio executives pump out more sequels, prequels, and crowd pleasers that appeal to no one but the median movie-goer. 

But not all hope was lost; there are more silver bullets. In the middle of this house on fire, a man with a vision, two Michael B. Jordans, and the best composer of this century came in and flipped the entire script. 

When Ryan Coogler’s Sinners came out, it seemed like another mediocre vampire movie with a star-studded cast. It was original, sure, but that didn’t guarantee anything at all. Many companies and people wrote it off immediately. Then the reviews started trickling in, and the people started speaking. Rumblings of it being the best movie of the summer, no, the year, no, the decade, the century? The story was one of struggle, of clawing one’s way into power and trying to maintain it for one’s community. There was also a strong musical element, with supernatural power coming from generational musical talent. If you haven’t watched, I highly recommend it.

However, the film is not just an empty platitude to the people it represents, as its ownership reflects the movie’s message. The director and writer of the movie, Ryan Coogler, will own all rights to the movie 25 years after its release. This isn’t for greed or ego, but according to Business Insider, “Coogler said the inspiration for the deal came from the movie itself,” with him stating, “That was the only motivation [for the deal]”. His unorthodox deal also highlights how much of “Sinners” is truly his. He wrote it, directed it, and had a significant influence on the Final Cut, with the studio taking a more hands-off approach. The result shows all that hard work and soul, with many calling it the best original movie of the century. While it remains to be seen if Sinners has driven a stake into the heart of middle management meddling, at least for now, the battle for creative control of movies has an obvious winner.