Dear Diary, The “Sinners” Press Conference Let Me Down Big Time (But Here’s What It Taught Me)

Listen, I’ll never forgive them for this one, but maybe I needed this reminder?

You ever hype yourself up for something all week, like it’s the one tiny glimmer of joy keeping you stitched together—and then it turns out to be the most glorified, well-dressed waste of time you’ve experienced in months? Yeah. Welcome to my f*cking life!

I was invited to the “Sinners” movie press conference. A BLACK led vampire movie. Something we RARELY ever get. Something I was genuinely excited about for a whole damn year — ever since they announced it.

And yet, instead of diving into this genre-defining, bloodsucking moment, I wasted my day and my time … just to listen to the cast talk about “the vibes”?

Not Ryan FREAKING Coogler telling us what it means to be first on the call sheet, and how Michael B Jordan’s behavior sets the tone for EVERYONE, and your follow-up is “So what was the vibe like on set?”

THE VIBE???

Ma’am. We are talking about a BLACK VAMPIRE MOVIE.

One that’s rooted in Southern culture, horrors, and identity, and you wanna chit-chat about vibes? Is this what the studio asked for baby?

I can’t believe this is angering me all over again but press conferences take time to get ready for!

I don’t just keep a generic ass list of basic questions in my back pocket, and use them for every film, I prep for every conference, I gear questions to the specific film, and talent showing up. So maybe this keeps pissing me off, and triggering TF outta me because I …

• went in ready
• watched the movie
• LOVED the movie
• crafted thoughtful questions
• submitted them on time
• even thought of another question AFTER watching and submitted that one too
• CARED
• showed up early, on a Monday, after dealing with a sick kid, sleep-deprived, barely hanging on by a thread

And I did that ALL for nothing.

I took time out of my day for this! Away from the actual job that pays me!

It’s so embarrassing, and this isn’t the first time this has happened!

So now I’m sitting in my work conference room, with my boss checking in on me like, “Hey, you okay?” and I’m literally on the verge of tears, full of rage, forced to shrug it off.

Because what do I even say? “Oh, I’m just emotional because I spent the last few days prepping for the “Sinners” movie press conference, and then two more hours hoping I’d hear something insightful about one of my favorite films this year, just to listen to Coogler and Jordan get asked if they liked working together.”

WE KNOW THEY DO. THAT’S WHY THEY KEEP WORKING TOGETHER.

Like … they really asked the women—ALL FOUR OF THEM—about relationships.

WHAT!? While they asked the men about fight scenes and directing? Baby please!

Two got asked about their relationship to the men in the movie. One about her relationship to her heritage. And the last? Her relationship with the director while filming.

In a movie about blues music, religion, and Black survival, that’s the angle?!

Nothing about how it felt to portray a Black vampire, or about the horror genre and how rare it is to see US in this space. Nothing about the soundtrack or score or mood or anything of actual f*cking substance?? They asked about a vibe.

But what makes this even WILDER, is that they ASKED for questions!

Why ask for questions, if you’re not going to use them?

Why not just say “hey this is a moderated conference, so there’s no time for extra questions, but we’d love to have you attend anyway”?

My friend woke up at 4am in another damn time zone, in another damn country, for this. FOUR. IN THE MORNING. For… this? For vibes?

It’s giving disrespectful. It’s giving, “We only needed bodies in the Zoom so we could report engagement numbers to someone higher up.”

Which to be fair, is totally fine. But I need to be TOLD that. I need folks to start being honest about what they need from us, so I can determine if it’s a good fit or not.

Like … I feel so stupid for getting excited about this.

And the bigger problem is … I’ve talked up about this before.

The last time this happened, I told them how it made me feel. How they basically wasted my entire day, for nothing, maybe next time they could tell us xyz — and they were just like “welp, this is how we do things, and if you don’t like it, you don’t have to be here”.

And then she removed me from her list! Entire list! All because I said the way they ran things, was wrong, and inconsiderate of the people they were inviting! And I wasn’t the only one who felt this way. I’m just the only one who ever says anything.

Because we’re supposed to be grateful we were even invited to this fake shit (and yes, that’s a Kanye reference because while he’s currently so unhinged, and so am I right now).

It’s so unfair how folks just go about their day not considering others!

We are humans with lives, with bad days, with sick kids, with other responsibilities.

Baby, this was the ONE thing I was looking forward to all week!! This was my escape. My tiny little lifeline. And for what??! Nothing? To be disappointed AGAIN? After being disappointed by so many people beforehand, in the few days following up to this? *sigh*

But it’s truly my fault, for continuing to try …

It’s my fault, for forgetting that I’ve outgrown this space.

And that if it’s not a one-on-one interview, where I’m guaranteed face time with the talent, then it’s not worth me rearranging my entire work day. Because while there are people who still get excited to just be in the room where it happens, I need to have purpose, when I’m in the room. Just smiling at celebs, isn’t enough!

Did y’all not see me write how foolish I felt because I met Aldis Hodge the other day, and then I played in his face by not asking any real questions or commenting on how great he was in CROSS on Prime? I was so upset I wasted an opportunity like that!

So yeah, I take these opportunities seriously!

But if I’m being completely 100 with myself, I can’t be BIG MAD about this, because I’ve had one-on-one interview opportunities that I’ve passed on, because I keep playing it small. Of course they’re going to keep treating me like I’m not that big of a deal if I treat myself that way. Duh, Shaye!

So here’s what the “Sinners” movie press conference taught me …

1. Stop playing it small!
2. Don’t rearrange your entire day, for something uncertain and unpaid.
3. You’ve outgrown press conferences, give those opportunities to someone else!
4. Get back to doing one-on-one interviews so you can ask what you want.
5. You’re a big deal, you just have to remember that.
6. You can’t complain about how they treat you if you keep letting them mistreat you.

And that’s that …

If you’re interested in what I would have asked the director and cast about …

Here are the questions I submitted for the “Sinners” movie press conference that I wanted to be answered and never saw the light of day:

• As someone who grew up religious, and was told that the music I loved was the devil’s music. This movie was as moving as it was triggering for me. So I just have to ask what possessed you to make this gripping horror story that will surely make an impact on our culture for years to come. Did you grow up extremely religious? Is this part of your own story or someone else’s?
• Music is such a powerful tool in horror. It can heighten the tension, set the mood, or even add unexpected energy. How did you use the film’s soundtrack to shape the horror in Sinners, and were there any specific artists or songs that influenced the film’s tone?
• In the last few years, we’ve seen an uptick in Black-led horror films that have helped to redefine the genre. Films like Get Out, Candyman, and The Blackening have created important conversations around race, identity, and societal issues within the horror space. What would you say Sinners adds to that conversation, and what does it mean to you all to be part of a project that centers Black characters in a genre often dominated by white leads? 
• Some people assume horror is all about blood and jump scares, but as we’ve seen from previous Black-led films like Get Out and Candyman, horror can be used to tell deeper stories. For those that are hesitant to watch, are there any underlying themes in Sinners that make it worth experiencing on the big screen, beyond the horror?

Maybe they were bad questions, who knows!

But I won’t be attending any future virtual press conferences.

If I ever get invited to another one, after I publish this.

I just do NOT have the time—or the mental bandwidth—to keep getting excited for nothing. And that’s okay, Shaye! Live in your truth! As a single mom, with a 9 to 5, trying to run an entertainment site is exhausting! Keep space for things that bring you JOY!

I did however, post a review of “Sinners” once the embargo broke, because I absolutely LOVED the movie, and I’m extremely proud of Coogler and Jordan for breaking into the horror genre and doing us proud. Y’all know I don’t do horror, but this was SO GOOD!

I’m done rambling for now, Diary!

Shaye, signing out …

P.s. – Have you ever hyped something up in your head just for it to completely waste your time and energy? Drop your horror stories below, ‘cause I need to know the bar is in hell for everybody and not just me.