Sev Ohanian - Producer of Ryan Coogler's SINNERS and Founder of Proximity Media

What happens when you combine the brilliant mind of Ryan Coogler and a bunch of blood-thirsty vampires? You get SINNERS, one of the most original and entertaining films of the year. A theatrical feat at the box office, it’s grossed over 285 million dollars since its April 16th release. It was my absolute pleasure to talk to producer Sev Ohanian about how this monster movie gem came to fruition. Sev is a homie and we go way back to our baby producer days, so it is really special for me to reconnect with him after so many years. Our meet cute story is also one for the books! Sev is Armenian-American screenwriter, producer, and founder of Proximity Media alongside Ryan and Zinzi Coogler. He co-wrote and produced (alongside his wife and producing partner Natalie Qasabian who was on the podcast back in 2019!), SEARCHING, released by Sony Screen Gems in 2018. The film grossed $75 million worldwide and sparked the sequel, MISSING. Ohanian also co-wrote and produced RUN for Lionsgate, which became Hulu’s most-watched film upon its premiere. During our time together, we talked about his first foray into filmmaking - an $800 micro-budget film shot on his dad’s home video camera, how his working relationship with Coogler came to be, and the trials and tribulations of shooting on location in the swamps of Louisiana. xx cg