Black Panther Director Ryan Coogler Wrongly Mistaken For Bank Robber, Releases Statement
Black Panther director Ryan Coogler was wrongly mistaken for a bank robber. TMZ reported the story initially and the filmmaker issued a statement about the incident to Variety. Basically, in January, he rolled into a Bank of America branch to withdraw $12,000 in cash. Because of how he was dressed in a hat, sunglasses, and a mask for COVID, the teller got the wrong idea. Coogler was detained for a while until the police had a conversation with the MCU director. He reportedly told the person behind the counter, "I would like to withdraw $12,000 cash from my checking account. Please do the money count somewhere else. I'd like to be discreet."
Compounding matters was the fact that the teller didn't physically hit the alarm. The bank's system registered that amount as an attempted robbery and then the worker discussed it with her supervisor. Then, they called the police. It was a big misunderstanding that was embarrassing for all parties involved. To make the scene even more hairy, the police also detained two people who were waiting for the director outside in his car. Coogler was handcuffed but released later.
"This situation should never have happened," he explained to Variety. "However, Bank of America worked with me and addressed it to my satisfaction and we have moved on."
Cooler previously talked to The Hollywood Reporter about the process of losing Chadwick Boseman. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is surging forward but the cast and crew have been asked about the absence of the beloved actor at every turn. The director had a clear eyed response to the road ahead.
"I didn't know what was going on," Coogler explained. "I knew what he wanted me to know. I miss him in every way that you could miss somebody, as a friend, as a collaborator. And it sucks because I love watching movies, and I don't get to watch the next thing he would have made. So it's grief on a lot of levels, but then, it's a deep sense of gratitude because I can close my eyes and hear his voice."
"You've got to keep going when you lose loved ones. I know Chad wouldn't have wanted us to stop. He was somebody who was so about the collective. Black Panther, that was his movie. He was hired to play that role before anybody else was even thought of, before I was hired, before any of the actresses were hired," the director recalled. "On that set, he was all about everybody else. Even though he was going through what he was going through, he was checking in on them, making sure they were good. If we cut his coverage, he would stick around and read lines off-camera [to help other actors with their performances]. So it would be harder for me to stop. Truthfully. I'd feel him yelling at me, like, 'What are you doing?' So you keep going."
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