Zinzi Evans is the wife of Ryan Coogler, the director of the Black Panther movie and its sequel “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” The two were college sweethearts prior to marriage.
While in college, Evans supported him with his screenwriting dreams in the best way possible. She would pay for Coogler’s first movie writing software that cost $300 when he couldn’t afford it.
“My wife, she was my girl at the time, [and] they had a software where you could write screenplays. I was trying to write in Microsoft Word. It’s impossible because your format gotta be right,” he said during an interview with Hot 97, according to Hollywood Life.
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“I was broke, playing football on the little scholarship money. And my wife scrapped together some cheese and bought me Final Draft, which is the software that you write your movies on. And she got me that.”
In 2018, Black Panther became the highest-grossing film in the U.S. and smashed some other records. They include the highest-grossing solo superhero launch of all time, the highest-grossing film by a black director and the highest-grossing film starring a primarily black cast, according to TIME.
The African-American director had at the time made a bold mark in his career within just five years. He discovered a potential future in film at Saint Mary’s while on a football scholarship. He was then taking a creative writing class when his professor assigned the class to write about a personal experience.
Coogler decided to write about the time his father nearly bled to death in his arms. The professor, after reading his work, pulled him aside and asked what he wanted to do with his life. At the time he said he only wanted to play ball, become a doctor and be a positive influence in his community.
Even though he is not a doctor, Coogler has surely left an indelible mark on the film industry and society as a whole through his storytelling and the way he executes them.
Per Deadline, Coogler made his debut in Hollywood with the much-hailed Fruitvale Station. Having the Midas touch, he worked on Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky Balboa character and reunited with Michael B. Jordan for the Creed franchise which was also a success.
