Intellectual Property
Apr. 30, 2026
Control the copyright, control Hollywood: Coogler, Tarantino and the legal playbook
Hollywood clutched its pearls over Ryan Coogler's Sinners deal -- but what the panic missed was a lesson in what the legal bare minimum can give you to create leverage.
Kimberlina McKinney
Senior Counsel
Newell Law Group
IG: @Kimberlina_Law TikTok: @Law_ish
When the details of "Sinners" and Warner Bros.' deal with Ryan Coogler leaked into public consciousness, Hollywood clutched its pearls. The internet called it revolutionary. Rival executives whispered it was reckless. Warner Bros. co-chairman Michael De Luca called the panic "ignorant and laughable." As a legal scholar who has spent over a decade advising on intellectual property and media transactions, I call it what it actually is: a lesson in understanding wha...
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