In Proximity

We are sealing the Honmoon with KPOP DEMON HUNTERS directors and co-writers, Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans! The veteran animation filmmakers break down how Maggie developed the story based on Korean culture and music, how she collaborated with Chris as a directing team, and how they pitched the idea to Netflix and K-pop music producers. They also share stories from behind the scenes of their seven-year production process including the creation of the film’s iconic “popcorn eyes” and how they worked with songwriter and producer EJAE to write the music… with a special surprise voice memo from the woman behind Rumi’s singing voice herself! 
SHOP OUR PROX BOOKS RECS ON BOOKSHOP.ORG
LEARN MORE AND READ THE TRANSCRIPT AT PROXIMITYMEDIA.COM
WATCH/LISTEN TO IN PROXIMITY
YOUTUBE
APPLE PODCASTS
SPOTIFY
FOLLOW PROXIMITY MEDIA
INSTAGRAM
TIKTOK
(00:00) K-pop meets demon hunters
(00:47) Let’s talk K-pop… and demon hunters!
(02:04) Fun fan reactions
(03:02) Honmoon in the club, the origin of honmoon
(06:12) How Maggie’s Korean upbringing in Toronto shaped her storytelling
(07:51) K-pop meets demon hunters (the full story)
(09:59) How they became a directing team, WISH DRAGON
(11:19) How they pitched KPOP DEMON HUNTERS
(12:45) The music was the hardest part, how EJAE’s demos made it seem possible
(13:20)EJAE, Teddy Park, THEBLACKLABEL, the demo for HOW IT’S DONE
(15:23) Comps: “old people” anime, Cowboy Bebop, Sailor Moon, K-dramas, and GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
(17:10) Comedy, female empowerment, being your “stupidest self” with your friends
(18:04) Collaborating on directing and screenwriting
(19:53) Writing the script for KPOP DEMON HUNTERS
(20:39) Sony Pictures Animation, shout out to the crew
(25:00) The joke that became the iconic “popcorn eyes” scene
(27:12) Voice Memo from EJAE (Musician, Songwriter, Producer, Singing Voice of Rumi)
(29:45) Prox Recs
IN PROXIMITY IS A PRODUCTION OF PROXIMITY MEDIA
Host, Director, Producer: Paola Mardo
Executive Producers: Ryan Coogler, Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian
Theme Song and Additional Music: Ludwig Göransson
Co-Director and Director of Photography: Patrick Epino
Sound Designer and Mix Engineer: Ken Nana
Editors: Patrick Epino, Ken Nana, Ben Caloza
Sound Recordist: Isabella Miller
Associate Producer: Celine Mendiola
Production Assistant: Ben Caloza
Social Media Coordinator: Alexandria Santana
Production Intern: Ben Caloza
Motion Graphics Designer: Apollo Baldoz

This February, we’re celebrating the 8th anniversary of the release of BLACK PANTHER! We dug deep into the In Proximity archives to re-release this iconic conversation with BLACK PANTHER director Ryan Coogler and Ta-Nehisi Coates. Ta-Nehisi is a journalist and the bestselling author of books like BETWEEN THE WORLD AND ME and THE MESSAGE. He has also written successful comic book runs for CAPTAIN AMERICA and BLACK PANTHER, and hosted the WAKANDA FOREVER podcast back in 2023. On this special re-release episode, we combine the two parts of Ryan and Ta-Nehisi’s original conversation, where they dive deep into their experiences telling T’Challa’s story for BLACK PANTHER, the impact of hip-hop music and art, Ta-Nehisi’s decades-long writing career, and their mutual friendship with the late Chadwick Boseman. 
SHOP OUR PROX BOOKS RECS ON BOOKSHOP.ORG
LEARN MORE AND READ THE TRANSCRIPT AT PROXIMITYMEDIA.COM
WATCH/LISTEN TO IN PROXIMITY
YOUTUBE
APPLE PODCASTS
SPOTIFY
FOLLOW PROXIMITY MEDIA
INSTAGRAM
TIKTOK
(00:00) Celebrating the anniversary of BLACK PANTHER the film
(01:51) PART 1: Meet Ryan Coogler and Ta-Nehisi Coates 
(02:21) Ta-Nehisi’s production company, Maceo-Lyn
(06:40) Howard University, meeting Chadwick Boseman
(11:18) Hip-hop, poetry, and genres 
(15:04) Tupac Shakur
(18:27) How Ta-Nehisi’s hip-hop aspirations pushed him to writing poetry
(21:54) “Art that feels like it’s always been made”, A PROPHET, GET OUT, MOONLIGHT
(29:20) PART 2: The beginning of Ta-Nehisi’s writing career
(33:24) The 20-year-old journalist
(36:45) The Case for Reparations
(39:55) Writing the BLACK PANTHER comics
(41:58) Toni Morrisson, James Baldwin, BETWEEN THE WORLD AND ME
(45:31) Takes on T’Challa’s character
(49:59) CREED
(53:33) Prox Recs
IN PROXIMITY IS A PRODUCTION OF PROXIMITY MEDIA
Host, Director, Producer: Paola Mardo
Executive Producers: Ryan Coogler, Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian
Theme Song and Additional Music: Ludwig Göransson
Co-Director and Director of Photography: Patrick Epino
Sound Designer and Mix Engineer: Ken Nana
Editors: Patrick Epino, Ken Nana, Ben Caloza, Cedric Wilson
Motion Graphics Designer: Apollo Baldoz
Production Assistant: Polina Cherezova
Associate Producer: Celine Mendiola
Social Media Coordinator: Alexandria Santana
Production Intern: Ben Caloza

What does it take to build a successful TV writing career in comedy, procedurals, and drama? Executive producer, showrunner, and author Kimberly Ann Harrison reveals how she landed an internship on FRIENDS, wrote 78 episodes of CRIMINAL MINDS over 12 years, and made the leap to showrunner (DEPUTY, THE CROSSOVER, WASHINGTON BLACK). On this episode of IN PROXIMITY, Kim talks to host Paola Mardo about her transition from comedy to drama, the importance of finding a character's “why”, tips on pitching episodes and applying for writing jobs, lessons on loneliness and leadership, writing her debut novel BEYOND THE PADDOCK, and why her advice for new writers is to keep blinders on and just write.
(00:00) Just write!
(01:50) Born and raised in LA by teachers - shout out Diamond Bar!
(03:30) College, Intro to Broadcasting, Tammy Trujillo, learning about TV
(05:28) Interning on FRIENDS
(07:15) How to get a job on the “FRIENDS of today”
(08:45) Writer tips for the best cover letter ever
(09:18) Lessons from the FRIENDS writers room
(10:43) CRIMINAL MINDS, transitioning from comedy to drama, mentorship
(14:30) Jumping from writers assistant to writer, pitching tips
(16:30) It’s all about the “why” of the killer
(17:20) Industry advice for writers today: “keep blinders on”, “it just takes one yes”
(18:15) Becoming a showrunner
(19:48) How lonely showrunning can be, how to lead and manage a team
(22:26) Writing a novel: BEYOND THE PADDOCK
(28:17) Prox Recs
SHOP OUR PROX BOOK RECS ON BOOKSHOP.ORG
LEARN MORE AND READ THE TRANSCRIPT AT PROXIMITYMEDIA.COM
WATCH/LISTEN TO IN PROXIMITY
YOUTUBE
APPLE PODCASTS
SPOTIFY
FOLLOW PROXIMITY MEDIA
INSTAGRAM
TIKTOK
IN PROXIMITY IS A PRODUCTION OF PROXIMITY MEDIA
Host, Director, Producer: Paola Mardo
Executive Producers: Ryan Coogler, Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian
Theme Song and Additional Music: Ludwig Göransson
Co-Director and Director of Photography: Patrick Epino
Sound Designer and Mix Engineer: Ken Nana
Editors: Patrick Epino, Brittani Brown, Ken Nana
Sound Recordist: Isabella Miller
Motion Graphics Designer: Apollo Baldoz
Production Assistant: Isabella Miller
Post-Production Coordinator: Celine Mendiola
Social Media Coordinator: Alexandria Santana
Production Intern: Ben Caloza

SINNERS lead actor Michael B. Jordan and writer/director/producer Ryan Coogler break down the Academy Award®-nominated film and their 10+ year collaboration in this exclusive conversation with IN PROXIMITY host Paola Mardo.
Michael dives deep into his acting process for playing dual roles as Smoke and Stack, sharing how he uses character journals, key phrases from archival recordings, and physical details to build his characters. Ryan reveals his screenwriting approach and his never-before-heard timeline mapping the Smokestack Twins’ backstory, including romances with Mary (Hailee Steinfeld) and Annie (Wunmi Mosaku), and their time in Chicago with Al Capone. Ryan also kicks off this very special episode by making lattes, sharing how his love for coffee connects to filmmaking and acts of service for the cast and crew. It's gonna be a real ring-a-ding-ding… so grab a cup of coffee (or Irish beer or Italian wine) and enjoy!
WATCH THIS EPISODE ON YOUTUBE
(00:00) Smokestack Twins Lore
(00:30) Host Paola Mardo intro
(04:30) The boss today and Michael’s espresso life
(06:00) Ryan makes us coffee: Cannes, George Clooney, set coffee culture, abstract latte art
(09:30) Acts of service
(12:20) From FRUITVALE STATION to SINNERS
(14:35) 1A and 1B on the call sheet, why number 1 on the call sheet means leadership
(19:00) Questions Michael asked Ryan after reading the SINNERS script, the surreal juke joint montage, Stack and Mary
(23:16) Smokestack Twins Lore
(27:12) Stack does Smoke’s hair
(28:38) Smoke’s tremors
(30:55) Journals as part of Michael’s acting process
(32:55) When Smoke and Stack broke up, Ryan’s timeline spreadsheet, Mary, Annie, LORE (!), Chicago, Al Capone
(36:30) How much older Smoke feels from Stack
(38:00) Are you Smoke or Stack? Delta Slim, Mary, mystery, Ryan’s script to Michael’s acting performance
(40:00) “When the actor becomes the expert on the character… the twins are his now… then twins belong to the movie”
(40:25) Stack being a liar, Smoke telling the truth
(42:00) Mike’s improvised moments, Smoke versus Hogwood
(45:23) Preparing for the roles of Smoke and Stack, dialect coach, physicality, different sized shoes, chakra work, childhood trauma
(49:30) Key phrases
(50:35) “Made in Mississippi" documentary archival recordings (directors: William Ferris, Judy Peiser)
(51:51) Drawing from history and real people to bring characters and script to life, Michael’s and Ryan’s family history, sharecroppers, ancestry, Uncle James
(53:22) Scene Breakdown: Smoke teaching a young girl to negotiate, “numbers in conversation”
(56:11) Smoke as “a fun character to write but it was a really fun character to see Mike play”
(58:05) “These are very BAD men”
(58:59) Mike is “like a Tom Hanks!”
(1:00:30) “He never knifed nobody… that I know of!”
(1:04:00) Prox Recs
SHOP OUR PROX BOOKS RECS ON BOOKSHOP.ORG
LEARN MORE AND READ THE TRANSCRIPT AT PROXIMITYMEDIA.COM
WATCH/LISTEN TO IN PROXIMITY
YOUTUBE
APPLE PODCASTS
SPOTIFY
FOLLOW PROXIMITY MEDIA
INSTAGRAM
TIKTOK
IN PROXIMITY IS A PRODUCTION OF PROXIMITY MEDIA
Host, Director, Producer: Paola Mardo
Executive Producers: Ryan Coogler, Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian
Theme Song and Additional Music: Ludwig Göransson
Co-Director and Director of Photography: Patrick Epino
Sound Designer and Mix Engineer: Ken Nana
Editor: Patrick Epino
Production Sound Mixer: Mark Patino
Camera Operator: Josh Ortiz
Associate Producer: Celine Mendiola
Production Coordinator: Joy Woo
Production Assistant: Devin Saddler
Production Intern: Ben Caloza
Social Media Coordinator: Alexandria Santana
Motion Graphics Designer: Apollo Baldoz
Barista: George Stevenson

Essential filmmaking advice from industry pros: writer/director Justin Tipping breaks down the Tagalog needle drop in the Jordan Peele-produced sports horror film HIM and how Busta Rhymes' "Gimmie Some More" and Alfred Hitchcock's PSYCHO inspired the score (featuring "AIGHT?" by Carl Angelo and music by composer Bobby Krlic); EYES OF WAKANDA creator/director Todd Harris explains why directors should touch multiple departments; and SUPERGIRL actor, writer, and producer Azie Tesfai reveals how a bad audition made her better.
Learn more and read the transcript at ProximityMedia.com
Shop our Prox Recs at Bookshop.org
Watch/Listen to IN PROXIMITY on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify
Follow Proximity Media on Instagram, TikTok, ProximityMedia.com
IN PROXIMITY IS A PRODUCTION OF PROXIMITY MEDIA
Host, Director, Producer: Paola Mardo
Executive Producers: Ryan Coogler, Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian
Theme Song and Additional Music: Ludwig Göransson
Co-Director and Director of Photography: Patrick Epino
Sound Designer and Mix Engineer: Ken Nana
Editors: Patrick Epino, Brittani Brown, Ken Nana, A.J. Calomay, Andrea Walter
Motion Graphics Designer: Apollo Baldoz
Production Assistants: Isabella Miller, Devin Saddler
Sound Production Assistant: Isabella Miller
Post-Production Coordinator: Celine Mendiola
Social Media Coordinator: Alexandria Santana
Production Intern: Jun Sawada, Ben Caloza