Ryan Coogler Gets Emotional About Renee Nicole Good at NBR Awards

“Sinners” writer and director Ryan Coogler turned a night of celebration into heavy reflection … getting visibly choked up as he called attention to the killing of Renee Nicole Good on a Minneapolis street by an ICE agent last week.

During the National Board of Review Awards gala in NYC Tuesday night, Ryan — accepting his win for Best Original Screenplay — didn’t mince words. He explained he was distracted, as his heart wasn’t in New York at all … it was in Minnesota, where tensions have exploded since Renee was shot and killed last Wednesday.

Ryan noted the last time he was at the NBR Awards was back in 2014 for “Fruitvale Station,” a film about the killing of Oscar Grant … saying, “I was young and naïve and I thought the movie was going to change the world, in making sure that we don’t see people executed by civil servants on camera anymore.”