Sev Ohanian

From $800 Indie to $250M blockbuster; this is sinners

What happens when you combine the brilliant mind of Ryan Coogler and a bunch of bloodthirsty vampires?

You get Sinners, one of the most original and entertaining films of the year. A theatrical feat at the box office, it’s grossed over $285 million since this recording.

Sev Ohanian is an Armenian-American screenwriter, producer, and founder of Proximity Media alongside Ryan and Zinzi Coogler.

He is also a homie, and we go way back to our baby producer days, so it was really special for me to reconnect with him after so many years. Our story is also epic, and I may have inspired a big shift in his career?! His words, not mine…

He co-wrote and produced (alongside his wife and producing partner, Natalie Qasabian, who was on the podcast back in 2019!), Searching, released by Sony Screen Gems in 2018. The film grossed $75 million worldwide and sparked the sequel, Missing.

Ohanian also co-wrote and produced Run for Lionsgate, which became Hulu’s most-watched film upon its premiere.

During our time together, we talked about his first foray into filmmaking with an $800 micro-budget film shot on his dad’s home video camera, how his working relationship with Coogler came to be, and the trials and tribulations of shooting on location in the swamps of Louisiana.

Tune in!

xx cg

“Exceptional Producing is turning those no’s, within reason and safety, of course, to yeses.”

- Sev Ohanian

Episode Transcript