If you thought the crowd at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood loved “Sinners” at Sunday’s Academy Awards, you should have heard the roars of delight coming from Oakland.
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The East Bay city buzzed in affirmation after native son Ryan Coogler’s racial justice vampire movie won four of Hollywood’s top prizes. Oakland born-and-raised Coogler took the Oscar for best original screenplay. Michael B. Jordan won the best actor prize. Autumn Durald Arkapaw (also a Bay Area native) won the best cinematography prize and Ludwig Göransson was recognized for his original score.
Coogler’s hometown celebrated, from packed watch parties Sunday night to Monday morning social media hosannas.
“Oakland is incredibly proud to celebrate the historic achievement of our own Ryan Coogler, whose film “Sinners” has won 4 Oscars!” Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee said on social media. She congratulated the writer-director along with actor Delroy Lindo and musician Raphael Saadiq — two others with Bay Area ties who also contributed to the film — which has earned $369 million worldwide at the box office. Added the mayor: “Your success continues to inspire the next generation of Oakland artists and filmmakers who are already creating the stories that will shape our future.”
A packed house in Oakland for Coogler
On Oscar night, 300 fans packed into the New Parkway Theater in downtown Oakland to cheer on Coogler and his film. Each time “Sinners” took home an award (it was nominated a record 16 times) the crowd rose in a standing ovation. Theater general manager J. Moses Caesar told NBC Bay Area that Coogler had a special attachment to the city. “When you hear Ryan Coogler in his interviews, he almost always talks about Oakland and the pride that he has.”
Coogler’s deep emotional ties to the city became obvious in his first feature film, “Fruitvale Station.” It depicted the shooting, in the early hours of New Year’s Day 2009, of Oscar Grant at a BART station in Oakland. The death of the unarmed 22-year-old became another flash point in the national furor over the shooting of Black men.
Coogler, 39, constantly references Oakland in interviews. And he has used the city in his films, like when he employed a towering apartment building in a nod to the city in “Black Panther,” the comic book-inspired tale of a fictional African kingdom, which he directed. Oakland had been a center for the radical Black Panther Party.
The filmmaker said he and his wife, Zinzi, also an Oakland native, have their roots in mind when they talk about new projects. Ryan Coogler described the conversations to a New Yorker writer.
“It’s just, like, cool. ‘Will people like this? Will the hood feel this?’ I ask her that a lot,” Coogler told the magazine. “That’s code for the people we grew up with.” But the director said it had been a revelation to find that what vibes in Oakland can captivate audiences far beyond.
An English professor recognizes Coogler’s writing talent
Ryan and Zinzi Coogler both starred as high school athletes in the city. He went to Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, initially to play football. An English professor at the college, Rosemary Graham, read one of Coogler’s first pieces of writing and “told him to go to Hollywood and write screenplays, because his writing was just that strong and vivid,” she recalled in an interview Monday.
After watching the Academy Awards with friends, Graham was ecstatic. “It’s really wonderful. It’s great to have something to think about and celebrate in this moment.”
After winning his screenwriting Oscar, Coogler pleaded with the audience to let him speak. “I’m very nervous, and they gonna play me off,” he said. “‘Cause I’m from — I grew up in Oakland and Richmond, California — and we can talk a lot.”
Today’s top stories 
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(Al Seib / For The Times)
California offshore oil operations restartCalifornia and a coalition of other states sue the Trump administrationCalifornia, 14 other states and the District of Columbia sued to block the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s efforts to roll back fair housing protections for LGBTQ+ people and other marginalized groups.HUD threatened to defund state agencies that protect LGBTQ+ people and other marginalized groups not explicitly covered by federal law, jeopardizing millions in funding.California sues Oakland UnifiedThe Oakland Unified School District has been sued by the California Department of Education over an alleged failure to address antisemitism complaints.The lawsuit follows a series of complaints filed by Jewish advocacy groups over Palestinian flags and pro-Palestinian posters being hung on campuses, educators teaching pro-Palestinian curricula and other issues.What else is going onCommentary and opinionsThis morning’s must-readOther must-readsFor your downtime 
Co-founded by Limerick-born David Copley in 2004, the tables, chairs and other woodwork in Long Beach’s the Auld Dubliner were imported directly from Ireland.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Going outStaying inA question for you: What are some of your favorite things to do during spring in California?
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And finally … your photo of the day 
Michael B. Jordan attends the Vanity Fair Oscar party on Sunday.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
Today’s great photo is from Times photographer Jason Armond at Vanity Fair’s Oscar Party on Sunday. Here’s more of the party’s best dressed.
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Jim Rainey, staff reporter
Hugo Martín, assistant editor, fast break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, weekend writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
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