{"id":223266,"date":"2026-03-17T05:39:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T05:39:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/223266\/"},"modified":"2026-03-17T05:39:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T05:39:14","slug":"academy-award-wins-prove-that-sacramento-is-a-city-that-nurtures-artists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/223266\/","title":{"rendered":"Academy Award wins prove that Sacramento is a city that nurtures artists"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sunday night\u2019s Academy Awards drove home<\/a> a truth Sacramento has long known: our city is a place where remarkable stories\u2014and remarkable storytellers\u2014are born, nurtured and celebrated.<\/p>\n

The Leonardo DiCaprio and Teyana Taylor-starring movie, \u201cOne Battle After Another,\u201d<\/a> directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, garnered significant attention after its opening sequence was filmed over 16 days in downtown Sacramento.<\/p>\n

This resulted in our city\u2019s vistas lighting up screens around the globe in the movie that won the best picture Oscar. Meanwhile, Ryan Coogler,<\/a> a former wide receiver at Sacramento State, joined an exclusive club with only two members Sunday night when he took home the Oscar for best orignial screenplay for his Southern Gothic horror film, \u201cSinners.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coogler and legendary actor Tom Hanks<\/a> are now linked as the only two former Sac State students from Oakland to win Oscars.<\/p>\n

Before Sunday\u2019s momentous achievements, Sacramento was already the birthplace of Oscar-winning actress Jessica Chastain and director Greta Gerwig, who earned Oscar nominations for \u201cLady Bird.\u201d Gerwig\u2019s 2017 coming-of-age story was a virtual love letter to Sacramento.<\/p>\n

Sacramento\u2019s creative spirit\u2014shaped by diverse neighborhoods, passionate educators, and resilient artists\u2014continues to defy expectations. Each time Sacramento is recognized on Hollywood\u2019s grandest stage, it\u2019s a collective victory and a reminder that great artists are created here.<\/p>\n

But perhaps the most inspiring win on Sunday was Coogler\u2019s. He became only the second Black screenwriter ever to win Best Original Screenplay.<\/p>\n

Coogler\u2019s journey began in Sacramento, when he was catching passes for Hornet Stadium from 2004 to 2007. He studied finance on a full scholarship, but the idea of being a filmmaker was born during his time at Sacramento\u2019s public university at 6000 J St.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my film classes, he was always in the front row, always effervescent,\u201d Roberto Pomo, a former Sac State professor of film and theater, said in 2016. \u201cWhat I found most exciting about him was his energy. He is deeply connected to the human psyche. The reason why he is so exemplary is he goes to the heart of the heart and the humanity of the character operating in a very complex society.\u201d<\/p>\n

At a 2013 Sacramento screening of \u201cFruitvale Station,\u201d<\/a> Coogler\u2019s first feature film, about a young Black man named Oscar Grant who was shot dead by a Bay Area Rapid Transit cop, Coogler cited Pomo as one of his key mentors.<\/p>\n

In a 2016 interview with The Bee, Pomo said he believed the environment at Sacramento State was influential in Coogler\u2019s artistic development as one of the world\u2019s most successful filmmakers. Along with \u201cSinners,\u201d which took home four Oscars Sunday night, Coogler directed smash hits such as \u201cCreed\u201d and \u201cBlack Panther.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur mission is to really look at our pluralistic society, regardless of the background of the student, and impart the best education possible,\u201d Pomo said. \u201cRyan Coogler is a stellar example of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some critics argued Coogler deserved best director, an Oscar no Black filmmaker has ever received. Yet anyone who\u2019s faced down a blank page knows how monumental it is to tell a story that resonates worldwide.<\/p>\n

Sacramento is a place for success<\/p>\n

This moment matters. Sacramento isn\u2019t just a backdrop \u2014 it\u2019s a launching pad.<\/p>\n

This spotlight is another building block in Sacramento\u2019s foundation as a film city.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s keep investing in local arts, nurturing young creators, and reminding every Sacramento kid that their dreams are possible.<\/p>\n

The Oscars proved that a young college student can launch a filmmaking journey here, and that a blockbuster story can be shot and told in Sacramento.<\/p>\n

These Oscar wins show Sacramento is on the rise\u2014 perhaps beginning its most exciting chapter yet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sunday night\u2019s Academy Awards drove home a truth Sacramento has long known: our city is a place where…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":223267,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[6787,101841,71732,66788,101842,14952,121,123,122,5481],"class_list":["post-223266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-downtown-sacramento","tag-greta-gerwig","tag-oscar-nominations","tag-paul-thomas-anderson","tag-roberto-pomo","tag-ryan-coogler","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news","tag-sacramento-state"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223266","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=223266"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223266\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/223267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=223266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=223266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}