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Thursday, January 15, 2026

Ryan Coogler put twins in “Sinners” despite his 'crippling fear of doppelgängers': 'It's a little creepy'

Ulius Cesarius January 15, 2026

Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

No offense to twins everywhere, butRyan Coogleris scared to see double.

Yet, despite his fear of doppelgängers, the acclaimed director still chose to center his latest box office hit,Sinners, around twin brothers played byMichael B. Jordan.

Coogler made the comical revelation during a recentappearance on theGood Hang With Amy Poehlerpodcast, when Poehler asked him why he chose to make Jordan's characters twins, given the difficulties such a decision inherently adds to any film shoot.

"For sure," Coogler agreed. "I mean, look, it was a hook for me. It was so sticky, right? In this day and age I think you need multiple reasons to lean in when there's so many great things available."

He continued, "There are so many ways to spend time. So for me, I think that I'm a firm believer in things having multiple hooks, you know what I mean? And it's a hook for me because I have twins in my family, and I love them, and I got a lot of homies as twins, but I also have a crippling fear of doppelgängers, like a straight phobia. You know what I mean?"

Eli Adé/Warner Bros.

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When Poehler laughed and said that she didn't, in fact, know what he meant, she asked if his phobia stems from a fear of meeting his own doppelgänger. "Yeah, I've had nightmares like that," Coogler replied, to which Poehler offered that "the idea of twins in general is a little creepy" as is the idea of "someone who was in the womb with you."

"Yeah, that's fascinating to me," Coogler agreed. "And we dug deep with Mike [Jordan]. Like I got two buddies who are filmmakers, Noah and Logan Miller... I actually asked them if they would be open to being consultants on the movie, like to work with me and Mike on developing the characters."

Coogler continued, "And we dug so deep into the mindset and the dynamics of what it's like to have essentially a copy of yourself next to you all the time, you know. But Mike, he just knocked me back by his brilliance and how he portrayed these characters."

InSinners, which Coogler directed and wrote, Jordan plays twin brothers Smoke and Stack, who return to their hometown to start fresh, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them.

The film, and Jordan's dual performance, are major players in this year's awards race. It was up for seven awards at the Golden Globes, where it won two, and the film had a leading 17 nominations at the 31st Critics Choice Awards, where it won four.

Read the original article onEntertainment Weekly

George R.R. Martin shares new insights into 'Winds of Winter' delay

Ulius Cesarius January 15, 2026

After another year came and went without "The Winds of Winter,"George R.R. Martinis opening up in a new interview about the book's massive, ongoing delay.

The "Game of Thrones" author, 77,spoke with The Hollywood Reporterin an interview published Jan. 15 about the status of "The Winds of Winter," the planned next book in his "A Song of Ice and Fire" series that he has spent more than a decade trying to complete.

Martin has not published a new mainline entry in his book series, which was adapted into HBO's "Game of Thrones," since 2011. He has continued to provide updates about struggling to finish "The Winds of Winter" for nearly 15 years, and at one point planned to have the book done by the end of 2015.

Martin told The Hollywood Reporter that he might be able to finally finish the book "soon," if only he could rid himself of his many other commitments.

George R.R. Martin attends the premiere of

"I have to write more Dunk and Egg," he said, referring to his series of novellas that have been adapted into the new spinoff show "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms."

"There's supposed to be another 'Fire and Blood' book, too. I do think if I can just get some of these other things off my back, I could finish 'The Winds of Winter' pretty soon. It's been made clear to me that 'Winds' is the priority, but … I don't know. Sometimes I'm not in the mood for that."

George R.R. Martinaddresses 'controversy' over 'Winds of Winter' delay

Martin confirmed he won't allow another author to complete his books, noting the series would remain incomplete if he were to die before the last installment. "If that happens, my work won't be finished," he said, though he stressed that his health is fine and he is "not dying."

George R.R. Martin attends the HBO MAX Germany launch photocall on Jan. 12, 2026, in Berlin, Germany.

Martin also said he will not give up on writing the book. "I would hate that," he told the Reporter. "It would feel like a total failure to me. I want to finish."

Martin said in the new interview that he has around 1,100 manuscript pages of "The Winds of Winter" written. He previously said he had 1,100 or 1,200 pageswritten in 2022. Martin also provided some insight into why the book is taking so long, explaining that when he sits down to write, he often finds himself unhappy with what he has written previously.

"I will open the last chapter I was working on and I'll say, 'Oh f---, this is not very good.' And I'll go in and I'll rewrite it," he told the outlet. "Or I'll decide, 'This Tyrion chapter is not coming along, let me write a Jon Snow chapter.' If I'm not interrupted though, what happens — at least in the past — is sooner or later, I do get into it."

New year, new star sightings. With the Oscar nominations in sight, celebrities are kicking off 2026 on the awards circuit, stepping out at events like the Palm Springs International Film Awards and Critics Choice Awards.

Scroll through for the best celebrity photos of January so far, starting with Teyana Taylor at the Palm Springs Film Awards on Jan. 3, 2026, in California.