Scott Cooper (director)
Encyclopedia
Scott Cooper is an American actor, writer, director, and producer. He is known for writing, directing and producing the 2009 film Crazy Heart
starring Jeff Bridges
. The film, released by Fox Searchlight Pictures
, has received a number of accolades, including awards presented by the Chicago Film Critics Association
, the Independent Spirit Awards
and by the Writers Guild of America
. He received his first film credits as an actor in projects like Gods and Generals
and the TV mini-series Broken Trail
.
in New York City
, N.Y.. He received his undergraduate degree in 1992 from Hampden-Sydney College
in Hampden-Sydney, Virginia
.
Cooper was born in Abingdon
, Virginia
. He is also a 1988 graduate of Abingdon High School.
He is married and lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Jocelyne. He has two daughters, Ava and Stella.
of Virginia
and stories of the human condition. Besides the music of Ralph Stanley
and Bill Monroe
, Cooper has been influenced by singer-songwriters like Townes Van Zandt
, Merle Haggard
, and R.E.M.
's Michael Stipe
.
Thomas Wolfe
and William Faulkner
, who Cooper says taught his father as a student at the University of Virginia
, are literary influences.
Films that have influenced Cooper include: Robert Altman
's "Nashville," Terence Malick's "Badlands
," John Huston
's "Fat City (film)
" and Peter Bogdanovich
's "The Last Picture Show
."
Cooper's principal film-making mentor has been veteran actor, producer and director, Robert Duvall
. He and Duvall met on the set of Gods and Generals
and struck up a friendship. Cooper was married on Duvall's 300 acres (1.2 km²) Virginia estate. The two appeared together in Broken Trail
and Duvall produced and appeared in Cooper's film Crazy Heart
.
Crazy Heart
Crazy Heart is a 2009 American musical-drama film, written and directed by Scott Cooper and based on the 1987 novel of the same name by Thomas Cobb. Jeff Bridges plays a down-and-out country music singer-songwriter who tries to turn his life around after beginning a relationship with a young...
starring Jeff Bridges
Jeff Bridges
Jeffrey Leon "Jeff" Bridges is an American actor and musician. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Otis "Bad" Blake in the 2009 film Crazy Heart....
. The film, released by Fox Searchlight Pictures
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Fox Searchlight Pictures, established in 1998, is a film division of Fox Filmed Entertainment alongside the larger Fox studio 20th Century Fox...
, has received a number of accolades, including awards presented by the Chicago Film Critics Association
Chicago Film Critics Association
The Chicago Film Critics Association is an American film critic association.-Members:Current members include:*Sarah Knight Adamson*Zbigniew Banas*Shelley Cameron*Dave Canfield*Vittorio Carli*Erik Childress*Camerin Courtney*Bonnie DeShong...
, the Independent Spirit Awards
Independent Spirit Awards
The Independent Spirit Awards , founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glass pyramids containing suspended shoestrings representing the paltry budgets of independent films. In 1986, the event was renamed the Independent Spirit...
and by the Writers Guild of America
Writers Guild of America, west
Writers Guild of America, West is a labor union representing film, television, radio, and new media writers. The Guild was formed in 1954 from five organizations representing writers, which include the Screen Writers Guild...
. He received his first film credits as an actor in projects like Gods and Generals
Gods and Generals (film)
Gods and Generals is a 2003 American film based on the novel Gods and Generals by Jeffrey Shaara. It depicts events that take place prior to those shown in the 1993 film Gettysburg, which was based on The Killer Angels, a novel by Shaara's father, Michael...
and the TV mini-series Broken Trail
Broken Trail
Broken Trail is a 2006 Western miniseries that originally aired on American Movie Classics as their first original movie. It stars Robert Duvall and Thomas Haden Church, and was directed by Walter Hill....
.
Personal life
Cooper trained as an actor at Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film InstituteLee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute
__notoc__The Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute is an acting school located at 115 East 15th Street between Union Square East and Irving Place in the Union Square neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, as well as at 7936 Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, California...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, N.Y.. He received his undergraduate degree in 1992 from Hampden-Sydney College
Hampden-Sydney College
Hampden–Sydney College is a liberal arts college for men located in Hampden Sydney, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1775, Hampden–Sydney is the oldest private charter college in the Southern U.S., the last college founded before the American Revolution, and one of only three four-year,...
in Hampden-Sydney, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
.
Cooper was born in Abingdon
Abingdon, Virginia
Abingdon is a town in Washington County, Virginia, USA, 133 miles southwest of Roanoke. The population was 8,191 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Washington County and is a designated Virginia Historic Landmark...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. He is also a 1988 graduate of Abingdon High School.
He is married and lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Jocelyne. He has two daughters, Ava and Stella.
Influences
Cooper's influences come from life experiences of growing up in the Blue Ridge MountainsBlue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, starting at its southern-most...
of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
and stories of the human condition. Besides the music of Ralph Stanley
Ralph Stanley
Ralph Stanley , also known as Dr. Ralph Stanley, is an American bluegrass artist, known for his distinctive singing and banjo playing.-Biography:...
and Bill Monroe
Bill Monroe
William Smith Monroe was an American musician who created the style of music known as bluegrass, which takes its name from his band, the "Blue Grass Boys," named for Monroe's home state of Kentucky. Monroe's performing career spanned 60 years as a singer, instrumentalist, composer and bandleader...
, Cooper has been influenced by singer-songwriters like Townes Van Zandt
Townes Van Zandt
John Townes Van Zandt , best known as Townes Van Zandt, was an American Texas Country-folk music singer-songwriter, performer, and poet...
, Merle Haggard
Merle Haggard
Merle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, fiddler, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies,...
, and R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
's Michael Stipe
Michael Stipe
John Michael Stipe is an American singer and lyricist. He was the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.Stipe is noted and occasionally parodied for the "mumbling" style of his early career as well as his social and political activism. He was in charge of R.E.M.'s visual image; often...
.
Thomas Wolfe
Thomas Wolfe
Thomas Clayton Wolfe was a major American novelist of the early 20th century.Wolfe wrote four lengthy novels, plus many short stories, dramatic works and novellas. He is known for mixing highly original, poetic, rhapsodic, and impressionistic prose with autobiographical writing...
and William Faulkner
William Faulkner
William Cuthbert Faulkner was an American writer from Oxford, Mississippi. Faulkner worked in a variety of media; he wrote novels, short stories, a play, poetry, essays and screenplays during his career...
, who Cooper says taught his father as a student at the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
, are literary influences.
Films that have influenced Cooper include: Robert Altman
Robert Altman
Robert Bernard Altman was an American film director and screenwriter known for making films that are highly naturalistic, but with a stylized perspective. In 2006, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized his body of work with an Academy Honorary Award.His films MASH , McCabe and...
's "Nashville," Terence Malick's "Badlands
Badlands (film)
Badlands is a 1973 American crime drama film written and directed by Terrence Malick, starring Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek. Warren Oates and Ramon Bieri are also featured. Malick has a small speaking part although he does not receive an acting credit...
," John Huston
John Huston
John Marcellus Huston was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics: The Maltese Falcon , The Treasure of the Sierra Madre , Key Largo , The Asphalt Jungle , The African Queen , Moulin Rouge...
's "Fat City (film)
Fat City (film)
Fat City is an American neo-noir boxing drama film directed by John Huston. The picture stars Stacy Keach, Jeff Bridges, and Susan Tyrrell....
" and Peter Bogdanovich
Peter Bogdanovich
Peter Bogdanovich is an American film historian, director, writer, actor, producer, and critic. He was part of the wave of "New Hollywood" directors, which included William Friedkin, Brian De Palma, George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Michael Cimino, and Francis Ford Coppola...
's "The Last Picture Show
The Last Picture Show
The Last Picture Show is a 1971 American drama film directed by Peter Bogdanovich, adapted from a semi-autobiographical 1966 novel of the same name by Larry McMurtry....
."
Cooper's principal film-making mentor has been veteran actor, producer and director, Robert Duvall
Robert Duvall
Robert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and a BAFTA over the course of his career....
. He and Duvall met on the set of Gods and Generals
Gods and Generals (film)
Gods and Generals is a 2003 American film based on the novel Gods and Generals by Jeffrey Shaara. It depicts events that take place prior to those shown in the 1993 film Gettysburg, which was based on The Killer Angels, a novel by Shaara's father, Michael...
and struck up a friendship. Cooper was married on Duvall's 300 acres (1.2 km²) Virginia estate. The two appeared together in Broken Trail
Broken Trail
Broken Trail is a 2006 Western miniseries that originally aired on American Movie Classics as their first original movie. It stars Robert Duvall and Thomas Haden Church, and was directed by Walter Hill....
and Duvall produced and appeared in Cooper's film Crazy Heart
Crazy Heart
Crazy Heart is a 2009 American musical-drama film, written and directed by Scott Cooper and based on the 1987 novel of the same name by Thomas Cobb. Jeff Bridges plays a down-and-out country music singer-songwriter who tries to turn his life around after beginning a relationship with a young...
.
Producer
- 2009: For Sale by Owner - co-producer
- 2009: Crazy HeartCrazy HeartCrazy Heart is a 2009 American musical-drama film, written and directed by Scott Cooper and based on the 1987 novel of the same name by Thomas Cobb. Jeff Bridges plays a down-and-out country music singer-songwriter who tries to turn his life around after beginning a relationship with a young...
- 2011: Are You Afraid of the Dark - co-producer
Screenwriter
- 2009: For Sale by Owner - co-producer
- 2009: Crazy Heart
- 2011: Contracted with Relativity MediaRelativity MediaRelativity Media is an American independent motion picture production and investment company based in West Hollywood, California.- Company :...
to write and direct Out of the Furnace
Actor
- 1998: Dry Martini .... Robert
- 1999: Perfect Fit .... Guy in bar
- 1999: Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged MeAustin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged MeAustin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, released in 1999, is the second film in the Austin Powers series that began with 1997's Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery and continued with Austin Powers in Goldmember. The film was directed by Jay Roach, co-written by Mike Myers and screenwriter...
.... Klansman's Son - Bobby - 1999: The X-FilesThe X-FilesThe X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
.... Max Harden (TV, 1 episode), also known as Rush - 2000: Takedown .... Jake Cronin (also known as Hackers 2: Takedown and Track Down (DVD))
- 2001: Bill's Gun Shop .... Dillion McCarthy
- 2001: Rain .... Pvt. Holland
- 2001: The District .... Michael Barrett (TV, 1 episode, 2001) (also known as "Lost and Found")
- 2003: Gods and GeneralsGods and Generals (film)Gods and Generals is a 2003 American film based on the novel Gods and Generals by Jeffrey Shaara. It depicts events that take place prior to those shown in the 1993 film Gettysburg, which was based on The Killer Angels, a novel by Shaara's father, Michael...
.... Lt. Joseph Morrison - 2003: Save It for Later .... Jake O'Connor (also known as Water Under the Bridge)
- 2003: Attitude .... Rails
- 2006: Broken Trail .... Gilpin (TV mini-series)
- 2009: For Sale by Owner .... Will Custis
- 2009: Get LowGet Low (film)Get Low is a 2009 drama film directed by Aaron Schneider, written by Chris Provenzano and C. Gaby Mitchell, and starring Robert Duvall, Bill Murray, Sissy Spacek, Lucas Black, Gerald McRaney, Bill Cobbs, Lori Beth Edgeman, Andrea Powell, Rebecca Grant, Scott Cooper, and Chandler Riggs...
.... Carl
Awards and nominations
- Nominated for Most Promising Director for Crazy Heart at CFCA Award 2009
- Nominated for Best Screenplay for Crazy Heart at 2010 Independent Spirit AwardsIndependent Spirit AwardsThe Independent Spirit Awards , founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glass pyramids containing suspended shoestrings representing the paltry budgets of independent films. In 1986, the event was renamed the Independent Spirit...
- Nominated for Best Screenplay for Crazy Heart at 2010 Writers Guild of America AwardWriters Guild of America AwardThe Writers Guild of America Award for outstanding achievements in film, television, and radio has been presented annually by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America, West since 1949...
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