Josh Cooley

Joshua Cooley (born May 23, 1979) is an American animator, screenwriter, director and voice actor. He is best known for working on the 2015 Pixar animated film Inside Out and directing the short film Riley's First Date? that was included in its home video release. He made his feature film directorial debut in 2019 with Toy Story 4, the fourth installment of the Toy Story franchise, which won him the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

Josh Cooley
Cooley in 2019
Born (1979-05-23) May 23, 1979[1]
Berkeley, California, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
OccupationAnimator, storyboard artist, screenwriter, director, voice actor
Years active2003–present
EmployerPixar Animation Studios (2003–2020)
Known forToy Story 4

Career

Cooley was recruited by Joe Ranft at Pixar, where he started his career as an intern,[2][3] mostly working as a storyboard artist on films including The Incredibles in 2004, Cars in 2006, Ratatouille in 2007, Up in 2009, and Cars 2 in 2011.[4] In 2009, Cooley wrote and directed a short film George & A.J. for Pixar and Walt Disney Pictures.[4]

In 2015, Cooley worked as a screenwriter and storyboard supervisor on the film Inside Out, which was released to critical acclaim. Cooley received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay for his work on the film, alongside Pete Docter (the film's director), Ronnie Del Carmen (co-director), and Meg LeFauve.[5] The same year, he wrote and directed another short film titled Riley's First Date?.[6][5]

Following the success of Inside Out, Cooley was tapped by John Lasseter and screenwriter Andrew Stanton to co-direct Toy Story 4. Lasseter ended up setting aside his directorial duties in 2017, making Cooley the sole director. Toy Story 4 was Cooley's directorial debut. Upon release, the film received critical acclaim, and Cooley took home his first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.[7] Cooley left Pixar during March 2020.[8]

Cooley is set to direct an animated Transformers film at Paramount Pictures.[9] The film, which will be "separate and apart from" the Michael Bay-directed franchise and the stand-alone Bumblebee, will focus on Optimus Prime and Megatron's relationship.[9] In May 19, 2020, it was reported that Cooley will write and direct a live-action adaptation of the children's book Malamander for Sony Pictures, marking his first live-action film, following the footsteps of other animation veterans who tried live action, such as the Academy Award-winning filmmaking duo of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, Chris Sanders, Dean DeBlois, Chris McKay, Rob Minkoff, Clay Kaytis, Shrek helmers Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, Monsters Vs. Aliens and Shark Tale co-director Rob Letterman, and French animation veteran Sylvain Chomet as well as fellow Pixar veterans Andrew Stanton, Brad Bird, Kevin Lima, his wife Brenda Chapman, her fellow The Prince of Egypt co-director Simon Wells, his fellow Amblimation colleague David Bowers (director) and Laika (company) president, CEO and director of the Oscar-nominated Kubo and the Two Strings, Travis Knight.[8]

Filmography

References
  1. Cooley, Josh [@CooleyUrFaceOff] (May 23, 2019). "Frank, I never told you that I was turned by my vampire master 400 years ago. I am immortal, birthdays mean nothing to me. But I accept your human congratulatory message" (Tweet). Archived from the original on July 15, 2019. Retrieved July 15, 2019 – via Twitter.
  2. "Twenty-Four Years and Beyond: Pixar Artists Who Worked on Every "Toy Story" Film". 1 May 2019.
  3. Brown, Phil (June 17, 2015). "Inside Pixar And Out With Josh Cooley". cgmagonline.com. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  4. Murphy, Robert (October 6, 2010). "Josh Cooley gives an in-depth look at Pixar's creative process". siliconprairienews.com. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  5. McFarland, K.M. (October 16, 2015). "4 Things Riley's First Date? Reveals About Pixar". wired.com. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  6. "Riley's First Date? Is a Sublime Follow-Up to Inside Out". disney.com. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  7. "D23 Expo: Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios: The Upcoming Films". July 14, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  8. Kit, Borys (May 19, 2020). "'Toy Story 4' Director Josh Cooley to Tackle 'Malamander' for Sony Pictures (Exclusive)". The Hollywod Reporter.
  9. Fleming Jr., Mike (April 29, 2020). "Animated 'Transformers' Prequel Activated; 'Toy Story 4's Josh Cooley To Direct For Hasbro/eOne & Paramount". Deadline.com. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  10. Giardina, Carolyn (May 13, 2019). "'Toy Story 4': Rashida Jones, John Lasseter Among 8 Who Will Share "Story By" Credits". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
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