Josh Cooley
Cooley in 2019
Born (1979-05-23) May 23, 1979 (age 44)[1]
Berkeley, California, U.S.
Occupations
  • Film director
  • screenwriter
  • storyboard artist
  • voice actor
Years active2003–present
EmployerPixar Animation Studios (2003–2020)
AwardsAcademy Award for Best Animated Feature
Toy Story 4 (2019)

Joshua Cooley (born May 23, 1979) is an American filmmaker, storyboard artist, and voice actor. He made his feature directorial debut with the Pixar animated film Toy Story 4 (2019), the fourth film in the Toy Story franchise, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, and then directing the upcoming Transformers One (2024), based on the Transformers franchise. Prior, he co-wrote the screenplay for the film Inside Out (2015), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

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 (2004), the first two films of the Cars franchise (2006-2011), Ratatouille (2007), and Up (2009).[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 2016,[7] 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.[8] Cooley left Pixar in March 2020.[9]

Cooley is set to direct an animated Transformers film, titled Transformers One, for Paramount Pictures.[10] 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.[10]

On May 19, 2020, it was reported that Cooley will write and direct a live-action adaptation of the children's book Malamander by Thomas Taylor for Sony Pictures,[9] marking his first live-action film. In addition, on July 10, 2020, it was announced that Cooley would be the writer and director of the film Little Monsters, starring Universal Monsters characters, for Universal Pictures.[11]

Filmography

Films

Year Title Director Writer Supervisor Artist Other Voice Notes
2004 The Incredibles No No No Story No Uncredited [4]
2006 Cars No No No Story No Additional
2007 Ratatouille No No No Story No
2009 Up No No No Story Yes Omega
2011 Cars 2 No No Story No No Additional
2015 Inside Out No Screenplay Story No Yes Jangles
2019 Toy Story 4 Yes Original Story No No Yes Additional Screenplay Material
Pixar Senior Creative Team
2020 We Bare Bears: The Movie No No No No Yes Painting Elephant Additional Voices
Soul No No No No Yes Additional Dialogue Contributions
Pixar Senior Creative Team
2024 Transformers One Yes No No No No [10]
TBA Malamander Yes Yes No No No [9]
Little Monsters Yes Yes No No No [11]
Tower of Terror No Yes No No No [12]

Shorts

Year Title Director Writer Artist Editor Other Voice Notes
2005 Mindwalk No No No Film No
2009 Calendar Confloption No No Story No No [13]
George and A.J. Yes Yes No No No
2010 Cars Toons: Mater's Tall Tales No No No No Yes Additional Voices Episodes 8-9
2011 Toy Story Toons: Small Fry No No No Story Yes Cashier / Lizard Wizard
2013 Cars Toons: Tales from Radiator Springs No No No No Yes Bug / Additional Voices Episodes 1-3
Toy Story of Terror! No No No No Yes Officer Phillips TV special
2015 Riley's First Date? Yes Yes No No Yes Dad's Sadness
2021 22 vs. Earth No Yes No No No Disney+ Original Short Film

Other credits

Year Title Role
2009 Tracy Cameraman #2, Extras, Camera Operator, Artist
2015 The Good Dinosaur Special Thanks
2017 Coco Pixar Senior Creative Team
2018 Incredibles 2
2019-20 Forky Asks a Question Special Thanks
2020 Lamp Life[14]
Onward Special Thanks, Pixar Senior Creative Team

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". May 1, 2019. Archived from the original on June 27, 2019. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
  3. ^ Brown, Phil (June 17, 2015). "Inside Pixar And Out With Josh Cooley". cgmagonline.com. Archived from the original on December 11, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  4. ^ a b c Murphy, Robert (October 6, 2010). "Josh Cooley gives an in-depth look at Pixar's creative process". siliconprairienews.com. Archived from the original on December 11, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  5. ^ a b McFarland, K.M. (October 16, 2015). "4 Things Riley's First Date? Reveals About Pixar". wired.com. Archived from the original on December 11, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  6. ^ "Riley's First Date? Is a Sublime Follow-Up to Inside Out". disney.com. Archived from the original on December 9, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  7. ^ Hazelton, John (December 19, 2019). "'Toy Story 4' filmmakers on why the franchise needed another instalment". ScreenDaily. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  8. ^ "D23 Expo: Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios: The Upcoming Films". July 14, 2017. Archived from the original on July 15, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  9. ^ a b c Kit, Borys (May 19, 2020). "'Toy Story 4' Director Josh Cooley to Tackle 'Malamander' for Sony Pictures (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 17, 2020. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  10. ^ a b c Fleming, Mike Jr. (April 29, 2020). "Animated 'Transformers' Prequel Activated; 'Toy Story 4's Josh Cooley To Direct For Hasbro/eOne & Paramount". Deadline.com. Archived from the original on April 30, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  11. ^ a b Kit, Borys (July 10, 2020). "'Toy Story 4' Director Josh Cooley Tackling 'Little Monsters' for Universal (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on July 15, 2020. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  12. ^ Couch, Aaron (June 23, 2021). "Scarlett Johansson and Disney Team for 'Tower of Terror'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  13. ^ Lauer, Andy (March 11, 2009). ""Answer Man," "Food Inc." Among 2009 Sonoma International Film Festival Selections". IndieWire. Archived from the original on March 24, 2021. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  14. ^ Prudom, Laura (January 29, 2020). "Disney Plus' Lamp Life Sneak Peek: What Happened to Bo Peep Between Toy Story 2 and 4? - IGN". IGN. Archived from the original on January 31, 2020. Retrieved March 14, 2021.

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