Talmage Cooley Biography
Talmage Cooley was born and raised near Charlottesville, Virginia. After attending St. Anne's-Belfield High School, he enrolled in the University of Virginia and received undergraduate and graduate degrees in International Politics, Finance and Marketing. He then studied Acting, Directing and Theatrical Composition at Playwright's Horizons in New York City with prominent experimental theater directors Anne Bogart (Siti Company), Kevin Kulke (NYU Experimental Theater Wing) and Brian Jucha (Via Theater), while also studying film and photography at The New School/Parsons School of Design.Talmage's first effort as writer/director was the satirical short film Pol Pot's Birthday (2004). The film quickly became a short film standout known for its sharply awkward style of comedy often compared to the BBC version of The Office. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and received accolades at festivals worldwide, including numerous Best Film, Best Screenplay and Audience Awards. Pol Pot's Birthday was also featured in American Cinematographer for its exceptional visual accomplishment in art direction and cinematography.Talmage's second film, Dimmer (2005), was a documentary short produced in collaboration with the band Interpol and the principles of Partners & Spade in New York. Dimmer follows a gang of blind teenage boys as they roam the broken down neighborhoods and factories of Buffalo, NY, in search of trouble and girlfriends. Dimmer premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, won numerous Best Film, Jury Prize and Audience Awards internationally and was short-listed for the 2006 Academy Awards. Dimmer has also been included in the film collections at the New York Museum of Modern Art and the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles.Talmage's first feature, Patriotville (2009), a low-budget comedy/drama starring Justin Long, Rob Corddry, Emmanuelle Chriqui and Keir O'Donnell, premiered at the CineVegas Film Festival and will be released by Lionsgate Entertainment.Talmage has been profiled in magazines such as Create, Fader and Hotdog (UK), and was named by RES Magazine as one of 'Ten Most Innovative Talents', and by Screen International as one of '10 Emerging Talents to Watch'. His films have won over twenty Best Film and other awards, and his feature script Squirt was recently named a finalist for the 2009 Cinequest Mavericks screenplay competition. He and Andy Spade also co-authored a photo and essay book titled Public Love, which was published by Chronicle Books.In addition to his creative career in film, Talmage is known for his work as a social activist, co-founding the national anti-gun violence organization PAX, now the largest non-lobbying organization dedicated to the gun violence issue. PAX's focus on prevention has contributed to a 20% decline in gun violence against children in the past ten years, representing over 10,000 lives saved. PAX's national toll-free hot line for students to report weapon related threats in their schools has received over 25,000 calls. PAX's success and innovative approach to social change theory on the gun violence issue was recently the subject of a groundbreaking two-year study published by The Harvard School of Public Health.Talmage resides in New York.
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Genres: Comedy Director: Talmage Cooley Artists: Jacob Dietrich, Robert Beltran, Phil Reeves, Robin Mullins Show description |
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