Cooper Raiff

{{Infobox person

| name = Cooper Raiff

| image = Cooper Raiff 2020 3.jpg

| caption = Raiff in 2020

| birth_name = Cooper Michael Raiff

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1997|02|11}}

| birth_place = Dallas, Texas, U.S.

| alma_mater =

| occupation = {{hlist|Filmmaker|actor}}

| years_active = 2018–present

| website =

}}

Cooper Michael Raiff (born {{circa|1997}}){{cite news|url = https://www.centraltrack.com/qa-dallas-cooper-raiff-talks-his-debut-film-shithouse/|title = The 23-Year-Old Greenhill School Alum Talks His Acclaimed Feature-Length Debut Film, How It Got Made And Just How Autobiographical It May Be.|work = CentralTrack.com|date = October 19, 2020|last = Gaughan|first = Liam|accessdate = January 28, 2022}}{{cite news|url = https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/newsletter/2022-06-17/indie-focus-cha-cha-real-smooth-good-luck-to-you-leo-grande-official-competition-indie-focus|title = Why Cooper Raiff's 'Cha Cha Real Smooth' is not a dramedy|last = Olsen|first = Mark|date = June 17, 2022|accessdate = January 3, 2024|newspaper = Los Angeles Times|url-access = limited}} is an American filmmaker and actor. He has received praise for his films Shithouse (2020) and Cha Cha Real Smooth (2022).{{Cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/sundance-cha-cha-real-smooth-director-sales-title-1235073030/|title=Sundance: Meet Gen Z's Buzziest Director (Who's Still Waiting to Go to a Film Festival)|work=The Hollywood Reporter|first=Mia|last=Galuppo|date=January 17, 2022|accessdate=January 29, 2022}} In August 2022, Raiff launched his production company Small Ideas.

Early life

A native of Dallas, Raiff attended the Greenhill School. He participated in school theatre productions and studied at the Dallas Young Actors Studio for 4 years. During his senior year, he wrote and performed in his first play.{{Cite journal|url=https://deadline.com/2022/01/cooper-raiff-cha-cha-real-smooth-sundance-buzz-title-covid-1234917924/|title=Cooper Raiff Debut Won SXSW & His 'Cha Cha Real Smooth' Is Sundance Buzz Title Now: Will Covid Ever Allow Him To See His Work In A Crowded Theater|journal=Deadline|first=Mike Jr.|last=Fleming|date=January 22, 2022|accessdate=January 29, 2022}} Raiff enrolled at Occidental College in Los Angeles and withdrew in 2019 to focus on film.{{Cite web|url=https://www.oxy.edu/magazine/issues/summer-2021/shouse-penthouse|title=From S#!%house to the Penthouse|website=Occidental College|first=Dick|last=Anderson|date=August 19, 2021|accessdate=January 29, 2022}}

Career

During spring break in 2018, Raiff stayed on campus to make Madeline & Cooper, a 50-minute short film that he uploaded to YouTube.{{cite news|url = https://www.dallasnews.com/arts-entertainment/movies/2020/10/16/23-year-old-dallas-native-scores-with-award-winning-debut-movie/|title = 23-year-old Dallas native scores with award-winning debut movie|work = The Dallas Morning News|date = October 16, 2020|accessdate = January 28, 2022}} He then tweeted a link of the video to filmmaker Jay Duplass, who met with Raiff and encouraged him to adapt the project to feature-length; it became Raiff's

debut feature Shithouse, in which he starred, directed, wrote, produced, and co-edited.{{cite news |url=https://www.brightwalldarkroom.com/2020/10/19/cooper-raiff-on-shithouse/|title=I Grew Up Thinking Feelings Were Cool: Cooper Raiff on Shithouse |work=Bright Wall/Dark Room|last = Warren|first = Ethan|date = October 19, 2020|accessdate = January 28, 2022}} The film premiered at the 2020 SXSW where it was named Best Narrative Feature.{{Cite journal |url=https://www.dmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/2020/04/meet-the-greenhill-grad-who-won-the-top-film-prize-at-sxsw/|title=Meet the Self-Taught Greenhill Grad Who Won the Top Film Prize From SXSW|journal=D Magazine|first=Todd|last=Jorgenson|date=April 24, 2020 |accessdate=January 29, 2022}} Distributed by IFC Films,{{cite news|url=https://deadline.com/2020/06/ifc-films-acquires-sxsw-shithouse-1202955370/|title=IFC Films Nabs SXSW Award Winning Film 'Shithouse'|work=Deadline Hollywood|first=Amanda|last=N'Duka|date=June 10, 2020|access-date=January 28, 2022}} it opened in October 2020 to positive reviews.{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/shithouse|title=S...house (2020)|website=Rotten Tomatoes|publisher=Fandango}}{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/shithouse |title=Shithouse Reviews |website=Metacritic|access-date=January 28, 2022}}

Raiff's second film, Cha Cha Real Smooth, premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award for the Dramatic Competition, and is available on Apple TV+.{{cite news |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/sundance-film-festival-winners-2022-nanny-exiles-1235083659/ |title=Sundance: Nanny and The Exiles Take Top Prizes at 2022 Fest|date=January 28, 2022|first=Mia|last=Galuppo|website=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=January 29, 2022}} The film was reportedly purchased by the company for $15 million.{{cite news|last=Fleming|first=Mike Jr.|date=January 28, 2022|title=Apple Lands Cooper Raiff-Directed Cha Cha Real Smooth In $15M World Rights Deal|website=Deadline Hollywood|url=https://deadline.com/2022/01/apapple-cha-cha-real-smooth-15-million-dollar-world-rights-deal-sundance-film-festival-1234919859/|access-date=January 27, 2022}}

In July 2022, it was announced that Raiff wrote and would direct The Trashers, a drama about "a Connecticut trash magnate and associate of the Genovese crime family. In 2004, Galante bought the city’s minor-league hockey team and assigned his teenage son A.J. to run it"; it would star David Harbour and Cooper Hoffman.[https://deadline.com/2022/07/licorice-pizza-cooper-hoffman-the-trashers-stranger-things-david-harbour-cooper-raiff-the-trashers-1235075200/ ‘Licorice Pizza’s Cooper Hoffman Joins ‘Stranger Things’ David Harbour In Cooper Raiff Hockey Pic ‘The Trashers] However, in January 2025, Raiff revealed that the film had been cancelled because it failed to find financing.[https://deadline.com/video/cooper-raiff-the-trashers-hal-and-harper-sundance-interview/ Cooper Raiff Has Plotted Out More Seasons Of Indie Series ‘Hal & Harper,’ Says Cooper Hoffman Pic ‘The Trashers’ Won’t Move Forward – Sundance Studio] He appeared on the 2022 Variety list of directors to watch.{{Cite news|url=https://variety.com/lists/10-directors-to-watch-2022-maggie-gyllenhaal/|title=Variety's 10 Directors to Watch for 2022|work=Variety|first=Brent|last=Lang|date=January 10, 2022|accessdate=January 11, 2022}}

On August 2, 2022, it was announced that Raiff has partnered with Clementine Quittner of Black Bear Productions to launch his own production company called Small Ideas. Raiff commented on the company, and the film industry at large, saying, "There's a very good, lucrative market for making small things and flipping them, and if you're okay with them being maybe like a streamer-theatrical duo, I think everyone should be really feeling great and confident about getting their stuff made that they want to make."{{cite web |last1=Grobar |first1=Matt |date=August 2, 2022 |title=Cha Cha Real Smooth Filmmaker Cooper Raiff & Clementine Quittner Launch Production Company Small Ideas |url=https://deadline.com/2022/08/cooper-raiff-clementine-quittner-launch-production-company-small-ideas-1235083491/ |website=Deadline Hollywood |access-date=August 2, 2022}}

Raiff was given the Maverick Award at the 2022 Newport Beach Film Festival{{Cite web |last=Roberts |first=Toby |date=2022-10-17 |title=Ron Howard and Colson Baker aka Machine Gun Kelly Honored At Newport Beach Film Festival |url=https://www.latfusa.com/article/2022/10/ron-howard-and-colson-baker-aka-machine-gun-kelly-honored-at-newport-beach-film-festival |access-date=2022-10-17 |website=LATF USA NEWS |language=en-US}} and appeared on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in Hollywood & Entertainment.{{Cite web |title=Cooper Raiff |url=https://www.forbes.com/pictures/6377c2a22660c5b1c92d6c0d/cooper-raiff/ |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=Forbes |language=en}}

For his first television project, Raiff is attached to direct and co-write an television adaptation of Naoise Dolan's novel Exciting Times starring Phoebe Dynevor for Amazon Prime.{{Cite journal |url=https://deadline.com/2021/08/phoebe-dynevor-ep-star-exciting-times-series-amazon-studios-1234816651/|title=Phoebe Dynevor Set To EP & Poised To Star In 'Exciting Times' Series In Works At Amazon Studios|journal=Deadline|first=Nellie|last=Andreeva|date=17 August 2021|accessdate=28 August 2021}}

In 2023, he filmed a television series with Mark Ruffalo and Lili Reinhart entitled Hal & Harper.{{cite web|url=https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/a46278104/riverdale-lili-reinhart-update-tv-series/|website=Digital Spy|accessdate=3 January 2024|title= Riverdale's Lili Reinhart shares exciting update on new TV series|first=Justin|last=Harp|date=3 January 2024}}

Raiff has cited Emma Seligman, Sofia Coppola, Greta Gerwig, Ryan Coogler, and the Duplass brothers as influences.{{cite web|url= https://deadline.com/2022/06/cha-cha-real-smooth-filmmaker-cooper-raiff-talks-next-pic-the-trashers-more-1235044743/|title= Filmmaker Cooper Raiff On 'Cha Cha Real Smooth', His David Harbour Pic 'The Trashers' & The "Really Small" TV Show He's Making Afterwards – Q&A|website= Deadline Hollywood|accessdate= June 22, 2022}}{{cite web|url= https://loudandclearreviews.com/cooper-raiff-on-shithouse-interview/|title= Writer-Director-Actor Cooper Raiff on Feature Debut Shithouse (Interview)|website= Loud and Clear|accessdate= June 22, 2022}}

Filmography

= Film =

Year !English title !width=65\|Director !width=65\|Writer !width=65\|Producer !width=65\|Actor !Role !Notes
class="wikitable"
2018	Madeline & Cooper	{{yes}}	{{yes}}	{{yes}}	{{yes}}	Cooper	Short film
2020	Shithouse	{{yes}}	{{yes}}	{{yes}}	{{yes}}	Alex Malmquist	Also editor
2022	Cha Cha Real Smooth	{{yes}}	{{yes}}	{{yes}}	{{yes}}	Andrew
TBA	See You When I See You	{{no}}	{{no}}	{{no}}	{{yes}}	TBA	Filming

= Television =

class="wikitable"
Year !English title !width=65\|Director !width=65\|Writer !width=65\|Producer !width=65\|Actor !Role !Notes
2025	Hal & Harper	{{yes}}	{{yes}}	{{yes}}	{{yes}}	Hal	Post-production{{cite web\|url=https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/a46278104/riverdale-lili-reinhart-update-tv-series/\|website=Digital Spy\|accessdate=14 January 2024\|title= Riverdale's Lili Reinhart shares exciting update on new TV series\|first=Justin\|last=Harp\|date=3 January 2024}}

class="wikitable"

Year

!English title

!width=65|Director

!width=65|Writer

!width=65|Producer

!width=65|Actor

!Role

!Notes

2025

Hal & Harper

Hal

Post-production{{cite web|url=https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/a46278104/riverdale-lili-reinhart-update-tv-series/|website=Digital Spy|accessdate=14 January 2024|title= Riverdale's Lili Reinhart shares exciting update on new TV series|first=Justin|last=Harp|date=3 January 2024}}

Awards and recognition

Year ! Association ! Category ! Nominated work ! Result ! {{Abbr\|Ref.\|Reference(s)}}
class="wikitable unsortable"
rowspan=2\|2020	Zurich Film Festival	Best International Feature Film	rowspan=2\|Shithouse	{{nom}}
SXSW Film Festival	Narrative Feature	{{won}}
rowspan=2\|2022	Sundance Film Festival	Grand Jury Prize	rowspan=2\|Cha Cha Real Smooth	{{nom}}
Palm Springs International Film Festival	Directors to Watch	{{won}}