Timothy Michael Cooper is an award-winning filmmaker, comedy writer, and script consultant based in Brooklyn. He wrote and directed the Writers Guild Award-nominated CONCIERGE: THE SERIES, starring Kate McKinnon. His short comedy LEMON premiered at Tribeca and was purchased by both United Airlines and Amazon.He also wrote the dramatic feature AWAY FROM HERE, starring Nick Stahl and Alicia Witt. And his upcoming sports comedy, ROCK PAPER DESTINY, is currently in post-production.
As a longtime member of the writers’ room for the Writers Guild Awards, Timothy has written jokes and sketches for Jimmy Fallon, Roy Wood Jr., Bowen Yang, Michelle Buteau, Kenan Thompson, Amy Schumer, Zach Cherry, and many more. In addition to writing and directing for film, live shows, theater, podcasts, and video games, he’s the creator of the viral site 365 Short Stories, where he published a new high-concept short story every single day for a year.
Timothy is a proud member of the Writers Guild of America, the Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective, and the Hollywood Radio & Television Society.
Please List the Title of Your Film at BIFF 2025
Knead
What was your first experience with film and how did it influence your first project?
The first film experience I distinctly remember is watching E.T. at the drive-in theater with my family; seeing those huge, indelible images onscreen must have altered my brain chemistry as a child. The combination of heart and a big, believable premise (including lovable aliens) is a goal I strive for to this day. You can definitely see how that movie directly influenced Knead!
On a very different sci-fi note, Terminator 2 was also deeply formative. It’s the movie I’ve watched the most, as well as the one I quote the most as a screenwriting teacher. It’s the perfect film (structure, emotion, writing, and sheer awesomeness)—that’s not even up for debate.
Who is (are) your favorite filmmakers?
My favorite filmmakers are those who unabashedly say exactly what they mean to say, in a way that gets deep under your skin. For me right now, that means Zach Cregger (Barbarian), Alessandra Lacorazza (In the Summers) Aaron Schimberg (A Different Man), Megan Park (My Old Ass), Lulu Wang (The Farewell), Shuchi Talati (Girls Will Be Girls)….
And I’ll always love Danny Boyle, Alfonso Cuarón, Judd Apatow, Kathryn Bigelow, Bong Joon Ho, Steven Spielberg, Denis Villeneuve, and James Cameron, among others.
What are you working on that no one knows about?
My newest short film is a sports comedy that involved over 200 extras. It’s in post-production now, and I’m really excited about showing it to the world.
Meanwhile, I’m writing two features—one an adventure comedy, one a sci-fi comedy—and figuring out which to direct next.
Following my 365 Short Stories project, where I wrote and published an original high-concept short story every day for a year (at 365shortstories.com), I’ve been writing longer short stories, most of them with a sci-fi premise. I hope to publish them as a book someday…and convert some of them into films too, naturally!
Who would play you in a movie? What’s your go to movie snack? What’s the film title that best describes your life?
Clearly Timothée Chalamet would play me in a movie, because we almost share the same first name, and because people often confuse us for one another.
My go-to movie snack is anything I can sneak in, especially if it makes the loudest noise possible while I unwrap it.
The film title that best describes my life is Clueless, because that’s how I often feel. Or Hunger, because that’s what I experience every waking moment.
