Coopers Camera in TIFF!

Guess What? A feature Buck worked on has been added to the TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL LINE UP!! Hells yeah!!
Check out the Press Release below:

Christmas comes early this year with film, Coopers’ Camera, added to
Toronto International Film Festival® line up
Coopers’ Camera stars famed “Daily Show” correspondents and husband-wife duo
Jason Jones and Samantha Bee

Toronto, July 15, 2008 – Canadian comedians and real-life husband and wife duo,
Jason Jones (The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Ham and Cheese) and Samantha Bee
(The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Love Guru, Ham and Cheese), star as Gord and
Nancy Cooper in Coopers’ Camera—a holiday farce, directed by Warren P. Sonoda (Ham
and Cheese, 5ive Girls), set to keep audiences in stitches as part of the Toronto
International Film Festival® (TIFF) Canada First! programme this year. The
confirmation was made today in Toronto, with Jones in from New York for the official
announcement.

Well-known for their Emmy award-winning correspondent work on The Daily Show
with Jon Stewart, Jones and Bee lead the hilarious cast of Coopers’ Camera, portraying
the befuddled parents of one the most dysfunctional families ever to be captured on film.
The film, written by Jason Jones and fellow cast-mate Mike Beaver (Phil the Alien,
Billable Hours, Ham and Cheese), also stars Peter Keleghan, Dylan Everett, Nick
McKinlay and Dave Foley.

Coopers’ Camera takes the audience back to December 25, 1985, before the time of
iPhones and the internet, when Gord Cooper gives his family a Christmas present that
was then, the state of the art in technology: a VHS video camera. The youngest son,
Teddy Cooper (Everett), uses this all-seeing eye to tape every painfully hilarious moment
the Cooper family goes through as Gord’s estranged brother Tim (Keleghan) visits for the
holidays after a seventeen-year absence.
“I think we captured something really universal with Coopers’ – I mean, who hasn’t had
a holiday from hell? It shows a seemingly normal family come spiraling apart and I’m
hoping we all can watch it and see a little dark, twisted, part of ourselves and laugh,” said
Coopers’ Camera Director Sonoda from the edit suite as he completes final post
production on the film.
Sonoda—labeled by Playback magazine as ‘one to watch’ and echoed by The National
Post’s Shinan Govani as a ‘Canadian talent to watch’—is one of the most anticipated up-
and-coming directors at this year’s Festival. Known for his prolific work in the music
industry, having directed over 100 music videos, as well as for his recent film work
including the cult comedy Ham and Cheese (2004), Sonoda has recently shot another
feature this year, a hockey comedy called Puck Hogs.

Fittingly, given the film’s subject matter, it was at a holiday party that Sonoda discussed
the script with producers Sean Buckley and Nicholas Tabarrok—their respective
companies, Buck Productions (Film, Hank and Mike; Documentary, The Road: The
Journey of Syd Vanderpool; TV shows, Rich Bride, Poor Bride and Keys to the VIP) and
Darius Films (Weirdsville, The Life and Hard Times of Guy Terrifico) inevitably
partnered, along with Executive Producer John Kozman, to move production of the film
forward at an industry-record-setting pace to accommodate Jones and Bee’s winter
hiatus from the Daily Show. Production began in mid-February 2008 and was
completed over just 11 days, moving quickly into post-production to create a finished
product for consideration by TIFF this year.
“Coopers' Camera represents true independent filmmaking,” said Buckley, executive
producer/owner of Buck Productions. “All members of the team have pulled together to
accomplish something quite remarkable: a film that showcases tremendous
performances, and outstanding execution.”
As well as a triumph for the filmmakers, Coopers’ Camera represents a victory for the
upstart film distribution company Boutique Films, which is only a few months old, yet is
already featuring a film in TIFF. Tabarrok has partnered with Kozman to create the
company, and Coopers’ Camera is the first movie it will distribute in Canada, while
working to land sales in the United States and international markets.

All signs point to Coopers’ Camera being a real winner for all those involved, not the
least of which are TIFF audiences that will get to see the film first. After an on-set visit
during production earlier this year, Govani reported that this film was, “a modern spin
on Christmas Vacation – though it is set in the 80’s.” As hilarious disasters unfold for
Christmas at the Coopers, movie-goers will surely be laughing, while thankful it’s not
their own families this time.

About Coopers’ Camera
Coopers’ Camera is a hilarious comedy set in 1985 middle class suburbia, told through
the eyes of Teddy, the youngest Cooper son, via the family’s new Christmas present: a
second-hand VHS video camera. The film follows a dysfunctional family’s Christmas
descent into mayhem when an estranged and obnoxious brother shows up for the
Holiday. Visit www.cooperscamerathemovie.com

About Buck Productions
Buck Productions was founded in 1997 by Producer/Director Sean Buckley and has been
something of an insider’s secret ever since. The company has evolved into an innovative
and diverse production house, producing an array of film and television content in a
variety of genres.
Today, Buck is one of Toronto’s foremost production companies, small enough to
support independent producers and productions, but large enough to produce feature
length films, documentaries, episodic television, and a wide variety of commercials. To
learn more about Buck, please visit www.buckproductions.com.

About Darius Films
Darius Films is a leading film and production company with offices in Los Angeles and
Toronto. Founded by Nicholas Tabarrok in 1996, Darius Films has produced over a
dozen films which have played at some of the most prestigious film festivals and been
released in theatres, television and home video around the world. For more on Darius,
visit www.dariusfilms.com.

About Boutique Films
Boutique Films is a film distribution company with offices in Los Angeles and Toronto.
Founded in Spring 2008 by John Kozman and Nicholas Tabarrok, Boutique Films works
on behalf of its producers in domestic and international markets. The company can
already count its first film feature, Coopers’ Camera, as a selection in the 2008 Toronto
International Film Festival ®.


Cannot wait!

V.