BIOGRAPHY

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Filmmaker Matthew Cooke is most known for his social justice and advocacy commentaries — seen over 100 million times on FaceBook — shared and promoted by the ACLU, World Star Hip Hop, Bernie Sanders, Cornel West, Susan Sarandon, Julian Lennon, DL Hughley, Adrian Grenier, RYOT, Anonymous and more.

In 2016 the Bernie Sanders Presidential campaign engaged Cooke to host endorsement videos with Sanders, Mark Ruffalo, Susan Sarandon, Rosario Dawson, Danny DeVito...

For his social activism Cooke has been invited to speak at NYU, University of Texas, TEDx in Vienna, and was honored to join Sankofa (Harry Belafonte’s organization of artists for social change). Larry King regularly has him guest host his show "PoliticKING".
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Cooke began his work as a pioneer in web development in the late 1990s designing some of the first commercial websites for Capital Records creating sites for the Beach Boys, Grand Funk Railroad and more.

He and his garage-based company partners created the first broadband search engine for AOL/Time-Warner and Intel called Rampt in 1999. The site would go on to win multiple awards including Best of the Web from Print magazine and a Webby. Soon after, Cooke taught photoshop and digital creative directing at Otis College of Art & Design.

In 2006 Cooke produced and edited his first feature film, DELIVER US FROM EVIL which earned the Academy Award Nomination for Best Documentary film, made over 100 critics “best of” lists and is one of Rotten Tomatoes top 100 best reviewed films of all time.

In 2010 Cooke partnered with long-time friend Adrian Grenier to produce and edit the critically acclaimed HBO Documentary TEENAGE PAPARAZZO featuring Grenier, Matt Damon, Whoopie Goldberg, Alec Baldwin, Rosie O’Donnell and many more.

In 2013 Cooke wrote, directed and narrated HOW TO MAKE MONEY SELLING DRUGS featuring Eminem, 50 Cent, Susan Sarandon, Woody Harrelson and David Simon (creator of HBO’s The Wire).

"DRUGS" was distributed by Robert DeNiro’s Tribeca Film and premiered at #1 on iTunes and Amazon Prime where it remained for over 6 weeks. DRUGS was heavily supported by Time / Warner cable on-demand, won the audience award at every festival on its tour and earned the International Documentary Association's “Best Writing Award” for 2013.

Cooke’s credits on DRUGS also include: editor, cinematographer, motion graphics designer and art director.

Throughout the late 2000's Cooke and Emmy Award Winning Producer Steve DeVore made commercial documentaries for WGN tv series the Manhattan Project, the Salem Witch Trials, and the Secrets of Shay Mountain.

In 2018 Cooke and DeVore completed SURVIVORS GUIDE TO PRISON featuring Prophets of Rage members: Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine), Chuck D (Public Enemy), and B-Real (Cypress Hill); RZA (wu tang), Q Tip (Tribe Called Quest), Quincy Jones, Patricia Arquette, Deepak Chopra, Russell Simmons, Brandon Boyd (Incubus), Busta Rhymes, Ice T, Danny Glover, Cynthia Nixon, Warren G and many more. Produced by David and Christina Arquette, Gina Belafonte, Adrian Grenier and Jesse Williams. executive produced by Susan Sarandon. 

SURVIVORS GUIDE TO PRISON debuted at #1 on Amazon, iTunes and Apple TV. Debuted on NETFLIX in both the POPULAR and CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED sections and has a 100% critics consensus on Rotten Tomatoes.

In the the early 2000s, Cooke acted in and directed short films and comedy sketches for FUEL TV. In 2007 he wrote the screenplay sequel to THE FALCON AND THE SNOWMAN which was assigned to A-list agents at ICM.

Since then he's written 4 fiction screenplays that are currently in development including RAPID EYE MOVEMENT which was optioned by producers of Logan / Wolverine / X-Men and Amazon Studios.

​In the late 80s / 90s Cooke played drums, bass and guitar in the Chicago music scene with the bands "Jest", "Nat Dan & Dave" and "Angerhaus", who later formed Dillinger Four whose music is featured in "Survivors Guide to Prison".