Kansas City director’s career takes off, with boost from Will Smith, Gabrielle Union

Morgan Cooper’s first foray into filmmaking was what he jokingly calls a “real learning experience.” But at the time, it wasn’t so funny.

“I was running around East and South Kansas City shooting music videos for gangstas and drug dealers — that was my clientele,” Cooper recalls. “They’d pay me $300 to shoot and edit the video myself, then turn it around in a week. And that was how I paid my rent.”

The story became the basis for Cooper’s latest film, “U Shoot Videos?” The powerhouse featurette offers a provocative look at the unglamorous realities of trying to jumpstart a movie career.

The reality of Cooper’s career of late has been nothing short of miraculous.

In the year since he gambled on a move to Los Angeles, Will Smith and numerous other celebrities have publicly praised Cooper’s work, he was signed to industry titan Creative Artists Agency (CAA), and he partnered with movie star Gabrielle Union to produce a series set in Kansas City.

“It’s really important to me that I’m saying something through the work,” Cooper says. “I don’t want to just take up air time. I don’t want to just create meaningless content. Sure, I want everything to be entertaining. But, ultimately, it’s important to use the platform to open up people’s minds to experiences and perspectives that they may not be familiar with.”

A fresh ‘Fresh Prince’

That was the strategy for Cooper’s breakthrough effort “Bel-Air,” which, like “U Shoot Videos?,” was released last year. The faux trailer envisions what would happen if “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” were made today. Instead of a light-hearted comedic romp, Cooper delivers a dramatic, poignant clash of culture and class.

The trailer notched more than 5 million views on YouTube.

Cooper got the idea while driving beneath an overpass on U.S. 71.

“I think people saw the sincerity in my approach to the material,” the 28-year-old says. “I didn’t make this in an attempt to go viral; I made this because I had something to say. I had to take on this material and how I wanted to reimagine it and decided to pursue it with everything I had.”

He shot the “Philadelphia” sequences around Kansas City, using local actors.

Within a few days after the debut of “Bel-Air,” major celebrities, actors and filmmakers began talking about it on social media.

“Alyssa Milano tweeted it. Ava DuVernay tweeted me, and I ended up having a 30-minute conversation with her, and she gave me just some of the best advice,” he says of the “Selma” director. “It started circulating like mad all throughout Hollywood, and nearly every agency and studio in Hollywood reached out to me.”

This included the Fresh Prince himself. Smith invited Cooper to Florida to discuss the project. Smith filmed the conversation and put it up on YouTube, earning millions more views.

“Will gave me a lot of amazing advice down in Miami about constantly reinventing yourself and growing, as an artist, as a man,” Cooper says. “He’s somebody who’s had a career that spanned decades now, and he’s always reinventing himself. First he was a rapper, and then he became an actor. Now he’s a social media personality and business mogul. He planted a lot of seeds in my mind regarding the next 15 to 20 years of my career.”

Those working in Hollywood who also hail from Kansas City particularly took notice.

“Like many people, I saw the ‘Bel-Air’ trailer and was blown away. Just amazed at how much creativity went into it and how well it was shot,” says Aaron Rahsaan Thomas, a fellow KC native who is the executive producer of the CBS crime drama “S.W.A.T.”

“That incredible trailer flips the tone and expectation in a clever way. It takes something many are familiar with and views it from a different but no less legitimate POV.”

It was when Thomas watched Cooper’s interview with Will Smith that he realized their shared hometown connection. He made it a priority “to reach out to another brotha from KC looking to tell dope visual stories.”

Thomas adds, “Morgan is one of the most positive people you’ll ever meet. And that’s contagious. He also has tremendous love for where he comes from. … And, with every project, he’s growing as a storyteller. Between his optimism and ambition, he’ll be a force for years to come.”

Made in Kansas City

Born in KCMO, Cooper spent most of his childhood in Grandview and Martin City before moving to Lee’s Summit at age 15.

His artistic path commenced while standing in line of a Best Buy to buy a Canon T2i on his 18th birthday.

“When I put the battery in and looked in the viewfinder, I was never the same. I knew at that point this will be a part of me,” he says.

In addition to his music video gigs, he took on commercial jobs as a production assistant, photo assistant, grip and electric worker before transitioning to cinematography. He claims he’s never had a “normal job” since graduating from Lee’s Summit North High School.

He drew from his early personal experience for his featurette “U Shoot Videos?” Denzel Whitaker stars as Moji, a young KC filmmaker forced to direct rap videos for those often more interested in showing off gunplay than wordplay.

“Coming out of high school in Kansas City, there’s really no infrastructure in terms of getting plugged into the industry. Oftentimes, as a black creative, you feel like you’re on the outside looking in. … So I had to learn by doing and stepping into a lot of uncomfortable situations,” he says.

Cinematographer Ernest Dickerson remains his filmmaking idol.

“Our path has definitely been parallel in a sense because Dickerson started out as a cinematographer shooting a lot of Spike Lee’s films. And he transitioned into directing. One of my favorite films of all time is called ‘Juice’ that stars Tupac Shakur and Omar Epps. He definitely had an indelible mark, in terms of the artists who have inspired me,” Cooper says.

Cooper’s first major production after signing with CAA will be the upcoming “Black Coffee.” He sold the dramedy to Quibi, the “quick bites” platform founded by industry veteran Jeffrey Katzenberg. Cooper is producing it with Gabrielle Union (“Think Like a Man”) and Sony Pictures TV.

“Our main protagonist is a former basketball player who gets hurt in college and ends up staying in the Pacific Northwest. He falls in love with coffee and becomes a barista champion, then decides to move back home to his old neighborhood in Kansas City to open up a coffee shop,” Cooper says.

The plan is to shoot the 10-minute episodes in KC by the start of next year.

“When you go outside of Kansas City, most people never think about it. It’s just considered a flyover city that never hits their radar. But this is where so much of my perspective as an artist comes from,” he says. “Things that I’ve seen and experienced — the culture and food and rich music tradition — all have played a part in how I view the world.”

Now writing his debut feature, Cooper is hoping the move to Los Angeles will take his career to places once thought impossible —or at least improbable.

“Starting out in this business is really hard,” he says. “For a long time you ask yourself, ‘Am I just spinning my wheels? Is this even possible?’ I want people to know you can be from the Midwest. You can be from Kansas City. And then you can find yourself sitting in front of Will Smith.”

Jon Niccum is a filmmaker, freelance writer and author of “The Worst Gig: From Psycho Fans to Stage Riots, Famous Musicians Tell All.”

This story was originally published March 1, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Kansas City director’s career takes off, with boost from Will Smith, Gabrielle Union."