EXCLUSIVE: Barry Cooper can safely be called a renegade. He served in law enforcement – as a police officer in Texas, but some might say he then switched sides.
The documentary Never Get Busted, premiering at the Sundance Film Festival, gets deep into Cooper’s story, one that has seen him “relocate” from Texas to Brazil, with authorities in pursuit. David Anthony Ngo and Erin Williams-Weir directed the documentary, which bows in the festival’s Episodics section (the project was initially conceived as a docuseries, but it eventually morphed into a feature doc). We have your first look at Never Get Busted in the clip below.
“Barry Cooper is an expert at hiding drugs, evading police, and raising hell!” notes a synopsis. “But once upon a time he was a highly decorated Narcotics Officer, spearheading the War on Drugs in Texas for one of the most notorious drug task forces in American history.
“After a raid goes wrong, destroying a family not unlike his own, Barry’s conscious gets the better of him and he quits the force. He soon falls in love with Candi, a weed dealer, and has a drug induced epiphany: he’s been fighting for the wrong side!”
The synopsis continues, “Using stolen police tapes, including his own dash cam footage, he creates a DVD series teaching drug users how to hide their stash – and becomes an instant media sensation.
“But his press tour doesn’t make everyone happy!
“When the police retaliate for what they perceive as this ultimate betrayal, Barry ups the ante and starts busting crooked cops on camera.”
Never Get Busted is a Projector Films production presented by Screen Australia in association with Ventureland, Library Films, Australian Production House, Pinnacle Films and The South Australian Film Corporation. It is an acquisition title at Sundance; Submarine (Josh Braun and Dan Braun) along with Blue Ant Media are repping the film for worldwide rights.
Producers are Erin Williams-Weir, David Anthony Ngo, Daniel Joyce and Louise Schultze. Executive producers are Oscar nominee John Battsek (Bobi Wine: The People’s President, Beckham) and Emmy winner Chris Smith (Tiger King, 100 Foot Wave).
Directors Erin Williams-Weir and David Anthony Ngo
Projector Films
“The story takes the audience into covertly filmed police corruption, scenes of religious fervor, Hollywood pitch meetings, and the ultimate downfall of one of America’s most brazen activists,” filmmakers Ngo and Williams-Weir write in a directors’ statement. “In personal home videos, clandestine recordings, Barry’s own police dash cam footage, prime-time news, and present-day interviews, we see his story unravel in a form of macabre and exhilarating entertainment.”
The filmmakers continue, “In addition to the vast kaleidoscope of archival footage (more than 300 hours!), the film juxtaposes the grainy reality of Barry’s life with vibrant animation to bring to life the more psychedelic events in Barry’s journey with drugs. The vision is backed by a killer soundtrack of ‘needle drop’ tracks mixed with musical score, that mimics the ‘vibe’ of Barry’s chaotic life as he speeds towards a head on collision with Texas law enforcement.”
Never Get Busted will be available online for credentialed press and industry from January 29–February 2.
Watch the clip from the film here:
