Plot, Cast, Release Date, and Everything Else We Know
As DB Cooper is one of the FBI’s most famous unsolved mystery cases to date, remaining the only unsolved air piracy in commercial aviation history, the infamous hijacker is an iconic, storied figure in the genre of true crime as evidenced by his many depictions in pop culture. From films like The Pursuit of DB Cooper (1981) to the Netflix miniseries DB Cooper: Where Are You?! (2022) to the uncountable appearances and references in various television shows from Twin Peaks to Newsradio to Loki, and even celebrated by an annual convention, CooperCon, held annually in Vancouver, Washington, the never captured criminal has long enjoyed an intriguing celebrity status.
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TJ Regan’s upcoming crime drama, I Am DB Cooper, yet again touches on the mysterious caper of the unknown skyjacker. Here’s the lowdown on the thriller/pseudo-documentary set to be released next month.
I Am DB Cooper: The Plot
This new modern take on the well-worn tale concerns two bounty hunters, Mike and Carlos Rocha, who meet an old crusty, mysterious man named Rodney Bonnifield, who suspiciously claims to be DB Cooper. Juicier still is that he proposes that they help him dig up the cash he hid from the robbery half a century ago.
The narrative is enhanced, documentary-style, by archival footage and re-enactments of the crime.
I Am DB Cooper: The Cast & Crew
Starring as Cooper is Ryan Cory, an actor whose only previous credits are as a studio director of photography on a couple of Pearl Jam videos. Joining Cory is an interesting blend of characters, including Trevor Butcher as FO William Rataczak, Tyler Roy Roberts as DB’s brother, Chris Grounds as Marty, and, most interesting, Rainee Blake as singer Rita Coolidge. The ensemble also features Joshua Chessin-Yudin, Julie Schaller, Alexis Toone, director Regan, and the film’s co-writer Sharmila Sahni in minor roles.
Blake’s role as Coolidge will be one to watch for as the actress-singer has put in notable appearances on such TV series as Nashville and Dance Academy, and what the connection is to the musical artist whose song “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” was a big hit in the era the film re-creates. Blake also worked on the film’s soundtrack with composer Erik Groysman.
The mildly anticipated film was directed and co-written by Regan, who began his filmmaking career with the 2020 NBA documentary gap year, about basketball player Darius Bazley, on which he shared his director credit with Josh Kahn. Regan and co-writer Sahni also co-produced I Am DB Cooper with John Miller and Corey Molina. Other notable names in the production are boom operator/sound mixer Jacob Eliett, Camera and Electrical Department supervisor Christopher A. Brown, Editorial Department head Gennady Fridman, and editing consultant for the music department Heather Youmans, who also serves as an off-camera session singer.
release date
I Am DB Cooper is set to be released on Friday, December 9, 2022. It won’t be exclusively at theaters as it will drop On Demand the same day. The 2022 production by Gravitas Ventures is arriving on schedule, which is apt for the company that bills itself as a cutting-edge 21st-century independent film distributor. Also releasing that day are 19 other movies, including Emancipation, Idina Menzel: Which Way to the Stage?, and It’s a Wonderful Binge, so the ambitiously retro effort has some interesting competition.
Everything Else We Know About I Am DB Cooper
The limited release in selected theaters across the country promises an exploration into the man responsible for the 1971 plane hijacking in the Pacific Northwest. The ransom cash is still presumed to be buried along the Columbia River. With the mysterious Rodney due to go to prison, the bounty hunter brothers set out on the hunt for DB Cooper’s long-buried loot, uncovering revelations about the possible identity of Bonnifield and what really went down in the only unsolved plane hijacking in US history.
Whatever its fate, whether critically or by audience’s ratings, Regan’s I Am DB Cooper is joining the film legacy of the iconic criminal that began with Roger Spottiswoode’s The Pursuit of DB Cooper (1981), starring Treat Williams; Without a Paddle (2004), starring Seth Green; John Dower’s documentary The Mystery of DB Cooper (2020), and even the wonderfully absurd Bigfoot vs. DB Cooper (2014).
The mythic presence of the historic hijacker in motion picture pop culture will likely continue as interest in the man looks to be nowhere near declining, as evidenced by the resurgence in such re-creations of the epic event. Whether I Am DB Cooper adds anything new to his story is yet to be seen. Still, it will be notable as another cinematic stamp on the entire, forever fascinating legend.