Barry Michael Cooper, ‘New Jack City’ Writer, Dies at 66
variety.comMatt Minton mminton@variety.com Barry Michael Cooper, a writer and producer who co-wrote the blaxploitation ’90s classic “New Jack City” and finished his “Harlem trilogy” writing “Sugar Hill” and “Above the Rim,” died in Baltimore, Md.
on Tuesday. He was 66. Cooper’s death was confirmed by a representative for Spike Lee. The pair collaborated on the Netflix series adaptation of Lee’s debut feature “She’s Gotta Have It.” Cooper served as a producer for both seasons, and a write for three episodes.
Cooper made his feature screenwriting debut with Mario Van Peebles’ “New Jack City,” which he co-wrote with Thomas Lee Wright.
The film starred Wesley Snipes and Ice-T as a gang leader and a hardened cop, dodging one another amid a crack epidemic in Harlem.
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