David Koepp
| David Koepp | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 9, 1963 Pewaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Occupation | Screenwriter, director |
| Spouse(s) | Melissa Thomas |
David Koepp (born June 9, 1963) is an American screenwriter and director. Koepp is the fifth most successful screenwriter of all time in terms of U.S. box office receipts with a total gross of over $2.3 billion.[1]
Koepp has achieved both critical and commerical success in a wide variety of genres: thriller, science fiction, comedy, action, drama, crime, superhero, horror, adventure, and fantasy.
Some of the best known films he has written include the sci-fi adventure films Jurassic Park (1993), The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008); the action spy films Mission: Impossible (1996) and Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014); the superhero film Spider-Man (2002); the sci-fi disaster film War of the Worlds (2005) and the mystery thriller Angels & Demons (2009). Koepp has directed six films over the course of his career: The Trigger Effect (1996), Stir of Echoes (1999), Secret Window (2004), Ghost Town (2008), Premium Rush (2012), and Mortdecai (2015).
Contents
Career
As a writer, Koepp has worked on blockbuster Hollywood films such as Jurassic Park, Mission Impossible, and Spider-Man. He appeared briefly as "Unlucky Bastard", the man mauled by a T. rex in San Diego in The Lost World: Jurassic Park, on which he worked as a writer and second unit director. Although Koepp did not write Jurassic Park III, he did devise the film's basic storyline.[2][3] Koepp later declined an offer to write a script for the series' fourth film, Jurassic World, as he felt he had nothing left to contribute to the series.[4]
Koepp was reportedly paid $4,000,000 for his Panic Room screenplay. He wrote the screenplay for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and co-wrote and directed 2008's Ghost Town starring Ricky Gervais and Greg Kinnear.
Koepp's work as a director has not had quite the same box office success. His films include Secret Window, Stir of Echoes, and The Trigger Effect.
Koepp has also worked in television, creating the 2002 series Hack starring David Morse.
In 2012, Koepp directed Premium Rush, which he co-wrote with John Kamps.[5] In an August 2011 lawsuit, Joe Quirk, the author of the 1998 novel The Ultimate Rush, accused Koepp and the makers of Premium Rush of copyright infringement.[6] On April 2, 2013, U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg dismissed this case, finding that the two works were not substantially similar.[7]
On February 17, 2013, Koepp received the WGA East's Ian McClellan Hunter Award for Career Achievement.[8]
On July 10, 2013, Lionsgate was reported to have acquired the comedic crime novel The Great Mortdecai Moustache Mystery, written by Kyril Bonfiglioli.[9] Koepp directed the film, titled Mortdecai, from a script by Eric Aronson;[10] Johnny Depp played the lead role of Charlie Mortdecai,[11] and the film also featured Gwyneth Paltrow, Ewan McGregor, and Paul Bettany.[12] Koepp adapted the Marcus Sakey novel Brilliance, which will star Will Smith and Noomi Rapace.[13]
Personal life
Koepp was born in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, to a family therapist mother and Donald Koepp, who owns a billboard company.[14][15] While attending Kettle Moraine High School in Wales, Wisconsin, he worked evenings and weekends at the McDonald's restaurant in Delafield. He received his bachelor's in film from UCLA. He has four children and a wife, Melissa.
Filmography
Feature films
| Year | Title | Contribution | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Apartment Zero | Writer | with Martin Donovan |
| 1990 | Bad Influence | Writer | |
| 1990 | I Come in Peace | Writer (as Leonard Maas, Jr.) | with Jonathan Tydor and John Kamps |
| 1990 | Why Me? | Writer (as Leonard Maas, Jr.) | with Donald E. Westlake, based on Westlake's novel |
| 1991 | Toy Soldiers | Writer | with Daniel Petrie, Jr. |
| 1992 | Death Becomes Her | Writer | with Martin Donovan |
| 1993 | Jurassic Park | Writer | with Michael Crichton |
| 1993 | Carlito's Way | Writer | based on the novels Carlito's Way and After Hours by Judge Edwin Torres. |
| 1994 | The Paper | Writer | with Stephen Koepp |
| 1994 | The Shadow | Writer | |
| 1996 | Mission: Impossible | Writer | with Robert Towne and Steven Zaillian |
| 1996 | The Trigger Effect | Writer/Director | with Robert Towne |
| 1997 | The Lost World: Jurassic Park | Writer | |
| 1998 | Snake Eyes | Writer | story by Brian De Palma and Koepp |
| 1999 | Stir of Echoes | Writer/Director | |
| 2002 | Panic Room | Writer | |
| 2002 | Spider-Man | Writer | |
| 2004 | Secret Window | Writer/Director | |
| 2005 | Zathura | Writer | with John Kamps |
| 2005 | War of the Worlds | Writer | with Josh Friedman |
| 2008 | Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull | Writer (screenplay) | story by George Lucas and Jeff Nathanson |
| 2008 | Ghost Town | Writer/Director | with John Kamps |
| 2009 | Angels & Demons | Writer | with Akiva Goldsman |
| 2009 | The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 | Writer | (uncredited) |
| 2011 | The Little Engine That Could | Writer | |
| 2012 | Premium Rush | Writer/Director | with John Kamps |
| 2012 | Men in Black 3 | Writer | (uncredited) with Jeff Nathanson and Michael Soccio |
| 2014 | Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit | Writer | with Adam Cozad, Anthony Peckham and Steven Zaillian |
| 2015 | Mortdecai | Director | |
| 2016 | Inferno | Writer |
Short films
| Year | Title | Contribution | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Suspicious | Writer/Director |
Television
| Year | Title | Contribution | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Hack | Writer | (also series creator) |
| 2003 | Suspense | Director | TV film |
References
- ↑ Box Office Mojo - People Index
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- ↑ Stevens, Elizabeth Lesly, "A Big Hollywood Movie Is Coming, and a Novelist Cries Foul", The New York Times, August 20, 2011
- ↑ Gardner, Eriq, "Sony Pictures Wins 'Premium Rush' Theft Lawsuit", "The Hollywood Reporter", April 3, 2013
- ↑ McNary, Dave, "WGA East Honors Koepp", "Variety", January 29, 2013
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- ↑ David Koepp Biography (1963-)
- ↑ [1]
