David Koepp

David Koepp
David Koepp, 2022
Born	(1963-06-09)June 9, 1963 Pewaukee,Wisconsin,U.S.
Alma mater	University of California, Los Angeles
Occupations	Screenwriter film director film producer author
Years active	1988–present
Known for	Jurassic Park Carlito's Way Mission: Impossible Spider-Man Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Spouse	Melissa Thomas
Children	4
Awards	WGA East's Ian McLellan Hunter Award for Career Achievement Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation Saturn Award for Best Writing Fantastic'Arts Grand Prize

David Koepp(/kɛp/;born June 9, 1963) is an American screenwriter and director. He is the ninth most successful screenwriter of all time in terms of U.S. box office receipts with a total gross of over $2.3 billion.Koepp has achieved both critical and commercial success in a wide variety of genres:thriller,science fiction,comedy,action,drama,crime,superhero,horror,adventure,andfantasy.

Some of the best-known films he has written include the sci-fi adventure filmsJurassic Park(1993),The Lost World: Jurassic Park(1997), andIndiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull(2008); the crime filmCarlito's Way(1993); the action spy filmsMission: Impossible(1996) andJack Ryan: Shadow Recruit(2014); the superhero filmSpider-Man(2002); the sci-fi disaster filmWar of the Worlds(2005) and the mystery thrillerAngels & Demons(2009). Koepp has directed seven feature films over the course of his career:The Trigger Effect(1996),Stir of Echoes(1999),Secret Window(2004),Ghost Town(2008),Premium Rush(2012),Mortdecai(2015), andYou Should Have Left(2020).

Early life and education

Koepp was born inPewaukee, Wisconsinas the youngest of four children, to Donald Koepp, who owned abillboardcompany,and a family therapist mother.While attendingKettle Moraine High SchoolinWales, Wisconsin,he worked evenings and weekends at theMcDonald'srestaurant inDelafield.Originally studying to become an actor, first at theUniversity of Minnesotafor a year and afterwards at theUniversity of Wisconsin–Madisonfor two years, he enrolled in the film school of theUniversity of California, Los Angeles(UCLA) in 1984.He graduated with a bachelor's degree in film from UCLA in 1990.

Career

As a writer, Koepp worked on blockbusterHollywoodfilms such asJurassic ParkwithSteven Spielberg,Mission: ImpossiblewithBrian De PalmaandSpider-ManwithSam Raimi.He had acameo appearanceas the "Unlucky Bastard", a minor character devoured by aT. rexroamingSan DiegoinThe Lost World: Jurassic Park,which he co-wrote and was second unit director of. Although Koepp did not writeJurassic Park III,he did devise the film's basic storyline.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.

Koepp was reportedly paid $4,000,000 for hisPanic Roomscreenplay. He wrote the screenplay forIndiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal SkullforSpielbergandGeorge Lucasand co-wrote and directed 2008'sGhost TownstarringRicky GervaisandGreg Kinnear.

Koepp's work as a director has not had quite the same box office success. His films includeSecret Window,Stir of Echoes,andThe Trigger Effect.

Koepp has also worked in television, creating the 2002 seriesHackstarringDavid Morse.

In 2012, Koepp directedPremium Rush,which he co-wrote with John Kamps.In an August 2011 lawsuit,Joe Quirk,the author of the 1998 novelThe Ultimate Rush,accused Koepp and the makers ofPremium Rushof copyright infringement.On April 2, 2013, U.S. District JudgeRichard Seeborgdismissed this case, finding that the two works were not substantially similar.

On February 17, 2013, Koepp received the WGA East's Ian McClellan Hunter Award for Career Achievement.

On July 10, 2013,Lionsgatewas reported to have acquired the comedic crime novelThe Great Mortdecai Moustache Mystery,written byKyril Bonfiglioli.Koepp directed the film, titledMortdecai,from a script by Eric Aronson;Johnny Deppplayed the lead role of Charlie Mortdecai,and the film also featuredGwyneth Paltrow,Ewan McGregor,andPaul Bettany.Koepp adapted theMarcus SakeynovelBrilliance,which will starWill SmithandNoomi Rapace.

On March 15, 2016,The Walt Disney Companyannounceda fifth installmentof theIndiana Jonessaga, with Koepp as its screenwriter andSpielbergdirecting again.By June 2018, Koepp ultimately backed out of the project due to his commitment toYou Should Have Left,a horror drama film Koepp wrote and directed.Based on the novel of the same name byDaniel Kehlmann,You Should Have Leftwas released in 2020, and starsKevin BaconandAmanda Seyfried.The film was eventually released on June 30, 2023 but directed byJames Mangoldand written byJezandJohn-Henry Butterworth.

On September 3, 2019, Koepp made his novel debut with the publication ofCold Storage,a science-fiction thriller.Afilm adaptationwas announced in May 2022 fromStudiocanal,with Koepp writing the screenplay andJonny Campbelldirecting; the cast consists ofLiam Neeson,Joe Keery,Georgina Campbell,andSosie Bacon.

On December 10, 2020,Amasia EntertainmentandUniversal Picturesannounced Koepp had been tapped to write the script for a reboot of theGreen Hornetfranchise titledThe Green Hornet and Kato.On February 25, 2021, it was announced Koepp would write and co-produce the thrillerKimi,directed bySteven Soderberghand starringZoë Kravitz.The film was released onMax(then HBO Max) on February 10, 2022.

Koepp's second novelAurorawas published on June 7, 2022 and a film adaptation of the book is in development forNetflix,with Koepp writing the script andKathryn Bigelowdirecting.

In December 2023, it was announced that Koepp had written the screenplay for the psychological thriller filmPresence,which was directed by Soderbergh and premiered at the2024 Sundance Film Festival.On January 22, 2024, it was announced that Koepp would return to theJurassic Parkfranchise by writingJurassic World Rebirth,withGareth Edwardsdirecting and Spielberg serving as executive producer.On April 17, 2024, it was confirmed that Koepp and Spielberg would work again on an original film aboutUFOs.

Personal life

Koepp is married to Melissa Thomas, a writer, with whom he has two children.He was previously married to artist Rosario Varela, with whom he has two children.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Producer	Notes
1988	Apartment Zero	No	Yes	Yes	co-wrote withMartin Donovan
1990	Bad Influence	No	Yes	No
	Why Me?	No	Yes	No	credited as Leonard Maas Jr. co-wrote withDonald E. Westlake
	I Come in Peace	No	Yes	No	credited as Leonard Maas Jr. co-wrote with Jonathan Tydor
1991	Toy Soldiers	No	Yes	No	co-wrote withDaniel Petrie Jr.
1992	Death Becomes Her	No	Yes	No	co-wrote withMartin Donovan
1993	Jurassic Park	No	Yes	No	co-wrote withMichael Crichton
	Carlito's Way	No	Yes	No
1994	The Paper	No	Yes	Co-producer	co-wrote withStephen Koepp
	The Shadow	No	Yes	No
	Suspicious	Yes	Yes	No	Short film
1996	Mission: Impossible	No	Yes	No	co-wrote withRobert TowneandSteven Zaillian
	The Trigger Effect	Yes	Yes	No
1997	The Lost World: Jurassic Park	No	Yes	No	Also second unit director and cameo
1998	Snake Eyes	No	Yes	No	co-wrote withBrian De Palma
1999	Stir of Echoes	Yes	Yes	No
2002	Panic Room	No	Yes	Yes
	Spider-Man	No	Yes	No
2004	Secret Window	Yes	Yes	No
2005	War of the Worlds	No	Yes	No	co-wrote withJosh Friedman
	Zathura: A Space Adventure	No	Yes	No	co-wrote with John Kamps
2008	Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull	No	Yes	No	co-wrote withGeorge LucasandJeff Nathanson
	Ghost Town	Yes	Yes	No	co-wrote with John Kamps
2009	Angels & Demons	No	Yes	No	co-wrote withAkiva Goldsman
2011	The Little Engine That Could	No	Yes	No	co-wrote with John Kamps, Cliff Ruby and Elana Lesser
2012	Premium Rush	Yes	Yes	No	co-wrote with John Kamps
2014	Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit	No	Yes	No	co-wrote withAdam Cozad
2015	Mortdecai	Yes	No	No
2016	Inferno	No	Yes	No
2017	The Mummy	No	Yes	No	co-wrote withChristopher McQuarrieandDylan Kussman
2020	You Should Have Left	Yes	Yes	No
2022	Kimi	No	Yes	Yes
2023	Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny	No	Yes	No	co-wrote withJez Butterworth,John-Henry ButterworthandJames Mangold
2024	Presence	No	Yes	Executive
2025	Jurassic World: Rebirth	No	Yes	No	Filming
TBA	Cold Storage	No	Yes	Yes	based on his novel
	Black Bag	No	Yes	No	Filming

Television

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Notes
2002	Hack	No	Yes	Creator
2003	Suspense	Yes	No	TV movie

Unproduced scripts

Year	Title	Notes
1987	FatCity Upside Down
1990	Here and There
1997	Blackwater	co-wrote withBrian De Palma
1998	Mr. Hughes
1999	The Sea-Wolf
2000	The Superconducting Supercollider of Sparkle Creek, Wisconsin	co-wrote with John Kamps
2001	A Trip Uptown
2002	Amazing Spider-Man
2009	Billionaire's Vinegar	co-wrote with John Kamps
	Article II
	Pirate Latitudes
2011	Spy vs. Spy	co-wrote with John Kamps
	The Thin Man
2012	The Wind
2014	Brilliance
2015	The Themis Files
2017	Bride of Frankenstein
2018	Blackhawk
2020	Green Hornet and Kato
2022	Aurora	based on his novel

Bibliography

• — (2019).Cold Storage: A Novel.New York:Ecco.ISBN978-0-06-291643-3.LCCN2018057661.OCLC1078435646.
• — (2022).Aurora: A Novel.New York:Harper.ISBN978-0-06-291647-1.

External links

• David KoeppatIMDb