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David Koepp

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David Koepp
David Koepp, 2022
Born (1963-06-09) June 9, 1963 (age 61)
Pewaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of California, Los Angeles
Occupations
  • Screenwriter
  • film director
  • film producer
  • author
Years active1988–present
Known for
SpouseMelissa Thomas
Children4
Awards

David Koepp (/kɛp/;[1] 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.[2] Koepp has achieved both critical and commercial 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 crime film Carlito's Way (1993); 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 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), and You Should Have Left (2020).

Early life and education

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Koepp was born in Pewaukee, Wisconsin as the youngest of four children, to Donald Koepp, who owned a billboard company,[3] and a family therapist mother.[4] While attending Kettle Moraine High School in Wales, Wisconsin, he worked evenings and weekends at the McDonald's restaurant in Delafield.[citation needed] Originally studying to become an actor, first at the University of Minnesota for a year and afterwards at the University of Wisconsin–Madison for two years, he enrolled in the film school of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1984.[4][5][6] He graduated with a bachelor's degree in film from UCLA in 1990.[7]

Career

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As a writer, Koepp worked on blockbuster Hollywood films such as Jurassic Park with Steven Spielberg, Mission: Impossible with Brian De Palma and Spider-Man with Sam Raimi. He had a cameo appearance as the "Unlucky Bastard", a minor character devoured by a T. rex roaming San Diego in The Lost World: Jurassic Park, which he co-wrote and was second unit director of. Although Koepp did not write Jurassic Park III, he did devise the film's basic storyline.[8][9] 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.[10]

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 for Spielberg and George Lucas 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.[11] 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.[12] On April 2, 2013, U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg dismissed this case, finding that the two works were not substantially similar.[13]

On February 17, 2013, Koepp received the WGA East's Ian McClellan Hunter Award for Career Achievement.[14]

On July 10, 2013, Lionsgate was reported to have acquired the comedic crime novel The Great Mortdecai Moustache Mystery, written by Kyril Bonfiglioli.[15] Koepp directed the film, titled Mortdecai, from a script by Eric Aronson;[16] Johnny Depp played the lead role of Charlie Mortdecai,[17] and the film also featured Gwyneth Paltrow, Ewan McGregor, and Paul Bettany.[18] Koepp adapted the Marcus Sakey novel Brilliance, which will star Will Smith and Noomi Rapace.[19]

On March 15, 2016, The Walt Disney Company announced a fifth installment of the Indiana Jones saga, with Koepp as its screenwriter and Spielberg directing again.[20][21] By June 2018, Koepp ultimately backed out of the project due to his commitment to You Should Have Left, a horror drama film Koepp wrote and directed.[22] Based on the novel of the same name by Daniel Kehlmann, You Should Have Left was released in 2020, and stars Kevin Bacon and Amanda Seyfried.[23][24] The film was eventually released on June 30, 2023 but directed by James Mangold and written by Jez and John-Henry Butterworth.

On September 3, 2019, Koepp made his novel debut with the publication of Cold Storage, a science-fiction thriller.[25] A film adaptation was announced in May 2022 from Studiocanal, with Koepp writing the screenplay and Jonny Campbell directing; the cast consists of Liam Neeson, Joe Keery, Georgina Campbell, and Sosie Bacon.[26][27]

On December 10, 2020, Amasia Entertainment and Universal Pictures announced Koepp had been tapped to write the script for a reboot of the Green Hornet franchise titled The Green Hornet and Kato.[28] On February 25, 2021, it was announced Koepp would write and co-produce the thriller Kimi, directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Zoë Kravitz.[29] The film was released on Max (then HBO Max) on February 10, 2022.[30]

Koepp's second novel Aurora was published on June 7, 2022 and a film adaptation of the book is in development for Netflix, with Koepp writing the script and Kathryn Bigelow directing.[31]

In December 2023, it was announced that Koepp had written the screenplay for the psychological thriller film Presence, which was directed by Soderbergh and premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.[32] On January 22, 2024, it was announced that Koepp would return to the Jurassic Park franchise by writing Jurassic World Rebirth, with Gareth Edwards directing and Spielberg serving as executive producer.[33][34] On April 17, 2024, it was confirmed that Koepp and Spielberg would work again on an original film about UFOs, which will be released in theatres by Universal Pictures on May 15, 2026.[35][36]

Personal life

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Koepp is married to Melissa Thomas, a writer, with whom he has two children.[37][38] He was previously married to artist Rosario Varela, with whom he has two children.[4][39]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes
1988 Apartment Zero No Yes Yes co-wrote with Martin Donovan
1990 Bad Influence No Yes No
Why Me? No Yes No
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 with Daniel Petrie Jr.
1992 Death Becomes Her No Yes No co-wrote with Martin Donovan
1993 Jurassic Park No Yes No co-wrote with Michael Crichton
Carlito's Way No Yes No
1994 The Paper No Yes Co-producer co-wrote with Stephen Koepp
The Shadow No Yes No
Suspicious Yes Yes No Short film
1996 Mission: Impossible No Yes No co-wrote with Robert Towne and Steven 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 with Brian 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 with Josh 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 with George Lucas and Jeff Nathanson
Ghost Town Yes Yes No co-wrote with John Kamps
2009 Angels & Demons No Yes No co-wrote with Akiva 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 with Adam Cozad
2015 Mortdecai Yes No No
2016 Inferno No Yes No
2017 The Mummy No Yes No co-wrote with Christopher McQuarrie and Dylan 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 with Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth and James Mangold[40]
2024 Presence No Yes Executive
2025 Black Bag No Yes No Post-production
Jurassic World Rebirth No Yes No Post-production
TBA Cold Storage No Yes Yes based on his novel[41]

Television

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

Unproduced scripts

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Year Title Notes
1987 FatCity Upside Down
1990 Here and There
1997 Blackwater co-wrote with Brian 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[42] co-wrote with John Kamps
Article II[42]
Pirate Latitudes[43]
2011 Spy vs. Spy[44] co-wrote with John Kamps
The Thin Man[45]
2012 The Wind[46]
2014 Brilliance[47]
2015 The Themis Files[48]
2017 Bride of Frankenstein[49]
2018 Blackhawk[50]
2020 Green Hornet and Kato[51]
2022 Aurora[52][53] based on his novel

Bibliography

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  • — (2019). Cold Storage: A Novel. New York: Ecco. ISBN 978-0-06-291643-3. LCCN 2018057661. OCLC 1078435646.
  • — (2022). Aurora: A Novel. New York: Harper. ISBN 978-0-06-291647-1.

References

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  1. ^ "122. David Koepp Interview, Part 2 (Screenwriter of 'Mission: Impossible')". Light the Fuse Podcast (Podcast). October 16, 2020. Event occurs at 34:45. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  2. ^ "Box Office Mojo – People Index". Boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  3. ^ [1] [dead link‍]
  4. ^ a b c Dutka, Elaine (March 29, 1994). "After navigating his way around scripts and moguls, David Koepp is on the A-list with Paper, Carlito's and Jurassic". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  5. ^ McGilligan, Patrick, ed. (2009). "David Koepp Sincerity". Backstory 5: Interviews with Screenwriters of the 1990s. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. pp. 74–76. ISBN 9780520945470. Retrieved May 13, 2023. p. 74: [Koepp:] "I spent my first year of college at the University of Minnesota. [...] I transferred to Madison, still wanting to become an actor. I spent two years in Madison [...]."
  6. ^ Owen, David (March 21, 1994). "David Koepp Is a Very Nice Screenwriter, Really". The New Yorker. Retrieved May 13, 2023. Koepp said, "[...] I wanted to be an actor, and I went to college in Madison for a couple of years, to do acting, [...] then I decided I wanted to write movies, so I transferred to the film school at U.C.L.A.."
  7. ^ Hueso, Noela (February 3, 2022). "Alumnus David Koepp writes big stories for the big (and small) screen". UCLA Newsroom. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  8. ^ "Jurassic Park 3 Director Talks Script Problems of the Upcoming Sequel". Screenwritersutopia.com. July 11, 2001. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
  9. ^ "Jumanji's Joe Johnston Joins Jurassic". About.com. Archived from the original on March 5, 2006.
  10. ^ Douglas, Edward (August 22, 2012). "Exclusive: David Koepp on Jack Ryan, Snow White & Jurassic Park". Comingsoon.net. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
  11. ^ Siegel, Tatiana (November 11, 2009). "Koepp to helm 'Premium Rush'". Variety. Reed Business Information. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
  12. ^ Stevens, Elizabeth Lesly, "A Big Hollywood Movie Is Coming, and a Novelist Cries Foul", The New York Times, August 20, 2011
  13. ^ Gardner, Eriq, "Sony Pictures Wins 'Premium Rush' Theft Lawsuit", "The Hollywood Reporter", April 3, 2013
  14. ^ McNary, Dave, "WGA East Honors Koepp", "Variety", January 29, 2013
  15. ^ "Johnny Depp to Star in 'Mortdecai' for Lionsgate, Director David Koepp". thewrap.com. July 10, 2013. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  16. ^ "David Koepp is set to direct from Eric Aronson's script". Deadline Hollywood. July 10, 2013. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  17. ^ "Johnny Depp in Talks to Star in 'Mortdecai'". hollywoodreporter.com. July 10, 2013. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  18. ^ "Gwyneth Paltrow and Ewan McGregor join Johnny Depp on Mortdecai". guardian.co.uk. July 25, 2013. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  19. ^ White, James (May 13, 2014). "Noomi Rapace Finds Brilliance". Empire. Archived from the original on May 13, 2014. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  20. ^ Agar, Chris (March 18, 2016). "Indiana Jones 5 Recruits Jurassic Park Writer David Koepp". ScreenRant.com. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  21. ^ Shepherd, Jack (March 20, 2016). "Indiana Jones 5: Crystal Skull writer David Koepp signs on to write sequel". The Independent. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  22. ^ Galuppo, Mia; Kit, Borys (June 28, 2018). "Indiana Jones 5 Delayed as New Writer Is Brought On". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
  23. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 26, 2018). "Kevin Bacon, David Koepp Making 'You Should Have Left' For Blumhouse". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 26, 2018. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  24. ^ Kit, Borys (June 7, 2018). "Amanda Seyfried Joins Kevin Bacon in Blumhouse Thriller 'You Should Have Left'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  25. ^ Koepp, David. "Cold Storage". harpercollins.com. HarperCollins Publishers. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  26. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (May 11, 2022). "Hot Cannes Package: Liam Neeson, Joe Keery Star In Jonny Campbell-Helmed Studiocanal Sci-Fi Virus Tale 'Cold Storage'; David Koepp Adapted His Novel". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  27. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (March 30, 2023). "'Smile' Star Sosie Bacon Joins Liam Neeson, Joe Keery & Georgina Campbell In Studiocanal Thriller 'Cold Storage'; Filming Underway With Lesley Manville In Final Talks". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  28. ^ Kroll, Justin (December 10, 2020). "David Koepp To Pen 'Green Hornet And Kato' Pic For Universal". Deadline. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  29. ^ Kroll, Justin (February 25, 2021). "Steven Soderbergh To Direct New Line's 'KIMI' For HBO Max With Zoë Kravitz Set To Star; David Koepp Penned The Script". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  30. ^ Lang, Brent (December 16, 2021). "Steven Soderbergh Thriller 'Kimi', Starring Zoë Kravitz, Reveals HBO Max Release Date". Variety. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  31. ^ Kroll, Justin (March 31, 2022). "Kathryn Bigelow To Direct Adaptation Of David Koepp Novel 'Aurora' For Netflix". Deadline. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  32. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony; Patten, Dominic (December 12, 2023). "Sundance Unveils Packed 2024 Lineup That Includes A.I., Pedro Pascal, Kristen Stewart, Satan, Devo & Steven Yeun". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  33. ^ Kit, Borys (January 22, 2024). "New 'Jurassic World' Movie in the Works with David Koepp Writing (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 22, 2024. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  34. ^ Kroll, Justin (February 20, 2024). "'Jurassic World': Gareth Edwards Tapped To Direct New Movie For Universal And Amblin". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  35. ^ Siegel, Tatiana (April 17, 2024). "Ageless Auteurs: Scorsese Eyes Frank Sinatra Biopic With Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence, Spielberg Tackling UFO Movie and More". Variety. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  36. ^ Rubin, Rebecca (May 23, 2024). "Steven Spielberg Sets New Film for Summer 2026, Reunites With 'Jurassic Park' and 'War of the Worlds' Screenwriter". Variety. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  37. ^ Storms, Sarah. "A Sophisticated New York City Family Home". Lonny. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  38. ^ Bernstein, Fred A. (June 30, 2019). "Fawn Galli Punches Up a Screenwriter's London Home with a Bit of Movie Magic". 1stdibs. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  39. ^ David, Mark (November 27, 2013). "David Koepp Lists Manhattan Townhouse". Dirt. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  40. ^ "Indiana Jones 5". Writers Guild of America West. February 10, 2023. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  41. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (May 11, 2022). "Hot Cannes Package: Liam Neeson, Joe Keery Star In Jonny Campbell-Helmed Studiocanal Sci-Fi Virus Tale 'Cold Storage;' David Koepp Adapted His Novel". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  42. ^ a b Koepp to pore over ‘Vinegar’
  43. ^ Steven Spielberg takes on ‘Pirate Latitudes’
  44. ^ Ron Howard, David Koepp Team Up For 'Spy Vs. Spy'
  45. ^ David Koepp Takes On 'The Thin Man' For Johnny Depp And Rob Marshall
  46. ^ Warner Bros. Prepping Top Secret Sci-Fi Project ‘The Wind’ (Exclusive)
  47. ^ Legendary Sets Julius Onah To Helm ‘Brilliance’
  48. ^ David Koepp Set To Script Sci-Fi ‘Themis Files’ For Sony
  49. ^ Bill Condon In Talks To Helm ‘Bride of Frankenstein’ At Universal Pictures
  50. ^ Steven Spielberg Set To Produce His First DC Film 'Blackhawk' With Eye On Directing
  51. ^ David Koepp To Pen ‘Green Hornet And Kato’ Pic For Universal
  52. ^ Kathryn Bigelow To Direct Adaptation Of David Koepp Novel ‘Aurora’ For Netflix
  53. ^ Idris Elba & Rebecca Ferguson Circling Kathryn Bigelow Film At Netflix
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