David Koepp

David Koepp
Born	June 9, 1963 Pewaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Occupation	Screenwriter, director
Spouse(s)	Melissa Thomas
Children	4

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 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 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).

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]

On March 15, 2016, the Walt Disney Company announced a fifth installment of the Indiana Jones saga, with Koepp as its screenwriter.^[14][15]

Personal life

Koepp was born in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, to a family therapist mother, and Donald Koepp, who owns a billboard company.^[16][17] 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 a wife, Melissa, and four children.

Filmography

Feature films

Year	Title	Contribution	Notes
1988	Apartment Zero	Writer / producer	co-wrote with Martin Donovan
1990	Bad Influence	Writer
	Why Me?	Writer	co-wrote with Donald E. Westlake
	I Come in Peace	Writer	co-wrote with Jonathan Tydor
1991	Toy Soldiers	Writer	co-wrote with Daniel Petrie, Jr.
1992	Death Becomes Her	Writer	co-wrote with Martin Donovan
1993	Jurassic Park	Writer	co-wrote with Michael Crichton
	Carlito's Way	Writer
1994	The Paper	Writer / co-producer	co-wrote with Stephen Koepp
	The Shadow	Writer
1996	Mission: Impossible	Writer	co-wrote with Robert Towne and Steven Zaillian
	The Trigger Effect	Director / writer
1997	The Lost World: Jurassic Park	Writer / second unit director
1998	Snake Eyes	Writer	co-wrote with Brian De Palma
1999	Stir of Echoes	Director / writer
2002	Panic Room	Writer / producer
	Spider-Man	Writer
2004	Secret Window	Director / writer
2005	War of the Worlds	Writer	co-wrote with Josh Friedman
	Zathura	Writer	co-wrote with John Kamps
2008	Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull	Writer	co-wrote with George Lucas and Jeff Nathanson
	Ghost Town	Director / writer	co-wrote with John Kamps
2009	Angels & Demons	Writer	co-wrote with Akiva Goldsman
2011	The Little Engine That Could	Writer	co-wrote with John Kamps, Cliff Ruby and Elana Lesser
2012	Premium Rush	Director / writer	co-wrote with John Kamps
2013	Don Jon	Thanks
2014	Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit	Writer	co-wrote with Adam Cozad
2015	Mortdecai	Director
2016	Inferno	Writer
2019	Untitled fifth Indiana Jones film	Writer
TBA	The Bride of Frankenstein	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

1. Box Office Mojo - People Index
2. "Jurassic Park 3 Director Talks Script Problems of the Upcoming Sequel". Screenwritersutopia.com. July 11, 2001. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
3. "Jumanji's Joe Johnston Joins Jurassic". About.com. Archived from the original on March 5, 2006.
4. Douglas, Edward (August 22, 2012). "Exclusive: David Koepp on Jack Ryan , Snow White & Jurassic Park". comingsoon.net. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
5. Siegel, Tatiana (November 11, 2009). "Koepp to helm 'Premium Rush'". Variety. Reed Business Information. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
6. Stevens, Elizabeth Lesly, "A Big Hollywood Movie Is Coming, and a Novelist Cries Foul", The New York Times, August 20, 2011
7. Gardner, Eriq, "Sony Pictures Wins 'Premium Rush' Theft Lawsuit", "The Hollywood Reporter", April 3, 2013
8. McNary, Dave, "WGA East Honors Koepp", "Variety", January 29, 2013
9. "Johnny Depp to Star in 'Mortdecai' for Lionsgate, Director David Koepp". thewrap.com. 10 July 2013. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
10. "David Koepp is set to direct from Eric Aronson's script". deadline.com. 10 July 2013. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
11. "Johnny Depp in Talks to Star in 'Mortdecai'". hollywoodreporter.com. 10 July 2013. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
12. "Gwyneth Paltrow and Ewan McGregor join Johnny Depp on Mortdecai". guardian.co.uk. 25 July 2013. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
13. "Noomi Rapace Finds Brilliance".
14. Agar, Chris (18 March 2016). "Indiana Jones 5 Recruits Jurassic Park Writer David Koepp". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
15. Shepherd, Jack (20 March 2016). "Indiana Jones 5: Crystal Skull writer David Koepp signs on to write sequel". The Independent. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
16. David Koepp Biography (1963-)

External links

• David Koepp at the Internet Movie Database