David Koepp

Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox person David Koepp (Template:IPAc-en;<ref>Template:Cite podcast</ref> born June 9, 1963) is an American screenwriter and director. He is the fourth most successful screenwriter of all time in terms of U.S. box office receipts with a total gross of over $2.6 billion.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Koepp has achieved both critical and commercial success in a wide variety of genres.

He is known for a variety of screenplays, including those of the Steven Spielberg–directed films Jurassic Park (1993), The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), War of the Worlds (2005) and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008). Other Koepp screenplays include those for 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); another Indiana Jones film, The Dial of Destiny (2023); and another Jurassic Park film, Jurassic World Rebirth (2025). Koepp has also 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

Koepp was born in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, as the youngest of four children to Margaret (Fairfield), a family therapist, and Donald Koepp, who owned a billboard company.<ref name="LATimes1994" /><ref>https://www.facebook.com/davidkoeppauthor/photos/margaret-koepp-is-88-shes-the-eighth-of-ten-kids-she-was-a-flight-attendant-for-/135754527817747/?_rdr</ref><ref>[1] Template:Dead link</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> While attending Kettle Moraine High School in Wales, Wisconsin, he worked evenings and weekends at the McDonald's restaurant in Delafield.Template:Cn

Originally studying to become an actor, first at the University of Minnesota for one 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, in 1984.<ref name="LATimes1994" /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> He graduated with a bachelor's degree in film from UCLA in 1990.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Career

1990s and 2000s

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.

Koepp had a cameo appearance as the "Unlucky Bastard", a minor character devoured by a T. rex that roams San Diego in The Lost World: Jurassic Park, which he co-wrote and for which he was a second unit director. Although Koepp did not write Jurassic Park III, he did devise the film's basic storyline.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Koepp later declined an offer to write a script for the fourth film in the series, Jurassic World, as he felt he had nothing left to contribute to the series.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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 worked in television, creating the 2002 series Hack starring David Morse.

2010s

In 2012, Koepp directed Premium Rush, which he co-wrote with John Kamps.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>Stevens, Elizabeth Lesly, "A Big Hollywood Movie Is Coming, and a Novelist Cries Foul", The New York Times, August 20, 2011</ref> On April 2, 2013, U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg dismissed this case, finding that the two works were not substantially similar.<ref>Gardner, Eriq, "Sony Pictures Wins 'Premium Rush' Theft Lawsuit", "The Hollywood Reporter", April 3, 2013</ref>

On February 17, 2013, Koepp received the WGA East's Ian McClellan Hunter Award for Career Achievement.<ref>McNary, Dave, "WGA East Honors Koepp", "Variety", January 29, 2013</ref>

On July 10, 2013, Lionsgate was reported to have acquired the comedic crime novel The Great Mortdecai Moustache Mystery, written by Kyril Bonfiglioli.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Koepp directed the film, titled Mortdecai, from a script by Eric Aronson;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Johnny Depp played the lead role of Charlie Mortdecai,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the film also featured Gwyneth Paltrow, Ewan McGregor, and Paul Bettany.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Koepp adapted the Marcus Sakey novel Brilliance, which will star Will Smith and Noomi Rapace.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The film was eventually released on June 30, 2023, however it was 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

2020s

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On February 25, 2021, it was announced Koepp would write and co-produce the thriller Kimi, directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Zoë Kravitz.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The film was released on Max (then HBO Max) on February 10, 2022.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

Koepp is married to Melissa Thomas, a writer, with whom he has two children.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He was previously married to artist Rosario Varela, with whom he has two children.<ref name="LATimes1994">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Producer	Notes
1988	Apartment Zero	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Co-wrote with Martin Donovan
1990	Bad Influence	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No
	Why Me?	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:Ubl
	I Come in Peace	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:Ubl
1991	Toy Soldiers	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Co-wrote with Daniel Petrie Jr.
1992	Death Becomes Her	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Co-wrote with Martin Donovan
1993	Jurassic Park	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Co-wrote with Michael Crichton
	Carlito's Way	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No
1994	The Paper	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Co-wrote with Stephen Koepp
	The Shadow	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No
	Suspicious	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No	Short film
1996	Mission: Impossible	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Co-wrote with Robert Towne and Steven Zaillian
	The Trigger Effect	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No
1997	The Lost World: Jurassic Park	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Also second unit director and cameo
1998	Snake Eyes	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Co-wrote with Brian De Palma
1999	Stir of Echoes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No
2002	Panic Room	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:Yes
	Spider-Man	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No
2004	Secret Window	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No
2005	War of the Worlds	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Co-wrote with Josh Friedman
	Zathura: A Space Adventure	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Co-wrote with John Kamps
2008	Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Co-wrote with George Lucas and Jeff Nathanson
	Ghost Town	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No	Co-wrote with John Kamps
2009	Angels & Demons	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Co-wrote with Akiva Goldsman
2011	The Little Engine That Could	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Co-wrote with John Kamps, Cliff Ruby and Elana Lesser
2012	Premium Rush	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No	Co-wrote with John Kamps
2014	Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Co-wrote with Adam Cozad
2015	Mortdecai	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No
2016	Inferno	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No
2017	The Mummy	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Co-wrote with Christopher McQuarrie and Dylan Kussman
2020	You Should Have Left	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No
2022	Kimi	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:Yes
2023	Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Co-wrote with Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth and James Mangold<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2024	Presence	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:Partial
2025	Black Bag	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:Partial
	Jurassic World Rebirth	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No
2026	Template:Pending film	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Post-production
	Template:Pending film	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Based on his novel<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Television

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

Unproduced scripts

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<ref name=Vinegar>Koepp to pore over ‘Vinegar’</ref>	co-wrote with John Kamps
	Article II<ref name=Vinegar/>
	Pirate Latitudes<ref>Steven Spielberg takes on ‘Pirate Latitudes’</ref>
2011	Spy vs. Spy<ref>Ron Howard, David Koepp Team Up For 'Spy Vs. Spy'</ref>	co-wrote with John Kamps
	The Thin Man<ref>David Koepp Takes On 'The Thin Man' For Johnny Depp And Rob Marshall</ref>
2012	The Wind<ref>Warner Bros. Prepping Top Secret Sci-Fi Project ‘The Wind’ (Exclusive)</ref>
2014	Brilliance<ref>Legendary Sets Julius Onah To Helm ‘Brilliance’</ref>
2015	The Themis Files<ref>David Koepp Set To Script Sci-Fi ‘Themis Files’ For Sony</ref>
2017	Bride of Frankenstein<ref>Bill Condon In Talks To Helm ‘Bride of Frankenstein’ At Universal Pictures</ref>
2018	Blackhawk<ref>Steven Spielberg Set To Produce His First DC Film 'Blackhawk' With Eye On Directing</ref>
2020	Green Hornet and Kato<ref>David Koepp To Pen ‘Green Hornet And Kato’ Pic For Universal</ref>
2022	Aurora<ref>Kathryn Bigelow To Direct Adaptation Of David Koepp Novel ‘Aurora’ For Netflix</ref><ref>Idris Elba & Rebecca Ferguson Circling Kathryn Bigelow Film At Netflix</ref>	based on his novel

Bibliography

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External links

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