David Koepp | |
|---|---|
 Koepp in 2022 | |
| Born | (1963-06-09)June 9, 1963 (age 62) Pewaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1988–present |
| Spouse(s) | Rosario Varela (divorced)Melissa Thomas |
| Children | 4 |
| Awards | |
David Koepp (/kɛp/;[1] born June 9, 1963) is an American screenwriter and director. He is the third most successful screenwriter of all time in terms of U.S. box office receipts with a total gross of over $2.6 billion.[2] 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 theSteven Spielberg–directed filmsJurassic Park (1993),The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997),War of the Worlds (2005) andIndiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008). Other Koepp screenplays include those for the crime filmCarlito's Way (1993); the action spy filmsMission: Impossible (1996) andJack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014); the superhero filmSpider-Man (2002); anotherIndiana Jones film,The Dial of Destiny (2023); and anotherJurassic Park film,Jurassic World Rebirth (2025). Koepp has also directed seven feature films:The Trigger Effect (1996),Stir of Echoes (1999),Secret Window (2004),Ghost Town (2008),Premium Rush (2012),Mortdecai (2015), andYou Should Have Left (2020).
Koepp was born inPewaukee, Wisconsin, as the youngest of four children to Margaret (Fairfield), a family therapist, and Donald Koepp, who owned abillboard company.[3][4][5][6]
Originally studying to become an actor, first at theUniversity of Minnesota for one year and afterwards at theUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison for two years, he enrolled in the film school of theUniversity of California, Los Angeles, in 1984.[3][7][8] He graduated with a bachelor's degree in film from UCLA in 1990.[9]
As a writer, Koepp worked on blockbusterHollywood films such asJurassic Park withSteven Spielberg,Mission: Impossible withBrian De Palma andSpider-Man withSam Raimi.
Koepp had acameo appearance as the "Unlucky Bastard", a minor character devoured by aT. rex that roamsSan Diego inThe Lost World: Jurassic Park, which he co-wrote and for which he was a second unit director. Although Koepp did not writeJurassic Park III, he did devise the film's basic storyline.[10][11] 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.[12]
Koepp was reportedly paid $4,000,000 for hisPanic Room screenplay. He wrote the screenplay forIndiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull forSpielberg andGeorge Lucas and co-wrote and directed 2008'sGhost Town starringRicky Gervais andGreg 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 worked in television, creating the 2002 seriesHack starringDavid Morse.
In 2012, Koepp directedPremium Rush, which he co-wrote with John Kamps.[13] In an August 2011 lawsuit,Joe Quirk, the author of the 1998 novelThe Ultimate Rush, accused Koepp and the makers ofPremium Rush of copyright infringement.[14] On April 2, 2013,U.S. District JudgeRichard Seeborg dismissed this case, finding that the two works were not substantially similar.[15]
On February 17, 2013, Koepp received the WGA East's Ian McClellan Hunter Award for Career Achievement.[16]
On July 10, 2013,Lionsgate was reported to have acquired the comedic crime novelThe Great Mortdecai Moustache Mystery, written byKyril Bonfiglioli.[17] Koepp directed the film, titledMortdecai, from a script by Eric Aronson;[18]Johnny Depp played the lead role of Charlie Mortdecai,[19] and the film also featuredGwyneth Paltrow,Ewan McGregor, andPaul Bettany.[20] Koepp adapted theMarcus Sakey novelBrilliance, which will starWill Smith andNoomi Rapace.[21]
On March 15, 2016,The Walt Disney Company announceda fifth installment of theIndiana Jones saga, with Koepp as its screenwriter andSpielberg directing again.[22][23] 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.[24] Based on the novel of the same name byDaniel Kehlmann,You Should Have Left was released in 2020, and starsKevin Bacon andAmanda Seyfried.[25][26]
On September 3, 2019, Koepp made his novel debut with the publication ofCold Storage, a science-fiction thriller.[27] Afilm adaptation was announced in May 2022 fromStudiocanal, with Koepp writing the screenplay andJonny Campbell directing; the cast consists ofLiam Neeson,Joe Keery,Georgina Campbell, andSosie Bacon.[28][29]
On December 10, 2020,Amasia Entertainment andUniversal Pictures announced Koepp had been tapped to write the script for a reboot of theGreen Hornet franchise titledThe Green Hornet and Kato.[30] On February 25, 2021, it was announced Koepp would write and co-produce the thrillerKimi, directed bySteven Soderbergh and starringZoë Kravitz.[31] The film was released onMax (then HBO Max) on February 10, 2022.[32]
Koepp's second novelAurora was published on June 7, 2022, and a film adaptation of the book is in development forNetflix, with Koepp writing the script andKathryn Bigelow directing.[33]
Koepp wrote the screenplay for the psychological thriller filmPresence, which was directed by Soderbergh and premiered at the2024 Sundance Film Festival.[34] On January 22, 2024, it was announced that Koepp would return to theJurassic Park franchise by writingJurassic World Rebirth, withGareth Edwards directing and Spielberg serving as executive producer.[35][36] In April 2024, it was confirmed that Koepp and Spielberg would work again on an original film aboutUFOs,[37][38] later revealed to beDisclosure Day with a planned June 2026 release.[39]
Koepp is married to Melissa Thomas, a writer, with whom he has two children.[40][41] He was previously married to artist Rosario Varela, with whom he has two children.[3][42]
| 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 |
| |
| I Come in Peace | No | Yes | No |
| |
| 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 Towne andSteven 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 Lucas andJeff 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 McQuarrie andDylan 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 Butterworth andJames Mangold[43] |
| 2024 | Presence | No | Yes | Executive | |
| 2025 | Black Bag | No | Yes | Executive | |
| Jurassic World Rebirth | No | Yes | No | ||
| 2026 | Disclosure Day† | No | Yes | No | Post-production |
| Cold Storage† | No | Yes | Yes | Based on his novel[44] |
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Hack | No | Yes | Creator |
| 2003 | Suspense | Yes | No | TV movie |
| 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 | |
| 2006 | The Taking of Pelham 123[45] | Co-wrote with Peter Stone |
| 2009 | Billionaire's Vinegar[46] | co-wrote with John Kamps |
| Article II[46] | ||
| Pirate Latitudes[47] | ||
| 2011 | Spy vs. Spy[48] | co-wrote with John Kamps |
| The Thin Man[49] | ||
| 2012 | The Wind[50] | |
| 2014 | Brilliance[51] | |
| 2015 | The Themis Files[52] | |
| 2017 | Bride of Frankenstein[53] | |
| 2018 | Blackhawk[54] | |
| 2020 | Green Hornet and Kato[55] | |
| 2022 | Aurora[56][57] | based on his novel |
[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 [...]."
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.."
