David Koepp

Writing

David Koepp (born June 9, 1963) is an American screenwriter and director. He has written or co-written the screenplays for more than thirty films, including Apartment Zero, Bad Influence, Death Becomes Her, Carlito’s Way, Jurassic Park, The Paper, Mission: Impossible, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Snake Eyes, Panic Room, Spider-Man, War of the Worlds, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Angels & Demons, Inferno, and Kimi. As a director, his work includes the films The Trigger Effect, Stir of Echoes, Secret Window, Ghost Town, Premium Rush, and You Should Have Left. He was born in Pewaukee, Wisconsin and graduated from UCLA’s film school in 1986. He lives in New York City with his wife and children.

Ratings

Screenwriting: 662 ratings
Directing: 732 ratings
Producing: 752 ratings

Filmography

Screenwriting

34 titles

Cold Storage

When a mutating, highly contagious fungus escapes a sealed facility, two employees – joined by a grizzled bioterror operative – must survive the wildest night shift ever to save humanity from extinction.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

72MovieNerd Score

Disclosure Day

If you found out we weren’t alone in the universe, would that frighten you?

Cinematography73

Family Friendly70

89MovieNerd Score

Black Bag

When his beloved wife is suspected of betraying the nation, an intelligence agent faces the ultimate test – loyalty to his marriage or his country.

Cinematography89

Family Friendly75

74MovieNerd Score

Jurassic World Rebirth

Five years after the events of Jurassic World Dominion, covert operations expert Zora Bennett is contracted to lead a skilled team on a top-secret mission to secure genetic material from the world's three most massive dinosaurs. When Zora's operation intersects with a civilian family whose boating expedition was capsized, they all find themselves stranded on an island where they come face-to-face with a sinister, shocking discovery that's been hidden from the world for decades.

Cinematography84

Family Friendly68

Presence

A family moves into a suburban house and becomes convinced they’re not alone.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

80MovieNerd Score

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Finding himself in a new era, and approaching retirement, Indy wrestles with fitting into a world that seems to have outgrown him. But as the tentacles of an all-too-familiar evil return in the form of an old rival, Indy must don his hat and pick up his whip once more to make sure an ancient and powerful artifact doesn't fall into the wrong hands.

Cinematography83

Family Friendly91

Kimi

A tech worker with agoraphobia discovers recorded evidence of a violent crime but is met with resistance when she tries to report it. Seeking justice, she must do the thing she fears the most: leave her apartment.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

You Should Have Left

In an effort to repair their relationship, a couple books a vacation in the countryside for themselves and their daughter. What starts as a perfect retreat begins to fall apart as one loses their grip on reality, and a sinister force tries to tear them apart.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

The Mummy

Though safely entombed in a crypt deep beneath the unforgiving desert, an ancient queen whose destiny was unjustly taken from her is awakened in our current day, bringing with her malevolence grown over millennia, and terrors that defy human comprehension.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Inferno

After waking up in a hospital with amnesia, professor Robert Langdon and a doctor must race against time to foil a deadly global plot.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

Jack Ryan, as a young covert CIA analyst, uncovers a Russian plot to crash the U.S. economy with a terrorist attack.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Premium Rush

In Manhattan, a bike messenger picks up an envelope that attracts the interest of a dirty cop, who pursues the cyclist throughout the city.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

The Little Engine That Could

Featuring an all-star cast, the timeless story comes to life in this all-new, feature-length film filled with fun and adventure!

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Angels & Demons

Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is recruited by the Vatican to investigate the apparent return of the Illuminati - a secret, underground organization - after four cardinals are kidnapped on the night of the papal conclave.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Ghost Town

Bertram Pincus, a cranky, people-hating Manhattan dentist, develops the unwelcome ability to see dead people. Really annoying dead people. Even worse, they all want something from him, particularly Frank Herlihy, a smooth-talking ghost, who pesters him into a romantic scheme involving his widow Gwen. They are soon entangled in a hilarious predicament between the now and the hereafter!

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Set during the Cold War, the Soviets—led by sword-wielding Irina Spalko—are in search of a crystal skull which has supernatural powers related to a mystical Lost City of Gold. Indy is coerced to head to Peru at the behest of a young man whose friend—and Indy's colleague—Professor Oxley has been captured for his knowledge of the skull's whereabouts.

Cinematography71

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

War of the Worlds

Ray Ferrier is a divorced dockworker and less-than-perfect father. Soon after his ex-wife and her new husband drop off his teenage son and young daughter for a rare weekend visit, a strange and powerful lightning storm touches down.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Zathura: A Space Adventure

After their father is called into work, two young boys, Walter and Danny, are left in the care of their teenage sister, Lisa, and told they must stay inside. Walter and Danny, who anticipate a boring day, are shocked when they begin playing Zathura, a space-themed board game, which they realize has mystical powers when their house is shot into space. With the help of an astronaut, the boys attempt to return home.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Secret Window

Mort Rainey, a writer just emerging from a painful divorce with his ex-wife, is stalked at his remote lake house by a psychotic stranger and would-be scribe who claims Rainey swiped his best story idea. But as Rainey endeavors to prove his innocence, he begins to question his own sanity.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Panic Room

Trapped in their New York brownstone's panic room, a hidden chamber built as a sanctuary in the event of break-ins, newly divorced Meg Altman and her young daughter Sarah play a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with three intruders - Burnham, Raoul and Junior - during a brutal home invasion. But the room itself is the focal point because what the intruders really want is inside it.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

78MovieNerd Score

Spider-Man

After being bitten by a genetically altered spider at Oscorp, nerdy but endearing high school student Peter Parker is endowed with amazing powers to become the superhero known as Spider-Man.

Cinematography72

Family Friendly—

Stir of Echoes

After being hypnotized by his sister-in-law, Tom Witzky begins seeing haunting visions of a girl's ghost and a mystery begins to unfold around her.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Snake Eyes

All bets are off when shady homicide cop Rick Santoro witnesses a murder during a boxing match. It's up to him and lifelong friend, Naval intelligence agent Kevin Dunne to uncover the conspiracy behind the killing. At every turn, Santoro makes increasingly shocking discoveries that even he can't turn a blind eye to.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

The Lost World: Jurassic Park

Four years after Jurassic Park's genetically bred dinosaurs ran amok, multimillionaire John Hammond shocks chaos theorist Ian Malcolm by revealing that he has been breeding more beasties at a secret location. Malcolm, his paleontologist ladylove and a wildlife videographer join an expedition to document the lethal lizards' natural behavior in this action-packed thriller.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Mission: Impossible

When Ethan Hunt, the leader of a crack espionage team whose perilous operation has gone awry with no explanation, discovers that a mole has penetrated the CIA, he's surprised to learn that he's the No. 1 suspect. To clear his name, Hunt now must ferret out the real double agent and, in the process, even the score.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

The Trigger Effect

A blackout leaves those affected to consider what is necessary, what is legal, and what is questionable, in order to survive in a predatory environment.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

The Paper

Henry Hackett is the workaholic editor of a New York City tabloid. He loves his job, but the long hours and low pay are leading to discontent. Also, publisher Bernie White faces financial straits, and has hatchet-man Alicia Clark—Henry's nemesis—impose unpopular cutbacks.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

The Shadow

Based on the 1930's comic strip, puts the hero up against his arch enemy, Shiwan Khan, who plans to take over the world by holding a city to ransom using an atom bomb. Using his powers of invisibility and "The power to cloud men's minds", the Shadow comes blazing to the city's rescue with explosive results.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Carlito's Way

A Puerto-Rican ex-con, just released from prison, pledges to stay away from drugs and violence despite the pressure around him, and lead a better life outside NYC.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

79MovieNerd Score

Jurassic Park

A wealthy entrepreneur secretly creates a theme park featuring living dinosaurs drawn from prehistoric DNA. Before opening day, he invites a team of experts and his two eager grandchildren to experience the park and help calm anxious investors. However, the park is anything but amusing as the security systems go off-line and the dinosaurs escape.

Cinematography77

Family Friendly63

Death Becomes Her

Madeline is married to Ernest, who was once arch-rival Helen's fiance. After recovering from a mental breakdown, Helen vows to kill Madeline and steal back Ernest. Unfortunately for everyone, the introduction of a magic potion causes things to be a great deal more complicated than a mere murder plot.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Toy Soldiers

After federal agents arrest a drug czar and put him on trial, the cartel leader's vicious son storms a prep school and takes its students hostage. They rebel against the armed intruders and try to take back their academy by any means necessary.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Bad Influence

Wimpy young executive Michael is about to get pulverized by a jealous boyfriend in a bar when a handsome, mysterious stranger steps in—and then disappears. Later that night, Michael runs into a stranger on a pier, who wheedles his way into Michael's life and turns it upside down.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Why Me?

A jewel thief steals a sacred ruby which sets off a chase by the police, the Turkish government, nutty American terrorists, and the CIA.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Directing

7 titles

You Should Have Left

In an effort to repair their relationship, a couple books a vacation in the countryside for themselves and their daughter. What starts as a perfect retreat begins to fall apart as one loses their grip on reality, and a sinister force tries to tear them apart.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Mortdecai

An art dealer, Charles Mortdecai, searches for a stolen painting rumored to contain a secret code that gains access to hidden Nazi gold.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Premium Rush

In Manhattan, a bike messenger picks up an envelope that attracts the interest of a dirty cop, who pursues the cyclist throughout the city.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Ghost Town

Bertram Pincus, a cranky, people-hating Manhattan dentist, develops the unwelcome ability to see dead people. Really annoying dead people. Even worse, they all want something from him, particularly Frank Herlihy, a smooth-talking ghost, who pesters him into a romantic scheme involving his widow Gwen. They are soon entangled in a hilarious predicament between the now and the hereafter!

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Secret Window

Mort Rainey, a writer just emerging from a painful divorce with his ex-wife, is stalked at his remote lake house by a psychotic stranger and would-be scribe who claims Rainey swiped his best story idea. But as Rainey endeavors to prove his innocence, he begins to question his own sanity.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Stir of Echoes

After being hypnotized by his sister-in-law, Tom Witzky begins seeing haunting visions of a girl's ghost and a mystery begins to unfold around her.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

The Trigger Effect

A blackout leaves those affected to consider what is necessary, what is legal, and what is questionable, in order to survive in a predatory environment.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Producing

5 titles

Cold Storage

When a mutating, highly contagious fungus escapes a sealed facility, two employees – joined by a grizzled bioterror operative – must survive the wildest night shift ever to save humanity from extinction.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

89MovieNerd Score

Black Bag

When his beloved wife is suspected of betraying the nation, an intelligence agent faces the ultimate test – loyalty to his marriage or his country.

Cinematography89

Family Friendly75

Presence

A family moves into a suburban house and becomes convinced they’re not alone.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Kimi

A tech worker with agoraphobia discovers recorded evidence of a violent crime but is met with resistance when she tries to report it. Seeking justice, she must do the thing she fears the most: leave her apartment.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Panic Room

Trapped in their New York brownstone's panic room, a hidden chamber built as a sanctuary in the event of break-ins, newly divorced Meg Altman and her young daughter Sarah play a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with three intruders - Burnham, Raoul and Junior - during a brutal home invasion. But the room itself is the focal point because what the intruders really want is inside it.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Show Creator

1 title

Hack

Hack is a television series that aired on the American CBS television network from 2002 to 2004. The series centers on the fictional life of a former police officer, Polish-American Mike Olshansky, who left the force after being charged with corruption and now works as a taxi driver in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Miscellaneous Crew

36 titles

Cold Storage

When a mutating, highly contagious fungus escapes a sealed facility, two employees – joined by a grizzled bioterror operative – must survive the wildest night shift ever to save humanity from extinction.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

72MovieNerd Score

Disclosure Day

If you found out we weren’t alone in the universe, would that frighten you?

Cinematography73

Family Friendly70

89MovieNerd Score

Black Bag

When his beloved wife is suspected of betraying the nation, an intelligence agent faces the ultimate test – loyalty to his marriage or his country.

Cinematography89

Family Friendly75

74MovieNerd Score

Jurassic World Rebirth

Five years after the events of Jurassic World Dominion, covert operations expert Zora Bennett is contracted to lead a skilled team on a top-secret mission to secure genetic material from the world's three most massive dinosaurs. When Zora's operation intersects with a civilian family whose boating expedition was capsized, they all find themselves stranded on an island where they come face-to-face with a sinister, shocking discovery that's been hidden from the world for decades.

Cinematography84

Family Friendly68

Presence

A family moves into a suburban house and becomes convinced they’re not alone.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

80MovieNerd Score

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Finding himself in a new era, and approaching retirement, Indy wrestles with fitting into a world that seems to have outgrown him. But as the tentacles of an all-too-familiar evil return in the form of an old rival, Indy must don his hat and pick up his whip once more to make sure an ancient and powerful artifact doesn't fall into the wrong hands.

Cinematography83

Family Friendly91

Kimi

A tech worker with agoraphobia discovers recorded evidence of a violent crime but is met with resistance when she tries to report it. Seeking justice, she must do the thing she fears the most: leave her apartment.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

You Should Have Left

In an effort to repair their relationship, a couple books a vacation in the countryside for themselves and their daughter. What starts as a perfect retreat begins to fall apart as one loses their grip on reality, and a sinister force tries to tear them apart.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

The Mummy

Though safely entombed in a crypt deep beneath the unforgiving desert, an ancient queen whose destiny was unjustly taken from her is awakened in our current day, bringing with her malevolence grown over millennia, and terrors that defy human comprehension.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Inferno

After waking up in a hospital with amnesia, professor Robert Langdon and a doctor must race against time to foil a deadly global plot.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Mortdecai

An art dealer, Charles Mortdecai, searches for a stolen painting rumored to contain a secret code that gains access to hidden Nazi gold.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

Jack Ryan, as a young covert CIA analyst, uncovers a Russian plot to crash the U.S. economy with a terrorist attack.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Premium Rush

In Manhattan, a bike messenger picks up an envelope that attracts the interest of a dirty cop, who pursues the cyclist throughout the city.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

The Little Engine That Could

Featuring an all-star cast, the timeless story comes to life in this all-new, feature-length film filled with fun and adventure!

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Angels & Demons

Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is recruited by the Vatican to investigate the apparent return of the Illuminati - a secret, underground organization - after four cardinals are kidnapped on the night of the papal conclave.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Ghost Town

Bertram Pincus, a cranky, people-hating Manhattan dentist, develops the unwelcome ability to see dead people. Really annoying dead people. Even worse, they all want something from him, particularly Frank Herlihy, a smooth-talking ghost, who pesters him into a romantic scheme involving his widow Gwen. They are soon entangled in a hilarious predicament between the now and the hereafter!

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Set during the Cold War, the Soviets—led by sword-wielding Irina Spalko—are in search of a crystal skull which has supernatural powers related to a mystical Lost City of Gold. Indy is coerced to head to Peru at the behest of a young man whose friend—and Indy's colleague—Professor Oxley has been captured for his knowledge of the skull's whereabouts.

Cinematography71

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

War of the Worlds

Ray Ferrier is a divorced dockworker and less-than-perfect father. Soon after his ex-wife and her new husband drop off his teenage son and young daughter for a rare weekend visit, a strange and powerful lightning storm touches down.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Zathura: A Space Adventure

After their father is called into work, two young boys, Walter and Danny, are left in the care of their teenage sister, Lisa, and told they must stay inside. Walter and Danny, who anticipate a boring day, are shocked when they begin playing Zathura, a space-themed board game, which they realize has mystical powers when their house is shot into space. With the help of an astronaut, the boys attempt to return home.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Secret Window

Mort Rainey, a writer just emerging from a painful divorce with his ex-wife, is stalked at his remote lake house by a psychotic stranger and would-be scribe who claims Rainey swiped his best story idea. But as Rainey endeavors to prove his innocence, he begins to question his own sanity.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Big Trouble

The story of how a mysterious suitcase brings together, and changes, the lives of a divorced dad, an unhappy housewife, two hitmen, a pair of street thugs, two love struck teens, two FBI men and a psychedelic toad. Based on Pulitzer Prize-winning humorist Dave Barry's best-selling first novel, "Big Trouble."

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Panic Room

Trapped in their New York brownstone's panic room, a hidden chamber built as a sanctuary in the event of break-ins, newly divorced Meg Altman and her young daughter Sarah play a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with three intruders - Burnham, Raoul and Junior - during a brutal home invasion. But the room itself is the focal point because what the intruders really want is inside it.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

78MovieNerd Score

Spider-Man

After being bitten by a genetically altered spider at Oscorp, nerdy but endearing high school student Peter Parker is endowed with amazing powers to become the superhero known as Spider-Man.

Cinematography72

Family Friendly—

Stir of Echoes

After being hypnotized by his sister-in-law, Tom Witzky begins seeing haunting visions of a girl's ghost and a mystery begins to unfold around her.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Snake Eyes

All bets are off when shady homicide cop Rick Santoro witnesses a murder during a boxing match. It's up to him and lifelong friend, Naval intelligence agent Kevin Dunne to uncover the conspiracy behind the killing. At every turn, Santoro makes increasingly shocking discoveries that even he can't turn a blind eye to.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

The Lost World: Jurassic Park

Four years after Jurassic Park's genetically bred dinosaurs ran amok, multimillionaire John Hammond shocks chaos theorist Ian Malcolm by revealing that he has been breeding more beasties at a secret location. Malcolm, his paleontologist ladylove and a wildlife videographer join an expedition to document the lethal lizards' natural behavior in this action-packed thriller.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Mission: Impossible

When Ethan Hunt, the leader of a crack espionage team whose perilous operation has gone awry with no explanation, discovers that a mole has penetrated the CIA, he's surprised to learn that he's the No. 1 suspect. To clear his name, Hunt now must ferret out the real double agent and, in the process, even the score.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

The Trigger Effect

A blackout leaves those affected to consider what is necessary, what is legal, and what is questionable, in order to survive in a predatory environment.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

The Paper

Henry Hackett is the workaholic editor of a New York City tabloid. He loves his job, but the long hours and low pay are leading to discontent. Also, publisher Bernie White faces financial straits, and has hatchet-man Alicia Clark—Henry's nemesis—impose unpopular cutbacks.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

The Shadow

Based on the 1930's comic strip, puts the hero up against his arch enemy, Shiwan Khan, who plans to take over the world by holding a city to ransom using an atom bomb. Using his powers of invisibility and "The power to cloud men's minds", the Shadow comes blazing to the city's rescue with explosive results.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Carlito's Way

A Puerto-Rican ex-con, just released from prison, pledges to stay away from drugs and violence despite the pressure around him, and lead a better life outside NYC.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

79MovieNerd Score

Jurassic Park

A wealthy entrepreneur secretly creates a theme park featuring living dinosaurs drawn from prehistoric DNA. Before opening day, he invites a team of experts and his two eager grandchildren to experience the park and help calm anxious investors. However, the park is anything but amusing as the security systems go off-line and the dinosaurs escape.

Cinematography77

Family Friendly63

Death Becomes Her

Madeline is married to Ernest, who was once arch-rival Helen's fiance. After recovering from a mental breakdown, Helen vows to kill Madeline and steal back Ernest. Unfortunately for everyone, the introduction of a magic potion causes things to be a great deal more complicated than a mere murder plot.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Toy Soldiers

After federal agents arrest a drug czar and put him on trial, the cartel leader's vicious son storms a prep school and takes its students hostage. They rebel against the armed intruders and try to take back their academy by any means necessary.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Bad Influence

Wimpy young executive Michael is about to get pulverized by a jealous boyfriend in a bar when a handsome, mysterious stranger steps in—and then disappears. Later that night, Michael runs into a stranger on a pier, who wheedles his way into Michael's life and turns it upside down.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—

Why Me?

A jewel thief steals a sacred ruby which sets off a chase by the police, the Turkish government, nutty American terrorists, and the CIA.

Cinematography—

Entertaining—

Family Friendly—