David Koepp
Is he the Ernest Lehman of our time?
He certainly must’ve thought about it while writing all those movies for Brian De Palma.
I can’t think of anyone who has a similar number of hits under his belt.
Take a gander at this list:
Death Becomes Her
Jurassic Park
Carlito’s Way
The Paper
The Shadow
Mission:Impossible
The Trigger Effect
The Lost World: Jurassic Park II
Snake Eyes
Stir of Echoes
Panic Room
Spider-Man
Secret Window
War of the Worlds
Zathura
Indiana Jones IV
And from Ernest Lehman:
Sabrina
The King and I
Somebody Up There Likes Me
The Sweet Smell of Success
North by Northwest
West Side Story
The Sound of Music
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Hello, Dolly
Portnoy’s Complaint
Family Plot
Black Sunday
Whew! It’s enough to inspire someone to believe that it’s worthwhile being a Hollywood screenwriter.
Hits?
A lot of duds on that list of Koepp’s (client of Gavin Polone, btw). The Paper? Secret Window? The Shadow? Zathura? Still, it’s impressive. Bet he doesn’t have silverfish in the screening room.
Re: Hits?
I agree. I kept them in to show that he’s not all golden. But even if you take out all the duds, it’s still impressive.
Re: Hits?
Sorry, that’s me.
Whew! It’s enough to inspire someone to believe that it’s worthwhile being a Hollywood screenwriter.
Well, it’s a damn sight better than seeking inspiration from a Joe Esterhaus or an Akiva Goldsman.
I haven’t thought about Akiva Goldsman recently, but Joe Esterhas is underrated. Look for an Esterhas revival at this space soon.
Me again.
Wow. Goldsman wrote ‘Batman and Robin’. How… odd…
That’s quite a list. I’ve been wanting to get back to writing, myself, which makes me wonder if my time online has permamently damaged my writing… ness. (I wouldn’t, for example, write the last page first in a story, then write the rest of the story after, at least not unless I had a good reason.) I recently discovered Robert McKee’s Story. (Despite McKee’s tendency to get locked up for cannibalism, it might have some good advice.)