All About Koepp

Who? ...oh yeah, this guy!

imdb.com said:

Writer:
Spider-Man 4 (2009) (announced) (in talks)
Fourth Installment of the Indiana Jones Adventures (2008) (pre-production) (screenplay)
Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005) (screenplay)
... aka Zathura (International: English title: short title) (USA: promotional title)
War of the Worlds (2005) (screenplay)
Secret Window (2004) (screenplay)
"Hack" (2002) TV Series (unknown episodes)
Hack (2002) (TV)
Spider-Man (2002) (screenplay)
Panic Room (2002) (written by)
Stir of Echoes (1999) (screenplay)
Snake Eyes (1998) (screenplay) (story)
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) (screenplay)
The Trigger Effect (1996) (written by)
Mission: Impossible (1996) (screenplay) (story)
... aka Mission Impossible
Suspicious (1994) (written by)
The Shadow (1994) (written by)
The Paper (1994) (written by)
Carlito's Way (1993) (screenplay)
Jurassic Park (1993) (screenplay)
... aka JP (USA: promotional abbreviation)
Death Becomes Her (1992) (written by)
Toy Soldiers (1991) (screenplay)
Bad Influence (1990) (written by)
Apartment Zero (1988) (screenplay)

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Sheesh, nobody likes a show-off!

-Derek

Right! And starting with Toy Soldiers, almost all of it a hack's garbage. In a heaven for writers, Koepp gets taken to the town square to face his peers with rocks in their hands.

And here's the ultimate Hollywood insider B.S.: like the singer from Boston, Koepp is a miserable soul. Sure he's brought in billions. So what? Where's the gem? Carlito's Way? Give . . . me . . . a . . . break. Can't wait to meet him so I can commiserate on how rotten life can be.

huh?

Clock,

I'd take a tenth. That's still 2 sales, with the rest of your life to capitalize on that success.

He must be great to work with, otherwise he'd never be brought in on so many project. My hat's off to him, he's a real survivor in a seriously tough and finicky business.

This guy can do no wrong. I couldn't believe he wrote Apartment Zero -- his first screenplay. I really dug that movie.

Parkinsonsd said:

huh?

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Sour grapes, I believe.

It's always refreshing to hear different opinions. Even if they make you go

-Derek

Ragnarok said:

I'm with SB. I couldn't care less about his material. It's not just him. With the average multiplexgoer's tastes, I'd rather get shot than watch a blockbuster.​

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Do you have any idea how difficult it is to write a blockbuster, let alone get hired by someone who's willing to pay you a ton of money to set finger to keyboard? Big respect to Koepp.

seanie blue said:

In a heaven for writers, Koepp gets taken to the town square to face his peers with rocks in their hands.

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Or alternatively gets a pat on the back for making a success of his life.

xhouseboy said:

Or alternatively gets a pat on the back for making a success of his life.

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And for writing the fantastic STIR OF ECHOES.



ETA: and yes I am aware it was an adaptation.

I have kids, and I really enjoyed Zathura. The title killed it, but it was an adaptation. It sure beats "Land Before Time".

Can you argue with Spider Man? I liked Panic Room, too.

Sour grapes? You bet!

But don't tell me Spidey was a hit because of a script! Koepp is a safe, clean bet because he listens to producers and doesn't spank them. Cool, a good strategy. But the script is marvelously unimportant in a vehicle on which a studio sinks 100 freaking million dollars in advertising. What if the movie was called "Peter's Web," and not a penny was spent throwing it in your face? You'd have a gross of what? Ten million, twenty million? Okay, I know nothing. How about fifty million, how about $75 million. What did that movie cost to make? Without the advertising, the executives do not work in Hollywood.

Why doesn't someboy jump up and down here and say Great Marketing Campaign?

But the sour grapes, hey, taste good to me and I laugh as I chew. I'm a happy hack, stuck in my arty-farty fifty grand world, but my orbit intersects with Koepp's in the strangest ways, and I had an Oscar nominee here last weekend saying Thanks for the Karma with a smile on his clock because he hates hates hates hates Hollywood and all the tinsel dung he can't get off his shoes while I walk around in my pajamas laughing.

Koepp would like to make a fifty dollar movie with me, believe me, and even his producers say so.

But let me own up to the sour grapes. You bet. And you could put one million dollars on my stoop to write Spidey Quatro and I will not open my door, and that attitude gets me gratitude every day here, and I can have shrimp cocktails in Santa Monica if I want to because I would not be caught dead with dreck like Spidey, bless his latexed superness.

I should say I'm full of it about Stir of Echoes and Apartment Zero, and I take back what I said about it all being hooey. I'm wrong. But that stuff was a while ago, right?

Hillgate said:

Do you have any idea how difficult it is to write a blockbuster, let alone get hired by someone who's willing to pay you a ton of money to set finger to keyboard?

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Writing a blockbuster doesn't take a genius. An overwhelming majority of them is an adaptation which does over half the work of the writer by offering him characters and their universe on a silver plate. And in most cases it's bond to mechanically draw the original work's fan base (unless the writer really screws up), which can amount to up to half the planet for harry potter.

Then you have action movies and comedies for the easily pleased. There's a sadly funny article on 2 recent top-grossing comedies here

That's for the writing part. All the dozens of millions of $$$ sucked up by special FX and/or stars, rights bought from the original author, etc... ensure it has to be funded by a major studio which will then have the power to flood multiplexes with thousands of copies and will dish out another 10 millions or two on promotion. (meanwhile some indie movies with start out in a couple of theaters only).

Now our blockbuster churning writer still has to come up with a plot that will appeal to masses. The more basic and unthreatening to the average viewer, the better. When you blow $300M on a movie, you wouldn't want to inadvertently scare away any wallet carrier. So keep it easy on the brain. Sprinkle hints (or chunks if you're greedy) of mushiness here and there. In a comedy, fire away your whole collection of bodily noises/fluids jokes. In action movies, stuff has to blow up and/or be chased. Happy endings are a granted.

So all in all, what's the actual input of the writer's creativity in the blockbusting success? 10%?

There are a few counter-examples like pixar studios that do create successful out-of-the-box films. It's still too family oriented for me but they do a great job.

Hillgate said:

Big respect to Koepp.

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I tend to only have Big respect for authors and directors who strive to offer a personal vision that shuns the beaten path: the cohens, russ meyer, kubrick, woody allen, lynch... even if I don't like all of their movies, I'm in awe of their artistical integrity. I find it really depressing most of them are dead or elderly.

What is tedious about Hollywood versus artistic independence? If somebody wants to holler about Hollywood being a dangerous rip in the fabric of American society, what's wrong with a little discussion? Is it a snorefest to accuse Eastwood & Scorsese for making entertainment more and more violent and scuzzy? I'm not going to trash anyone's personal opinion about Koepp by yawning at their posts or saying their ideas induce sleep. If I don't think much of the man's writing, can't I say that here? I won't call any poster out with language indicating I think he or she is a moron, or boring, so why should this happen if I air my opinion on a very public person whose work I have no respect for?

Chris, I admire your honesty about your motives. Cool.

I'll give DK props for CARLITO'S WAY, STIR OF ECHOES, and SPIDER MAN (especially for the latter, because it is a rare comic-book movie that deals with the basics and has respect for its source material.) But the rest...a pretty impersonal lot.

I'll admit to not being a huge fan of a some of these films... but I'll also admit to being impressed by any screenwriter who can claim to have written that number of produced scripts -- and has earned himself such a reputation that he's even considered for projects like Indy 4 and Spidey 4.

-Derek

...and one could argue DK at least brings more literacy/story skills to the table than Akiva Goldsman.

Yeah, that chump Goldsman, what the heck does he know anyway? Man, wouldn't you just hate to have his resume?

imdb.com said:

Angels & Demons (2008) (pre-production) (screenplay)
I Am Legend (2007) (post-production)
The Da Vinci Code (2006) (screenplay)
Cinderella Man (2005) (screenplay)
I, Robot (2004) (screenplay)
A Beautiful Mind (2001) (written by)
Practical Magic (1998) (screenplay)
Lost in Space (1998) (written by)
Batman & Robin (1997) (written by)
A Time to Kill (1996) (screenplay)
Batman Forever (1995) (screenplay)
Silent Fall (1994) (written by)
The Client (1994) (screenplay)

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-Derek

He seems like a very down-to-earth kind of person. I thought it was an excellent article, thanks for sharing.

I enjoyed the interview, even though i'm not a big fan of the films he's written.

The way i see it, there's always something to learn from any writer, especially when they discuss their writing methods. The process is very interesting for me, disregarding of whether i like the result or not. But then, my favourite page in Writing Magazine is the "my writing day" article they always have at the end