May '00 : In His Own Words
David Koepp

When the following headline “Writer Lands Multi-Million-Dollar Deal” hit various publications, I was thrilled to read that the screenwriter was David Koepp. I had the pleasure of meeting David when he was on a publicity tour for his last film, Stir of Echoes which starred Kevin Bacon. The writer-director shares his knowledge of screenwriting, becoming a director, and dealing with his latest writing task, Spiderman, the movie.

THIS IS PART ONE OF A TWO PART SERIES.

Shelby

The SAG released a study showing that Blacks and Latinos had extremely low percentages as far as roles they received in films produced in 1998. Is this issue even considered by successful white writers/directors such as yourself? Any advice for minorities?

David

The issue of writing parts for Blacks and Latinos, as well as casting them in those parts (as you know, just because a role is WRITTEN that way doesn't mean it will be CAST that way) is of enormous concern to me, and to most other writers I know not out of any PC thing, but just because if you're trying to write a piece that takes place in America in general, or New York in particular, where I live, it's completely unreal if the movie looks like a loaf of white bread. (that was a run-on sentence, but you get the gist) The problem I have writing these parts is the same as the problems I have writing parts for women -- the further the part is from my personal life experience, the less accurate my writing will be. What I hope is that I'll get some help from the actors after I cast them, not just in their performances, but in helping me shape the roles themselves.

Shelby

Climbing the success ladder to becoming a Hollywood writer is difficult, and some would surmount almost impossible. How did you do it?

David

There's no magic route to success in Hollywood, or success in any field, it's just a matter of working hard and, perhaps, having a bit of luck now and then. But luck is sort of overrated, everyone has a bit of it now and then, but as the saying goes, good fortune favors the prepared, if you've done your
homework and honed your talents, you'll be ready to take advantage of it when an opportunity presents itself. The big break for me was a spec script I wrote called Bad Influence, that was the tool I used to get an agent and the first writing jobs.

Shelby

You are currently penning Spider-Man. How did you approach a character that is more of a national icon rather than a simple character?

David

I'm starting to view Spider-Man as a tremendous responsibility, and I can't say I'm crazy about that. You don't have the freedom you have with your own material, because you're constantly in the room with the expectations and preconceptions of millions of fans. While that's a wonderful thing come opening weekend, to know there's a built-in fan base, it's kind of intrusive when you're working. Still, you have to remember that the person you have the greatest obligation to please when you're writing is yourself, because your instincts and intuitions are all you have going for you anyway. So you just tough it out, try to lay low, and hope people appreciate your take on things.

Shelby

Being a writer/director is the dream of many. Was it your dream or did you make a left turn and end up doing this?

David

Since film school, I was interested in directing, but I think until quite recently I would have been outrageously happy just being a continuously employed screenwriter. But now that I've tasted the fruit of directing twice, I'm finding writing for hire to be much less fulfilling than it used to be. Not sure how much longer I'll be able to do it after Spidey, if at all. Directing is just too damn much fun.

Shelby

Many writers are pigeon-holed into writing stereotypical content rather than being allowed outside the box. How can a writer maintain his/her creative control and vision?

David

The only way to maintain any kind of creative control as a writer is... well, actually, there IS no way to maintain creative control as a writer. Period. It's just not your medium. And this thing that writers are all fighting for now, to be on the set? You couldn't pay me. It's TORTURE to be on the set as a writer. You have nothing to do, and they don't listen to you anyway. The sorry truth!