Scala Radio Book Club: Cold Storage by David Koepp
The first novel from Jurassic Park, Mission: Impossible and Spider Man screenwriter David Koepp sees a micro-organism threaten worldwide destruction
Last updated 28th Jun 2021
Celebrated screenwriter David Koepp has penned more than two dozen films including Jurassic Park, Mission: Impossible and Spider-Man. The film rights to his first novel Cold Storage have already been sold. Simon Mayo spoke to the screenwriter to learn about the inspiration behind Koepp's latest villain.
“If nature doesn’t have a sense of showbiz, I don’t know who does!," said David. "I was looking around for some sort of microscopic villain and my son, who is twelve and very into science suggested, 'you should look at ophiocordyceps; the zombie fungus!' and I thought, 'I can work with that!'
"There are about 200 strains of a fungus called ophiocordyceps, which many people have heard of. Most famously there’s a strain that preys on ants. Say an ant is walking across the jungle floor, it picks up a few spores of the fungus on its feet, the fungus then penetrates the interior of the ant’s body and it takes over the ant’s motor functions. The ant feels compelled to climb something tall so it finds the nearest blade of grass.”
“It takes over – to the extent that the ant has an executive function – the fungus takes that over as it fills up the body cavity of the ant. The ant then climbs a blade of grass – I’m not making this up, this is nature. Nature’s the sicko here, not me! So, the ant gets to the top of the blade of grass, clamps its teeth down over the top, waits for the fungus to overfill its body and then it explodes, spreading fungus as far as it can.”
Casting a highly mutative organism capable of extinction-level destruction a villain is a departure for Koepp compared to the foes he's famed for on the silver screen.
“I think a good dose of science kind of works well with horror because it makes it ultimately much more believable.
"If you can believe that thing really exists in the world rather than a hundred-foot monster, if the monster is microbial, I think it plays into some very real fears that people have."
During David Koepp's interview he selected The Gentle Hum of Anxiety by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross from the film The Social Network as his music choice.
Purchase a copy of Cold Storage now at Waterstones and Amazon.
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