---
name: "Jack Epps Jr."
canonical: "https://film.one/person/jack-epps-jr"
fi1m_id: "jack-epps-jr"
imdb_id: "nm0258390"
tmdb_id: 11081
wikidata_id: "Q3805577"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "3 November 1949"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 4
average_fi1m_score: 73
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 4
updated: "2026-10-04T19:57:25.354414+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Jack Epps Jr.

## Identity

Jack Epps Jr.

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/jack-epps-jr
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** jack-epps-jr
- **IMDb ID:** nm0258390
- **TMDB ID:** 11081
- **Wikidata ID:** Q3805577
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Epps_Jr., https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3805577, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0258390/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/11081

Writer. Born 3 November 1949 in Detroit.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 3 November 1949, Detroit
- **Active:** 1973–present
- **Frequently works with:** [Jim Cash](https://film.one/person/jim-cash.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 73, as writer, over 4 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1970s 80 (1), 1980s 66 (2), 2020s 80 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 71 to 70 across 3 titles
- **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 3, Action 2, Comedy 1, Crime 1, Mystery 1, Romance 1
- **Screen time:** 6 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $1,957m across 3 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Epps_Jr., https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3805577, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0258390/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/11081

## Streaming the US now

- **The Roku Channel:** [*Kojak*](https://film.one/tv/kojak.md) (80)
- **Hulu:** [*Top Gun*](https://film.one/film/top-gun.md) (71)
- **Netflix:** [*The Secret of My Success*](https://film.one/film/the-secret-of-my-success.md) (62)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Jack Epps Jr. is an American screenwriter, author and educator. Born in Detroit on 3 November 1949, he graduated from Michigan State University, where he later met his longtime writing partner, Jim Cash, a former screenwriting instructor.

Epps and Cash wrote the screenplay for *Top Gun* (1986), which became the highest-grossing film of the year. Their other credits include *Legal Eagles* (1986), *The Secret of My Success* (1987), *Turner & Hooch* (1989) and *Dick Tracy* (1990). Epps also contributed to later projects such as *Anaconda* (1997) and received a character credit on *Top Gun: Maverick* (2022).

He has taught at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts and is the author of the screenwriting book *Screenwriting is Rewriting*.

*Sources: imdb.com, cal.msu.edu, cinema.usc.edu, en.wikipedia.org.*

## On Fi1m (4)

- *Top Gun: Maverick* (2022), Fi1m 80, Characters — [page](https://film.one/film/top-gun-maverick.md)
- *The Secret of My Success* (1987), Fi1m 62, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/the-secret-of-my-success.md)
- *Top Gun* (1986), Fi1m 71, Writer — [page](https://film.one/film/top-gun.md)
- *Kojak* (1973), Fi1m 80, Writer — [page](https://film.one/tv/kojak.md)

## Complete filmography (14)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Anaconda* (2025), Original Film Writer
- *Top Gun: Maverick* (2022), Characters — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/top-gun-maverick.md)
- *They'll Love Me When I'm Dead* (2018), Thanks
- *Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid* (2004), Story
- *The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas* (2000), Screenplay
- *Anaconda* (1997), Producer, Writer
- *Dick Tracy* (1990), Screenplay
- *Turner & Hooch* (1989), Screenplay
- *The Secret of My Success* (1987), Screenplay — Fi1m 62, [page](https://film.one/film/the-secret-of-my-success.md)
- *Legal Eagles* (1986), Screenplay
- *Top Gun* (1986), Writer — Fi1m 71, [page](https://film.one/film/top-gun.md)
- *The Pigs vs. The Freaks* (1984), Producer, Story
- *Kojak* (1973), series, Writer — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/tv/kojak.md)
- *Top Gun 3*, Characters

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/jack-epps-jr