John C. "Jay" Cocks Jr. (born January 12, 1944) is an American

film critic Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: Academic criticism by film scholars, who study the composition of film theory and publish their findin ...

and screenwriter. He is a graduate of

Kenyon College Kenyon College ( ) is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1824 by Episcopal Bishop Philander Chase. It is the oldest private instituti ...

.Some Notable Alumni
, kenyon.edu; accessed August 28, 2015. He was a critic for ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'', ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'', and ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'', among other magazines, before shifting to screenplay writing. For his work, Cocks has received three

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

nominations: two for Best Adapted Screenplay, '' The Age of Innocence'' (1993) and '' A Complete Unknown'' (2024); and one for

Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award (also known as an Oscar) for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best ...

, '' Gangs of New York'' (2002).

Career

As a screenwriter, he is notable for his collaborations with director

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...

, particularly '' The Age of Innocence'' and '' Gangs of New York'' — a screenplay he started working on in 1976 — as well as

Kathryn Bigelow Kathryn Ann Bigelow (; born November 27, 1951) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Her accolades include two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 100 most i ...

's '' Strange Days''. He did an uncredited rewrite of James Cameron's screenplay for ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...

'' and was, with Scorsese, the co-screenwriter of ''

Silence Silence is the absence of ambient hearing, audible sound, the emission of sounds of such low sound intensity, intensity that they do not draw attention to themselves, or the state of having ceased to produce sounds; this latter sense can be exten ...

''. Cocks and Scorsese approached author Philip K. Dick in 1969 for an adaptation of his 1968 novel '' Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?'' Though the duo never optioned the book, it was later developed into the movie ''

Blade Runner ''Blade Runner'' is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott from a screenplay by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos, it is an adaptation of Philip K. Di ...

'' by screenwriter Hampton Fancher and director

Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is an English film director and producer. He directs films in the Science fiction film, science fiction, Crime film, crime, and historical drama, historical epic genres, with an atmospheric and highly co ...

. Under the pseudonym "Joseph P. Gillis", Cocks and filmmaker

Brian De Palma Brian Russell De Palma (; born September 11, 1940) is an Americans, American film director and screenwriter. With a career spanning over 50 years, he is best known for work in the suspense, Crime film, crime, and psychological thriller genres. ...

wrote a

spec script A spec script, also known as a speculative screenplay, is a non-commissioned and unsolicited screenplay. It is usually written by a screenwriter who hopes to have the script optioned and eventually purchased by a producer, production company, or ...

for the

crime drama Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

television series ''

Columbo ''Columbo'' is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Columbo (character), Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originall ...

'' in 1973. Their teleplay, titled "Shooting Script", was never filmed. De Palma and Cocks did however contribute to the writing of the narrative crawl that opens the 1977 film ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

''.

Personal life

Cocks married actress Verna Bloom in 1972. Bloom, with Cocks, had a son, Sam, born in 1981. Bloom died in 2019.

Filmography

Unproduced projects * ''Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?'' (1969) – Script for Martin Scorsese * "Shooting Script" (1973) – Unproduced ''

'' teleplay (under the pseudonym Joseph P. Gillis) * '' Night Life'' (1978) – Script for Martin Scorsese * Untitled satirical comedy (1980) – Script for

* ''The Company of Angels'' (1994) – Script for Kathryn Bigelow * ''Ambrose Chapel'' (1998) – Script for Brian De Palma * ''Nazi Gold'' (1998) – Script for Brian De Palma * ''Brownsville Girl'' (2010) – Script for Scott Cooper * ''The Last of the Savages'' (2023) – Adaptation of the novel

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cocks, Jay 1944 births American film critics American male screenwriters Place of birth missing (living people) Kenyon College alumni Living people American male non-fiction writers