John C. "Jay" Cocks Jr. (born January 12, 1944) is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is a graduate of Kenyon College.Some Notable Alumni , kenyon.edu; accessed August 28, 2015. He was a critic for Time, Newsweek and Rolling Stone, among other magazines before shifting to screenplay writing. For his work, Cocks has received three Academy Award nominations: two for Best Adapted Screenplay — The Age of Innocence (1993) and A Complete Unknown (2024) — and one for Best Original Screenplay (Gangs of New York) (2002).
Career As a screenwriter, he is notable for his collaborations with director Martin Scorsese, particularly The Age of Innocence and Gangs of New York — a screenplay he started working on in 1976 — as well as Kathryn Bigelow's Strange Days. He did an uncredited rewrite of James Cameron's screenplay for Titanic and was, with Scorsese, the co-screenwriter of Silence. 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 by screenwriter Hampton Fancher and director Ridley Scott.
Under the pseudonym "Joseph P. Gillis", Cocks and filmmaker Brian De Palma wrote a spec script for the crime drama television series Columbo in 1973. Their teleplay, titled "Shooting Script", was never filmed. De Palma and Cocks did, however, contribute in part with helping George Lucas with the narrative crawl that opens the 1977 film Star Wars.
Personal life Cocks married actress Verna Bloom in 1972. Bloom, with Cocks, had a son, Sam, born in 1981. Bloom died in 2019.
Filmography Year Title Director Notes 1988 The Last Temptation of ChristMartin Scorsese Uncredited 1990 Made in Milan Documentary short 1993 The Age of Innocence Credited with Martin Scorsese 1995 Strange Days Kathryn Bigelow Credited with James Cameron 2002 Gangs of New York Martin Scorsese Credited with Steve Zaillian & Kenneth Lonergan 2004 De-Lovely Irwin Winkler 2016 Silence Martin Scorsese Credited with Martin Scorsese 2024 A Complete Unknown James Mangold Credited with James Mangold
Unproduced projects Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1969) – Script for Martin Scorsese "Shooting Script" (1973) – Unproduced Columbo teleplay (under the pseudonym Joseph P. Gillis) Night Life (1978) – Script for Martin Scorsese Untitled satirical comedy (1980) – Script for Brian De Palma 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 Year Award Category Title Result 1993Academy Awards Best Adapted Screenplay The Age of Innocence 2002 Best Original ScreenplayGangs of New York BAFTA Awards Best Original Screenplay Writers Guild of America Best Original Screenplay 2016 National Board of Review Best Adapted Screenplay Silence Chicago Film Critics Association Best Adapted Screenplay 2024 Academy Awards Best Adapted ScreenplayA Complete Unknown BAFTA Awards Best Adapted Screenplay Writers Guild of America Best Adapted Screenplay
References
External links