Scott Z. Burns (born July 17, 1962) is an American filmmaker, screenwriter, and playwright.
Early life and education Burns was born in 1962 in Golden Valley, Minnesota. In 1985, Burns graduated summa cum laude with a degree in English from the University of Minnesota.
Career After graduating from the University of Minnesota, Burns began his career in advertising, later becoming a television commercials director. He was part of the team at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners that created the original Got Milk? campaign.
Burns has written screenplays for The Bourne Ultimatum (2007), The Informant! (2009), and Contagion (2011), all of which feature Matt Damon. His films The Informant! (2009), Contagion (2011), and Side Effects (2013) were directed by Steven Soderbergh. He also wrote a screenplay for The Man from U.N.C.L.E, which was initially intended to be directed by Soderbergh but was ultimately directed by Guy Ritchie. Burns also produced the Academy Award-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth (2006). He wrote and directed the film The Report (2019), a drama about the secret torture program inside the CIA. He performed uncredited rewrites on Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, the Star Wars film Rogue One and the James Bond film No Time to Die (2021). https://theplaylist.net/scott-z-burns-writing-no-time-to-die-climate-change-projects-interview-20210930/
Public interest in Burns's film Contagion (2011) renewed during the COVID-19 pandemic, making it the seventh-most downloaded film on iTunes by March 6, 2020.
In a March 2020 interview, Burns commented on the film's resurgence and similarities to the active pandemic, especially in the wake of a round of CDC budget cuts:
Burns was announced to write the screenplay for a new adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' novel American Psycho, with Luca Guadagnino directing and Lionsgate distributing.
Burns also wrote a screenplay for a Star Wars film set after Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker, entitled The Hunt for Ben Solo (and operating under the code name Quiet Leaves), directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Adam Driver as Ben Solo/Kylo Ren. While Lucasfilm loved the idea, when they presented the screenplay to Disney, Bob Iger and Alan Bergman said no because, according to Driver, "They didn't see how Ben Solo was alive. And that was that." Still, Burns received a reportedly seven-figure payment for the script.
Filmography Films Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes 2006 An Inconvenient Truth Pu-239 2007 The Bourne Ultimatum 2009 The Informant! 2011 Contagion 2013 Side Effects 2014 Last Days Animated short documentary film 2014 Dawn of the Planet of the Apes 2016 Rogue One 2017 The Mercy 2019 The Report The Laundromat 2021 No Time to Die
Television Year Title Director Writer Executiveproducer Notes 2007 CalifornicationEpisode "Filthy Lucre" 2018 The View from HereTV miniseries 2019 The Loudest VoiceEpisode "2016" 2023 Extrapolations Also showrunner 2024 Dune: Prophecy
Plays Year Title 2014 The Library
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