The Playlist

John McClane’s Son Joins YA Movie 'Divergent' With Shailene Woodley

By Kevin Jagernauth
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March 14, 2013 2:09 PM
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0 Comments

News

From rumbling with Tom Cruise in "Jack Reacher" to trading quips with Dad Willis in "A Good Day To Die Hard," Jai Courtney has been enjoying blockbuster gigs, but still hasn't penetrated the pop culture consciousness. Perhaps a part in potential tween franchise will do the trick.

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'National Treasure' Writers Tackling 'Uncharted: Drake's Fortune'; Director Neil Burger Exits

By Cain Rodriguez
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August 24, 2012 8:58 AM
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1 Comment

News

Video games have always had trouble making it to the big screen: for every “Resident Evil” there’s a “Halo”-like project stalling. The big-screen adaptation of “Uncharted: Drake's Fortune” video game series was first announced during in the run up to “The Fighter” with David O. Russell potentially re-teaming with Mark Wahlberg. However, the studio, not wanting to deviate too far from the source material, replaced the director with “Limitless” helmer Neil Burger last summer. But now it looks like the production has hit another speed bump as Burger has bowed out of the director’s chair and a pair of new writers have joined the adaptation.

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'Limitless' Helmer Neil Burger To Direct First Installment Of New Young Adult Trilogy 'Divergent'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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August 23, 2012 5:08 PM
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2 Comments

News

Earlier this year, we dipped into the world of young adult fiction and drummed up a list of 15 properties could be the next "The Hunger Games" or "Twilight." And among the titles mentioned, just at the end, was "Divergent." We noted work started on it a couple years ago, but there didn't seem to be much movement, but lo and behold, it's now moving full steam ahead.

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'Limitless' Helmer Neil Burger Lands Director's Chair For Dennis Lehane's 'Animal Rescue'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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June 11, 2012 7:40 PM
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6 Comments

News

Word has been quiet on what Neil Burger will be up to next following his sleeper hit "Limitless." Over the past year or so he's become attached to the video game movie "Uncharted," and a riff on "Bonnie & Clyde" penned by "Up In The Air" scribe Sheldon Turner, and while both those projects seem to be quiet at the moment, he's landed another gig that had the studio chasing some big names.

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Jon Favreau Teams With J.J. Abrams For 'Revolution'; Gavin O'Connor, Neil Burger & Ellen Barkin Take TV Pilots

By Joe Cunningham
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February 10, 2012 9:25 AM
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1 Comment

Television

Remember when big-screen talent lining up work on television was big news? Now it's frankly surprising if a Hollywood director or actor hasn't got a project on TV. Here's the latest list that will be working on pilots this year.

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Neil Burger To Direct Untold Story Of 'Bonnie & Clyde' By 'Up In The Air' Writer Sheldon Turner

By Kevin Jagernauth
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July 25, 2011 10:23 AM
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2 Comments

Bryan Singer & Guy Ritchie's "Excalibur" Projects Are DeadIt looks like Neil Burger is finally seeing some dividends after a decade or so in Hollywood. He burst onto the scene with "Interview With The Assassin" in 2002, but four years his sophomore effort, the magician drama "The Illusionist" was overshadowed by another similarly themed movie that came out the same year, none other than Christopher Nolan's "The Prestige." By the time Burger got to his Iraq war drama "The Lucky Ones," audiences had already cooled on the genre but this year, he finally struck gold with "Limitless," the sci-fi tinged thriller that surprised everyone by earning over $150 million worldwide. The success of that film landed Burger his first bonafide tentpole, replacing David O. Russell on the video game adaptation "Uncharted" and now he's adding another project to his growing slate of films, with an Oscar nominated writer in tow.

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'Limitless' Helmer Neil Burger Replaces David O. Russell On 'Uncharted'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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July 7, 2011 6:28 AM
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7 Comments

So, how do you get yourself off directing a videogame adaptation? Submit a 200-page script with a bunch of characters that aren’t in the game and you'll be doing exactly what David O. Russell did before he left the director's chair of gestating big screen version of the popular "Uncharted." Already a choice that made nerds uneasy -- mostly because Russell hadn't played the game which apparently is necessary in mounting a movie -- the newest name to board the project should make gamers a bit happier.

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Review: 'Limitless' Expands The Boundaries of Bradley Cooper's Charm

By Kimber Myers
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March 16, 2011 8:20 AM
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4 Comments

Originally (and enigmatically) titled “Dark Fields,” Neil Burger’s latest film now bears the bland moniker “Limitless,” making it sound like a film scraped together from D.C. Comics’ dregs. But rather than being another entry in the seemingly neverending superhero genre, “Limitless” is a sci-fi-inflected thriller that never quite lives up to its premise or its lead actor.

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Exclusive: Neil Burger Talks 'Limitless,' Working With Robert De Niro & Making Mid-Budgeted Sci-Fi

By Edward Davis
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March 14, 2011 6:47 AM
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1 Comment

With only four film deep into his career, filmmaker Neil Burger has been amassing a varied body of work. So far he's done mystical period drama ("The Illusionist"), a pseudo docum-drama about who killed JFK ("Interview With The Assassin"), an post Iraq War indie drama ("The Lucky Ones"), and now his most ambitious work, "Limitless," a New York-set self-improvement, power-and-influence drama set within the confines of reality-based sci-fi.

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Neil Burger Doesn't Know What's Next, But Says His 'The Criminals' Script Is Gaining Buzz

By Edward Davis
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March 8, 2011 7:04 AM
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2 Comments

'Limitless' Director Says He Has Several Projects To Choose From & The Bradley Cooper/De Niro Sci-Fi Film Is Opening DoorsExclusive: Eclectic filmmaker Neil Burger has gone from pseudo-documentary ("Interview With The Assassin"), to period-drama ("The Illusionist" with Ed Norton), to smaller indie, post-Iraq War film ("The Lucky Ones") and now has landed on a film that combines self-improvement, sci-fi-ish elements and high stakes power in New York, "Limitless."

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