The Playlist

The obsessives' guide to contemporary cinema via film discussion, news, reviews, features, nostalgia, movie music, soundtracks, DVDs and more.

Interviews

Scott Z. Burns Talks Researching 'Contagion' & Working With Matt Damon & Steven Soderbergh

By The Playlist
|
September 10, 2011 2:00 AM
|
0 Comments

Six Things We Learned From The 'Bourne Ultimatum' WriterWhile perhaps best known for writing the blockbuster smash, "The Bourne Ultimatum," which grossed a healthy $442 million worldwide, screenwriter Scott Z. Burns is possibly better known within the film industry for his collaborations with Academy Award-winning filmmaker Steven Soderbergh. An Oscar winner himself (as producer of "The Inconvenient Truth"), Burns has collaborated with the "Erin Brokovich" director several times, including the writer's directorial debut "PU-239" and scripts for "Ocean's 12" (uncredited work), "The Informant!" and this weekend's virus thriller, "Contagion."

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
August 12, 2011 3:53 AM
|
2 Comments

Of all the projects David Fincher has attached himself To over the years, "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" is certainly the most mainstream-ready. Set up at Disney and set to be shot in 3D, it's definitely Fincher's first step towards tentpole filmmaking and while we'd probably rather see the director do something, anything else, the fact that Scott Z. Burns ("Contagion," "The Informant!") penned the script gives up hope this will be a cut above the rest.

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
December 31, 2010 2:50 AM
|
4 Comments

Director Says 'Chef' Project Is DeadDavid Fincher certainly hasn't had time to bask in the critical glow of his Oscar contender "The Social Network." "I mean we finished the movie probably 3, 4 weeks before the New York Film Festival, and I got on a plane and went to Stockholm, and then I got on a plane [and] came back for the opening, and then went to work. So I kind of haven’t really had a chance to assess, cause I’ve really been (laughs) on to other things," he told Collider in an extensive interview. Currently elbows deep in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," which according to Stellan Skarsgård will be shooting through May, the ever-busy director still has his eye on future projects, including the previously announced "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea." And for Fincher, who continually pushes the technical envelope with each film, he's set to make his first foray in the industry's hottest trend.