Scott Burns

Scott Z. Burns is a screenwriter, director, producer, and playwright. Scott began his career in advertising, working on everything from beer to cars to athletic shoes. Before leaving the industry, he was part of the team that created the ‘Got Milk?’ campaign. His work in film includes producing the Academy Award-winning documentary AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, as well as AN INCONVENIENT SEQUEL and SEA OF SHADOWS. Burns' writing credits include THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM for Paul Greengrass, as well as THE INFORMANT!, CONTAGION, SIDE EFFECTS, and THE LAUNDROMAT for director Steven Soderbergh. As a director, Burns’ credits include PU-239 starring Oscar Isaac and Paddy Considine and the Golden Globe-nominated film THE REPORT starring Adam Driver, Annette Bening, and Jon Hamm, which received the Cinema for Peace Award for Best Political Film of 2019. Burns also directed the digital series THE VIEW FROM HERE, a collection of documentary shorts on the terminally ill. On stage, Burns’ play THE LIBRARY, which deals with a high school shooting, was produced at The Public Theater and was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award for Best New American Play. In television, Burns is developing an anthology series about the ramifications of climate change and the future of humanity, EXTRAPOLATIONS, for Apple TV+.

Burns is an advisor at the Sundance Institute and a member of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Leadership Committee. Burns attended the University of Minnesota where he graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in English Literature.