2019 Sundance Film Festival Predictions: #84. Scott Z. Burns – The Torture Report

It would be kind of neat to see Scott Z. Burns premiere his directorial debut at the same time as his frequent collaborator Steven Soderbergh unveils High Flying Bird (#32 on our Predictions list). A scribe who first got into the game via Pu-239 (2006), arguably his best gigs have been for 2007’s The Bourne Ultimatum, 2009’s The Informant! and 2013’s Side Effects. A mentor-in-residence for Sundance Screenwriters Labs, Burns began production on The Torture Report in April this year in NYC with the likes of Adam Driver, Annette Bening, Jon Hamm, Jennifer Morrison, Tim Blake Nelson, Ben McKenzie, Matthew Rhys, Ted Levine, Michael C. Hall and Maura Tierney. The project is based on a Vanity Fair article.

Gist: the CIA’s extreme interrogation methods following the September 11 attacks

Production Co./Producers: Scott Z. Burns, Jennifer Fox, Danny Gabai, Eddy Moretti, Kerry Orent, Steven Soderbergh, Michael Sugar

Prediction: High value acquisitions titles for the Premieres category.

U.S. Distributor: Rights Available. TBD (domestic). TBD (international).