Neil Burger

Neil Norman Burger (born November 22, 1963) is an American filmmaker. He is known for the fake-documentary Interview with the Assassin (2002), the period drama The Illusionist (2006), Limitless (2011), and the sci-fi action film Divergent (2014). Life and career Burger was born in Greenwich, Connecticut. After graduating from Yale University with a degree in fine arts, he became involved with experimental film in the 1980s and went on to direct music videos for such alternative artists as the Meat Puppets. He approached MTV about creating and directing a series of inspiring promotional announcements for what would be the MTV Books: Feed Your Head campaign against aliteracy. In association with Ridley Scott Associates, he directed commercials for companies including Mastercard, IBM and ESPN, and created a series of television spots for Amnesty International and their campaign for prisoners of conscience. Burger made his directorial feature debut with Interview with the Assassin in 2002, which he also wrote. It won the Best Feature Film category at the Woodstock Film Festival and Avignon Film Festival, and was nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards, including Best First Film and Best First Screenplay.