David Burris

Last updated

David Burris (sometimes credited as Dave Burris or David Allen Burris) is an American filmmaker, television producer, writer and musician. He directed the feature film The World Made Straight (Millennium Entertainment) and the short film The Side of the Road, which he also wrote. He was the executive producer on CBS's Survivor [1] and a writer on the USA / SiFi series Good vs. Evil . As a musician, he was a founding member and songwriter for Sire/Warner recording artists Jolene and a recording and touring member of Mercury/Polygram recording artists The Veldt.

Contents

Background

Burris was born in Durham, raised in Raleigh and educated in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. His father, Craven Allen Burris, was the dean of Raleigh's Meredith College and traveled overseas often for academic programs. David accompanied him on these sojourns, spending considerable chunks of his childhood in London while also traveling across the UK and Europe. His mother, Jane Russell Burris, was a high school librarian and instilled in him a deep love of literature and storytelling from an early age.

Education

Burris did a year of study at the University of Edinburgh but ultimately took his bachelor's degree from UNC–Chapel Hill and his master's degree from Wake Forest University. At UNC's student television station Burris formed a sketch comedy troupe with future filmmakers Peyton Reed and John Schultz, among others. They produced a series called The World of Fun that was heavily influenced by Monty Python's Flying Circus and Second City Television.

Career

Early film work in New York (1990-1995)

Burris moved to New York after college where he worked on a number of films for such NY indie-film scene notables as Abel Ferrara, Jim Jarmusch, and Paul Auster. In 1992 he produced the short film Howard Black starring John C. Reilly, followed by The Side of the Road in 1994, starring Jared Harris and Stephen Gevedon.

Musical work (1992-2002)

In 1992 Burris hooked up with childhood friends Danny and Daniel Chavis and Marvin Levy to join Mercury/Polygram recording artists and soulful, shoegaze innovators The Veldt for their major label debut Afrodisiac. This led to numerous tours of the country, most notably with British ethereal rock legends The Cocteau Twins. Burris left the band as a full-time member in 1995 but continues to perform with the band when called upon.

In 1996 Burris formed the atmospheric American rock band Jolene with first cousin John Crooke. After four albums and multiple tours of Europe, The United Kingdom and the US, the band has taken an "extended break" since playing a final show at the classic London venue The Borderline in 2002 – a fledgling iteration of the band Bloc Party opened the show. Jolene songs penned by Burris feature on the soundtracks of the films Election and A Simple Plan.

TV work - Los Angeles (1999-present)

In 1999 Burris moved to Los Angeles and took a job writing on the SyFy/USA series Good vs. Evil with fellow Carolinians Jonas and Josh Pate.

Burris eventually moved on to the CBS blockbuster series Survivor where he began as a supervising producer before taking on the role of "Show Runner" as the program's Executive Producer. [2] In his time there he created hundreds of hours of TV and filmed on location in dozens of countries around the world.

Film work (2013 – present)

In 2013 Burris returned to the world of feature film. He directed and produced The World Made Straight, an adaptation of Ron Rash's award-winning novel of the same name. [3] Burris' producing partners on the picture were fellow North Carolina natives Todd Labarowski of Dreambridge Films and Michael Wrenn (currently based in Sydney). Shot entirely on location in the mountains around Asheville, North Carolina, the film stars Jeremy Irvine, Noah Wyle, Minka Kelly, Adelaide Clemens, Steve Earle and Haley Joel Osment. It was released theatrically in 2015 by Millennium Entertainment.

The New York Times calls the World Made Straight "a coming-of-age story in which codes and vendettas loom larger than the outside world." [4] The New York Post describes the film as "Southern noir with literary heft" and having "a neo-Faulknerian atmosphere of indelible sin in a story that rises above cliché..." [5] The film's soundtrack features a score by NC psych-folk band Megafaun and songs from Ellie Goulding, The Frames, Algia Mae Hinton, Susan Cowsill, The Connells, Hotel Lights and others.

Burris is currently developing an adaptation of Nic Brown's novel Doubles and an original screenplay by Miles Ross, The Golden Rule.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chapel Hill, North Carolina</span> Town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States

Chapel Hill is a town in Orange and Durham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Its population was 61,960 in the 2020 census, making Chapel Hill the 17th-most populous municipality in the state. Chapel Hill, Durham, and the state capital, Raleigh, make up the corners of the Research Triangle, with a total population of 2,106,463 in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robbie Robertson</span> Canadian singer, songwriter and guitarist (1943–2023)

Jaime Royal "Robbie" Robertson was a Canadian musician. He was lead guitarist for Bob Dylan in the mid-late 1960s and early-mid 1970s, guitarist and songwriter with the Band from their inception until 1978, and a solo artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Connells</span> American rock band

The Connells are an American musical group from Raleigh, North Carolina. They play a guitar-oriented, melodic, jangle-pop style of rock music with introspective lyrics that often reflect the history or culture of the American South.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mitch Easter</span> Musical artist

Mitchell Blake Easter is a musician, songwriter, and record producer. Frequently associated with the jangle pop style of guitar music, he is known as producer of R.E.M.'s early albums from 1981 through 1984, and as frontman of the 1980s band Let's Active.

George Moses Horton, was an African-American poet from North Carolina who was enslaved until Union troops, carrying the Emancipation Proclamation, reached North Carolina (1865). Horton is the first African-American author to be published in the United States. He is author of the first book of literature published in North Carolina and was known as the "Slave Poet".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 UNC SUV attack</span>

On March 3, 2006, Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar intentionally hit people with a sport utility vehicle on the campus of the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill to "avenge the deaths of Muslims worldwide" and to "punish" the United States government. While no one was killed in the vehicle-ramming attack, nine people were injured.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Custer</span> American music producer

John Custer is an American record producer and musician. He produced the Grammy-nominated "Drowning in a Daydream" by Corrosion of Conformity and their fourth album, Deliverance, which is a gold album. Additionally, he has produced #1 songs on the Billboard charts and The Album Network charts as well as Hall of Fame inducted albums in national and world-wide music press. In 2014, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Carolina Music Awards. He has been called the "Indestructible Godfather of the NC Music Industry".

<i>The World Made Straight</i> Novel by Ron Rash

The World Made Straight is a 2006 novel by Ron Rash.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broughton High School (North Carolina)</span> Public school in North Carolina, United States

Needham B. Broughton High School, commonly known as Broughton High School, is one of thirty-two high schools in the Wake County Public School System. It is located at 723 St. Mary's Street, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Broughton was named after businessman and politician, Needham B. Broughton, who contributed much to the public schools of the Raleigh area. Broughton is known for its castle-like stone facade design and tall bell tower. The architect was William Henley Deitrick.

Grady Cooper III, known professionally as Grady Cooper, is an American director, producer and Emmy nominated film editor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Irving III</span> Musical artist

Robert Irving III is an American pianist, composer, arranger and music educator.

Daniel Frederick Ireland was an American-Canadian film producer and director. He was the co-founder of the Seattle International Film Festival. Ireland began executive-producing films for Vestron Pictures in the 1980s, his first being John Huston's final feature, The Dead (1987). He also executive-produced multiple films by director Ken Russell, such as Salome's Last Dance (1987), The Lair of the White Worm (1988), The Rainbow (1989), and Whore (1991).

Apollo Heights is an American shoegazing band that was formed in New York City in 2002. Consisting mainly of twin brothers Daniel and Danny Chavis, they play experimental rock music. They cite AR Kane and My Bloody Valentine as a major inspiration. Their debut album White Music For Black People was produced by Robin Guthrie of Cocteau Twins and features guest appearances from Mos Def, Lady Kier, David Sitek of TV on the Radio, Mike Ladd and Guthrie himself on guitar. The Chavis brothers were members of the alternative soul group The Veldt who released three albums on Polygram, Mammoth and Capitol Records. Although the Veldt is left out of references on the Chapel Hill music scene, they were a key band during the heyday of North Carolina music along with other bands of the time like Metal Flake Mother, Superchunk and Dillon Fence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culture of North Carolina</span> Overview of the culture of North Carolina (USA)

The Culture of North Carolina is a subculture in the United States. As one of the original Thirteen Colonies, North Carolina culture has been greatly influenced by early settlers of English, Scotch-Irish, Scotch, German, and Swiss descent. Likewise, African Americans have had great cultural influence in North Carolina, first coming as enslaved people during colonial times. From slavery to freedom, they have helped shape things such as literary traditions, religious practices, cuisine, music, and popular culture.

Annie Elizabeth Clark is a women's rights and civil rights activist in the United States. She was one of the lead complainants of the 2013 Title IX and Clery Act charges lodged against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, claiming that the institution violated the law by the way they handled sexual assault complaints. Clark and Andrea Pino, then a fellow UNC student and also a victim of sexual assault, launched a nationwide campaign to use Title IX complaints to force U.S. universities to address sexual assault and related problems more aggressively. Clark is co-founder with Pino of End Rape on Campus, an advocacy group for victims of campus sexual assault.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Maxwell (singer)</span> American singer-songwriter (b. 1965)

Thomas Edward Maxwell is an American songwriter, singer, and musician. Most notably, Maxwell is the former lead singer of the swing revival band Squirrel Nut Zippers. He wrote the single "Hell" from the 1996 platinum-certified album Hot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Holland (musician)</span> American songwriter and musician (born 1969)

Michael Abbott Holland, is an American songwriter, musician, and producer that got his start with the alternative rock band Jennanykind in the 1990s and early 2000s. His music and other recordings, with Jennyanykind, The Holland Bros. and solo, have appeared in films such as Desert Saints, The World Made Straight, and the Jody Hill film The Legacy of a Whitetail Deer Hunter, and series such as Apple TV+'s Dickinson, F/X's Baskets, and HBO's The Righteous Gemstones. Holland also appeared with his twin brother Mark in The Righteous Gemstones Season 1 Episode 3 as musicians at a church picnic playing their production of the old hymnal The Old Country Church. Holland's music has been covered by artists such as Dean Wareham and Dean & Britta.

The Veldt is a pioneering alternative soul and shoegaze group formed in 1986 in Raleigh, North Carolina by identical twin brothers Daniel and Danny Chavis. The band took their name from a Ray Bradbury science fiction story. After signing with Capitol Records in 1989, the group went on to tour America opening for such groups as The Jesus and Mary Chain and the Cocteau Twins, whose member Robin Guthrie produced their initial recordings. Their 1994 album 'Afrodisiac' is viewed as a classic of the shoegaze genre.

References

  1. Brooks, Brian. "'Survivor' Producer's Film Debut Leads Sparse Specialty Offerings For Weekend." Deadline. Deadline.com, 08 Jan. 2015. Web. 22 March 2016.
  2. Ng, Philiana. "'Survivor' Renewed for Two More Seasons." The Hollywood Reporter. Thehollywoodreporter.com, 17 Nov. 2011. Web. 22 Mar. 2016.
  3. Harvey, Dennis. "Film Review: 'The World Made Straight'." Variety. Variety.com, 07 Jan. 2015. Web. 22 Mar. 2016.
  4. Kenigsberg, Ben. "Codes and Vendettas, Frozen in Time." The New York Times. The New York Times, 08 Jan. 2015. Web. 22 Mar. 2016.
  5. Smith, Kyle. "'The World Made Straight' Is a Grim, Southern Noir." New York Post. New York Post, 07 Jan. 2015. Web. 22 Mar. 2016.