David Burris (also 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'' and wrote and directed the short film ''The Side of the Road''. He has worked as an executive producer on CBS’s ''Survivor''''Brooks, Brian
"'Survivor' Producer's Film Debut Leads Sparse Specialty Offerings For Weekend."
''Deadline''. January 8, 2015. Retrieved March 22, 2016.'' and as a writer on the

USA The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

/ Syfy series ''Good vs. Evil''. David Burris has also performed as a guitarist in the North Carolina bands The Veldt and Jolene.

Education

Burris attended the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

but ultimately earned his bachelor's degree from UNC–Chapel Hill and his master's degree from

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The R ...

. At UNC's student television station, Burris formed a sketch comedy troupe with filmmakers

Peyton Reed Peyton Tucker Reed (born July 3, 1964) is an American television and film director. He directed the comedy films ''Bring It On (film), Bring It On'' (2000), ''Down with Love'' (2003), ''The Break-Up'' (2006), and ''Yes Man (film), Yes Man'' (200 ...

and John Schultz, among others. They produced a series called ''The World of Fun'' that was influenced by ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' and ''

Second City Television ''Second City Television'', commonly shortened to ''SCTV'' and later known as ''SCTV Network'' and ''SCTV Channel'', is a Canadian television sketch comedy show about a fictional television station that ran intermittently between 1976 and 1984 ...

.''

Career

TV work – Los Angeles (1999–present)

In 1999 Burris moved to Los Angeles and became a writer for the SyFy/USA series ''Good vs. Evil'' with fellow Carolinians Jonas and Josh Pate. He then worked on the CBS blockbuster series ''Survivor'', initially as a supervising producer and later as an Executive Producer.

Film work (2013–present)

In 2013, Burris resumed working on feature films. He directed and produced ''The World Made Straight'', an adaptation of

Ron Rash Ron Rash (born September 25, 1953) is an American poet, short story writer and novelist and the Parris Distinguished Professor in Appalachian Cultural Studies at Western Carolina University. Early life Rash was born on September 25, 1953, in Ch ...

's award-winning novel of the same name.Harvey, Dennis
"Film Review: 'The World Made Straight'."
''Variety''. January 7, 2015. Retrieved March 22, 2016. Burris' producing partners on the picture were fellow North Carolina natives Todd Labarowski of Dreambridge Films and Michael Wrenn. Shot on location in the mountains around Asheville, North Carolina, the film stars

Jeremy Irvine Jeremy William Fredric Smith (born 18 June 1990), known professionally as Jeremy Irvine, is an English actor. He made his film debut when Steven Spielberg chose him to star in the epic war film '' War Horse'' (2011) and has since starred in fil ...

Noah Wyle Noah Strausser Speer Wyle (; born June 4, 1971) is an American actor, writer, producer and director. He rose to fame as John Carter in the NBC medical drama '' ER'' (1994–2009), receiving five Emmy Award nominations, three Golden Globe Award ...

, Minka Kelly, Adelaide Clemens,

Steve Earle Stephen Fain Earle (; born January 17, 1955) is an American country, rock, and folk singer-songwriter. He began his career as a songwriter in Nashville and released his first EP in 1982. Earle's breakthrough album was his 1986 debut album '' ...

, and

Haley Joel Osment Haley Joel Osment (born April 10, 1988) is an American actor. Beginning his career as a child actor, Osment's role in the comedy-drama film ''Forrest Gump'' (1994) won him a Young Artist Award. His breakthrough came with the psychological thr ...

. It was released theatrically in 2015 by Millennium Entertainment.

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

calls ''The'' ''World Made Straight'' "a coming-of-age story in which codes and vendettas loom larger than the outside world." The film's soundtrack features a score by NC psych-folk band

Megafaun Megafaun is an American psychedelic folk band based in Durham, North Carolina.Mongillo, Peter (2010) "Megafaun relaxes into headlining slot", ''Austin American-Statesman'', April 27, 2010, p. D02 History Brothers Brad Cook (bass, guitar) and Ph ...

and songs from

Ellie Goulding Elena Jane Goulding ( ; born 30 December 1986) is an English singer, songwriter, and activist. Born in Hereford and raised in Lyonshall, Goulding began writing songs at the age of 15. She released her debut single " Under the Sheets" through ...

The Frames The Frames are an Irish rock band based in Dublin. Founded in 1990 by Glen Hansard, the band has been influential in the Dublin rock music scene. The group has released six studio albums. In addition to Hansard, the band's current line-up inc ...

, Algia Mae Hinton, Susan Cowsill,

The Connells 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. Though the ...

, and Hotel Lights.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burris, David Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American television producers Writers from North Carolina American male songwriters Wake Forest University alumni Filmmakers from North Carolina