Ruben Fleischer

Ruben Samuel Fleischer (born October 31, 1974) is an American film director, film producer, television producer, music video director, and commercial director who lives in Los Angeles. He is best known as the director of Zombieland (2009), his first feature film, and its sequel Zombieland: Double Tap (2019). He has also directed the films 30 Minutes or Less, Gangster Squad, and 2018's Venom featuring the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Prior to features, Fleischer was a director of television commercials and music videos, working for such brands as Cisco, Eurostar, ESPN, and Burger King, as well as such artists as M.I.A., Electric Six, DJ Format, and Gold Chains.

Ruben Fleischer
Fleischer at the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con
Born	Ruben Samuel Fleischer[1] October 31, 1974 Washington, D.C., U.S.
Occupation	Film director, film producer, television producer, music video director, commercial director
Years active	2000–present
Spouse(s)	Holly Shakoor ​ (m. 2012)​ [2]

Life and career

Ruben Fleischer was born and raised in Washington, D.C, the son of Karen Lee (née Samuel) and David Elliot Fleischer, who is a physician at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona and Professor of Medicine.[1][3] His brother, Lucas, works in new media.[4] His father was born to a Jewish family, while his mother converted to Judaism. Fleischer was raised in Reform Judaism.[5]

After graduating with a major in history from Wesleyan University, Fleischer moved to San Francisco, unsure of what he wanted to do with his life.[6] He found himself working as a freelance HTML programmer in San Francisco.[7][8] Taking the advice of close friend Mike White (also a Wesleyan graduate), Fleischer worked as a PA in the writers' office of Dawson's Creek.[3] He eventually turned to directing and worked his way through the industry, tackling music videos and television commercials before landing his first feature film, Zombieland, in 2009. His second feature film, 30 Minutes or Less, opened in theaters on August 12, 2011.[9]

Fleischer directed Gangster Squad, a 2013 action thriller film, based on the special tactical group created by the LAPD to combat the Los Angeles crime family.[10]

Fleischer next directed Venom, a film about the Marvel Comics character Eddie Brock. It stars Tom Hardy in the title role, and was released on October 5, 2018.[11]

In 2019, Fleischer directed Zombieland: Double Tap, the sequel to his 2009 film Zombieland, reuniting all four original leads.[12] In February 2020, Fleischer was hired to direct Uncharted, based on the video game series of the same name.[13]

Filmography

Feature films

Year	Title	Director	Executive Producer
2009	Zombieland	Yes	No
2011	30 Minutes or Less	Yes	No
2013	Gangster Squad	Yes	Yes
2018	Venom	Yes	No
2019	Zombieland: Double Tap	Yes	Yes
2022	Uncharted	Yes	No

As Producer

• Two Night Stand (2014)
• Unicorn Store (2017)
• Bad Trip (2020)[14]

Television

Year	Title	Director	Executive Producer	Notes
2003–2006	Jimmy Kimmel Live!	Yes	No	3 episodes
2006–2007	Rob & Big	No	Yes
2008	Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis	Yes	No	2 episodes
2009–2015	Fantasy Factory	No	Yes
2010	Funny or Die Presents	Yes	No	4 episodes
2015	Marry Me	Yes	No	Episode "F Me"
2015–present	Superstore	Yes	Yes	Directed 6 episodes
2016	American Housewife	Yes	Yes	Directed episode "Pilot"
2017	Santa Clarita Diet	Yes	Yes	Directed 2 episodes
2017–present	The Bold Type	No	Yes
2019–present	Stumptown	Yes	Yes	Directed 1 episode

Short films

Year	Title	Director	Producer
2001	The Girls Guitar Club	Yes	Yes
2005	Gumball 3000: 6 Days in May	Yes	Yes

Music videos

Title	Artist
"Galang"	M.I.A.
"Fix Up, Look Sharp"	Dizzee Rascal
"Stand Up Tall"
"Pro Nails"	Kid Sister
"I Came From SF"	Gold Chains
"Cali Nights"
"The Game"
"Dance Commander"	Electric Six
"Vicious Battle Raps"	DJ Format
"We Know Something You Don't"
"Mocito"	Pigeon Funk

Commercials

Title	Brand
"Ladies Man"	Boost Mobile
"Geek"
"Good Inside"	McDonald's
"Revision 43A"	Cisco
"Jack 245"
"Up Late with The King"	Burger King
"Circles"	Eurostar
"Quiet"	ESPN
"Mascots"
"The Drop"	Courir

Collaborations

Fleischer has cast certain actors in more than one of his films:

Actor	Zombieland (2009)	30 Minutes or Less (2011)	Gangster Squad (2013)	Venom (2018)	Zombieland: Double Tap (2019)	Uncharted (2021)	Total
Abigail Breslin							2
Jesse Eisenberg							3
Woody Harrelson							3
Bill Murray							2
Michael Peña							2
Emma Stone							3

References

1. "Jennings, Hughes, Wilkes, Webber, Aldridge U.K.:Information about Ruben Samuel Fleischer". Familytreemaker.genealogy.com. 1996-08-15. Retrieved 2013-01-07.
2. "Emma Stone officiates a wedding – just like these other celebrities". UsMagazine.com. 2012-11-14. Retrieved 2013-01-11.
3. Bloomer, Jeffrey (October 2, 2009). "Getting to Know... Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer". Paste Magazine.
4. Hornaday, Ann (October 17, 2009). "With 'Zombieland,' D.C. Native Ruben Fleischer Turns His Directorial Debut Into a Hit". Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2013-01-07.
5. "Gangster Squad's Comedy Nerd – The Arty Semite – Forward.com". Blogs.forward.com. Retrieved 2013-01-11.
6. Ann Hornaday (October 17, 2009). "Don of the Dead". The Washington Post.
7. Ruben Fleischer’s ‘Gangster Squad’, New York Times. By Michael Cieply. Published: January 4, 2013. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
8. Steve Weintraub (July 9, 2009). "Director Ruben Fleischer Interview ZOMBIELAND". Collider Magazine.
9. Germain Lussier (April 22, 2011). "'30 Minutes Or Less' Teaser Posters". Slashfilm.
10. Sneider, Jeff; Kroll, Justin (July 26, 2011). "Emma Stone rounds up 'Gangster Squad'". Variety. Reed Business Information. Archived from the original on January 8, 2012. Retrieved July 27, 2011.
11. Kroll, Justin (October 10, 2016). "Tom Hardy to Star in 'Spider-Man' Movie 'Venom,' Ruben Fleischer to Direct". Variety.
12. Michael Kennedy (March 23, 2017). "Zombieland 2 Writers Reveal Script is Completed". Screen Rant. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
13. Kroll, Justin (March 2, 2020). "Antonio Banderas Joins Tom Holland in 'Uncharted' Movie (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on March 2, 2020. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
14. Dave McNary (January 29, 2019). "Eric Andre-Lil Rel Howery's Prank Comedy 'Bad Trip' to Release in October". Variety. Retrieved May 23, 2019.

External links

• Ruben Fleischer at IMDb