Ruben Fleischer

Ruben Samuel Fleischer is an American film director, film producer, television producer, music video director, and commercial director. He is best known as the director of Zombieland, his first feature film, and its sequel Zombieland: Double Tap. He has also directed the films 30 Minutes or Less, Gangster Squad, Uncharted, and 2018's Venom featuring the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Prior to features, he directed television commercials for such brands as Cisco, Eurostar, ESPN, and Burger King, and music videos for artists such as M.I.A., Electric Six, DJ Format and Gold Chains.

Early life

Fleischer was born and raised in Washington, D.C, the son of Karen Lee and David Elliot Fleischer, who is a physician at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona and a professor of medicine. His brother, Lucas, works in new media. His father was born to a Jewish family, while his mother converted to Judaism. Fleischer was raised in Reform Judaism.
After graduating with a major in history from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, Fleischer moved to San Francisco, where he worked as a freelance HTML programmer, unsure what he wanted to do with his life.

Career

Taking the advice of close friend Mike White, Fleischer worked as a PA in the writers' office of Dawson's Creek. After working as assistant to director Miguel Arteta, 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, 30 Minutes or Less, opened in theaters on August 12, 2011.
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. He next directed Venom, a film about Marvel Comics character Eddie Brock, starring Tom Hardy; it was released on October 5, 2018.
In 2019, he directed Zombieland: Double Tap, reuniting the four original leads. In February 2020, he was hired to direct Uncharted, based on the video game series of the same name. In September 2022, he was hired to direct Now You See Me: Now You Don't.

Filmography

Short film

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

Feature film

Year	Title	Director	Executive producer
2009	Zombieland
2011	30 Minutes or Less
2013	Gangster Squad
2018	Venom
2018	The Mule
2019	Zombieland: Double Tap
2021	Venom: Let There Be Carnage
2022	Uncharted
2025	Now You See Me: Now You Don't

;Producer

Two Night Stand
Unicorn Store
Bad Trip
''Little Brother''
Television

Music video

Commercials

Reception

Collaborations

Like many directors, Fleischer has worked with certain actors on two or more of his films:

Actor	Zombieland	30 Minutes or Less	Gangster Squad	Venom	Zombieland: Double Tap	Uncharted	Now You See Me: Now You Don't	Total
Abigail Breslin								2
Jesse Eisenberg								4
Woody Harrelson								4
Bill Murray								2
Michael Peña								2
Emma Stone								3