BIO

Neal E. Fischer is an award-winning filmmaker, writer, and pop culture fanatic patiently waiting on The Criterion Collection to wake up and include Patrick Swayze’s Road House in their catalog. Neal cut his teeth as a musician and performer on stage before ultimately transitioning behind the scenes. After a brief but rewarding stint directing children’s theatre in Chicago’s South Loop, Neal moved on to a diverse slate of projects like the award-winning documentary 10 Mountains 10 Years, narrated by Anne Hathaway, #WhoKilledHeather, an innovative branded web series, and many short films and features screened at festivals around the world. His first book, a comedic love letter to the life and career of Patrick Swayze was released in 2022 and titled “Being Patrick Swayze: Essential Teachings from the Master of the Mullet” and was well received by readers and critics alike. His follow-up book, “Behind The Screens: Illustrated Floor Plans and Scenes from the Best TV Shows of All Time,” in collaboration with artist Iñaki Aliste Lizarralde will release on October 10th, 2023 from Chronicle Books.

When he’s not writing or developing film and television projects, Neal spends his time directing national commercials for brands such as Dunkin’ Donuts, Wisconsin Lottery, TD Ameritrade, Heinz, and Cars.com, the latter of which was shortlisted for awards at Cannes Lions and was his first Super Bowl campaign. You can hear Neal’s bad impressions and obscure movie references each week on Triviality, a pub-trivia-style podcast celebrating its sixth year on the airwaves and over 5 million downloads.

In the few hours of the day Neal isn’t trying to create something, he can be found curled up with a pastry, a cup of coffee, and an Agatha Christie novel wishing he could grow a mustache as glorious as Hercule Poirot. His love for entertainment comes from his mom, and despite watching movies many would deem inappropriate for a five-year-old, the mere existence of this bio proves that Neal turned out just fine. 

Neal currently lives in Chicago with his partner, Colleen, a theatre director, and special education instructor, who joins him in traveling the world for cute coffee shops and filming locations from their favorite movies and television shows.

Check out some behind-the-scenes video!

Bad Wrappers - WIS LOTTO

Bold Meets Sweet - DUNKIN’

The Big Match - CARS.COM SBLIII