Shawn Levy

Shawn Adam Levy (; born July 23, 1968) is a Canadian and American filmmaker and actor. He is the founder of 21 Laps Entertainment. His work has spanned numerous genres, and his films as a director have grossed a collective $3.5 billion worldwide.

Following early work as a television director, Levy gained recognition in the 2000s for directing comedy films like '' Big Fat Liar'' (2002), '' Just Married'' (2003), '' Cheaper by the Dozen'' (2003) and ''The Pink Panther'' (2006). He then found further success as the director of the first three films in the '' Night at the Museum'' film franchise (2006–14). In the early 2010s, he directed films including '' Date Night'' (2010), ''Real Steel'' (2011), and '' The Internship'' (2013), developed several comedy television pilots, and executive produced the ABC/ Fox sitcom '' Last Man Standing''. Levy was a producer on the 2016 sci-fi film '' Arrival'', which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture.

Since 2016, Levy has been an executive producer on the Netflix original series ''Stranger Things.'' He has directed the third and fourth episodes of each of the show's four seasons. He also directed the Netflix limited series '' All the Light We Cannot See'' (2023). Levy has recently collaborated with Ryan Reynolds by directing '' Free Guy'' (2021), '' The Adam Project'' (2022), and '' Deadpool & Wolverine'' (2024), with the latter emerging as his highest-grossing film and the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time.

Early life

Levy was born to a Jewish family with two siblings, Jodi and Debby, in Montreal, Quebec. As a teenager, he attended St. George's High School in Montreal and trained at the Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training Center in New York's Catskills. Pursuing a career in acting, he attended the performing arts program at Yale University, graduating in 1989; during his time there, he became interested in directing and moved to Los Angeles to study film directing. He received an MFA degree from the USC School of Cinematic Arts in 1994.

Career

1985–1994: Early career and education

Levy began his professional career while pursuing his undergraduate and graduate degrees in the mid-1980s through the mid-1990s. While studying performing arts, he made his acting debut in '' Zombie Nightmare'' (1987), a low-budget horror film in which he portrayed the character Jim Bratten, the leader of a group of teenagers. The film is best known for being featured in an episode of '' Mystery Science Theater 3000''. He also appeared in the 1988 film '' Liberace: Behind the Music.''

He pursued his MFA in production, during which time he continued to act with a guest spot on ''21 Jump Street'' and a recurring role on ''Beverly Hills, 90210''. Since this time, he has acted in primary small and cameo roles as well, like on ''30 Rock'' as TV producer Scottie Shofar.

1995–2014: Directorial career and 20th Century Fox

Through the end of the 1990s, Levy worked primarily as a television director of teen dramas, like Nickelodeon's ''The Secret World of Alex Mack'' and ''Animorphs''. He was the primary director and executive producer (season 3) of the Disney Channel coming-of-age show '' The Famous Jett Jackson'' (1998–2002) and its companion film (2001).He made his feature film directorial debut in 1997 with the family films ''Address Unknown'' and ''Just in Time''. This was followed by the 2002 teen comedy '' Big Fat Liar'', his first theatrical release, and the 2003 rom com '' Just Married'', which made more than $100 million in the box office. For the remainder of the decade, Levy worked successfully on big-budget family films, namely directing '' Cheaper by the Dozen'' (2003), ''The Pink Panther'' (2006), and ''Night at the Museum'' franchise (2006–2014)—and produced all of their sequel films. The first '' Night at the Museum'' film was Levy's most commercially successful project and one of the highest-grossing films of 2006. During this time he also produced the 2008 films '' What Happens in Vegas'' and '' The Rocker'' and executive produced The WB dramedy '' Pepper Dennis'' (2006).

Levy directed and produced the 2010 comedy '' Date Night'' starring Steve Carell and Tina Fey. The same year, he began directing the sci-fi drama ''Real Steel'' (2011), starring Hugh Jackman. Executive produced by Steven Spielberg, the film received mixed critical reviews and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.

In the mid-2000s, Levy and his company 21 Laps signed a production deal with 20th Century Fox; it was renewed in 2010. Following this deal, Levy created a new television company with Marty Adelstein at 20th Century Fox TV to develop comedy series. Levy and 21 Laps were with the company until 2020. Since 2011, he has been the executive producer of the Tim Allen sitcom ''Last Man Standing''. He also executive produced the short-lived ABC sitcoms '' Cristela'' (2014–2015) and '' Imaginary Mary'' (2017). Film projects with FOX include the 2012 Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill comedy '' The Watch'' (directed by Akiva Schaffer), Levy's comedy '' The Internship'' (2013), '' Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb'' (2014), '' Why Him?'' (2016), and '' The Darkest Minds'' (2018).

Outside of 20th Century Fox, Levy worked to expand 21 Laps' range outside of primarily family-friendly comedies; this included producing the A24 drama '' The Spectacular Now'' (2013), the ensemble dramedy '' This Is Where I Leave You'' (2014), and the Academy Award-winning sci-fi film ''Arrival'' (2016). For his role in ''Arrival'', Levy was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture.

2015–present: ''Stranger Things'' and Netflix

In December 2017, Netflix announced a four-year contract with Levy. Due to the successful seasons of ''Stranger Things'', he will create TV projects exclusively for the streaming entertainment company. In 2020, 21 Laps extended its deal with Netflix and signed a first look deal.

In 2021, Levy produced the film adaptation of the slasher novel '' There's Someone Inside Your House'' by Stephanie Perkins under his 21 Laps Entertainment label, alongside James Wan's Atomic Monster studio for Netflix. Alongside Eric Heisserer, he also executive produced the 2021 Netflix series '' Shadow and Bone'', an adaptation of the fantasy book series '' The Grisha Trilogy'' and the '' Six of Crows Duology'' starring Jessie Mei Li, under Netflix's deal with 21 Laps. Levy directed '' The Adam Project'' for Netflix starring Ryan Reynolds in the lead role.

In March 2022, it was announced that Levy would direct '' Deadpool & Wolverine'' for Marvel Studios. In November 2022, Levy entered talks to direct a ''Star Wars'' movie for Lucasfilm following the conclusion of his work on ''Deadpool & Wolverine'' and the fifth and final season of ''Stranger Things''.

In February 2023, A24, who successfully bid on the Backrooms film, announced that work had begun on a film adaptation of the Backrooms based on Parsons' videos, with Parsons directing. Roberto Patino is set to write the screenplay, while Levy, James Wan, Michael Clear from Atomic Monster, Dan Cohen, and Dan Levine from 21 Laps Entertainment, Peter Chernin from Chernin Entertainment are set to produce.

In August 2023, Levy was announced as the inaugural recipient of the Norman Jewison Award for career achievement at the TIFF Tribute Awards.

On April 17, 2025, Lucasfilm announced Star Wars: Starfighter, a brand-new film directed by Levy that stars Ryan Gosling and will be released in theaters on May 28, 2027. It takes place five years after the events of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

Prospective and unrealized projects

In July 2002, it was reported that Levy would direct the film adaptation of the comic strip '' Zits'' for Universal Pictures, with Adam 'Tex' Davis hired to write the screenplay.

By August 24, 2002, Levy was attached to direct a Boston-set film adaptation of author Nick Hornby's book '' Fever Pitch'' (1992), which had previously been adapted by Hornby (who would also serve as executive producer) into a 1997 British film of the same name, which Levy's film would also serve as a remake of. Gwyneth Paltrow was approached to play the female lead, but ultimately rejected the role as she found the script mediocre. On May 13, 2003, Brian Robbins signed on to direct the project, replacing Levy. The film was ultimately directed by the Farrelly brothers and would star Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon.

On January 16, 2003, it was announced that Levy would direct the sports film ''Overtime'', written by Sheldon Turner, for Warner Bros. Pictures, and would reunite with his '' Just Married'' star Ashton Kutcher on the project.

On September 27, 2004, it was announced that Levy would direct the comedy ''Father Knows Less'' for New Line Cinema, based on a pitch by Aline Brosh McKenna. It was reported that Levy would be paid $5 million up front against 5% of the gross. On March 27, 2005, it was reported that Dustin Hoffman was final negotiations to play the lead role in the film.

On September 1, 2005, it was announced that Levy had been offered a pay-or-play deal by Sony Pictures to direct '' 21'', after original director Brett Ratner departed the project to direct '' X-Men: The Last Stand''. The film, produced by Kevin Spacey's Trigger Street Productions, would eventually be directed by Robert Luketic with Spacey starring.

On April 18, 2006, it was reported that New Line Cinema had acquired the comedy pitch ''Me, Me, Me'' by Jimmy Rosenthal, and had set Levy and his 21 Laps Entertainment to produce the project, with the project being developed as a potential directing vehicle.

On November 27, 2006, Levy was set to direct a film adaptation of the Alex Williams fantasy novel ''The Talent Thief'' for Universal Pictures, with Levy producing through his 21 Laps Entertainment company and Matt Manfredi

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases