Shawn Levy | |
---|---|
Born | Shawn Adam Levy [1] July 23, 1968 Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
Citizenship |
|
Education | Yale University (BA) University of Southern California (MFA) |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1986–present |
Spouse | Serena Levy |
Children | 4 |
Shawn Adam Levy (born July 23, 1968) [2] is a Canadian 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. [3]
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 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. [4] 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. [3]
Levy was born to a Jewish family [5] with two siblings, Jodi and Debby, in Montreal, Quebec. [6] 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. [7] 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. [7] He received an MFA degree from the USC School of Cinematic Arts in 1994. [8]
This section needs additional citations for verification .(August 2024) |
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.
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. [9] Following this deal, Levy created a new television company with Marty Adelstein at 20th Century Fox TV to develop comedy series. [10] [11] Levy and 21 Laps were with the company until 2020. [12] [13] Since 2011, he has been the executive producer of the Tim Allen sitcom Last Man Standing. [14] 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). He produced similar films for Warner Bros.; Levy was initially announced as the director of the film version of Minecraft but has since left the project. [15] [16]
Outside of 20th Century Fox, Levy worked to expand 21 Laps' range outside of primarily family-friendly comedies; [17] 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.
He was announced to be directing the film adaptation of the Uncharted video game series, following David O. Russell and Neil Burger. [18] Joe Carnahan worked with Levy to produce the script for the film, [19] but Levy left the project on December 19, 2018. [20] Levy was attached to produce a film based on the children's series Sesame Street , which will be the show's third motion picture following Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird and The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland , and its first in over two decades. [21] [22]
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. [23] In 2020, 21 Laps extended its deal with Netflix and signed a first look deal. [12]
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. [24] [25] [26] 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. [27] Levy directed The Adam Project for Netflix starring Ryan Reynolds in the lead role. [28]
In February 2022, it was announced that Levy would direct Backwards for Netflix. [29] In March 2022, it was announced that Levy would direct Deadpool & Wolverine for Marvel Studios. [30] 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. [31] In February 2023, it was announced Levy would produce the comedy Boy Band for Paramount Pictures alongside Reynolds, who would also co-write and star in the project. [32] Levy was confirmed as the film's director in February 2024. [33] In December 2023, it was announced Levy would direct and produce an untitled heist comedy film for Netflix, with Reynolds set to star and co-produce. [34]
In August 2023, Levy was announced as the inaugural recipient of the Norman Jewison Award for career achievement at the TIFF Tribute Awards. [35]
Levy and his wife Serena Levy have four daughters together. [7] He became a U.S. citizen in 2008. [36] Following many years living in Los Angeles, the Levy family moved to Manhattan in the early 2020s. [7] [37] Since 2009, he has also maintained a family home in the Hudson Valley community of New Paltz, New York. [37]
Year | Title | Director | Producer | Writer |
---|---|---|---|---|
1997 | Address Unknown | Yes | No | No |
Just in Time | Yes | No | No | |
2002 | Big Fat Liar | Yes | No | No |
2003 | Just Married | Yes | No | No |
Cheaper by the Dozen | Yes | No | No | |
2006 | The Pink Panther | Yes | No | No |
Night at the Museum | Yes | Yes | No | |
2009 | Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian | Yes | Yes | No |
2010 | Date Night | Yes | Yes | No |
2011 | Real Steel | Yes | Yes | No |
2013 | The Internship | Yes | Yes | No |
2014 | This Is Where I Leave You | Yes | Yes | No |
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb | Yes | Yes | No | |
2021 | Free Guy | Yes | Yes | No |
2022 | The Adam Project | Yes | Yes | No |
2024 | Deadpool & Wolverine | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Producer only
Acting credits
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1986 | Zombie Nightmare | Jim Batten | |
1987 | Wild Thing | Paul | |
1988 | Liberace: Behind the Music | Glenn | |
The Kiss | Terry O'Connell | ||
1991 | Our Shining Moment | J.J. | |
1993 | Made in America | Dwayne | |
1997 | Address Unknown | ||
Just in Time | Photographer | ||
2002 | Big Fat Liar | Wolf Party Guest | |
2003 | Cheaper by the Dozen | Press/Room Reporter | |
2005 | Cheaper by the Dozen 2 | Hospital Intern | |
2009 | Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian | Guy in Commercial | |
2013 | The Internship | Guy in Nap Pod | |
2021 | All Too Well: The Short Film | Her Dad | Short film |
Year | Title | Director | Executive Producer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1996–1998 | The Secret World of Alex Mack | Yes | No | 6 episodes |
1997–1998 | The Journey of Allen Strange | Yes | No | 3 episodes |
1998–1999 | Lassie | Yes | No | 4 episodes |
1998 | First Wave | Yes | No | Episode: "Marker 262" |
1998–1999 | Animorphs | Yes | No | 5 episodes |
1998–2001 | The Famous Jett Jackson | Yes | Yes | Directed 47 episodes |
1999 | So Weird | Yes | No | 1 episode |
2000 | In a Heartbeat | Yes | No | 2 episodes |
2001 | Jett Jackson: The Movie | Yes | Yes | TV movie |
2002 | Do Over | Yes | No | Episode: "The Block Party" |
Birds of Prey | Yes | No | Episode: "Nature of the Beast" | |
2006 | Pepper Dennis | Yes | Yes | Directed pilot episode |
2016 | Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt | Yes | No | Episode: "Kimmy Drives a Car!" |
2016–present | Stranger Things | Yes | Yes | Directed 8 episodes, [38] [39] including S4 E4: Dear Billy |
2017 | Imaginary Mary | Yes | Yes | Directed 2 episodes |
2023 | All the Light We Cannot See | Yes | Yes | Miniseries |
Executive producer only
Acting roles
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1989 | China Beach | Lieutenant | Episode: "Dear China Beach" |
1989–1990 | Tour of Duty | SP4 Budd Sills | 2 episodes |
1990 | 21 Jump Street | Lance | Episode: "Awomp-Bomp-Aloobomb, Aloop Bamboom" |
Lifestories | Luke Conforti | Episode: "Art Conforti" | |
1993 | Beverly Hills, 90210 | Howard Banchek | 2 episodes |
Step by Step | Daniel | Episode: "Way Off-Broadway" | |
2000 | The Famous Jett Jackson | Producer | 3 episodes |
2009 | 30 Rock | Scottie Shofar | Episode: "The Problem Solvers" |
2016 | Stranger Things | Morgue Worker | Episode: "Chapter Four: The Body" |
Year | Ceremony | Award | Work | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | 22nd Critics' Choice Awards | Best Drama Series | Stranger Things | Nominated |
2017 | 74th Golden Globe Awards | Best Television Series – Drama | Nominated | |
28th Producers Guild of America Awards | Best Theatrical Motion Pictures | Arrival | Nominated | |
Best Episodic Drama | Stranger Things | Won | ||
89th Academy Awards | Best Picture | Arrival | Nominated | |
71st BAFTA Film Awards | Best Film | Nominated | ||
2017 BAFTA Television Awards | Best International Programme | Stranger Things | Nominated | |
69th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Drama Series | Nominated | ||
2018 | 75th Golden Globe Awards | Best Television Series – Drama | Nominated | |
29th Producers Guild of America Awards | Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama | Nominated | ||
70th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Drama Series | Nominated | ||
2020 | 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Drama Series | Nominated | |
2024 | 76th Directors Guild of America Awards | Outstanding Directing – Miniseries or TV Film | All the Light We Cannot See | Nominated |
Ryan Rodney Reynolds is a Canadian and American actor, producer, and businessman. He began his career starring in the Canadian teen soap opera Hillside (1991–1993) and had minor roles before landing the lead role on the sitcom Two Guys and a Girl between 1998 and 2001. Reynolds then starred in a range of films, including the comedies National Lampoon's Van Wilder (2002), Waiting... (2005), and The Proposal (2009), and the superhero films Blade: Trinity (2004), and Green Lantern (2011). He provided voice acting in The Croods franchise (2013–2020) and Turbo (2013).
Paris K. C. Barclay is an American television director, producer, and writer. He is a two-time Emmy Award winner and is among the busiest single-camera television directors, having directed nearly 200 episodes of television to date, for series such as NYPD Blue, ER, The West Wing, CSI, Lost, The Shield, House, Sons of Anarchy, In Treatment, Glee, Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, The Watcher, and American Horror Story: NYC. He also serves as an executive producer on many of the shows he directs, and occasionally as a writer or co-creator as well. From 2013 to 2017, Barclay served two terms as the President of the Directors Guild of America.
X-Men is an American superhero film series based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name. The series was produced by 20th Century Fox and Marvel Entertainment from 2000 to 2020.
David Leitch is an American filmmaker, stunt performer, stunt coordinator, and actor. He made his directorial debut on the action film John Wick (2014) with Chad Stahelski, though only Stahelski was credited. He later also directed the films Atomic Blonde (2017), Deadpool 2 (2018), Hobbs & Shaw (2019), Bullet Train (2022), and The Fall Guy (2024).
21 Laps, Inc., doing business as 21 Laps Entertainment, is an American film and television production company founded and run by filmmaker Shawn Levy. The company is best known as the producers of Stranger Things, and exclusively distributes content through a partnership with Netflix. It has also produced films like Cheaper by the Dozen, The Spectacular Now, Real Steel, Arrival, and the Night at the Museum franchise, as well as Levy's collaborations with actor and producer Ryan Reynolds, which include Free Guy, The Adam Project and Deadpool & Wolverine. The companies' name originates from the number of laps Levy's eldest daughter ran in a jogathon when she was 5 years old. In addition to the logo, the icon is supposed to represent a race track.
Deadpool is a 2016 American superhero film directed by Tim Miller, in his directorial debut, and written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. Based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name and distributed by 20th Century Fox, it is a spin-off of the X-Men film series and its overall eighth installment. The film stars Ryan Reynolds in the title role, alongside Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein, T.J. Miller, Gina Carano, and Brianna Hildebrand. In the film, Wade Wilson hunts the man responsible for giving him mutant abilities and a scarred physical appearance, becoming the antihero Deadpool.
Timothy Miller is an American film director, producer, animator, and visual effects artist. He is best known for directing the films Deadpool (2016) and Terminator: Dark Fate (2019). He is also the creator of the animated anthology series Love, Death & Robots (2019–present), for which he has won three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Short Form Animated Program.
Deadpool 2 is a 2018 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Deadpool. It is the sequel to Deadpool (2016) and the eleventh installment in the X-Men film series. The film was directed by David Leitch and written by Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, and Ryan Reynolds, who stars in the title role alongside Josh Brolin, Morena Baccarin, Julian Dennison, Zazie Beetz, T.J. Miller, Brianna Hildebrand, and Jack Kesy. In the film, Deadpool forms the X-Force to protect a young mutant from the time-traveling soldier Cable.
Genre Films, usually credited as Kinberg Genre, is a production company founded by screenwriter-producer-director Simon Kinberg.
Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer, often credited as the Duffer Brothers, are both American film and television writers, directors, and producers. Best known as the creators, directors, and executive producers of the Netflix science fiction horror drama series Stranger Things, they also wrote and directed the 2015 psychological horror film Hidden and wrote and produced episodes for the Fox mystery-science fiction series Wayward Pines.
Deadpool & Wolverine is a 2024 American superhero film based on Marvel Comics featuring the characters Deadpool and Wolverine. Produced by Marvel Studios, Maximum Effort, and 21 Laps Entertainment, and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the 34th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and the sequel to Deadpool (2016) and Deadpool 2 (2018). The film was directed by Shawn Levy from a screenplay he wrote with Ryan Reynolds, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, and Zeb Wells. Reynolds and Hugh Jackman respectively star as Wade Wilson / Deadpool and Logan / Wolverine, alongside Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Leslie Uggams, Aaron Stanford, and Matthew Macfadyen. In the film, Deadpool learns that the Time Variance Authority plans to destroy his universe and works with a reluctant Wolverine from another universe to stop them.
Gambit is an unproduced American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. It was intended to be an installment of the X-Men film series. Before its cancellation, the film had been written by Josh Zetumer based on a story by the character's creator Chris Claremont. Channing Tatum was set to star in the title role.
Free Guy is a 2021 American contemporary fantasy film directed and produced by Shawn Levy from a screenplay by Matt Lieberman and Zak Penn, and a story by Lieberman. The film stars Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Lil Rel Howery, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Joe Keery, and Taika Waititi. It tells the story of a bank teller who discovers that he is a non-player character in a massively multiplayer online game who then partners with a player to find evidence that a gaming company's CEO stole the player's game's source code.
Wade Winston Wilson, also known as Deadpool, is a character portrayed by Ryan Reynolds in 20th Century Fox's X-Men film series and later the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise produced by Marvel Studios. Based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name by Rob Liefeld and Fabian Nicieza, he was loosely adapted for his first appearance in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), in which he is depicted as a member of Major William Stryker's Team X who is transformed into a genetically altered mutant killer known as Weapon XI, before being defeated by his former teammate Wolverine. This iteration of the character was negatively received by both critics and fans alike for deviating from the source material.
Maximum Effort Productions, Inc. is an American film production company and digital marketing agency founded by Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds alongside George Dewey. The company name is a reference to a catchphrase from Reynolds' 2016 film Deadpool.
The Adam Project is a 2022 American science-fiction action comedy film directed by Shawn Levy and written by Jonathan Tropper, T. S. Nowlin, Jennifer Flackett, and Mark Levin. The movie stars Ryan Reynolds, Walker Scobell in his film debut, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Garner, Catherine Keener and Zoe Saldaña. In the film, fighter pilot Adam Reed (Reynolds) crash lands in 2022 after getting injured while stealing a time jet, and meets his 12-year-old self (Scobell) in the process, who had been dealing with the loss of his father Louis (Ruffalo) the year before. All the while, Maya Sorian (Keener), leader of the dystopian world and head of her company Sorian, plans to monopolize time travel.
Un des producteurs de L'Arrivée, Shawn Levy, est un «ptit gars de Montréal»