Shawn Adam Levy (born July 23, 1968)[2] is a Canadian film director, producer and actor. His directing credits include Cheaper by the Dozen (2003), the Night at the Museum series and Stranger Things.
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 two episodes in each of the show’s three seasons.[3]
Early life and career[]
Levy in Moscow in 2011.
Levy was born to a Jewish family[4] in Montreal,[5] Quebec. As a teenager, he attended St. George's High School and Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training Center in New York.[citation needed] Levy graduated from Yale University in 1989 majoring in Performing Arts. He received a MFA from the USC School of Cinematic Arts in 1994.[6]
Levy has a production deal with 20th Century Fox. He produced the 2012 Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill comedy The Watch, which was directed by Akiva Schaffer. His television company 21 Laps produces the ABC/Fox comedy series Last Man Standing and the science fiction Netflix series Stranger Things.[7]
Levy's acting debut was in Zombie Nightmare (1986), 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 appeared in the 1988 Liberace: Behind the Music, as a post-Scott Thorson acquaintance of Liberace. His television acting resume consists of a guest spot on 21 Jump Street, a recurring role on Beverly Hills, 90210, and a role on 30 Rock as TV producer Scottie Shofar.
In December 2017, Netflix announced a 4-year contract with Levy. Due to the successful seasons of Stranger Things, he will create TV projects exclusively for the streaming entertainment company.
Levy was initially announced as the director of the film version of Minecraft,[8] but has since left the project.[9] He is the latest director attached to the film adaptation of the Uncharted video game series, following David O. Russell and Neil Burger.[10] Joe Carnahan worked with Levy to produce the script for the film,[11] but Levy left the project on December 19, 2018.[12] Levy will also direct a film based on long-running 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 nearly two decades.[13]
In March 2018, it was announced that Levy will produce 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.[14][15]
Personal life[]
Levy is married to Serena, with whom he has four daughters.[16] Levy is Jewish[17] and speaks fluent English, Hebrew and French.
Filmography[]
Film[]
| Year | Title | Director | Producer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Address Unknown | Yes | No |
| Just in Time | Yes | No | |
| 2002 | Big Fat Liar | Yes | No |
| 2003 | Just Married | Yes | No |
| Cheaper by the Dozen | Yes | No | |
| 2006 | The Pink Panther | Yes | No |
| Night at the Museum | Yes | Yes | |
| 2009 | Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian | Yes | Yes |
| 2010 | Date Night | Yes | Yes |
| 2011 | Real Steel | Yes | Yes |
| 2013 | The Internship | Yes | Yes |
| 2014 | This Is Where I Leave You | Yes | Yes |
| Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb[18] | Yes | Yes | |
| 2020 | Free Guy | Yes | Yes |
| TBA | Starman[19] | Yes | Yes |
| The Fall[20] | Yes | Yes | |
| Crater[21] | Yes | Yes |
Producer only
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus | John Shepphird | |
| 2005 | Cheaper by the Dozen 2 | Adam Shankman | |
| 2008 | What Happens in Vegas | Tom Vaughan | |
| The Rocker | Peter Cattaneo | ||
| 2009 | The Pink Panther 2 | Harald Zwart | Executive producer |
| 2012 | The Watch | Akiva Schaffer | |
| 2013 | The Spectacular Now | James Ponsoldt | |
| 2014 | Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day |
Miguel Arteta | |
| 2016 | Arrival | Denis Villeneuve | Nominated- Academy Award for Best Picture Nominated- AACTA International Award for Best Film Nominated- BAFTA Award for Best Film |
| Why Him? | John Hamburg | ||
| 2017 | Fist Fight | Richie Keen | |
| Table 19 | Jeffrey Blitz | ||
| 2018 | The Darkest Minds | Jennifer Yuh Nelson | |
| Kin | Jonathan Baker Josh Baker |
||
| TBA | The Violent Heart | Kerem Sanga | Filming |
| Untitled third Sesame Street film[22][23][24] | Jonathan Krisel | ||
| There's Someone Inside Your House[25] | Patrick Brice |
Acting roles
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Zombie Nightmare | Jim Bratten | |
| 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 | Cameo | |
| 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 |
Television[]
| 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 |
| 1998–2003 | The Famous Jett Jackson | Yes | No | 47 episodes |
| 1999 | So Weird | Yes | No | |
| 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 | Episode "Pilot" |
| 2011–2016 | Last Man Standing | No | Yes | 79 episodes |
| 2014 | Cristela | No | Yes | Episode "Pilot" |
| 2016 | Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt | Yes | No | Episode "Kimmy Drives a Car!" |
| 2016–present | Stranger Things | Yes | Yes | Directed episodes "Holly, Jolly", "The Body", "The Pollywog", "Will the Wise", “The Case Of The Missing Lifeguard” and “The Sauna Test” while also doing a cameo in the episode "The Body" |
| 2017 | Imaginary Mary | Yes | No | Episodes "Pilot" and "The Mom Seal" |
Acting roles
| Year | Title | Role | Episode(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | China Beach | Lieutenant | "Dear China Beach" |
| 1989–1990 | Tour of Duty | SP4 Budd Sills | 2 episodes |
| 1990 | 21 Jump Street | Lance | "Awomp-Bomp-Aloobomb, Aloop Bamboom" |
| Lifestories | Luke Conforti | "Art Conforti" | |
| 1993 | Beverly Hills, 90210 | Howard Banchek | 2 episodes |
| Step by Step | Daniel | "Way Off-Broadway" | |
| 2000 | The Famous Jett Jackson | Producer | 3 episodes |
| 2009 | 30 Rock | Scottie Shofar | "The Problem Solvers" |
| 2016 | Stranger Things | Morgue Worker | "Chapter Four: The Body" |
Recurring collaborators[]
| Actor | Big Fat Liar (2002) |
Just Married (2003) |
Cheaper by the Dozen (2003) |
The Pink Panther (2006) |
Night at the Museum (2006) |
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009) |
Date Night (2010) |
Real Steel (2011) |
The Internship (2013) |
This Is Where I Leave You (2014) | Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (2014) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rose Byrne | 
|
|
|||||||||
| Steve Coogan |
|
|
| ||||||||
| Tina Fey |
|
|
|||||||||
| Timmy Fitzpatrick |
|
|
|||||||||
| Michael Bryan French |
|
|
|||||||||
| John Gatins |
|
|
|||||||||
| Ricky Gervais |
|
|
| ||||||||
| Amy Hill |
|
|
|||||||||
| Taran Killam |
|
|
|||||||||
| Ashton Kutcher |
|
|
|||||||||
| Steve Martin |
|
|
|||||||||
| Mickey Rooney |
|
|
| ||||||||
| Ted Rooney |
|
|
|||||||||
| Dax Shepard |
|
|
|
||||||||
| Ben Stiller |
|
|
| ||||||||
| Robin Williams |
|
|
| ||||||||
| Owen Wilson |
|
|
|
|
References[]
- ↑ "Shawn Adam Levy — The Guild / Members". Directors Guild of America. https://www.dga.org/The-Guild/Members/Profile.aspx?mid=2ZeK2KQ2%2B0k%3D. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
- ↑ "Shawn Levy — Biography and Filmography - 1968". February 20, 2015. http://www.hollywood.com/celebrities/shawn-levy-57814265/. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
- ↑ "‘Stranger Things’ Season 3 Starts Filming Monday". April 21, 2018. http://collider.com/stranger-things-3-filming/.
- ↑ Nate Bloom. "The tribe goes to the Oscars", February 13, 2017.
- ↑ Durocher, Sophie (January 25, 2017). "Villeneuve est enfin "arrivé"" (in fr). http://www.journaldemontreal.com/2017/01/25/villeneuve-est-enfin-arrive. Retrieved February 17, 2017. "Un des producteurs de L’Arrivée, Shawn Levy, est un «ptit gars de Montréal»"
- ↑ "Shawn Levy Gets "Real"". https://cinema.usc.edu/news/article.cfm?id=12115. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
- ↑ Berkshire, Geoff (July 22, 2016). "'Stranger Things': Shawn Levy on Directing Winona Ryder, Netflix's Viral Model". Variety.
- ↑ Kroll, Justin (October 16, 2014). "Warner Bros. Taps Shawn Levy for 'Minecraft' Movie". Variety. Retrieved October 16, 2014.
- ↑ Kroll, Justin (December 19, 2014). "Shawn Levy Leaves Warner Bros.' 'Minecraft' Film". Variety. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
- ↑ Fleming, Mike (October 25, 2016). "Shawn Levy To Direct Uncharted Movie". http://deadline.com/2016/10/shawn-levy-uncharted-nathan-drake-joe-carnahan-sony-pictures-playstation-1201842561/. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
- ↑ Fleming, Mike (October 25, 2016). "Shawn Levy To Direct 'Uncharted'; PlayStation Vidgame Movie On Fast Track" (in en-US). http://deadline.com/2016/10/shawn-levy-uncharted-nathan-drake-joe-carnahan-sony-pictures-playstation-1201842561/.
- ↑ Wade, Jessie (December 19, 2018). "Director Shawn Levy Steps Away from Tom Holland Uncharted Movie" (in en-US). https://www.ign.com/articles/2018/12/20/director-shawn-levy-steps-away-from-tom-holland-uncharted-movie?abthid=5c1adf853739c3747d000c28.
- ↑ Evans, Alan. "Sesame Street movie is in the works", November 10, 2016.
- ↑ Miska, Brad (March 18, 2019). "Netflix and James Wan Joining Forces for Slasher ‘There’s Someone Inside Your House’!". Bloody Disgusting. https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3488834/netflix-james-wan-joining-forces-slasher-theres-someone-inside-house/.
- ↑ Kit, Borys (August 14, 2019). "Shawn Levy-James Wan's Horror 'There's Someone Inside Your House' Sets Cast (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/shawn-levy-james-wans-someone-inside-your-house-sets-cast-1231670.
- ↑ Cannell, Michael (August 2012). "Shawn Levy's Modern Farmhouse in Upstate New York". http://www.architecturaldigest.com/celebrity-homes/2012/shawn-levy-hudson-valley-farmhouse-article. Retrieved April 11, 2013.
- ↑ Bloom, Nate. "Celebrity jews", October 17, 2003. Retrieved on July 23, 2017.
- ↑ Chitwood, Adam (February 7, 2013). "Shawn Levy Returns to Direct 'Night at the Museum 3' for December 25, 2014 Release". http://collider.com/night-at-the-museum-3-release-date-shawn-levy/.
- ↑ Kit, Borys. "'Starman' Remake In the Works With Director Shawn Levy (Exclusive)", April 1, 2016.
- ↑ Kroll, Justin (May 17, 2016). "Shawn Levy to Direct Sci-Fi Film 'The Fall'". Variety.
- ↑ Kroll, Justin (November 8, 2017). "Fox and Shawn Levy Team on Sci-Fi Spec ‘Crater’ (EXCLUSIVE)". https://variety.com/2017/film/news/fox-shawn-levy-spec-crater-john-j-griffin-exclusive-1202610073/.
- ↑ "Anne Hathaway to Star in Robert Zemeckis’ ‘The Witches’ (EXCLUSIVE)". https://variety.com/2019/film/news/anne-hathaway-the-witches-robert-zemeckis-1203109856/. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
- ↑ "Anne Hathaway Eyes Starring Role in 'Sesame Street' Movie". https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/anne-hathaway-eyes-starring-role-sesame-street-movie-1166402. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
- ↑ "'Sesame Street' Movie's Writer-Director Reveals Plot Details". https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sesame-street-movies-writer-director-reveals-plot-details-1182692. Retrieved February 6, 2019. "Exactly how big, he can't say — sources say it will be in the $50 million range — but Krisel confirms that Anne Hathaway will star and that shooting could begin in late summer."
- ↑ Wiseman, Andreas (March 15, 2018). "Netflix Boards Coming-Of-Age Slasher Movie With ‘Stranger Things’ Outfit 21 Laps And James Wan’s Atomic Monster". Deadline. https://deadline.com/2018/03/theres-someone-inside-your-house-movie-netflix-stranger-things-james-wan-1202338683/.
External links[]
- Shawn Levy on IMDb
- Template:Twitter
| v - e - dFilms directed by Shawn Levy |
|---|
| Just in Time (1997) • Jett Jackson: The Movie (2001) • Big Fat Liar (2002) • Just Married (2003) • Cheaper by the Dozen (2003) • The Pink Panther (2006) • Night at the Museum (2006) • Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009) • Date Night (2010) • Real Steel (2011) • The Internship (2013) • This Is Where I Leave You (2014) • Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (2014) • Free Guy (2020) |