Shawn Levy
Shawn Levy
Shawn Adam Levyis a Canadian film director, producer, and actor. He directed the films Big Fat Liar, Just Married, Cheaper by the Dozen, The Pink Panther, Night at the Museum, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, Date Night, Real Steel, The Internshipand Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb...
NationalityCanadian
ProfessionDirector
Date of Birth23 July 1968
CityMontreal, Canada
CountryCanada
barometer challenged comedy front inner trust voice whether
When you do a drama, you are challenged to trust your inner voice much more. Because when you put a comedy in front of even a 25-person screening, you know whether it's working or not. The barometer is overt.
believe vaguely
To connect with the characters, you need to connect with the world. If the world feels vaguely familiar, I believe the characters will feel relatable.
appetite certainly love natural
Certainly in my appetite for more challenges, it's very much alive. I love comedy and it comes to me in a natural way.
comedic flat insane joe tried type
Many comedic stars have tried to a do a 'Night at the Museum' type film, in which an everyday Joe reacts to insane circumstances. Many flat out failed.
life
I live my life pretty emotionally, for better and for worse. I'm pretty thin-skinned and transparent. I lead with my heart, and I wanted to make a movie that did the same.
geniuses stick
Why hire these geniuses if they're forced to stick with the script? You want to empower your actors as collaborators.
birthday good hanging happier kids swear talking
Even when I was a kid, I had a good thing with kids. To this day, if I go to a birthday party with one of my kids, I swear to you, I am so much happier hanging out with my kids and their friends than talking to the grown-ups.
audience care foot generally invest premise shoot warmth
You don't service a big, fun premise comedy and then shoot yourself in the foot with too much irony. You need the audience to invest in the fun and the warmth and generally care about the characters.
machines robot
If it was going to be unique, if you're going to make a robot movie in 2011... it had to be different, and it had to be about more than its machines and more than its action.
job whatever
Whatever it takes, the job of the director is to be the leader and to get your actors where they need to go. That's a philosophy that I have.
blew finally handle
It's no coincidence that 'Night at the Museum' completely blew the lid off my career. I finally got a handle on tone.
epic experience lose movies rooting sports win
I just think that sports movies have such a built-in visceral, rooting interest, an epic win or lose redemptive quality. When they get it right, it can make for a really rousing movie experience.
build eclectic far filmmaker movies taste
I never set out to build some behemoth comedy career. My taste in movies is far more eclectic than that so my aspirations as a filmmaker are far more eclectic than that.
age certain childlike clinging felt grew pushing result
I don't know if it's that my own childhood felt brief, or I grew up too fast, or I was pushing myself too much at a young age, but I do feel like I am clinging to a certain childlike quality in myself, as a result of a childhood that was sometimes complicated.