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Akiva Schaffer In ‘Neighborhood Watch’ Talks; Will Ben Stiller Join Alien Comedy?

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Tuesday June 14, 2011 @ 4:27pm PDTTags: Akiva Schaffer, Ben Stiller, Shawn Levy
Mike Fleming

20th Century Fox might finally be getting going on Neighborhood Watch, a comedy that has long been a priority. The studio is negotiating with Akiva Schaffer, who is one-third of the “Lonely Island” team that created those digital shorts on Saturday Night Live, to direct. The studio likes Ben Stiller for the lead role in the comedy, which has a script by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg that has got Schaffer and Stiller interested. Shawn Levy is producing. The lead role is a newcomer to the neighborhood whose idea to join the neighborhood watch to get socially acclimated goes awry when aliens get involved. Unclear if Stiller will have the time. He’s coming off a Broadway turn in the revival of the John Guare play The House of Blue Leaves, and he’s got about five films percolating. They include the remake of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Zoolander 2 (Stiller wrote the script with Justin Theroux), the Noah Baumbach-directed While We’re Young, and the Africa-set comedy Help Me Spread Goodness. Stiller most recently wrapped Tower Heist for Universal.

Schaffer, who makes the SNL Digital Shorts with Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone, previously directed Samberg in the comedy Hot Rod.

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Rising Scribes Miller & Stentz Follow ‘Thor’ And ‘X-Men: First Class’ With New Deals

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Wednesday June 8, 2011 @ 1:00pm PDTTags: Ashley Miller, Dana Goldberg, David Ellison, Laurie MacDonald, Marty Adelstein, Shawn Levy, Skydance, Thor, Walter Parkes, X-Men: First Class, Zack Stentz
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: In the past month, the screenwriting team of Ashley Miller & Zack Stentz have seen their script work on Thor and X-Men: First Class lead to big opening weekends. The scribes are capitalizing on their heat by making film … Read More »

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Fox Animation Takes On King Kong Story

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Tuesday June 7, 2011 @ 9:52am PDTTags: King Kong, Shawn Levy
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Rise of the Planet of the Apes isn’t the only case where a film division at 20th Century Fox is monkeying around with a primate picture. Fox Animation has set the team of Christian Magalhaes & Bob Snow to … Read More »

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Will Hugh Jackman Soon Be Packing For A ‘Fantastic Voyage?’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Tuesday May 3, 2011 @ 2:22pm PDTTags: Carlton Cuse, Christopher McQuarrie, Darren Aronofsky, David Slade, Duncan Jones, Fantastic Voyage, Hugh Jackman, James Cameron, John Gatins, Laeta Kalogridis, Shane Salerno, Shawn Levy
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: I’m hearing that Hugh Jackman is director Shawn Levy’s first choice to star in 20th Century Fox’s Fantastic Voyage, the James Cameron-produced 3D tent pole film. It’s early days, but this would give Jackman a big movie to do … Read More »

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DreamWorks Revs Up ‘Real Steel’ Sequel

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Thursday April 14, 2011 @ 10:54am PDTTags: Angry Films, Don Murphy, DreamWorks, Hugh Jackman, Jack Rapke, John Gatins, Real Steel, Robert Zemeckis, Shawn Levy, Steve Starkey, Steven Spielberg, Susan Montford
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Disney doesn’t release Real Steel until Oct. 7, but already DreamWorks is getting the machinery moving on a sequel to the Shawn Levy-directed drama that stars Hugh Jackman. I’m told the studio has commissioned John Gatins, who scripted the first film, to start on the second installment. It’s unusual to see that occur so early, but I can recall it happening when Warner Bros commissioned a Hangover sequel after early tests showed the movie was going to be a big hit. Development on the sequel’s just getting under way, and deals will have to be made with Jackman and Levy. Gatins is repped by UTA.

DreamWorks has gotten strong response to internal screenings of the film, and at a CinemaCon presentation of footage in Las Vegas. The film is a Rocky-meets-Transformers tale of a prize fighter whose pugilistic skills are rendered obsolete when human boxers are replaced by robots. The fighter (Jackman) becomes a boxing promoter and finds a discarded robot that wins and wins. The fighter also discovers he has a 13-year old son, who comes along for the ride as the robot heads toward the top against scary competition. Read More »

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DreamWorks Plans Pic Around Kodachrome Demise For Shawn Levy

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Tuesday March 29, 2011 @ 4:07pm PDTTags: DreamWorks, Jonathan Tropper, Shawn Levy
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: DreamWorks has made a preemptive deal for an untitled pitch that will be written by Jonathan Tropper as a potential directing vehicle for Real Steel helmer Shawn Levy. Part of the deal is rights to a December 10 … Read More »

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20th Century Fox Finds ‘Scavengers’ For Its ‘Diary Of A Wimpy Kid’ Director Thor Freudenthal

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Wednesday March 9, 2011 @ 1:48pm PSTTags: 20th Century Fox, Alexandra Milchan, Dan Levine, Shawn Levy, Thor Freudenthal
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: 20th Century Fox has acquired Scavengers, a script by Chris Baldi that Thor Freudenthal will direct. Freudenthal helmed Diary of a Wimpy Kid for the studio. The film will be produced by Emjag Productions’ Alexandra Milchan and 21 Laps’ … Read More »

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PILOT SEASON: The Rise Of Feature Directors

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday February 17, 2011 @ 6:30pm PSTTags: Antoine Fuqua, Bryan Singer, Danny Cannon, Jaume Collet-Serra, Jonathan Demme, Phillip Noyce Revenge, Shawn Levy, The River Pilot, TV, TV Pilot Directors, TV Pilots
Nellie Andreeva

In a series of stories, I’ll take an analytical look at the current broadcast pilot season and some of its trends and heroes.

In what was probably the last big pilot director signing this season, Jaume Collet-Sera yesterday closed a … Read More »

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Mike O’Malley To Star In Fox’s ‘Family Album’ Pilot Directed By Shawn Levy

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Wednesday February 16, 2011 @ 7:30pm PSTTags: Family Album, Family Album Casting, Family Album Pilot, Mike O'Malley, Shawn Levy, Shawn Levy Family Album, TV, TV Pilots
Nellie Andreeva

Mike O’Malley, who is recurring on Fox/20th TV’s Glee, is adding a potential regular series gig to his plate, also for Fox and 20th TV. O’Malley is set to play the lead in the single-camera comedy pilot … Read More »

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PILOT CASTINGS: Rob Huebel Gets Fox’s ‘Family Album’ After FX Passes On ‘USS Alabama’, Jamie Bamber To ’17th Precinct’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday February 15, 2011 @ 8:39am PSTTags: 17th Precinct, 17th Precinct Casting, 17th Precinct Pilot, Family Album, Family Album Casting, Family Album Pilot, Jamie Bamber, Joe Port, Joe Wiseman, Shawn Levy, TV, TV Deals, TV Pilots
Nellie Andreeva

Rob Huebel has become the first actor cast in Fox’s single-camera comedy pilot Family Album, written by Joe Port and Joe Wiseman and directed by Shawn Levy. Huebel most recently guest starred in the FX sci-fi comedy pilot U.S.S. Alabama. … Read More »

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Fox And James Cameron Tap Shawn Levy For 3D ‘Fantastic Voyage’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Monday February 7, 2011 @ 7:43am PSTTags: 20th Century Fox, Darren Aronofsky, Deadliest Warrior, Fantastic Voyage, James Cameron, Laeta Kalogridis, Louis Leterrier, Movie Deals, Movies, Paul Greengrass, Shane Salerno, Shawn Levy, Spike TV, Steve Carell, Timur Bekmambetov, Tina Fey
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: 20th Century Fox has set Shawn Levy to direct Fantastic Voyage, the James Cameron-produced 3D tent pole film. I’m told that Levy has boarded the re-imagining of the 1966 original about a team of scientists shrunk into a ship … Read More »

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Fox Reunites ‘Real Steel’ Team Of Hugh Jackman And Shawn Levy

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Thursday February 3, 2011 @ 3:57pm PSTTags: 20th Century Fox, Carlton Cuse, Darren Aronofsky, Emma Watts, Hugh Jackman, Lost, Real Steel, Shawn Levy
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: 20th Century Fox has acquired an untitled action adventure pitch that will be scripted by Lost‘s Carlton Cuse for Hugh Jackman to star in and Shawn Levy to direct. Levy’s 21 Laps Entertainment banner will produce.

While Cuse has done … Read More »

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Shawn Levy To Direct ‘Family Album’ Pilot

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday January 28, 2011 @ 10:26pm PSTTags: 20th Century TV, 21 Laps/Adelstein, Family Album, Family Album Pilot, Shawn Levy, Shawn Levy Family Album, TV, TV Deals
Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: In a rare TV directing gig, feature helmer Shawn Levy has signed on to direct the Fox single-camera comedy pilot Family Album. The pilot hails from 20th Century Fox TV where 21 Laps/Adelstein Prod., Levy’s company with Marty Adelstein, … Read More »

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Paramount Finds Its ‘Deadliest Warrior’ Scribes

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Thursday January 20, 2011 @ 5:28pm PSTTags: John D. Payne, Paramount Pictures, Patrick McKay, Shawn Levy, Spike TV
Mike Fleming

Paramount Pictures has set the writing team of John D. Payne and Patrick McKay to script The Deadliest Warrior, a feature based on the Spike TV series. Shawn Levy and Dan Levine set it up at Paramount last fall … Read More »

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Fox Developing Comedy Starring J.B. Smoove And Produced By Shawn Levy

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Sunday January 2, 2011 @ 8:00pm PSTTags: 21 Laps/Adelstein, Fox Development, Shawn Levy, TV
Nellie Andreeva

Fox has made a late comedy buy, a half-hour project from actor-comedian J.B. Smoove and The Office writer-producer Aaron Shure to star the Curb Your Enthusiasm standout. It hails from 20th TV and Shawn Levy and Marty Adelstein’s studio-based company … Read More »

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Hot Trailer: ‘Real Steel’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Thursday December 9, 2010 @ 12:31pm PSTTags: DreamWorks, Hugh Jackman, Movies, Real Steel, Shawn Levy, Touchstone Pictures, Trailers, Video
Mike Fleming

DreamWorks has just released a trailer for Real Steel, the Shawn Levy-directed Hugh Jackman-starrer that will be released through Touchstone Pictures October 7, 2011.

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Fox 2000 & Shawn Levy To Tell Revisionist Romeo & Juliet Story

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Friday November 12, 2010 @ 3:29pm PSTTags: Book-to-Movie, Fox 2000, Movie Deals, Movies, Scott Neustadter, Shawn Levy
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Fox 2000 has completed its second book purchase in the last two days, acquiring Rebecca Serle’s debut novel Rosaline for Shawn Levy to produce under his 21 Laps banner. (500) Days of Summer scribes Scott Neustadter & Michael H. … Read More »

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Marty Adlestein And Shawn Levy Set Up Projects At Fox & CBS

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Wednesday September 29, 2010 @ 8:36am PDTTags: 20th Century Fox TV, 21 Laps/Adelstein, Cynthia Cidre, Marty Adelstein, Shawn Levy, TV, TV Deals
Nellie Andreeva

Marty Adelstein and Shawn Levy’s recently launched TV production company, 21 Laps/Adelstein, has sold its first two projects. Both will be produced through 20th Century Fox TV, where the company is based with an overall deal.

The first project from the company, which is run by former Brillstein TV executive … Read More »

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‘Deadliest Warrior’ From TV To Big Screen

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Wednesday September 15, 2010 @ 3:40pm PDTTags: Dan Levine, Deadliest Warrior, Movies, Paramount Pictures, Shawn Levy, Spike TV, Unscripted
Mike Fleming

Paramount Pictures and sister company Spike TV are joining forces to turn the cable channel’s series Deadliest Warrior into a feature film. Shawn Levy and Dan Levine will produce through his 21 Laps banner. Levy might direct. The show … Read More »

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