Biography
Adam Michael Shankman (born November 27, 1964) is an American film director, producer, writer, dancer, author, actor, and choreographer. He was a permanent judge on seasons 6–7 of So You Think You Can Dance. He began his professional career in musical theatre. He was a dancer in music videos for Paula Abdul and Janet Jackson. Shankman has choreographed dozens of films and directed several feature-length films, including A Walk to Remember, Bringing Down the House, The Pacifier, and the musicals...
Known For
Complete Filmography

Disenchanted
2022
as Grump Vendor / Kip / Skip
Disillusioned with life in the city, feeling out of place in suburbia, and frustrated that her happily ever after hasn’t been so easy to find, Giselle...

Disenchanted
2022
Executive Producer, Choreographer, Director
Disillusioned with life in the city, feeling out of place in suburbia, and frustrated that her happily ever after hasn’t been so easy to find, Giselle...

Hocus Pocus 2
2022
Executive Producer
29 years since the Black Flame Candle was last lit, the 17th-century Sanderson sisters are resurrected, and they are looking for revenge. Now it's up ...

Dear Evan Hansen
2021
Thanks
Evan Hansen, a high schooler with social anxiety, unintentionally gets caught up in a lie after the family of a classmate who committed suicide mistak...

Step Up: Year of the Dance
2019
Producer
Youth from different social classes in Beijing come together to form China's best dance crew and learn what it really means to be family.

After
2019
Executive Producer
Tessa Young is a dedicated student, dutiful daughter and loyal girlfriend to her high school sweetheart. Entering her first semester of college, Tessa...

What Men Want
2019
Executive Producer, Director
Magically able to hear what men are thinking, a sports agent uses her newfound ability to turn the tables on her overbearing male colleagues.

Status Update
2018
Producer
After being uprooted by his parents' separation and unable to fit into his new hometown, a teenager stumbles upon a magical app that causes his social...

Step Up All In
2014
Producer
All-stars from the previous Step Up installments come together in glittering Las Vegas, battling for a victory that could define their dreams and thei...

Dragula
2014
Producer, Executive Producer, Choreographer
A high school senior who overcomes his emotional dysfunction and self-esteem issues when he unwittingly meets Dragula.

Step Up Revolution
2012
Producer
Emily arrives in Miami with aspirations to become a professional dancer. She sparks with Sean, the leader of a dance crew whose neighborhood is threat...

Singin' in the Rain: Raining on a New Generation
2012
as Self
Today's top musical stars—including Paula Abdul, Usher and Glee's Matthew Morrison—reveal why this iconic musical continues to influence and inspire m...

Rock of Ages
2012
Director, Executive Producer, Choreographer
A small town girl and a city boy meet on the Sunset Strip, while pursuing their Hollywood dreams.

A Place for Us: West Side Story's Legacy
2011
as Self
A documentary with stars from the original cast.

Going the Distance
2010
Producer
Erin and Garrett are very much in love. When Erin moves to San Francisco to finish her journalism degree and Garrett stays behind in New York to work ...

Step Up 3D
2010
Producer
A tight-knit group of New York City street dancers, including Luke and Natalie, team up with NYU freshman Moose, and find themselves pitted against th...

The Last Song
2010
Producer
A drama centered on a rebellious girl who is sent to a Southern beach town for the summer to stay with her father. Through their mutual love of music,...
Carrie Underwood: An All-Star Holiday Special
2009
Director
Multi-platinum recording artist and Grammy Award winner Carrie Underwood headlines CARRIE UNDERWOOD: AN ALL-STAR HOLIDAY SPECIAL, a two-hour variety s...

Zac Efron's Pool Party
2009
Director, Producer
Zac Efron's Uncle Hank and his girlfriend, Randi, crash Zac's pool party and they just can not be cool.

17 Again
2009
Producer
On the brink of a midlife crisis, 30-something Mike O'Donnell wishes he could have a "do-over." And that's exactly what he gets when he wakes up one m...

Bedtime Stories
2008
Director, Executive Producer
Skeeter Bronson is a down-on-his-luck guy who's always telling bedtime stories to his niece and nephew. But his life is turned upside down when the fa...

Prop 8: The Musical
2008
Director, Producer
The conflict of the aftermath of Proposition 8 (banning gay marriage in California) is solved by Jesus.

Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History
2008
as Self
The history of Hollywood musical movies, from the very beginning until the 21st century, hosted by Shirley Jones.

Step Up 2: The Streets
2008
Producer
When rebellious street dancer Andie lands at the elite Maryland School of the Arts, she finds herself fighting to fit in while also trying to hold ont...

Hairspray
2007
as Talent Agent
Pleasantly plump teenager Tracy Turnblad auditions to be on Baltimore's most popular dance show - The Corny Collins Show - and lands a prime spot. Thr...

Hairspray
2007
Director, Choreographer, Executive Producer
Pleasantly plump teenager Tracy Turnblad auditions to be on Baltimore's most popular dance show - The Corny Collins Show - and lands a prime spot. Thr...

Premonition
2007
Producer
A depressed housewife who learns her husband was killed in a car accident the day previously, awakens the next morning to find him alive and well at h...

Portrait of a Choreographer
2007
as Self
Documentary about choreographer/director Bob Fosse, and his influence on dance.

Step Up
2006
as Nightclub Dancer
Tyler Gage receives the opportunity of a lifetime after vandalizing a performing arts school, gaining him the chance to earn a scholarship and dance w...

Step Up
2006
Producer
Tyler Gage receives the opportunity of a lifetime after vandalizing a performing arts school, gaining him the chance to earn a scholarship and dance w...

Cheaper by the Dozen 2
2005
as Clam Bake Chef
Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt return as heads of the Baker family who, while on vacation, find themselves in competition with a rival family of eight c...

Cheaper by the Dozen 2
2005
Director, Executive Producer
Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt return as heads of the Baker family who, while on vacation, find themselves in competition with a rival family of eight c...

The Pacifier
2005
as Driving Instructor
Navy SEAL Shane Wolfe is handed a new assignment: Protect the five Plummer kids from enemies of their recently deceased father -- a government scienti...

The Pacifier
2005
Executive Producer, Director
Navy SEAL Shane Wolfe is handed a new assignment: Protect the five Plummer kids from enemies of their recently deceased father -- a government scienti...

Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed
2004
Choreographer
After solving their last mystery at Spooky Island, the Mystery Inc. gang is back in Coolsville, where they are being honored with their very own exhib...

Stuck on You
2003
as Choreographer / Waiter
In Martha's Vineyard, Mass., conjoined twins Walt and Bob Tenor make the best of their handicap by being the fastest grill cooks in town. While outgoi...

Stuck on You
2003
Choreographer
In Martha's Vineyard, Mass., conjoined twins Walt and Bob Tenor make the best of their handicap by being the fastest grill cooks in town. While outgoi...

Bringing Down the House
2003
Director
Uptight lawyer Peter Sanderson wants to dive back into dating after his divorce and has a hard time meeting the right women. He tries online dating an...

Scooby-Doo
2002
Choreographer
When the Mystery Inc. gang is invited to Spooky Island, a popular amusement park, they soon discover that the attractions aren't the only things that ...

A Walk to Remember
2002
as Medical Assistant
When the popular, restless Landon Carter is forced to participate in the school drama production, he falls in love with Jamie Sullivan, the daughter o...

A Walk to Remember
2002
Director
When the popular, restless Landon Carter is forced to participate in the school drama production, he falls in love with Jamie Sullivan, the daughter o...

The Wedding Planner
2001
Director, Choreographer
San Francisco's premiere wedding planner, Mary Fiore is rescued from an accident by the man of her dreams, pediatrician Steve Edison, only to find he ...

Mission to Mars
2000
Choreographer
When the first manned mission to Mars meets with a catastrophic and mysterious disaster after reporting an unidentified structure, a rescue mission is...

Isn't She Great
2000
Choreographer
An unsuccessful over-the-top actress becomes a successful over-the-top authoress in this biography of Jacqueline Susann.

Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo
1999
Choreographer
Deuce Bigalow is a less than attractive, down on his luck aquarium cleaner. One day he wrecks the house of a gigolo and needs quick money to repair it...

Dudley Do-Right
1999
Choreographer
Royal Canadian Mountie Dudley Do-right is busy keeping the peace in his small mountain town when his old rival, Snidely Whiplash, comes up with a plot...

Inspector Gadget
1999
Choreographer
John Brown is a bumbling but well-intentioned security guard who is badly injured in an explosion planned by an evil mastermind. He is taken to a labo...

The Out-of-Towners
1999
Choreographer
The adventures of married couple Henry and Nancy Clark, vexed by misfortune while in New York City for Henry's job interview.

Forces of Nature
1999
Choreographer
Ben Holmes, a professional book-jacket blurbologist, is trying to get to Savannah for his wedding. He just barely catches the last plane, but a seagul...

Blast from the Past
1999
Choreographer
Following a bomb scare in the 1960s that locked the Webers into their bomb shelter for 35 years, Adam now ventures forth into Los Angeles to obtain fo...

She's All That
1999
Choreographer
High school hotshot Zach Siler is the envy of his peers. But his popularity declines sharply when his cheerleader girlfriend, Taylor, leaves him for s...

Antz
1998
Choreographer
A neurotic worker ant in love with a rebellious princess rises to unlikely stardom when he switches places with a soldier. Signing up to march in a pa...

Almost Heroes
1998
Choreographer
Two hapless explorers lead an ill-fated 1804 expedition through the Pacific Northwest in a hopeless, doomed effort to reach the Pacific Ocean before L...

Cosmo's Tale
1998
Writer, Director
Adam Shankman's directorial debut is a silent short film where the story is told through dance, expression and moody music.

Scream 2
1997
as Ghost Dancer
Two years after the first series of murders, as Sidney Prescott acclimates to college life, someone donning the Ghostface costume begins a new string ...

Scream 2
1997
Choreographer
Two years after the first series of murders, as Sidney Prescott acclimates to college life, someone donning the Ghostface costume begins a new string ...

A Life Less Ordinary
1997
Choreographer
A couple of angels, O'Reilly and Jackson, are sent to Earth to make sure that their next supervised love-connection succeeds. They follow Celine, a sp...

Boogie Nights
1997
Choreographer
Set in 1977, back when sex was safe, pleasure was a business and business was booming, idealistic porn producer Jack Horner aspires to elevate his cra...

George of the Jungle
1997
Choreographer
Deep in the African jungle, a baby named George, the sole survivor of a plane crash, is raised by gorillas. George grows up to be a buff and lovable k...

Traveller
1997
Choreographer
A young man, Pat, visits the clan of gypsy-like grifters (Irish Travellers) in rural North Carolina from whom he is descended. He is at first rejected...

The Relic
1997
Choreographer
A homicide detective teams up with an evolutionary biologist to hunt a giant creature that is killing people in a Chicago museum.

Mrs. Winterbourne
1996
Choreographer
Connie Doyle is eighteen, pregnant and alone. She accidentally ends up on a train where she meets Hugh Winterbourne and his wife pregnant Patricia. Th...

Monster Mash: The Movie
1995
as Wolfie the Werewolf
Teenagers Scott and Mary are on their way to a Halloween party when their car breaks down, and they encounter a creepy castle where the depraved Dr. F...

Monster Mash: The Movie
1995
Choreographer
Teenagers Scott and Mary are on their way to a Halloween party when their car breaks down, and they encounter a creepy castle where the depraved Dr. F...

Congo
1995
Choreographer
Eight people embark on an expedition into the Congo, a mysterious expanse of unexplored Africa where human greed and the laws of nature have gone bers...

Casper
1995
Choreographer
Casper is a kind young ghost who peacefully haunts a mansion in Maine. When specialist James Harvey arrives to communicate with Casper and his fellow ...

Tank Girl
1995
Choreographer
After a comet disrupts the rain cycle of Earth, the planet has become a desolate, barren desert by the year 2033. With resources scarce, Kesslee, head...

Miami Rhapsody
1995
Choreographer
Even though Gwyn Marcus is engaged to her boyfriend, Matt, she is still afraid of commitment. While she admires her parents' loving relationship, she ...

Don Juan DeMarco
1994
Choreographer
John Arnold DeMarco is a man who believes he is Don Juan, the greatest lover in the world. Clad in a cape and mask, DeMarco undergoes psychiatric trea...

Milk Money
1994
Choreographer
Three young boys pool their money and pay V, a kindhearted prostitute, to strip for them. Afterward, she drives them home to the suburbs -- but then h...

The Flintstones
1994
Choreographer
Modern Stone Age family the Flintstones hit the big screen in this live-action version of the classic cartoon. Fred helps Barney adopt a child. Barney...

Addams Family Values
1993
Choreographer
Siblings Wednesday and Pugsley Addams will stop at nothing to get rid of Pubert, the new baby boy adored by parents Gomez and Morticia. Things go from...

Heart and Souls
1993
Choreographer
A fateful night in 1959, four people die when the bus they are riding crashes. They continue as ghosts; their souls become eternally entwined to the l...

Weekend at Bernie's II
1993
Choreographer
Everybody's favorite stiff is back! Working fools Larry Wilson and Richard Parker have uncovered a dirty, little secret: Their former boss, Bernie Lom...

The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag
1992
as Timid Man
A Southern librarian puts excitement in her life with a found murder weapon and a false confession.

The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag
1992
Choreographer
A Southern librarian puts excitement in her life with a found murder weapon and a false confession.

Rockula
1990
as Driver
Ralph is a sexually frustrated vampire who suffers from a peculiar curse. He's condemned for eternity to watch his one true love, Mona be murdered by ...

Midnight Cabaret
1990
as Waiter
A Broadway producer puts on a play with a Devil character in it. Soon the actors begin having nightmares, and events that are mentioned in the play re...
The Man with the Bag
N/A
Director
After Santa’s magic bag is stolen, he turns to his naughty list to find Vance, a thief, to help him get it back. Along with his daughter, Santa, and a...