Adam Shankman

“A little secret - I'm the child of a shrink. I am; my mom's a shrink, and my father's a lawyer. So believe me, I analyze and negotiate. That is a huge amount of the director's work, especially when you're working with people who - such a variety.”

“When I put something into motion, the creativity starts to make other people want to jump in, and then a lot of people get employed. I'm just like a shark, in that way. If I stop swimming, I'll die. But, it really is about that shared experience with people. I'm from theater, and that's really what theater feels like.”

“I feel like a lot of my past career was going to film school, making a lot of different kinds of movies. I made a bunch of comedies, I made one drama and I made a couple musicals.”

“The discovery of dance has changed my life in unimaginable ways.”

“I grew up in Brentwood, but I live now in Los Feliz. I grew up on the beach, now I live under the Hollywood sign.”

“You are the architect of your own loneliness.”

“For me, there was never an end game for becoming a director.”

“Dancing and music were my first love. I was happiest at being a chorus boy.”

“When the opportunity to choreograph came up, it was nothing more in my head but an opportunity. Then it suddenly became a career very quickly.”

“I really loved making 'A Walk to Remember', so I'm not afraid of making smaller films. But for me, I just need to connect to the characters.”