Adam Shankman to Direct THE MACHINE, Starring Vin Diesel

Deadline reports that Adam Shankman is currently in discussions with MGM to helm THE MACHINE. Vin Diesel will lead the action comedy written by the team of Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant. Diesel will produce along with Marc Platt and Adam Siegel. Shankman and Diesel teamed up on the hit comedy, The Pacifier.

In THE MACHINE, Diesel takes on the role of a "human-like machine created in secrecy by the Pentagon as the world's first true ultimate weapon, before the project was decommissioned and buried. Two decades later, The Machine is discovered by a kid who befriends him. When the government discovers he has been reactivated, The Machine steps up to protect the family harboring him."

Shankman is a film director, producer, dancer, actor, and choreographer. He has been a judge on the television program So You Think You Can Dance since Season 3. He began his professional career in musical theater, and was a dancer in music videos for Paula Abdul and Janet Jackson. Shankman has choreographed numerous films as well as one of the Spice Girls' tours. He has directed several feature-length films, including A Walk to Remember, Bringing Down the House, the 2007 remake of Hairspray and the recent film Rock of Ages.

Photo Credit: Kevin Thomas Garcia

Need more TV Theatre News in your life? Sign up for all the news on the Fall season, discounts & more...