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Adi Shankar

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with Adi Shankaracharya.
Adi Shankar
Shankar at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con
Born
Aditya Shankar

(1985-01-08) 8 January 1985 (age 39)
Kolkata, India[1]
NationalityAmerican
OccupationFilmmaker
Years active2010–present

Aditya Shankar (born January 8, 1985) is an Indian-American film producer, screenwriter, film director, television program creator, television showrunner, and occasional actor.

In the 2010’s he was best known for Dredd, Castlevania and his "Bootleg Universe" One-Shot series of fan films. In the 2020s, he reinvented himself as a TV series auteur with critically acclaimed Netflix series such as The Guardians of Justice, Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix, and the upcoming Devil May Cry.

He remains the youngest producer to have a number one film at the North American box office with the 2012 film The Grey.[2] In 2014, Shankar ranked number 20 on GQ magazine's list of "Most Influential Global Indian Men".[3] He co-founded the production company 1984 Private Defense Contractors.[4]

Early life

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Aditya Shankar was born in Kolkata, West Bengal, India, to a banking executive and an educator.[5] His family spent his formative years relocating among Chennai, Mumbai, Hong Kong, and Singapore.[6] He immigrated to Rhode Island, USA by himself at the age of 16 two days before 9/11. Shankar studied communications, business, and theater at Northwestern University and graduated in June 2007.[7]

Career

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His Bootleg satires include The Punisher: Dirty Laundry,[8][9] Venom: Truth in Journalism, and Power/Rangers.[10]

In 2015, Shankar signed a three-picture deal with Disney's Maker Studios.[11]

Influences

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For his controversial "Bootleg Universe" Shankar cites British street artist Banksy as a major influence.[12] In addition, Shankar frequently cites rapper Eminem, writer Warren Ellis, artist Takashi Murakami, wrestler Diamond Dallas Page and Final Fantasy VII character Sephiroth as artistic and stylistic influences.[13]

"The Apu problem"

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Not to be confused with The Problem with Apu.

In April 2018, Shankar started a script contest which he hoped would encourage people to rewrite The Simpsons character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon "that takes the character of Apu and in a clever way subverts him, pivots him, intelligently writes him out, or evolves him".[14] He stated that, in the event that the show's producers will not take on the winning script, he would produce and distribute the episode as part of his "Bootleg Universe" fan films.[15]

On October 26, 2018, Shankar leaked during an interview with IndieWire that Apu was going to be written out of the show, stating that he got the information from two people who work for The Simpsons and a third source who works directly with creator Matt Groening.[15] A representative for the show at Fox responded, saying, "Apu appeared in the 10/14/18 episode "My Way or the Highway to Heaven"."[15] In the episode, Apu makes an appearance as one of dozens of characters gathered around God in Heaven. On October 28, Simpsons executive producer and show runner Al Jean responded on Twitter by saying: "Adi Shankar is not a producer on the Simpsons. I wish him the best but he does not speak for our show."[16]

The character was absent from the show for two years, and on Jan 17, 2020, Hank Azaria announced he was stepping down from the role of Apu permanently. Shankar has stated that he was against the cancellation of the character: "Silencing Apu is a step sideways. It doesn't undo the damage, address the damage or benefit the show's 'creativity.' It just removes another brown face from TV."[17]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Studio/Distributor Notes
2010 Main Street Executive Producer Magnolia Pictures
2011 Machine Gun Preacher Relativity Media
The Grey Open Road
2012 Dredd Lionsgate
Killing Them Softly The Weinstein Company
Gangs of Wasseypur Cinelicious Pics Shankar also Presented the international release.
2013 Broken City 20th Century Studios
Lone Survivor Universal Pictures
2014 The Voices Producer Lionsgate
A Walk Among the Tombstones Executive Producer Universal Pictures
2017 Bodied Producer Neon
2024 Ick Producer [TBD]

Television

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Year Title Role Distributor Notes
2017–2021 Castlevania Showrunner
Executive producer 		Netflix Ended After 4 Seasons
2022 The Guardians of Justice Creator
Co-Director
Executive producer
Showrunner
Co-Writer 		Limited Series
2023 Castlevania: Nocturne Executive Producer
2023 Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix[18] Creator
Showrunner
Executive producer
Voice actor
Story Writer
2025 Devil May Cry[19] Creator
Showrunner
Executive producer
Story Writer
TBA Assassin's Creed[20] Executive producer
TBA Hyper Light Drifter[21] Executive producer TBA
TBA PUBG[22] Creator
Showrunner
Executive producer

"Bootleg Universe" One-Shot Films

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Year Title Length Genre Notes
2012 The Punisher: Dirty Laundry 9 min 50 seconds Action/Crime Thomas Jane reprises his role as Marvel anti-hero Frank Castle aka the Punisher from the 2004 film.
2013 Venom: Truth in Journalism 17 min 8 seconds Crime/Comedy In a black and white homage to cult Belgian black comedy Man Bites Dog and set in the late 1980s, Ryan Kwanten stars as Spider-Man's nemesis Eddie Brock / Venom as he is followed around by a documentary film crew. In a post-credits sequence, Shankar portrays rival documentary video director Sunil Bakshi, who is similarly following around the assassin Ben / Bullseye and filming him execute people.
2014 Judge Dredd: Superfiend 26 min 32 seconds Action/Comedy An animated re-interpretation of Judge Dredd in the form of a violent Saturday morning cartoon. Does not take place in the continuity of the Shankar produced 2012 Judge Dredd film Dredd.
2015 Power/Rangers 11 min 45 seconds Action/Sci-Fi A dark reimagining of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers that explores a timeline where the Rangers lost, starring James Van Der Beek and Katee Sackhoff, with Carla Perez reprising her role as Rita Repulsa from various Power Rangers series from 1994 to 1998.
James Bond: In Service of Nothing 10 min 55 seconds Spy/Action An animated short film in the style of a film animatic, where after 30 years in the agency, James Bond is no longer required for his services leading to his retirement as he tries adjust himself to a new life in the present.
2018 Mr. Rogers: A War Hero 14 min 06 seconds Biopic A "What if?" scenario based on the longstanding rumor where Fred Rogers served in the Vietnam War and based several characters on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood from his wartime comrades
2019 The End of Pokemon 5 min 25 seconds Action/Thriller An animated fake trailer for a dark epilogue to the Pokémon anime series.

References

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  1. ^ "SHATTERING THE MOLD: Producer Adi Shankar Offers A Glimpse Inside His World!". Icon vs. Icon. March 11, 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  2. ^ Bertschy, Zac (October 25, 2018). "Castlevania Season 2 Executive Producer Adi Shankar". Anime News Network.
  3. ^ Thomas, Steff (February 7, 2015). "Producer and Go-Getter Adi Shankar Talks Diversity and the Need for Integrity in the Film Industry". Galo Magazine.
  4. ^ McNary, Dave (April 10, 2013). "1984 Private Defense Contractors Boards 'The Voices' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  5. ^ Vallikappen, Ankita Pandey (March 9, 2012). "Indian shade in The Grey". AsiaOne. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  6. ^ Leopold, Todd (March 2, 2015). "Who are these 'Power/Rangers' guys?". CNN. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
  7. ^ Liu, Leona (January 23, 2007). "Adi On Advertising". The Daily Northwestern. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
  8. ^ Weintraub, Steve (July 31, 2013). "Producer Adi Shankar Talks TRUTH IN JOURNALISM Short, the Success of DIRTY LAUNDRY, Casting Ryan Kwanten, Shared Universes, and More". Collider. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
  9. ^ "Topic Galleries". Chicagotribune.com. Archived from the original on August 28, 2013. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
  10. ^ Miska, Brad (March 6, 2015). "'Dredd' Producer Teaches You the Painful Truth About Filmmaking". Bloody Disgusting. The Collective. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
  11. ^ Sneider, Jeff (April 10, 2013). "Adi Shankar Signs 3 Picture Deal With Maker Studios". The Wrap. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
  12. ^ "'Dredd' EP Adi Shankar on His New Bootleg 'Judge Dredd' Miniseries". VideoInk. October 27, 2014. Retrieved July 2, 2017.[dead link‍]
  13. ^ Vincent, Brittany (July 7, 2017). "'Castlevania' Netflix producer Adi Shankar talks video games and the epic movie-mashup he never made". Mic. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  14. ^ "Apu Screenwriting Contest: Crowdsourcing the Cure for The Simpsons (2018)". writers.coverfly.com. Retrieved 2018-10-30.
  15. ^ a b c O'Falt, Chris (October 26, 2018). "'The Simpsons' Is Eliminating Apu, But Producer Adi Shankar Found the Perfect Script to Solve the Apu Problem". IndieWire. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  16. ^ Jean, Al [@AlJean] (October 28, 2018). "Adi Shankar is not a producer on the Simpsons. I wish him the very best but he does not speak for our show" (Tweet). Retrieved October 29, 2018 – via Twitter.
  17. ^ Drury, Sharareh (2020-02-26). "As 'The Simpsons' Silences Apu, South Asian Creatives Hope for Character's Authentic Revival". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  18. ^ Otterson, Joe (June 11, 2021). "'Far Cry' Anime Series Set at Netflix, Streamer Picks Up Adi Shankar's 'Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety.
  19. ^ Atkinson, John (November 17, 2018). "Devil May Cry Anime Series Coming to Netflix". Screen Rant. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  20. ^ Plunkett, Luke (May 7, 2017). "Assassin's Creed Is Getting An 'Anime Series'". Kotaku. Gizmodo Media Group. Archived from the original on November 5, 2018. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  21. ^ Patches, Matt (March 28, 2019). "Hyper Light Drifter TV series in the works from creator Alx Preston and Castlevania's Adi Shankar". Polygon. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  22. ^ "A 'PUBG' Animated Series Is Coming From 'Castlevania's Adi Shankar". Collider. 23 July 2021.
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