What kind of Oscars telecast should we expect from Adam Shankman?

I know you're all consumed with curiosity about Adam Shankman, who'll be producing the next Oscars telecast with former studio boss Bill Mechanic. Aren't you? He's the man behind the scenes who could make the difference between an unwatchable snoozefest and a show that has some spring in its step (literally), so there's cause for interest here. Trust me. And there's much to recommend in Shankman, whose curriculum vitae includes directing and producing one of the few commercially and critically successful Broadway-to-screen adaptations in 2007's Hairspray, choreographing movies for more than 15 years, and staging the star-studded Prop 8: The Musical. But he's also my favorite judge on Fox's hit competition So You Think You Can Dance. He endeared himself to legions of fans by breaking down in tears recently during an especially beautiful performance. He has promised to lighten up the notoriously stodgy Academy Awards and inject a sense of fun. That's no mean feat. There was a glimmer of that last February with host Hugh Jackman and first-time producers Bill Condon and Larry Mark, though none of that talent will be returning. (Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin were just announced as next year's co-hosts, and could add some juice, too.) I'm pulling for Shankman, who brightens up an already phosphorescent reality show that's anchoring a big Fox fall season. The guy's got humanity, a rare commodity in Hollywood. The Oscars air March 7.

—Posted by T.L. Stanley