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Shane Salerno

Shane Salerno

Producer, writer and director · Born November 27, 1972 (53) · Memphis, Tennessee, USA

Shane Salerno is an American screenwriter, producer and director. He has written or co-written several blockbuster films including Armageddon and Shaft and is also one of the writer-producers of the successful CBS drama series Hawaii Five-0. He is the director of the forthcoming documentary Salinger, screenwriter of Fantastic Voyage produced by James Cameron and co-screenwriter and executive producer of Savages, directed by Oliver Stone. Detour Magazine voted him one of "Hollywood's true shapers of popular culture" and Fade In Magazine, selected Salerno as one of the "100 people you need to know in Hollywood". Description above from the Wikipedia article Shane Salerno, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia​

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
November 27, 1972 (53)
From
Memphis, Tennessee, USA
Works as
Producer, writer and director
Titles
10 on MovieCove · 20 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 155 days to Oct 26Up 4% in 30 days

What are Shane Salerno's films like?

Across their 9 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Morality.

Genres

Action5 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 67th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Action movies
Crime2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 64th percentile
: browse their Crime movies
Documentary2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 69th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Documentary movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
27%
Morality
21%
Survival
21%
Society
12%
Self
9%
Ideas
7%
Power
3%
Survival4 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds3 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice2 titles, browse their movies with this themeLoyalty2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 9 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 2 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 3

Intense: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their intense movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 1 · Charged 1 · Intense 7

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 3 · Shifting 4 · Whiplash 2

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 7 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 0

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 4 · Relentless 2

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 1 · Engaged 6 · Full focus 2

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 7 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
7
Thrilling
6
Melancholic
3
Contemplative
2
Hopeful
3
Other
5

How their films linger

Hopeful5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteCathartic2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 1 with a twist

  • Bittersweet7
  • Ambiguous2

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Shane Salerno's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 10 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Disney+ (4).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Shane Salerno's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

20 credits, 10 with a MovieCove page.

  • Avatar 5 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2031)

    Screenplay · Story

  • Avatar 4 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2029)

    Story

  • Crime 101(2026)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films

  • Avatar: Fire and Ash(2025)

    Story

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films

  • Avatar: The Way of Water(2022)

    Story

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • The Comey Rule(2020)

    Show 2 episodes · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all shows

  • Alan Pakula: Going for Truth(2019)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films

  • Salinger(2013)

    Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films

  • Savages(2012)

    Executive Producer · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films

  • Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem(2007)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 8th percentile of all films

  • UC: Undercover (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

    Writer

  • UC: Undercover (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

    Show Creator

  • Shaft(2000)

    Screenplay · Story

    Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films

  • Armageddon(1998)

    Adaptation

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films

  • City on Fire (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

  • Drowning: The Rescue of Flight 1421 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

  • Eruption (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

  • Sundown: The Future of Children and Drugs (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director

  • The Chain (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Show 1 episode · Executive Producer

  • The Winter of Frankie Machine (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

Career shape

A full career of 20 titles, 12 of them dated from 1998 to 2026.

Biggest box office

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

$2.3B worldwide

Highest rated

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

Midcredits 92nd

Most popular right now

Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing2 of 20: 1 only directing, 1 with another roleWriting10 of 20: 8 only writing, 2 with another role · typical Midcredits score62ndProducing10 of 20: 8 only producing, 2 with another role · typical Midcredits score68thOther crew1 of 20: 1 only other crew, 0 with another role

By decade

1990s1 · crew2000s4 · crew2010s3 · crew2020s4 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Shane Salerno's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 67th percentile, the median of all 9; across their 9 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 64th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

64thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 9

Approval · how many liked their films

67thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 9

Reach · how many have seen their films

97thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 9

Midcredits score across 10 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up3
  • 50th to 74th5
  • 25th to 49th1
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

6 of their 10 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Crowd Pleaser6
  • Broadly Agreed1
  • Mixed2

Most divisive · producer

The Comey Rule (2020)

57th percentile spread · 12% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · writer

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

Midcredits 92nd · 80% liked

Reviewers score the dialogue 34/100 and the plot and story 35/100 in their films, across 8 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Shane Salerno's work okay for kids?

Across up to 7 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, profanity and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore7 titles59–94 · median 64 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity7 titles29–58 · median 39 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity7 titles53–89 · median 73 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs7 titles20–70 · median 35 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense7 titles59–80 · median 63 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Shane Salerno work with?

People who share at least 2 of Shane Salerno's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; James Cameron shares the most, 2.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers