M. Night Shyamalan

Started by Xeditor, January 19, 2003, 10:35:37 PM

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MacGuffin

M. Night Shyamalan's 'Devil' gets its due
It's the first film he's written that he won't direct
Source: Hollywood Reporter

NEW YORK -- M. Night Shyamalan is making a deal with the "Devil."

The helmer's three-film financing/production partnership with Media Rights Capital, the Night Chronicles, is launching with the supernatural thriller "Devil."

John and Andrew Dowdle will direct and executive produce a script by Brian Nelson ("30 Days of Night") based on an original Shyamalan story. The project will be the first feature Shyamalan has written or produced without directing.

No plot details were revealed, but Shyamalan will oversee all three films' development and production. TNC exec Ashwin Rajan will be responsible for identifying talent and will work closely with Shyamalan.

"Devil" heads into production next year, aiming for a PG-13 rating. The Night Chronicles features set to begin production in 2010 and 2011 will also be based on his original stories.

John Dowdle recenty directed "Quarantine," an adaptation of the Spanish horror hit "[Rec]" he co-scripted with brother Andrew.

"This is a dream for me. I wanted to find filmmakers that inspire me and I found them," said Shyamalan, who will co-own the films' copyrights with MRC and shop them for distribution.

The filmmaker, who recently experienced recent critical lambasting for his $64.5 million-grossing supernatural thriller "The Happening," is now directing the 2010 Paramount family fantasy "The Last Airbender."
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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Ravi

Quote from: MacGuffin on October 28, 2008, 05:42:24 PM
John and Andrew Dowdle will direct and executive produce a script by Brian Nelson ("30 Days of Night") based on an original Shyamalan story. The project will be the first feature Shyamalan has written or produced without directing.

He co-wrote Stuart Little.

matt35mm

Quote from: Ravi on October 28, 2008, 05:58:21 PM
Quote from: MacGuffin on October 28, 2008, 05:42:24 PM
John and Andrew Dowdle will direct and executive produce a script by Brian Nelson ("30 Days of Night") based on an original Shyamalan story. The project will be the first feature Shyamalan has written or produced without directing.

He co-wrote Stuart Little.

You should work for The Hollywood Reporter.

MacGuffin

Shyamalan cast floats on 'Air'
'Slumdog' star Dev Patel joins Paramount film
Source: Variety

"Slumdog Millionaire" star Dev Patel has joined the cast of M. Night Shyamalan's "The Last Airbender," the Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Films live-actioner based on a Nick TV series.

Patel will be featured alongside newcomer Noah Ringer, Nicola Peltz, Jackson Rathbone and Jessica Jade Andres. Production begins in mid-March in Greenland.

In casting Patel and Ringer, a director accustomed to delivering plot twists to audiences got some surprises of his own. Ringer is a complete unknown who was tapped for the title role off an Internet audition. Patel, meanwhile, steps into a role that Jesse McCartney had all but locked up until the actor's second career as a musician got in the way.

"Jesse had tour dates that conflicted with a boot camp I always hold on my films, and where the actors here have to train for martial arts," Shyamalan said.

Patel was "already one of the guys I was interested in. Then I saw 'Slumdog Millionaire,' and the kid just grew in my eyes," he said.

Tyro thesp Ringer will play Aang, the film's lead, who is the last of a race of people who can manipulate the elements of air.

Ringer, a 12-year-old from Texas, landed the part after demonstrating his martial arts skills in an Internet vid that he posted to a website Shyamalan set up for open virtual auditions.

Patel will play Zuko, a member of the Fire Nation. Peltz plays the Water Tribe rep Katara, while Andres is the Earth Kingdom's representative, Suki.

While McCartney was knocked out by scheduling, Rathbone managed to work around a conflict with "New Moon," where he will reprise his role as a bloodsucker from "Twilight."

Paramount is set to release "Airbender on July 2, 2010.

Shyamalan said he is planning a three-picture story arc.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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MacGuffin

More Cast Revealed For Shyamalan's Devil... And Also The Film's Premise, Maybe?
Source: SlashFilm

On Friday, /Film's Russ Fischer said of Devil, the upcoming Dowdle Bros. film from a story by M. Night Shyamalan and script by Brian Nelson, that "The film starts shooting in Toronto a week from Monday, and that's all we've got. It's tightly under wraps, and has been for a while. Which, I suspect, really means that there's some info out there that we haven't dug up yet."

Look's like we've now managed to dig a bit of it up, with a little help from our friends. Be wary of potential spoilers as you read on.


After Russ' post was published, I received a kindly nudge in the direction of the film's logline. Googling it (of course) I found it published on just one site - the rather unexpected Hollywood.Com. Here it is, word for word:

A group of people are trapped in an elevator, and one of them is the devil.

As simple as that. So, I began digging further to see what else I could find. Again, the info was in an unexpected place... it was right here, at /Film. Right under my nose.


Back when Peter reported on the film changing shooting location to Canada, we received a comment from Only Read if you want to know. It read:


Devil is basically a supernatural thriller set inside of an office building. There are some people stuck in an elevator, and one of them is not who they say they are (*cough* it's in the title *caugh*)

There is also a security guard and a policeman. The security guard is trying to convince the policeman to get them out of the elevator. He is also trying to convince the policeman that he is the chosen one to save the people.

The commenter later followed up with:

Total truth man, inside info from the script, it's a cool concept, the script is a little weak, but it could be made up in style.

So, that's now three sources in corroboration. I'm calling this one... and if you're reading this, Only Read, I'd love a look at that script myself. Thanks for your info.

In further Devil news, The Hollywood Reporter have rounded up a more comprehensive cast list. As well as Chris Messina they name Bojana Novakovic, Bokeem Woodbine, Geoffrey Arend and Caroline Dhavernas. Place your bets now on who will be the eponymous evil. I'm betting on there being a real angel in there too.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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MacGuffin

Shyamalan shopping new movie with big stars

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - As he puts the finishing touches on the big-budget fantasy spectacle "The Last Airbender," filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan is quietly circulating a new script.

No details are known about the project, but it comes with some major acting talent: Bradley Cooper, Gwyneth Paltrow and Bruce Willis are loosely attached to star in the film.

Shyamalan is famously secretive, and this project is no exception: Only top studio execs have read the script, and they were required to allow a Shyamalan assistant to supervise the process. When the executives finished reading, the assistant took the script back and left.

It's a practice that is consistent with previous Shyamalan script sales. But while there was a time when an original Shyamalan project -- with their trademarked twists and reveals -- caused great ripples throughout Hollywood, in recent years the filmmaker's box office and critical clout have diminished.

"Airbender," which is getting the full Paramount marketing push for a July 1 release, could bring some of that heat back, but the project is the first for Shyamalan based on material that he didn't originate. It's also his first attempt at a special effects-driven franchise-starter.

Still, with Cooper, Paltrow and Willis attached (the latter starred in the filmmaker's breakthrough "The Sixth Sense" and "Unbreakable"), Shyamalan can still lure talent.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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Stefen

Quote from: MacGuffin on June 22, 2010, 01:14:07 PMShyamalan is famously secretive, and this project is no exception: Only top studio execs have read the script, and they were required to allow a Shyamalan assistant to supervise the process. When the executives finished reading, the assistant took the script back and left.

He's still doing this shit? This guy is the worst.

"If you want the privilege of reading my new screenplay, you must read it it one sitting while my assistant hovers over you. When you are finished, she will take it away and you must sign a confidentiality agreement. NO EXCEPTIONS."

"haha. Oh, M. Night! And they say you're one of the most unfunny people in this town!....................Oh, you're serious? Oh, I'm sorry! Yeah, I think I'm gonna pass on this film. Good luck, though!"

Does anyone even care about what the new M. Night movie is? Do you really think this studio executive would be at some dinner party and bring up that he read M. Night's new screenplay and the other guests would just be BEGGING HIM to reveal the plot and twists? NOT GONNA HAPPEN.
Falling in love is the greatest joy in life. Followed closely by sneaking into a gated community late at night and firing a gun into the air.

MacGuffin

Shyamalan's Secret Script: Supernatural Version of 'Taken'?
Source: Cinematical

A few days ago, we reported that director M. Night Shayamalan is currently shopping his latest script around Hollywood. In typical M. Night fashion, there's an air of secrecy surrounding the project, but Deadline has managed to get some insight into what the story is about.

According to their sources, the untitled project -- which has Bradley Cooper, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Bruce Willis "loosely attached" as stars -- would be a story about a father (Cooper) searching for his missing child. To help the cause, he apparently turns to supernatural forces for assistance. Early buzz is calling it a "supernatural Taken" -- which is an intriguing description. CAA is showing the script and Universal appears to be the most interested party at this early stage.

Universal and Shyamalan already have a relationship, with the studio handling the distribution of John Dowdle's Devil -- the first title released under Shyamalan's The Night Chronicles production banner. Shyamalan and his cousin Ashwin Rajan launched the imprint to create a series of genre films made by up-and-coming directors and based on Shyamalan's ideas. They've just chosen their second project, Twelve Strangers -- a thriller wherein a jury is forced to debate a case involving the supernatural. Hmm ... I'm sensing a trend here.

The director's latest film, a big screen live-action version of the popular cartoon Avatar: The Last Airbender (film version known simply as The Last Airbender to apparently avoid confusion with that other Avatar movie) opens on July 1.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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MacGuffin

'Unbreakable 2' Story Was Repurposed For 'Night Chronicles,' Says M. Night Shyamalan
Source: MTV

So MTV Movies' Joshua Horowitz and I both get a lot of flak for our love of M. Night Shyamalan's dark superhero movie "Unbreakable," but that hasn't stopped us from pestering the filmmaker about a potential sequel every time we have the chance.

Back in June during "The Last Airbender" press junket, the filmmaker told me he was searching for "the right story" for "Unbreakable 2." Now, promoting the first of his "Night Chronicles" film series, "Devil," Shyamalan once again fielded the question — and revealed that his "Unbreakable 2" story will indeed hit the big screen, but as a completely different film.

"I cannibalized the idea for the sequel to 'Unbreakable' for one of the 'Night Chronicles,'" revealed Shyamalan.

"It was such a cool idea for a villain, and it was actually originally in the script for 'Unbreakable,' and it was too much," he said of his reasons for excising the element that was intended to become "Unbreakable 2." "There were too many villains, so I pulled this villain out and was like, 'I'll make this the second flick.'"

However, as the filmmaker got caught up in other projects and "Unbreakable 2" became less likely, the seed of that idea still managed to grow.

"I fleshed it out more and more, and thought, 'This could be a standalone movie,'" he said. "I'll just say it: the third 'Night Chronicles' movie is what would have been the sequel [to 'Unbreakable']. So now I need to come up with a new idea."

Shyamalan also semi-validated "Unbreakable" fans' appreciation for the 2000 film, admitting that it's also one of his own favorites.

"Literally, that's the question I get asked the most anywhere around the world — if I'm making the sequel to 'Unbreakable,'" he laughed. "I love that movie. 'Unbreakable' and 'The Village' are my favorite two movies of mine."
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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jtm

i love unbreakable. it's the only m. night movie i can say that about. great great movie.

but didn't he already say he originally planned it as a trilogy, and the reason he changed his mind is what he perceived as "no love for unbreakable"?

i wonder what changed his mind. and how different will this be from his original idea of a trilogy?

Stefen

Unbreakable is perfect.

Best contemporary super hero movie ever. Chris Nolan watched this and took notes. It's a great, great film. So good.
Falling in love is the greatest joy in life. Followed closely by sneaking into a gated community late at night and firing a gun into the air.

RegularKarate

Quote from: Stefen on September 05, 2010, 02:03:50 AM
Unbreakable is perfect.

Best contemporary super hero movie ever. Chris Nolan watched this and took notes. It's a great, great film. So good.

No way!  It's so stale.  It's just a recycled Sixth Sense. 
I've said this a million times and will probably never stop having knee-jerk reactions to people thinking Unbreakable is good.

Stefen

I didn't like The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable and Signs are the only ones of his I like, and I can admit that Signs isn't very good, but I like the genre of contemporary sci-fi that doesn't go all out.

I just think Unbreakable is really fantastic. I love the story, I love the atmosphere, I think it's the perfect Bruce Willis role. I like the comic parallels that are set in a realistic world. It has flaws, but so does every movie. I thought it was silly how David can just see all the things people did wrong. I thought that was kind of a copout, and I don't like how Elijah and Audrey meet, but overall, I think it's really, really good. I liked it when I first saw it and after re-watching it recently, I still like it.
Falling in love is the greatest joy in life. Followed closely by sneaking into a gated community late at night and firing a gun into the air.

RegularKarate

So, for this show I'm working on, I have to watch "The Happening" a number of times.

A new theory I have about it is that Mark Wahlberg thought his role was more comedic at the beginning of the shoot.  It seems like he's really trying to be funny at the start of the movie and I recently read it was shot sequentially so that would make sense.

Just a random thought.

Alexandro

He keeps being funny by the end. Unintentionally so.

UNBREAKABLE is really cool. The day to day, normal daily life it presents everything: the marital crisis, the unfulfilment in bruce willis's character. it's so well done it's hard to even imagine the same guy who did that did the fucking happening.