M. Night Shyamalan's The Village

[edison]

will now be called "The Village"

[modage]

The Village: Well the man responsible for "Sixth Sense" and "Signs" has begun filming on his next film and 'Casey' is on-set for a quite interesting report on where they're shooting: "Shooting did indeed begin on M. Night Shaymalan's "The Village" in a very remote location within Delaware County in Pennsylvania, which is about 30 minutes from Philadelphia proper - close to the border with Delaware. What I can tell you is that the village is made up of about 7 or 8 buildings that are made to look as if they were built in the early part of the 19th century. A good part of the filming that took place on Friday occured around a community supper amongst large brown tables outside of the schoolhouse and meeting house - scenes which included William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, and Adrien Brody. The action in the scene, which included about 100 other actors, is interrupted by a horribly disturbing noise coming from the surrounding woods.
 Speaking of the woods, the village is in the center of acres of grassy and slightly hilly land. The perimiter of the land is surrounded by a thick forest, of which an eye is kept, for the protection of the village, by two large lookout towers at opposite ends of the property, and old-style lantern light poles with long, yellow flags line perimiter as well. In one spot lies a small cemetary on a hill near the border. The village is very cut off from others, making the fact that, in the 1800's, villages are far and few between and has troubles of its own, is believable. Try that idea NOW in 2003, where town properties overlap each other. You couldn't find this set if you wanted to, as it is very tucked away and the crew is carted in from a separate location".

[Find Your Magali]

Interesting. ... I spent part of my youth in Delaware County, Pa. ... I wonder where they are....

[NEON MERCURY]

"This proves how much of a perfectionist he is," the site's source advised them.

..oh gee.. totally i agree look at signs....

his best film was easliy the 6 sense.
but I personally luike unnbreakable more....(its has a better replay value)
signs was just plain stupid.....
its like nnow eveyone knows what his film sare like....3/4 's of straigh nnarrative then ..BAM!!!!.... the obligatory twist.....
and it seems that each film he does the twist become gimmicky.....

[Banky]

i disagree.

I beleive that the story through out each movies stands alone from the twist.  Its hard to explain but like Unbreakable has some amazing stuff in it and is a great movie regardless of the twist.  The twist though, if not seeing it, really makes it a great ending.

[Leatherface]

The script reviews have been bogus.

The story is still kept fairly secret.

I actually gave a few movie websites a scoop a while back, which kind of rendered the script reviews null in void.

[Ernie]

interrupted by a horribly disturbing noise coming from the surrounding woods.

Dammit, I know I'm going to have to see this, I keep thinking I don't care but I just know I'll be there opening night, that sounds too cool.

Yea, I'm just not the biggest Shyamalan fan - Signs is like the only one that really entertained me. Mel Gibson was laughable, Rory Culkin was a little prick, all the little girl did was act cute and the writing was mostly horrible but even with all that, I still have to respect it a little for the direction and also Joaquin Phoenix who was fucking funny and great the whole way through. Night is just a bad bad bad writer though, he's proven he CAN be a good directors SOMETIMES but I don't know how many more movies he's written I can see, seriously. I will check out this one though.

[Alethia]

Rory Culkin was a little prick

ahahaha

[Ernie]

Rory Culkin was a little prick

ahahaha

He was, seriously! I don't know if I was the only that noticed but he definitely was, he had absolutely no sense of humor in the movie, all he had was that blank stare, no emotion whatsoever, no emotion. I didn't like his sarcastic, arrogant delivery either, like how everything was pronounced. I mean, I could understand a kid who's mom just died (not a spoiler) might be a little angry or whatever but I don't know, I think it was taken a little too far, I couldn't even sympathize with him. And don't get me wrong, I don't dislike Rory Culkin, I thought he was great in You Can Count On Me with Mark Ruffalo, they were a great team.

[Alethia]

yeah i agree, i just thought you calling him a lil prick was fuckin hilarious lol

[NEON MERCURY]

all he had was that blank stare, no emotion whatsoever, no emotion.

..you would think that he would learn something from his older brother....:

[MacGuffin]

Location for Shyamalan Is a Philadelphia Story

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The meteoric career rise of director M. Night Shyamalan has probably earned its loudest applause in the Greater Philadelphia Film Office, located in the filmmaker's hometown.

That's because Shyamalan remains committed to filming in and around Philly, which has served as the location for such hits as "The Sixth Sense" and "Signs" as well as his currently in-production Walt Disney Co. thriller "The Village." And Shyamalan's rise has been echoed in the city's revitalization as a top location for film and television productions.

"I started here in January of 1992 and met Night for the first time in March of that year," says Sharon Pinkenson, executive director of the Philadelphia Film Office. "This was way before 'The Sixth Sense,' and he was actually working with the Film Office to set up a benefit screening of his first film, 'Praying with Anger."'

Little did Pinkenson realize at the time that the fledgling filmmaker would ultimately become the best production emissary the region has ever had.

"My goal when I took office was to develop our own Barry Levinson," explains Pinkenson, in reference to the successful director who has shot a majority of his productions in his native Baltimore area. "Night has definitely become that for us and it's turned out better than I could have imagined."

While it is difficult to measure the impact that Shyamalan alone has had on production in the region, Pinkenson says she believes he has "absolutely been a major factor" in driving Philadelphia-area production figures to new highs.

In 1992, the economic impact from production in the region was measured at $22 million; a decade later that figure has climbed to an average of a $100 million a year.

While Shyamalan's work in the region has clearly benefited the city, the filmmaker also has reaped the rewards of the relationship.

"The reason we have chosen to shoot in this area is because of the community itself," says Sam Mercer, a producer who has worked with Shyamalan on all of his films since "The Sixth Sense." "It's a real cross-section of America and a family-oriented community that we believe just energizes our films. Plus, there is a wonderful talent pool and crew base that we've been able to work with here."

Shooting in the region is so important to Shyamalan and his team, Mercer adds, that they have pushed hard to ensure that each of their films would set up shop near Philadelphia -- flying in the face of recent industry runaway production trends.

"Economics are important in putting together any movie and you always have to keep an eye on the bottom line no matter how much success you've had," Mercer observes. "But we work pretty efficiently and feel strongly about the importance of shooting here, so we've fought to do it."

The fact that Shyamalan and his crew have not only won those battles but also turned the resulting films into blockbuster hits has made the job of the Philadelphia film office that much easier.

"Having a filmmaker like Night based here gives us instant credibility with other filmmakers," Pinkenson says. "And we have absolutely seen an increase in new filmmakers coming to shoot here after each successful Shyamalan film."

If that's the case, Pinkenson can look forward to another spike next August, when Shyamalan's "The Village" is scheduled to hit theaters.

[MacGuffin]

Quicktime Trailer:

[Pedro]

wow.  that looks tremendous...  who's the DP?

reminds me of days of heaven, one of my favorite movies cinematography wise

[MacGuffin]

who's the DP?

Coen Bros. regular, Roger Deakins.