[Overstreet]

Hollywood Elsewhere has a reaction to the script.

[Joel C]

Finally something concrete from Shyamalan. For a while there were rumors that he was going to direct film adaptations of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and possibly The Life of Pi. Anyone know if either are still in the works?

I always look forward to a Shyamalan film. Hope he picks up where he left off with The Village. I was one of the few who liked Lady in the Water; however, I did feel that it was a solid notch below his former work.

On another note, that is one dang cool poster. If it were available, I'd be tempted to add it to my Christmas list. Just one confusion (or possible discrepancy): In script, as with all Shyamalan films, Philadelphia and the surrounding area is the geographical location for the film, which, of course, is subsequently in the USA. However, the second car from the bottom right is a Fiat Punto. As wonderful a brand as Fiat is, they don't sell vehicles in America. Just a motorhead's pet peeve!

This post has been edited by Joel C: 11 December 2007 - 03:03 AM

[Peter T Chattaway]

The red-band trailer.

The spoiler-filled negative review (which I have not read yet, I'd like to discover how bad this film is for myself, or be pleasantly surprised that it isn't so bad after all -- at any rate, it certainly couldn't be as bad as The Lady in the Water, right? right?).

[Christian]

Like the reviewer, I'm a big M. Night fan -- even liked Lady in the Water, which makes me really crazy. This movie, on paper, reads like a dud. I'm worried. Too bad, because I thought the preview was tremendous.

[Jason Panella]

I'm hopeful. Even know the spoilers ahead of time, I think it sounds like it could be a well-made movie. And there hasn't been a M. Night movie that I didn't like (mind you, I haven't seen Lady in the Water yet, but I have a feeling I'd like it).

So having read the linked review, I'm saying, hey, I'm still excited.

[Alissa Wilkinson]

I too liked Lady in the Water, though I think I was the only person who did (was it supposed to be kind of an allegory for writers/critics? because that's what I got from it). And I thought The Village was kind of brilliant.

Clever taglines for this film. I'll definitely see it.

[Overstreet]

Yikes, that red band trailer proves this is going to be much, much harsher than previous Shyamalan films.

[Christian]

I should mention that the trailer I referred to earlier was the teaser trailer from several weeks ago. I've yet to watch the red-band trailer.

[Jason Panella]

The red-band trailer is pretty intense. I remember reading early script reports at how bloody the script is, and — judging by the trailer — that hasn't changed. It seems that it could work, in a scary way.

[morgan1098]

Wow, I'm surprised that there IS a red-band trailer. At this point I thought M. Night had decided to set up permanent residence in PG-13 territory. Considering the subject matter of the film, though, I guess an R-rating fits.

I, too, liked Lady in the Water, despite its many weaknesses. And I too, really want to LOVE M. Night and all of his movies and yet can't escape the fact that none of his films since Sixth Sense has come even close to realizing its full potential.

[Anders]

..and possibly The Life of Pi. Anyone know if either are still in the works?

Shoot, I was at a fundraiser the other night and Yann Martel was there. Next time I see him around I should ask him what the status of the film adaptation is, but one tries not to get too fanboy-ish, even when a Booker Prize winner lives in one's neighbourhood.

Clever taglines for this film. I'll definitely see it.

Uh...I kind of groaned when I saw those taglines. Can't coast on the success of "Signs" and "Sixth Sense" forever, you know.

I finally saw "Lady In The Water" on Tues. night. Can't say it thrilled me to the same degree others here liked it. I think it's a pretty flawed film, even if I can appreciate what he was trying to accomplish. I found the "critic" stuff to be pretty heavy handed.

[Cinexcellence]

The acting in The Happening previews, particularly from Mark W., looks wooden to me. I'm curious how it will turn out in the end.

[MattPage]

However, the second car from the bottom right is a Fiat Punto. As wonderful a brand as Fiat is, they don't sell vehicles in America. Just a motorhead's pet peeve!

As an ex Punto owner (mine was black but my mum has this exact shade and model) I noticed that too and wondered about it. I can't help feeling that that's such an obvious error that there might be something deliberate about it. Universal marketing, something thematic? Dunno - maybe it's related to all the spoilers that keep getting mentioned.

Matt

[Peter T Chattaway]

morgan1098 wrote:
: I . . . can't escape the fact that none of his films since Sixth Sense has come even close to realizing its full potential.

More and more, The Sixth Sense looks like a fluke. I have never seen Shyamalan's very first film, which I think was called Praying with Anger, but his second film, Wide Awake, was a treacly and overly sentimental dud, so the greatness of his third film, The Sixth Sense, caught me completely by surprise and I was prepared to believe him when he said that his second film was hampered by studio interference, etc., etc. But the fact that his second film was such a dud prepared me for the possibility that his subsequent films might be duds, too, and I can't say the lameness of his subsequent efforts have surprised me all that much. What DID surprise me was how INCREDIBLY bad The Lady in the Water was, despite having excellent acting (from Giamatti, at any rate) and excellent cinematography and excellent music. Apparently "surrounding yourself with talented people" isn't enough to make a good movie. You still have to have something called, I think, a script.

Cinexcellence wrote:
: The acting in The Happening previews, particularly from Mark W., looks wooden to me.

Yes.

[Anders]

What DID surprise me was how INCREDIBLY bad The Lady in the Water was, despite having excellent acting (from Giamatti, at any rate) and excellent cinematography and excellent music. Apparently "surrounding yourself with talented people" isn't enough to make a good movie. You still have to have something called, I think, a script.

Ha. My feelings on the film are pretty much the same. It was suprisingly ineffective. And showed very little insight into actual storytelling, for all the overtures towards writing. Of course, some will argue that you don't need a script if you're, you know, telling a bedtime story and making it up as you go along...

That said, I'm prepared to give The Happening the benefit of the doubt (despite the terrible title, it looks like it could be interesting). And to be honest, it still looks like a better bet that weekend than The Incredible Hulk.

[MattP]

Wow, I count four people in this thread so far who liked LITW. I'm definitely with Peter here - I can't think of a worse film that's ever been made by a filmmaker with another film as strong as The Sixth Sense.

[Cinexcellence]

Wow, I count four people in this thread so far who liked LITW.

Make that 5.

[Peter T Chattaway]

Night mare? Shyamalan's new film tackles global warming
A movie spokesperson said that Shyamalan uses this movie as a platform to entice more preventative global warming action by showing audiences what could potentially happen to the world. This motivation sounds oddly familiar -- kind of like Al Gore's $50-million-grossing An Inconvenient Truth -- only Shyamalan's project is not a documentary but a movie, allowing for a good measure of embellishment for entertainment's sake.
"The film uniquely takes an in-depth look, through an imaginary story, at what could happen if the balance of nature, at the smallest levels, begins to break down," the spokesperson said. Imaginary, eh? That's a lot of leeway.
Paige Dearing, USA Today, May 23

[Peter T Chattaway]

I just heard from a colleague that there will be no advance screenings of The Happening. Maybe this is why:

No, folks, The Happening is, at this point, virtually a lock to be critically reviled and universally ignored. Razzie-worthy, even. The only people who will pay to see this movie are filmgoers blissfully ignorant of its myriad stamps of disapproval and Shyamalan die-hards, most of whom will probably rethink that title once they leave the theater. Oh, and for those looking forward to one of Shyamalan's trademark "twist" endings? Don't bother, apparently there is none.

To paraphrase Anton Ego, "Critics thrive on negative reviews, which are fun both to read and to write." And I will admit, I do get a perverse sense of pleasure out of bashing the latest bowel-clenching outing featuring Lindsay Lohan or Cuba Gooding Jr., or the latest directorial Hindenburg by the team of Friedberg/Seltzer or Uwe Boll. But anticipating the bloodbath to come for The Happening, dear readers, gives me no pleasure whatsoever. This could do potentially irreversible damage to Shyamalan's once-promising career.

He makes these comments based mainly on one review, but he also says he hasn't seen ANY positive glimmers that might have alleviated the doubt he has felt over the last several months, so take that for what it's worth.

[Jeff]

I read spoilers on AICN that blow the premise's cover, and all I can say is that I am thankful. I am glad I won't end up seeing it.

You want to know what force is really behind the titular "happening"? Scroll for some major spoilers.




Angry plants. Apparently, in the face humanity's disregard for the environment, the Earth's plants start giving off toxic nerve agents in order to destroy humanity and save themselves.

Lame, lame, lame. I was willing to give Lady in the Water a chance and I regretted it. This time, fuhgeddaboudit.