M. Night Shyamalan Is Free To Be You And Me
In the lead-up to the release of his new movie, What's Happening?, M. Night Shyamalan battled his self-proclaimed press shyness to talk to the New York Times this weekend. The article is mostly about the infamous split with Disney over the script for Lady in the Water (SPOILER ALERT more about this movie later today), and the tendentious relationship he maintains with Hollywood from his converted farmhouse outside Philadelphia. But it also includes some discussion of auteur theory, and whether or not movies can be sold on the power of a director's name alone.
"The problem is the assumption that if I am selling the movie -- because I'm selling me -- that I'm being egotistical. If Will Smith did the same thing, it would be perceived very differently," he said. "You're supposed to be hidden if you're a director. That's a rule that who said in the movie business?"
Right. I would love to hear Shyamalan's take on how when men are promiscuous they're called players but when women are promiscuous they're called sluts. This quote comes in an article that references how Shyamalan has compared himself in the past to both Spielberg and Hitchcock. This guy contains multitudes for sure.
My other favorite part of the article was when Shyamalan talks about how Hollywood forced him to make Unbreakable into Spooky Unbreakable.
"I remember the moment that it happened, exactly where I was sitting at the table, the speakerphone," he recalled in an interview from his office in a converted farmhouse near Philadelphia. "That moment may have been the biggest mistake that I have to undo over 10 years so the little old lady doesn't go, 'Oh, he's the guy who makes the scary movies with a twist.' "
He still remembers the speakerphone, you guys. NEVER FORGET THE SPEAKERPHONE. And I don't know who "the little old lady" is, but if I learned one thing in film school it was that the best way to convince people you don't just make scary movies with a twist is to NOT MAKE EVERY MOVIE YOU MAKE BE A SCARY MOVIE WITH A TWIST. Apparently he was too busy being Spielberg, Hitchcock, and Will Smith to also be someone who is not an idiot.
Posted by Gabe at 9:15 AM in Backlashes, Behind The Scenes
Tags: Hollywood | M. Night Shyamalan | The Happening
I think you secretly want to marry him is why you write about him so much.
Well, the shit he says really is hard to ignore.
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Whenever I don't know who "the little old lady" is, I just assume it's Ruth Buzzy with her hairnet and purse ready to beat the shit out of someone.
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The little old lady is your girlfriend.
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Well, for sure lately he's one of the most annoying dudes on this planet, the poor ole indian M. Night-Mare Shyalamaananan thinks he's the f_in Brahma.
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wow! now i see you hate Shyamalan really. from where do you get all this indignation? so many articles about one man isn't it too much?
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