Movie Man » Is M. Night Shyamalan finally going to make another good movie?

Is M. Night Shyamalan finally going to make another good movie?

October 8th, 2008 at 01:58pm Will Pfeifer

Maybe. At least, according to this interview at scifi.com, he’s contemplating a sequel to (in my humble opinion) his best movie, UNBREAKABLE. I’ll spare you the rambling beginnings, where the self-obsessed Mr. Shyamalan describes an event I’m betting never happened where a child happened to be carrying an UNBREAKABLE DVD in his backpack and skip right to the relevant quote:

“How bizarre. I want to write it right now, but I want to write it for the right reasons. I want a story to pop into my head that is organic and expressive of who I am. You know, these are all kind of journals of where I am emotionally, so it’s kind of hard. I’m kind of trying to go back to the journal that existed in 1999 for me. But I know me: As soon as I give up on it is when the idea will come to me. It’s just I need to go into therapy; I guess that’s the end of that answer to this.”

I liked UNBREAKABLE a lot, and thought THE SIXTH SENSE and SIGNS were pretty good, too. Heck, I even liked THE VILLAGE, which few people did. (LADY IN THE WATER and THE HAPPENING, though? They both sucked.) But if you read a quote like that, or the whole interview (or, if you’re really a glutton for punishment, the perversely fascinating Shyamalan love book, THE MAN WHO HEARD VOICES), you can only come to one conclusion: M. Night Shyamalan lives in a very strange little world.

Entry Filed under: Just plain weird, Movie news

8 Comments Add your own

1. Jason Bellamy | October 8th, 2008 at 2:47 pm

Will: You know I’ve been an M Night defender. And I love “Unbreakable” and even “The Village.” But, man, I’ve never feared a sequel so much in my life (well, I mean, other than the next “Indiana Jones” and the next “Pirates of the Caribbean”).

“The Man Who Heard Voices” is a terrific read. And it’s painful, because Shyamalan obviously cares so deeply. But he’s on his own island now, hearing no voice but his own. And after “The Happening,” I have no faith — none — that he’s ever coming back. (Of course, casting Bruce Willis instead of Mark Wahlberg would act as some kind of raft for at least the start of that return.)
2. echo4charlie | October 8th, 2008 at 3:37 pm

Unbreakable was incredible, and the last M. Night movie that I liked. The rest just didn’t meet my expectations.

I think it is best, though, to leave Unbreakable alone.

Heroes is huge, the superhero blockbusters are running full-steam. I just don’t think he’ll do the movie justice, and compete with the other titles. I think, if it turns out like his several movies since Unbreakable, it will be a poor movie.
3. Will Pfeifer | October 8th, 2008 at 3:40 pm

I agree. As tempting as the idea of a sequel to INCREDIBLE might sound, the end result would almost surely be a disappointment. Maybe the Shyalaman of 2000 could pull it off, but judging on his work since then, I seriously doubt it.
4. Brian M | October 8th, 2008 at 5:20 pm

Incredible?
5. Will Pfeifer | October 8th, 2008 at 5:38 pm

Oops. I meant UNBREAKABLE.

I would, however, like to see a sequel to THE INCREDIBLES — and I have confidence that Brad Bird and the Pixar folks could pull it off.
6. Brian M | October 8th, 2008 at 10:03 pm

I know, Will. Just had to give you a hard time.

and I also would love to see another Incredibles - of course only with Bird’s full involvement.
7. Jerry | October 9th, 2008 at 8:44 pm

Isn’t the next Brad Bird film “1906″ live action? Any thoughts on that?
8. jan | October 12th, 2008 at 8:43 am

The only problem I had with UNBREAKABLE was that I figured out the end long before the picture was finished. I really didn’t see the ending for THE SIXTH SENSE coming and had to see it a second time to check out all the wrong assumptions I had made–how Willis and Collette were talking past each other, not at each other, for instance. So I would consider that the better movie.