The Snarky Campaign to Send M. Night Shyamalan Back to Film School
When he broke through with 1999's Oscar-nominated thriller 'The Sixth Sense,' director M. Night Shyamalan was declared the next Steven Spielberg. He had no idea it would all be downhill from there.
After sweeping this year's
Razzies for his 2010
flop 'The Last Airbender,' can it get any worse?
Maybe. Three movie fans are trying to raise $150,000 to send Shyamalan back to film school.
Chris Baker, a copywriter and author, was first inspired last year in a movie theater, when the phrase "from the mind of M. Night Shyamalan" (during a trailer for 'Devil') drew laughs from the crowd.
In developing his joke idea, Baker was soon joined by two advertising buddies, one of whom proposed "
M. Night School" as a name for the site. When news broke that the Philadelphia-based Shyamalan was planning to step behind the camera yet again -- for
'1000 A.E.' starring 'Karate Kid'
Jaden Smith and his dad,
Will Smith -- the trio went live with their campaign.
So far, around $520 has been raised. Baker agrees that yes, Shyamalan "will probably be a little hurt" when he finds out about the site. Still, "his movies do make money, for better or for worse, which is kind of the irony of the whole thing," says Baker.
Even if the wildly ambitious goal of raising $150,000 is met, Baker expects Shyamalan to turn it down. "We want to do a stunt where we present him with a giant check. Obviously, as he's a multimillionaire, he'll refuse it."
The backup sounds like the far more noble plan: Hold a festival in New York for young filmmakers aspiring to attend NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. The winner will receive the money raised -- as a scholarship in Shyamalan's name.
Hey, it just might be the greatest contribution to moviemaking Shyamalan has made since 'The Sixth Sense.'
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Wow. These guys have nothing better to do with their time? What about all of the other directors who also have movies that suck
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These people are just cashing in on his name, at least he has one.
Thank you Tiff, my sentiments exactly..
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Snarky, indeed. No more than you would expect from an unknown copywriter/author and his two "advertising buddies."
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Where were naysayers like this when Irwin Allen was proclaimed
a genius for DECADES of schlock such as LOST IN SPACE and THE TOWERING INFERNO?!! Like him or not, Shyamalan can tell a story
on film which, frequently, rates among the idiom's finest. The
bashing of Shyamalan -by disgruntled media and frustrated fans
alike- has gone way overboard, to the point of being shameful.
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Did the author of this article forget "Unbreakable?" That movie was awesome.....Signs was decent, but after that, pure crap.
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Agree..unbreakable was entertaining, signs was ok, the village not so good but still ok but the rest bad. He'll have another hit again he just needs to find the right one.
These people are just cashing in on his name, at least he has one.
That's what I was gonna say!
I express my feelings for his movies in the one way I have the power to - I choose not to see them.
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I liked "Devil."
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me too...
For me, attending one of his flicks is like playing Russian Roulette. When it's one that I like, I like it a LOT! If it's one that I think stinks, it stinks a LOT, but if it's just ho-hum, I'm bored and pissed off a LOT. No halfway with that guy.
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I loved the Last Airbender, so critics are just full of it and M Night has nothing to apologize for.
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and i wouldn't call airbender a flop considering that it doubled the money at the box office so the critics can go away.
So Did I! I have seen tons of worse movies... can't understand the hate for him. I loved Signs, and I enjoyed Devil too..
I also "vote" to see the movie or not. The box office should let them know if they have a hit or not. Even if I don't like a few of his movies - I give him credit for not re-making a movie that has already been done. Many of the Hollywood elites don't use their imagination in writing, directing and producing.
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I love his movies. Some are better than others but they usually leave me thinking. The Village was one of my favorite. If you look back at most successful directors you will find they all had some bombs.
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I've only seen Sixth Sense and Signs - and liked both films a lot. Both films were unique and very engaging throughout. Collecting money to send a successful director to film school because he's had a few flops is unkind. Perhaps these three film fans could host an environmental film in their town, make their own darn movie or donate their time to charity. We all need to learn how to treat one another with more kindness and civility.
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No offense to the writer of this article, but "Unbreakable" was a far better movie than "The Sixth Sense." If you know anything about storytelling, you will agree with me...
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Truer words were never spoken. I'd pick "Unbreakable" over "The Sixth Sense" any day of the week. Also, this whole article about M. Night going back to film school was inevitable, if you ask me.