the vynsane asylum

Code: Select all

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - It was a big day for M. Night Shyamalan. 

ADVERTISEMENT
 
The filmmaker held an early Tuesday presentation of his 2010 Paramount Pictures/Nickelodeon Movies theatrical franchise "The Last Airbender" and later attended the New York premiere of his Fox thriller "The Happening."

Before a crowd of eager marketers at New York's Licensing International Expo 2008, Shyamalan unveiled a preview of his three-feature adaptation of Nickelodeon's animated sci-fi martial arts series "Avatar: The Last Airbender" (the first word has been removed to avoid confusion with James Cameron's upcoming sci-fi film). The first film in the trilogy is scheduled for release July 2, 2010.

Shyamalan has storyboarded the entire live-action film twice, and his video presentation showed a series of hand-drawn landscapes -- more traditional than the TV series' anime style -- mixed with stock action footage, including Asian warriors on horseback. A large part of the reported $250 million projected budget of the three-film series will be spent on CGI special effects.

With Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman in the audience, Paramount's John Lesher and Rob Moore took the stage to discuss how Shyamalan brought them the project after his daughters' enthusiasm proved contagious. Shyamalan, who said his family was disappointed after he turned down a Harry Potter film and another well-known franchise, said several times that the film's religious subtext was what drew him to the project. "It has to be something I see God in," he said. Of course, Shyamalan defines God as "a twist that may or may not make any sense, but absolutely has to be in his movies, and which, after learning that he's so dependent upon them, you search for and don't pay attention to the rest of the movie." Previous examples of "God," as Shyalaman calls it, include the awesome revelation that Bruce Willis is dead through the entire film, The Sixth Sense, or the ridiculously clumsy twist of having the inhabitants of The Village live in a secluded area of modern-day Pennsylvania.

"I have a low action-fatigue level," Shyamalan said after the event, when asked to explain why he hasn't made many films outside his trademark thriller genre. "It can't be 'I want to hurt you.' All the fighting has to have a reason behind it."

Shyamalan estimates that the first "Airbender" will be about two hours long. He's close to casting a set of young actors who will age with the story line, but said he's committed to direct only the first film, set to be shot in Greenland and Vietnam. "I'll need to rest after that," he explained.

Perhaps the biggest twist in Shyamalan's career is his turning down a Harry Potter movie. Seriously, dude, what the fuck? Were you just unable to find an Indian Death Eater that you could make a shitty appearance as?

But he'll do this shit instead. Yeah, that's a twist for you. Someone twist this guy's straitjacket closed already.