Filmstalker: Shyamalan troubles with selling script?

Well it looks like M. Night Shyamalan really is carrying round a bad reputation from his last film Lady in the Water. It's a sad thing in Hollywood that you're only remembered for your last, let's not think of Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs or The Village, all of which I thought were great with Unbreakable and Signs the best.

Now he's trying to get his new script made into a film and the word out there is that he's having real trouble. According to Latino Review and TMZ through Moviehole and dtheatre - phew! - he's been going around with his script for an alien invasion story where the aliens invade Earth using the flora and fauna around us.

I can't say it's that interesting sounding a script, but as we've witnessed in his previous films he always likes to put a different slant on things. However the reports say that it's not being accepted well and the studios don't see the potential in it.

Moviehole is venomous in it's tirade against him and say that every studio executive they know has said he's carrying a huge ego and he thinks he's a genius. Well, he has produced some brilliant films and he has been quite high up in the industry for a while, and Hollywood is packed with egos, why is Shyamalan any different?

All this aside I think it's going to be a shame if we lose this talent from our screens. I haven't seen Lady in the Water yet, but his other films have ranged from great to superb. I have liked them all, even Village, which I suspect I liked because I wasn't hinging everything on the twist.

Interestingly Lady in the Water carries a 6.2 on IMDB out of 17,028 votes, Village carries 6.6 with 44,133.

I hope we do see more of his films, perhaps though less of the fairytale and more of the suspense and horror that he's so good at.

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I'm not really surprised. Lady in the Water was more than just a hiccup. It was one of the worst things I saw in a theater this past year.... maybe ever.

Plus, everything I've heard about him suggests he's a major asshole when it comes to his movies.

I'll still see whatever he makes next, but Lady was SOOO bad that I think studios are going to be a little bit more hesitant to just let him do whatever he wants from now on.

Posted by: Drewbacca | January 25, 2007 6:40 AM

I cant wait for your review of Lady in the Water Richard.

Posted by: Simone | January 25, 2007 8:40 AM

I've said this before, I loved the Sixth Sense, Unbreakable was ok, Signs and The Village were garage, and oh my god, I can't wait to read your review for Lady in the Water. I know a guy that has to be one of the biggest Shyamalan fans there is, and every time the slightest negative thing came out about the film he would say they're just jealous of him and blah blah etc etc, and then he saw it, and even he has admitted to me, that it is one of the worst films ever made.

Anyway tho, Shyamalan does have a massive ego. I saw him do an interview once and he called himself the next Speilberg, I almost choked. And lets not forget about the book that he had written about what a genius he is and what morons the executives at Disney were at that dinner for rejecting his script for Lady in the Water. Whose got egg all over the face now?

I don't like Shyamalan. I haven't in a long time, and everything he does makes me like him even less. Sure hes got some talent, but hes no Speilberg. At least Speilberg can make more then one type of film. He will never be even remotely close to being on the same level of directing as Speilberg. And the book about Disney! Need I say more, I can't stand Shyamalan's ego.

Posted by: xpgeek | January 25, 2007 9:04 AM

With all the due respect xpgeek, you are a real pinhead....do you know that?

First, get your facts right. Don't make up stuff just 'cause nobody would crosscheck. HE never called himself Spielberg....it was Newsweek that brought out an issue with him on the cover and the following headline...."The next Spielberg".

And oh...he didn't write that book about Disney, it was some sports writer turned biographer who wrote that. And except for some crappy or jealous hollywood exec., no one has said anything about his ego.

So for goodness sake, grow-up and stop spreading BS around.

Posted by: Sri Harsha | January 27, 2007 5:46 AM

I finally saw Lady in the Water last night. It's definitely the weakest film he's given us, but I wouldn't consider it one of the worst of all time. Given Giamatti's performance, I don't think you can even put it in the bottom 10 of the year. If he changed 3-4 casting decisions and cut several small scenes, the film could have been much better, but it was still good enough to make me want to see what happened in the end.

Posted by: hap | January 27, 2007 7:34 PM

Well done hap!

Posted by: Simone | January 27, 2007 8:42 PM