Shyamalan talks curse of the twist
While some may think that M. Night Shyamalan is preparing excuses for the upcoming The Happening, indeed the NY Post blog is laying into him already on that score and saying just that in some very harsh and uncaring terms, others may think that he's trying to explain what happened with Unbreakable and how he has become a victim of the twist ending.
For me it's definitely an explanation to the masses about that very thing. I've always been in the camp that likes Shyamalan films but believes he's been unfairly hit with those shouting about the failure of the twist endings when that's not what it's all about.
To a degree M. Night Shyamalan is cursed with the fantastic ending he gave to The Sixth Sense, and this story is far from apologising for The Happening before it comes out. I see it more as trying to explain to the public the pressure he's being put under by the studios to provide that twist ending regardless, and when he doesn't they market it that way anyway.
Over at the NY Times through /Film they interview M. Night Shyamalan and he tells of how he wanted to market Unbreakable as a film about an unlikely superhero however Disney wanted to sell it just the same as Sixth Sense.
"I remember the moment that it happened, exactly where I was sitting at the table, the speakerphone...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.’"
Later in the article he goes on to say:
"I have two options: conform to the paths that have been laid out prior to me or deal with it...So which one do you suggest I do? I wouldn’t be where I am now if I hadn’t denied those conventions to begin with."
Now although that seems a little cryptic over at blogs.nypost.com they're ripping into Shyamalan something rotten, and despite only being able to find one review that's very early, and thankfully for their story is negative, they go on to slate it saying that it's "shaping up to be a box office catastophe" despite there being no screenings before the Friday 13th opening.
In another article they also are very negative against the film and say things such as "a trailer showing people jumping out of windows (How post-9/11!)" - oh I never realised that people jumping out of windows is now trademarked as such.
Anyway, this is perhaps what Shyamalan is fighting against, the instant backlash against his films, and something that is more than likely going to occur with The Happening as people head to see the expected great shocking twist and may perhaps go home empty handed.
Why can't we accept the rest of the film as much as we do the ending, and why do the media feel the need to attack him and his work so much? It's interesting that from the mainstream press and critics there's not as much negativity towards people like Uwe Boll as there can be Shyamalan - has his work really deserved that sort of negativity?
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