Shyamalan Takes 'Lady' to Warner Bros.

[edonline]

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=entertainmentNews&storyID=7992049&src=rss/Entertainment

Shyamalan Takes 'Lady' to Warner Bros.

Thu Mar 24, 2005 01:58 AM ET

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "Sixth Sense" helmer M. Night Shyamalan will write and direct his next film, the fantasy thriller "Lady in the Water," for Warner Bros. Pictures.

"Water" centers on the superintendent of an apartment building who finds a rare type of sea nymph swimming in the apartment pool.

Shyamalan has written and directed a series of blockbusters -- "The Sixth Sense," 'Unbreakable" and "Signs" -- for the Walt Disney Co. He had a two-picture, first-look deal with the studio, and his most recent feature, "The Village," was made under that deal. Disney and Shyamalan discussed "Lady," but the two decided mutually to part ways on the project.

"We have a terrific relationship with Night, and although we didn't agree creatively on this particular project, we look forward to working with him in the future," a company rep said.

Warners also would like to see the filmmaker remain in its fold in the future.

"I hope that it is the first of many outstanding films that Night makes at our studio," Warner Bros. president Alan Horn said in a statement.

Said Shyamalan: "Since we met a few years ago, Alan and Jeff (Robinov, Warners' president of production) have gone out of their way to offer me the best on their studio slates time after time. I felt their personal connection to my movies. 'Lady in the Water' is a personal movie with a big idea, and it seems just perfect for Warner Bros. I'm thrilled they responded to the story, and we all can't wait to get started."

The film will be shot in Philadelphia, where Shyamalan has made all his movies. Casting is under way, and production is set to begin in August for a July 21, 2006, release.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

[ilovemovies]

The Village while not completely awful, was a major disappointment. I didn't like it, but that's just one movie. M Night Shyamalan is otherwise a great filmmaker and I eagerly await anything he does. I just hope it doesn't have a twist at the end because having twists at the end of his movies is starting to heart to him.

[James Logan]

I liked THE VILLAGE a lot, not my favorite Shyamalan movie (that's still UNBREAKABLE), but I thought it was a very intelligent movie, great acting, great directing, great use of sound...

So far, ever since THE SIXTH SENSE, the man's not disappointed me once -- loved that, loved UNBREAKABLE, loved SIGNS, loved THE VILLAGE. But I agree, hopefully LADY IN THE WATER (even though they call it a "fantasy thriller") will be somewhat different, so we can see if Night can do something else than his usual slow-moving-mystery-and-then-twist show.

[chinton]

even people who despise Shamalayn I think are always curious what he has up his sleave next

[BorderEevilIII]

Whatever he has up his sleeve will contune his streak of movies where he left off at Signs... I have yet to see The Village but I have heard that the movie turns out to be something else towards the end...

[PuggyD]

Yeah, time to start placing bets on what the awful twist ending is going to be this time:

- turns out it's not really a mermaid, just a woman with a costume trying to trick the guy.

- turns out it's not really a mermaid, just a FISH in a costume, trying to trick the guy.

- the mermaid is really an alien - and her one weakness is water!

- she's not really a mermaid, but the guy's ex who he drugged and put in a costume to confuse her and keep her away from the rest of the world!

- the guy is the only human on a planet full of mermaids - everyone else in the movie was only shot from the waist up!

[Joshmo]

Great news!

Its so awesome and awe inspiring to be present at the BIRTH of a soon to be masterpiece...M. Night...the M stands for MASTER!

[Cronos]

Originally posted by chinton
even people who despise Shamalayn I think are always curious what he has up his sleave next

im not, i couldnt give a shit about what he's doing next, sounds pretty crappy too

[thedudeman69]

What's the twist of this? The Sea Nymph has a penis? :D

[PuggyD]

I bet the twist is that the guy decides to get surgery to give himself a merman tail so he can be with her, but when he comes to she's gotten surgery to get legs and it was in fact her who donor-ed the tail that got attached to him. Also, she sold her hair to buy him a watch fob.

[Mr_Glass6]

I sure that just like all his other movies sine the 6th sense. Poeple will become clinical obsessed about what the ending is. Instead of appreciating the whole movie.

[The Heart Collector]

Hey guys i was wondering if you could help me find 'the funny'. I've been informed that it was supposed to find it here on this thread, but so far I don't see it.

But seriously folks, this idea sounds pretty interesting. Though I don't really see where it could go.

[James Logan]

Originally posted by The Heart Collector
Though I don't really see where it could go.

That's the most interesting part to me. It can either be completely boring, or completely fascinating, but the concept in itself sounds different, because it's not as "exciting" per se as the concepts of his other movies, such as "A man discovers he might have supernatural powers" or "A small village, surrounded by creatures of the woods, is suddenly shaken by signs that the creatures might be attacking".

I'm looking forward to it. Is there a chance it'll suck? Sure. The concept in itself sounds like it could be very cheesy. But it could also be original and interesting. And I'm intrigued to see which one it'll be.

[C-Desecration-]

This sounds exactly like that guinea pig film Mermaid in the manhole, which, despite being part of the series that's basically mock snuff films, is apparently a "good" movie. I only saw it sans subs, so I couldn't figure out what was happening (aside from the obvious, for those who know of the movie), but the premise has tons of potential.

Shyamalan has never made a terrible movie, although I haven't seen unbreakable (but I really doubt it's terrible). The Village was my least favorite, it became a mess, but I thoroughly enjoyed it . . . especially before the twist.

[Jon Lyrik]

Originally posted by PuggyD
Yeah, time to start placing bets on what the awful twist ending is going to be this time:

Ooooh--I have one!

It turns out there is an epidemic of evil sea nymphs in swimming pools around the country, and she tries to kill everyone in the area, but he finds her two weaknesses--extreme heat or extreme cold!

I hope this doesn't have a twist. It sucks to see a talented director like Shymalan build his career on a gimmick that gets old on the fourth try.

[James Logan]

Well, looks like Shyamalan cast his leads -- Paul Giamatti and Bryce Dallas Howard.

Least I can say is I like those picks. :)

[wheresdonnie?]

Good casting news. I'm a big Paul Giamatti fan, and Bryce Dallas Howard was excellent in The Village (the only good thing in my opinion), so this is shaping up quite nicely. Not sure about the story, though, but I'll wait for the trailer before I start judging it.

[The Heart Collector]

That is one superbly picked cast.

[Lazy Boy]

Fuckin' A.

I know Shyamalan gets put through the ringer for his twists (which at worst are unnecessary) but I'm going to see this film on the day it opens. Mark my words.

[Slim_JGE]

I enjoy Night quite a bit. While the Village was my least favorite of his films it was still good and I enjoyed watching it. Well acted and directed and the guy really isn't a bad writer either. :D

[AwesomeJ33]

C'mon, night Rocks and you all know it. I mean did you really find The Village bad? I mean in comparison to some of the movies people put down in the "what they saw this year thread" and other thread like it. I find it hard to believe that some people actually think Eurotrip or the Rundown are actually better than "The Village"? I'm not singling anyone out, everyone is titled to their opinions, but sometimes I think the criticism Night recieves comes out of jealousy of some sort.