M. Night Shyamalan may have used up all of his get out of Movie Jail free cards with fans after making AFTER EARTH, but Hollywood is giving him another shot. To try and boost the potential for his next film, Shyamalan is going back to the beginning and getting UNBREAKABLE and THE SIXTH SENSE star Bruce Willis to appear in LABOR OF LOVE.
Deadline is reporting that the screenplay for LABOR OF LOVE pre-dates Shyamalan’s directorial efforts. It was sold to 20th Century Fox in 1993 but never got made since Shyamalan was an unknown commodity. That is right around the same time that Shyamalan made his writing/directing debut with the film PRAYING WITH ANGER starring Rosie O’Donnell. Unlike all his films since, LABOR OF LOVE will not be a genre film.
Willis will play a Philadelphia book store owner who loses the love of his life in a tragic accident. Never big on words, he becomes haunted by the notion that he never properly told his wife how much he loved her. Since she once asked if he would walk across the country for her, he decides to show her posthumously just how much he did love her. That trek starts from Philadelphia to Pacifica, CA, which was her favorite place.
If the script pre-dates Shyamalan’s ongoing attempts to replicate THE SIXTH SENSE and his magical twist endings, maybe it will be a quality story without all the bells and whistles. For some reason, I continue to hold out hope that Shyamalan was not a one-trick pony and can replicate his early success. Casting Willis may be a last ditch effort, but with this being so different than his other films, I am willing to give it a shot.
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