Only YOU can help send M. Knight Shymalan back to film school!

[Gaith]

AV Club:

Sending M. Night Shyamalan back to film school—no longer the hyperbolic cry of the Internet, now a real-life crowdsourcing campaign launched by three former fans who have grown increasingly tired of watching the once-promising director undone by his own ego and increasingly empty bag of tricks. Or to put it in the words of the organizers, “Certainly, there must be 150,000 of us film lovers out there who are tired of his schlocky plot twists, canned dialogue, and over-commercialized image as an ‘auteur.’” Should you number among those, the cheekily named M. Night School asks that you contribute $1 toward enrolling Shyamalan for courses at NYU—the tuition for which will be presented in the form of a giant novelty check—all in time for him to put the lessons he’ll learn to good use moving Will and Jaden Smith around a post-apocalyptic wasteland.


Of course, the founders of the movement seem well aware that Shyamalan will turn down their offer—not only because he doesn’t really listen to his critics, but because “the guy’s a multimillionaire.” So they have a back-up plan: They will hold a festival for aspiring filmmakers and give the check to the winner.

A damned worthy cause, particularly since the back-up plan isn't a check but an NYU scholarship. I just sent them one big, fat George Washington myself.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

WHAT?????

Why didn't you send it to George Lucas instead! If anybody needs a refresher course, it's him.

Well okay, they both need it. On second thought, Lucas has three billion dollars. On third thought, I need a drink.

 

[CorporalClegg]

Lucas is 10x the director Shymalan is.

Yeah. I went there.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

WHAT?????

Why didn't you send it to George Lucas instead! If anybody needs a refresher course, it's him.

Well okay, they both need it. On second thought, Lucas has three billion dollars. On third thought, I need a drink.

Lucas needs screenwriting classes. His directing, as such, isn't that bad.

Shyamalan has almost no redeeming qualities these days.

 

[Shurik]

These days Shyamalan is on the level of Uwe Boll ...

 

[Sephiroth]

how the fuck do you go from The Sixth Sense to The Happening?

 

[CaptainCanada]

WHAT?????

Why didn't you send it to George Lucas instead! If anybody needs a refresher course, it's him.

Well okay, they both need it. On second thought, Lucas has three billion dollars. On third thought, I need a drink.

Lucas needs screenwriting classes. His directing, as such, isn't that bad.

Shyamalan has almost no redeeming qualities these days.

Lucas was an extremely talented filmmaker (though his dialogue was never great, even in its heyday, he nonetheless produced some iconic lines) who allowed his skills as a director/writer to atrophy over two decades before trying to get back into the game. And it showed.

Shyamalan, by contrast, has been continuously in the game, and has visibly declined with each new film.

 

[diankra]

MNS would be a great director-for-hire on (for instance) a new Twilight Zone movie. That would play to his strengths. But he should never, ever, ever, be allowed to script a movie again (or give himself a cameo role).

 

[Samurai8472]

how the fuck do you go from The Sixth Sense to The Happening to The Last Airbender

Fixed

 

[Gaith]

WHAT?????

Why didn't you send it to George Lucas instead! If anybody needs a refresher course, it's him.

For all his directorial shortcomings, Lucas has at least evinced a fitting disinterest in directing any more cinematic fails, whereas Shymalan just keeps on goin'.

 

[Starkers]

MNS would be a great director-for-hire on (for instance) a new Twilight Zone movie. That would play to his strengths. But he should never, ever, ever, be allowed to script a movie again (or give himself a cameo role).

I'd disagree slightly, I just don't think he should be allowed to script a film than he then directs as well. He should do one or the other. I actually quite liked Devil, there was something reassuringly old fashioned about it. I haven't seen the Last Airbender though, so going on the evidence of the Happening it might well be that his directing skills have diminished more than he writing skills. Even when a story hasn't been great he was always good at creating tension, but the Happening felt like a tv movie, aside from maybe the first couple of minutes there was absolutely no drama. In fact to this day I'm still waiting for MNS to come out and admit that it was a piss take spoof all along...

 

[Mr Light]

He didn't write Devil. He "inspired" it. Probably just gave a writer a rough outline.

 

[Starkers]

Well in that case maybe he should jack in everything else and just be an inspirer?