The Lady in the Water trailer came out ages ago, but I’d like to revisit it for a moment. (Also: We’re probably due for a full trailer any second now.) I’ve now watched it several times, with several different people. The reactions are always the same: Near-rapture and deep curiosity, the promise of unlikely magic humming in the air… right up to the moment these words flash up:
"A Bedtime Story… written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan."
At which point open mouths purse into smirks, Swedish Fish packets are torn open loudly and with contempt, and both grumbly chuckles and chuckling grumbles can be heard across the theater.
It’s not just knee-jerk, anti-Shyamalan venom, though that’s certainly a factor. Never has such a talented filmmaker worn out his welcome so quickly, thanks solely to the elephantine dimensions of his ego. Yes, please, M. Night! Become increasingly shamanic in your public pronouncements and interviews! Enter the world of your own movie to explain some plot point we were in mortal danger of figuring out ourselves! Walk us through the twists and turns! Explain how you locked the ghost of the Amish, allergic-to-water alien in the pantry! Drone us some exposition in that supremely unmagical regular-dude voice of yours!
Ahem. Apologies. I’m getting emotional. Thing is, I love Night’s eye. I love the way he looks at things. I love the way he peels back the veneer of reality with such excruciating gradualness. I love the quiet sense of wonder he cultivates. If only he could detach Eye from Self. Some artists don’t have to, but this one absolutely must. In Night’s case, the Self is dragging the Eye down. So when you hear "A Bedtime Story from M. Night Shyamalan," you fixate not on the story, but the storyteller — the smug, smug storyteller — and the almighty gall of a guy who’d presume to tuck you in and tell you a story that he’s so sure you’re going to love. I have not read the tie-in book, but it would not surprise me at all if he appears in it as a pop-up.
Honesty time: Who was into the Lady teaser right up to the moment his name came on?
Next time, we shall discuss the proper usage of the word "narf," i.e. sparingly to the point of never.
Comments (1-30) of 54 Add your comment
I was totally curious and interested about the movie until I found out it was from Shyamalan. I liked his first two movies, but not “Signs.” I didn’t even bother to see the last one. I might rent this one on DVD or something. Also, can’t stand his commercial.
When I first saw the trailer, I quickly figured out what it was for from reading about it, and then already lost some excitement. I have to say, I am back and forth on Shyamalan. Sixth Sense was arguably good, Unbreakable to me was a huge let down. I am one of those few people that loved Signs, but only because it freaked me out (so maybe I have issues with aliens, but the shapes on the rooftops, etc. just gave me the creeps!). Village flat out sucked. So it seems every other movie he makes is good, and the others are bad… All in all, I am not a huge fan, and yes, he is annoying. I am not sure if I want to take my 50-50 chance with this movie, but likely not (and Paul Giamatti also makes me NOT want to see this).
Me!!!! Soooooooo over.
Haters,
His first writing/directing effort becomes one of the biggest/successful thrillers of all time, he gets personally nominated for multiple Oscars…and we’re all surprised that he developed a bit of an ego. I’m sure all of US would’ve handled that HUGE success with the utmost humility.
Yes, his cameos in the movie are too “wink wink” (especially the one in “The Village”), but I absolutely LOVE his skills as a writer/director. His movies have a very distinctive style and vibe that I dig and, unlike most people, I can separate the man from his work…granted that’s tougher to do when he puts himself in his movie, but come on..it’s only been for about two minutes every time.
He’s EXTREMELY talented…audiences know it, critics know it and his biggest problem seems to be…HE knows it.
Haters,
His first writing/directing effort becomes one of the biggest/successful thrillers of all time, he gets personally nominated for multiple Oscars…and we’re all surprised that he developed a bit of an ego. I’m sure all of US would’ve handled that HUGE success with the utmost humility.
Yes, his cameos in the movie are too “wink wink” (especially the one in “The Village”), but I absolutely LOVE his skills as a writer/director. His movies have a very distinctive style and vibe that I dig and, unlike most people, I can separate the man from his work…granted that’s tougher to do when he puts himself in his movie, but come on..it’s only been for about two minutes every time.
He’s EXTREMELY talented…audiences know it, critics know it and his biggest problem seems to be…HE knows it.
He is a one hit wonder…he can’t seem to move beyond his same sthick…..his last three movies were major let downs..especially the ending….
skip it!
Yes, somebody stop MNS’s ego, as it is inflating out of control, kind of like that Violet girl in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
I officially became sick of him during that scene in the Village when his all-important reflection was revealed in the stupid glass of the medicine cabinet…like, are we really supposed to care that much that we catch a glimpse of M. Night Shymalan, not glimpsed since…he played a pivotal role in Signs!!! OMG!
Even his worst movies are better than so much of the crap out there. I’m tired of this mean-spirited picking apart of successful artists. He was skilled and lucky enough to begin his public life with a huge hit. Even if he never tops it, his movies have all been a pleasure to watch, even the ones — like The Village — which didn’t work on some levels. Cut the guy some slack. In a word that spawns Deuce Bigalow SEQUELS, Shyamalan is the last one we should be putting down.
I guess I feel that I’m almost all alone in saying that I think each one of Shyamalan’s films are masterpieces in their own rights. I have been intellectually moved and emotionally entertained for each one of his films which says more than most of the audiences. I feel the way Shyamalan takes ordinary, mainstream, “childish” topics such as ghosts, comics, aliens, forrest monsters and now sea urchins and turns them into provocative, complex and even adult stories is what makes his films more compelling than many other directors. From his direction, to the writing, to the cinematography, music and especially performances (who’s ever been bad as a lead in a Shyamalan pic?) he always creates a work of art that surpasses everything out there in our mainstream mulitplexes. No I’m not over Shyamalan and nor will I ever be; for me, he ranks up there with Speilberg, Paul Thomas Anderson and Sam Mendes. I can’t wait for Lady In The Water any longer. As far as his ego goes, it has never really bothered me nor have I felt like I he’s come across egotistical, maybe a little “artsy”, but not egotistical. He knows what he’s capable of and I respect all the work he’s given. Here’s hope this new film can put all the naysayers in their place so people can just stop complaining. If audiences should be attacking anyone, we should attack the directors who make The Mask 2 or Dumb And Dumberer-they actually deserve it.
Stop hating Shyamalan, haters! Don’t you guys know that the best filmmakers always have their crappy movies and their good movies? Cut the guy some slack, jeez!
Anyway, I’m so going to see the movie! It looks interesting!
Wow, Scott Brown’s cynicism is more overwrought than anything Shyamalan’s ever put on screen. Have the EW commentators and critics devolved into attacking a trailer of a film that has yet to be released? I’d prefer to judge the film on it’s own merits once I’ve actually SEEN THE FILM. What a novel idea. I certainly agree Shyamalan’s not a perfect filmmaker, but he certainly has a unique vision, and that’s all too rare in Hollywood filmmaking these days. Unbreakable is one of the truly underrated films in the past decade. Let’s focus our finger pointing at Hollywood films like the next Fast and the Furious film, or some other sequel no one asked for….;)
Absolutely…I am sooooo over it. Great storytellers let the story speak for itself. Perhaps ego will wane with age, and Night can become the truly great director he shows the promise to be.
I’m a little conflicted about Scott Brown’s words on this thing.
First off: I did love the entire trailer up until M. Night’s words. I love Christopher Doyle’s cinematography and I thought the Josh Groban song was an odd but affecting choice. Thing is, I already knew what it was. I knew Giamatti was playing a man named Cleveland Heep in Shyamalan’s new movie and that he was a super in some apartment complex, and that said movie was being distributed by WB, and I strongly expected a teaser to appear with Harry Potter. So it did, and I knew what it was. And it was all clicking until the Shyamalan thing, with his name bigger than the title of the movie and the pretentious “A Bedtime Story” above. I actually sort of hate when any filmmakers do that (“A Paul Greengrass Film”), although I recognize that with some, like Spielberg and Shyamalan, that it’s guaranteed to put some extra butts in movie seats. And I would guess that’s the only reason the studio lets him get away with it. Because while Scott Brown’s friends might all be film enthusiasts and they all might just adore Paul Giamatti for being in Sideways, I can tell you right now that most of the people I saw Harry Potter with had the exact opposite reaction: they didn’t give a crap about the preview with that guy from Cinderella Man and the sappy music until Shyamalan’s name popped up at the end. Then the theater erupted into a flurry of whispers. So while I think that he didn’t necessarily have to make a billboard out of his name, I do think that Shyamalan’s reputation still works to a movie’s benefit and that maybe putting his name on the end of that teasere wasn’t the worst thing in the world.
After sitting through The Village i have no intentions of seeing any other Shyamalan movie! He’s like Fincher lotsa style but absolutely no content what so ever!!!
He does seem like a smug ass, yes. But I’ve loved all of his post-”Wide Awake” films, even “The Village” and especially “Unbreakable”.
Plus, there are plenty of other egomaniacs making movies, I don’t find it that hard to divorce my opinion of the filmmaker from his work… except Uwe Boll. Hey, where’s the Popwatch about him?
He does seem smug and a little too in love with himself, yes. But I’ve loved all of his post-”Wide Awake” films, even “The Village” and especially “Unbreakable”.
Plus, there are plenty of other egomaniacs making movies, I don’t find it that hard to divorce my opinion of the filmmaker from his work… except Uwe Boll. Hey, where’s the Popwatch about him?
wow. I can’t believe a popwatcher said Fincher has no content. whether you liked the content of Fight Club or not, you have to admit it HAS content.
Eh, he has an ego, but his films are still at 75% in my book and that aint too bad.
and yeah, he does have an ego, but surely it’s been checked a little since Wes Anderson’s “My Life, My Card” ad clearly took his to the cleaners.
M.Night should get a South Park episode of his own. He’s just as annoying as George Clooney (hope everybody watched the wonderful Smug Alert! episode earlier this season!), but yeah his eye is pretty good.
I think the ‘backlash’ is about as sensible as long talks about Brangelina and TomKat. That’s taking the form for the substance.
Shyamalan didn’t make a set of identical movies. He made three movies since his brilliant “The Sixth Sense” about very different things. Each had a twist at the end, with varying degrees. With Sixth, it was everything we’d seen before– our main character’s journey being frought with self-delusions. With Unbreakable, it was the origin of our hero, which we were seeing but not fully comprehending. In Signs, it was a wife and mother’s precognitive statements as she died. And in The Village, it was that we weren’t really watching a period piece after all. While Village left a lot of people cold because the twist wasn’t that novel, few other writer/directors have done anything nearly as brilliant as Shyamalan, save for Christopher Nolan’s brother.
Compare his movies to LOST (which EW fawns over)– the reveals Shyamalan does in his movies have been consistently better than the “this only creates more questions” reveals of LOST.
I was taken aback by first when i first saw the trailer thinking, wait is this a children’s story. I was reminded further back as well when Speilberg did Hook (anybody remember that or are you all trying to forget it…oh and i am not comparing Shayamlan with Speilberg, don’t get me wrong!) I think that maybe this is going to be Shaymalan’s “Hook” which of course that movie was just lame man. Then again like his past few movies he keeps you drawn in until the ending expecting a Sixth Sense finale, but now all you get is feeling…. “wait what hell kinda ending was that”, that trend started with Unbreakable and every other of his movies kept spiraling down from there. I’m expecting the same with this one.
I actually liked “Hook”, previous poster… Of course, I was a kid when it came out, but I still enjoyed it.
As for the actual question… Unless the reviews say it’s just stunning, I’m not going to see it. Like others, I’m dissuaded by M. Night’s ego.
HOOK kicks ass! Love it!
I’m sorry, but I can’t be the only PopWatcher out here who giggles uncontrollably every time he hears M. Night’s reference to the word “NARF”, am I? Apparently Mr. Sixth Sense fell asleep with the TV tuned to Pinky and the Brain once too often.
Pinky: “Gee, Brain – what are we going to do tonight?”
Brain: “Same thing we do every night, Pinky. Try to write an Academy Award worthy script that won’t be subjected to endless mockery on the Internet.”
Pinky: “NARF!”
I’m going to see. Even his crappier work (Village) was better than most movies that come out each week. He is a brilliant guy, and I’m sure he will have another hit one day that will be as good as The Sixth Sense
Narf? Isn’t that the dude from the Thundercats?
I’m just glad to see I’m not the only one who immediately thought of Pinky and the Brain after hearing narf!
Seriously EW make up your minds:
Do you hate the complete unoriginality of Hollywood as displayed by the neverending avalanche of remakes of old movies and TV shows or do you hate a filmmaker that undeniably brings a style that is distinctive and COMPLETELY his own to every one of his projects??
Even if I have to endure a little two-minute, “wink wink” cameo, i’ll take the latter 10 times out of 10.
I was over ‘I’m Right Shyamala-ding-dong’ since I stepped out of the theater for “Unbreakable.” Can we stop talking about people whose movies are disappointing/stolen from children’s novels/haven’t been acclaimed for years…
I’ll watch anything M Night comes out with. Giamatti is underestimated in everything.
The fact that this post has generated this kind of response says it all for me – say what you will about M. Night and his ego issues, but at least the work he produces is usually thought-provoking and interesting – which is something rare in Hollow-wood in these days of software quantity over quality . . .