Can M. Night Shyamalan Recover from his own Ego and a Box Office Disaster?

Hollywood is keeping its selective and often disparaging eyes on writer/director M. Night Shyamalan (pronounced Shah-ma-lawn) as he prepares to start production later this summer on his next film, "The Happening." Shyamalan is the wunderkind who gained worldwide acclaim and untold riches with his third film, "The Sixth Sense." In the eight years since his breakthrough film he has made four more movies of varying success and become the subject of accusations regarding an over-inflated ego.

Most of these accusations were the result of his preparations of his last feature, "Lady In The Water," which was released last summer and would go on to be one of the biggest flops of the year.

Now everyone is wondering if Shyamalan can recover from the bad press from his behavior followed by the putrid showing of his movie to critics and what few people saw it.

In 1999 no one had ever heard of M. Night Shyamalan before the summer. He had written and directed two low budget independent films (Praying With Anger; Wide Awake) that barely received theatrical release. Then he submitted a script for what would be the hit film "Stuart Little" and Walt Disney Productions gave Night (as he likes to be referred as) his big chance to direct a script of his own. The rest, as they say, is history. That film was "The Sixth Sense," which, with its surprise ending that few anticipated and fewer revealed, went on to gross $294 million domestically and over $600 million worldwide to become one of the highest grossing films of all time. That was coupled with an unexpected 6 Academy Award nominations including two for Night as Best Director and Best Screenplay and one for Best Picture. He had written his own ticket and everyone was eager to see what he would do next.

It was unlikely that any film could top "The Sixth Sense" but many critics and audience members felt unusually let down by Night's follow-up film "Unbreakable," starring Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson. Willis starred as a security guard who becomes the sole survivor of a tragic train accident and soon encounters a comic book collector, a man with a rare disease that causes his bones to break easily, who tries to convince him he has a gift comparable to comic book super powers. The film was highly original in concept and had an almost equally surprising ending but it wasn't enough to win over fans wanting another intense trip like Sense. The film would gross only $95 million but is better regarded today when seen on its own terms and not as the film "by the guy who made 'The Sixth Sense.'"

Night bounced back in a big way with his next film, "Signs" starring Mel Gibson as a former priest who has lost his faith after the tragic death of his wife and faces terror when he discovers crop circles on his land. Soon aliens are planning a worldwide invasion and there are not coming in peace. "Signs" reinforced Night's ability to scare audiences but for the first time he went with a straightforward story with no surprises at the end. Strong critical reaction helped the film become Night's second blockbuster as it grossed almost $230 million domestically.

It was with Night's next film, "The Village," that the trouble began. Though it wasn't made public at the time, Disney was concerned with the script (originally titled "The Woods," the title had to be changed so as to not be confused with another film of the same name that would end up being released straight to video) but allowed Night the leeway as he had made a great deal of money for the studio. In hindsight it was obviously the wrong thing to do as was evidenced later.

"The Village" told the story of a small community in the 19^th century that is surrounded by a forest populated by "those we do not speak of," creatures that live beyond the borders of the village. A truce has been set where none of the townspeople enter the woods while the creatures do not pass into the community. That truce is about to be broken due to a shocking and unforeseen event that risks the lives of the entire populous of the village. Starring William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, Joaquin Phoenix, Adrien Brody and Bryce Dallas Howard, "The Village" also contained a patented twist that, this time, left audiences and most critics howling with laughter. Many of Night's most ardent fans (though I still pledge mild praise for the film) began to abandon Night with this film and even though the film made $115 million domestically, it should be noted that it made $50 million its opening weekend and then had an astounding 67% drop off in its second weekend. Disney privately blamed Night while Night privately blamed Disney for marketing the film as a thriller instead of as a period romance with a few chills.

Bad publicity started hitting Night while his last film, "Lady In The Water," was still in production. Disney stepped up and confronted Night on his latest script unlike they were willing to do with "The Village," but after the financial bath they took it became apparent that someone needed to do so. Three top executives were allowed to read Night's final draft of Lady's script and all three had major problems with it. The basic story was based on a fairy tale Night used to tell to his two daughters. The premise is that of an apartment complex maintenance man who discovers a water nymph in the swimming pool and soon discovers there are other "creatures" out to get her.

Disney execs were immediately concerned that the story was going to be "too scary" and would have to be toned down. There were "pothead" characters that were most un-Disney like. One character was a film critic that met a particularly grizzly end and execs feared that would only add fuel to possible bad reviews. Night, who had appeared in each of his films in mostly glorified cameos, had written a plum role for himself this time out. And worst of all the script was just plain confusing in its explanation of the myths of the water nymph and her world.

The execs met with Night to go over these concerns and Night promptly ended a 6-year relationship that had produced mostly hits. Disney was in shock but would not have budged in their stance that changes had to be made. Night shopped the script and finally landed a deal at Warner Bros. Bryce Dallas Howard came back to work with Night as the title character and the now hot actor Paul (Sideways) Giamatti signed on as the maintenance man.

Production went smoothly but word of mouth had leaked about Night's abrupt resignation at Disney that cast a pall over the new film. Word was out that the new film was a dud. When the picture finally opened in July of 2006 it was met with the worst reviews Night had even encountered and box office receipts well below what was predicted. Disney execs no doubt breathed a sigh of relief as the film went on to gross only $42 million in its entire run, less then what "The Village" made its opening weekend. Night's most fervent fans (myself included) could not argue that the film had major problems though I am one to believe it is watchable and not the total disaster you might have heard it was. It simply doesn't measure up to his past triumphs. All of the issues Disney execs pointed out came to fruition in the final print. The film is sometimes confusing which makes its initial premise less magical while Night proved he is better on screen in small doses.

For the first time Night also received further unwanted recognition when he was nominated for 3 Razzie awards for Worst Director, Screenplay and Supporting Actor while the film also picked up a nomination for Worst Picture. Night would take home the awards for Supporting Actor and Director.

The big question now is can Night recover from this disaster and re-discover the magic that propelled him to the top? There is no reason to think he can't but you can bet every studio exec will be watching closely. As Night prepares to shoot "The Happening" the normal precautions are in place. Little to nothing is known about the film except that it is a thriller and that Mark Wahlberg has been signed to star. Apparently copies of the script have been leaked online but with Night's almost obsessive need for secrecy it is likely these scripts are probably decoys to satisfy the computer nation while giving Night a chance to shoot the film he wants without having any of its secrets revealed beforehand.

There is also the possibility that whatever fate awaits "The Happening," it may be years before Hollywood knows for sure if Night can continue to be bankable or not. We won't know for sure until the summer of 2008 but one can only hope that Night is willing to listen to constructive criticism and perhaps he will either keep his mug off the big screen entirely or at least keep it to a minimum.

Moviegoers need top talent like M. Night Shyamalan to be at their best every time. Let's hope his last two projects were born more out of vanity instead of a loss of touch and that at this time next year we can all be talking about his terrific new thriller that scared the wits out of us.

Oh! Let's not forget about that twist ending that no one saw coming.