comment #1

CCA says ...

"The man has to free himself from the Sixth Sense penitentiary he's been living in these last few years"

Yes, despite his best efforts to distance himself from that movie -- in both style and content -- he finds himself trapped. Oh, qait a minute! He's been using the same gimmicky formula ever since, when he could have been making (on the strenght of his "penitentiary" doing gangbuster business) whatever the fuck he wanted. Are you kidding with this stuff, Wells? Cry me a river ... of crocodile tears. It fit Spielberg when you wrote it a couple of weeks ago and it fits Night, if he's really complaining abput being 'imprisoned'.

comment #2

bobby says ...

RIP Syd Barrett

comment #3

Dixon Steele says ...

LADY probably won't be such a catastrophic flop that he'll have to become an art-house director, and I can't see this guy being a work-for-hire.

He'll just have to write such a strong piece of material that studios will want to do business with him. And if he has the goods, they'll be lining up.

He may be a self-indulgent cry-baby, but as in any business, it always comes down to money, always.

Obviously, the industry will be waiting to see how well LADY does. I suspect it'll be his first picture not to crack the $100 miliion mark, domestically. Which means that his commercial decline continues.

Talk about schaudenfreunde. You know lots of people are hoping this one goes down.

comment #4

lesterg says ...

Even if Lady tanks, Night is a LONG way from having to resort to a director-for-hire gig or micro-budgetted indie.

Domestic total of Night's last four films: 729M.
Domestic + World: 1 billion, 584M.

All hits since 1997. No misses. How many other directors with his level of output can claim that?

I know that everyone is wrapped up in the drama of this latest production, but how did this turn into some "make or break" situation for the guy?

comment #5

Colin says ...

All I know is that "Lady in the Water" better have good word of mouth because it's in a really tough spot on opening weekend, going up against "Clerks II," "My Super Ex-Girlfriend," and "Monster House." I would think that there's a decent amount of overlap in the audiences for each of those 3 films and "Lady," so Night's film is going to need some good word of mouth to have some legs.

That said, what would be considered "sinking" for "Lady"? It's budget is $75 million. Let's say it makes $50m here, $50m overseas, and does well on DVD. Is that "sinking"? Let's say it's $60m and $60m, or $70m and $70m.

Obviously, these numbers are not on par with Night's previous efforts, but there's no Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, or Mel Gibson in this one. There's not even the excellent ensemble of "The Village." Instead, we've got Giamatti, Howard, and, okay, if you don't blink in the trailer, Jeffrey Wright. Is "Lady" supposed to do gangbusters at the box office?

comment #6

Brad Abraham says ...

It's all about the money. As long as he's turning a profit they'll let him run with it. The moment he starts wigging out on Oprah, taking on Matt Lauer and Pregnant women and his B.O. is affected, then the knives will come out. Hollywood loves the smell of blood in the water but someone else always has to make the first cut.

comment #7

Roger says ...

Jeff's right about the book, I think. The Times reviewer and others are giving it backhanded compliments, but it isn't Bamberger's fault Night isn't aware that he comes off as a spoiled cliche of a film school brat. Bamberger had great access to the process which most folks writing about film never get. And Jeff, I am quoting you in a piece on the book I am writing, "Sixth Sense penitentiary" is a keeper.

comment #8

lesterg says ...

I can’t see Lady NOT opening #1 or #2 for the weekend. Night's name alone should get it into the 20-30's, despite the WB's marketing department doing everything in their power to make the film seem as unappealing as possible.

In terms of competition:
Monster House: A kid's flick that is starting to remind me of Superman/The Iron Giant in terms of online vs. real-world hype. It could be huge and open at #1 or it could be The Wild.
Clerks 2: I like Smith, but I’m getting the sense he's a little played out. At best, it will fall in-line with his other films and wind up in the low 30's total.
My Super Ex-Girlfriend: Might do well depending on quality. Can anyone see this opening to more than 20M?

Bottom line: Lady will open well and be profitable…but will it have been worth it?

comment #9

charlie says ...

oh my God. David Poland is a sad hack.

comment #10

Jean says ...

My 2 cents: "Sixth Sense" was a good film, but overrated (not by critics but people I've spoken with - "civilians"). Shyamalan's other films are way underrated, especially "The Village", & this was mainly because your average joe blow moviegoer wanted to see a monster at the end. Okay, Shyamalan did dip once too often in the Twilight Zone alter-known-reality-plot twist pot on that one. But the man is an expert in creating genuine suspense in his films (an example - the alien locked in the pantry scene in "Signs") If "Lady" tanks & he's forced to be a hired gun director that's fine with me. I'd love to see him take on a remake of a Japanese horror film 'cause I think he's one of the few directors in Hollywood that could pull it off...

comment #11

Colin says ...

lesterg, if I'm spitballing, I'd say that it opens at #2 behind Monster House. And I think that a total gross in the $30s sounds about right for Clerks II. Ex-Girlfriend I'm really not sure about until I see the marketing in the next few weeks, but I could see it winding up anywhere from the $30s to the $50s.

I really have no clue about "Lady in the Water."

comment #12

Anonymous says ...

Unbreakable was a much better movie than the Sixth Sense. IMHO, he peaked with that one and went on a steady decline since. Hated the Village, but I still love Shyamalan's style. I think his writing is terse and to the point, just like his movies are. They're not bloated by unnecessary scenes, and each scene, IMHO serves a thematic purpose.

So despite all the negative buzz surrounding Lady In the Water, I'm still eager to see this movie. I really hope he does pull through with this one, but I do think Shyamalan needs to re-evaluate just where he's headed, and check his ego before it's too late.