Zooey Deschanel Joins M. Night Shyamalan's 'The Happening'

Have I ever told you how much Cinematical loves Zooey Deschanel? Okay, maybe not everyone at the site adores Ms. I Swear I'm Not On Heroin, I Just Naturally Look Stoned, but there's a decent amount of us who partake in a little happy dance each and every time the gal lands a new role. That said, Variety just announced that Zooey (how can you not love a girl named Zooey?) will star alongside Mark Wahlberg in M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening. Oh, it's happening all right; regardless of how many studios he's pissed off and/or disappointed, folks at 20th Century Fox are eager to give him another shot at bringing in those box office dollars. And, with Wahlberg and Deschanel onboard, I'm certainly willing to remain optimistic.

Pic, which has a very Day After Tomorrow/War of the Worlds vibe to it, revolves around a man who takes his family on the run when an "apocalyptical natural crisis threatens to end civilization." No, it isn't set in the Warner Bros. offices on the weekend Lady in the Water hit theaters; this flick is set in Philly and begins shooting in August. Currently, there's no word on who Zooey will be playing; although they're nine years apart, I assume she'll be taking the role of Wahlberg's wife. Unless they decide to age her down so that she can pass as his dysfunctional teenage daughter. His sister? His niece? A stoner girl he runs into along the way? Don't know, don't care -- if Zooey is in it, I'm game. The Happening will land in theaters (and most likely dictate the uncertain future of Shyamalan's career) on June 13, 2008.