AvatarTheLastAirb... Tagged Articles at Cinematical

He goes by "Night," but it's hard to dispute his sunny disposition. Just a few minutes into a conversation with M. Night Shyamalan in a New York City hotel room yesterday, it was obvious to me that the director has managed to occupy such a unique niche in the Hollywood landscape because he's immediately likable. Of course, a little movie released in 1999 called The Sixth Sense didn't hurt, either.

After landing two Oscar nominations and international acclaim for his masterful ghost story, Shyamalan continued to market himself as a brand. Since then, the results have been mixed. Signs was an indisputable hit. Unbreakable has its supporters. Lady in the Water? Not so much. But that failure hasn't prevented the filmmaker from dealing with audacious material: His latest movie, The Happening, finds a married couple (Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel) thrust into a world where people inexplicably become suicidal after getting struck by an ominous, unseen toxin. Forces of evil usually remain unseen in Shyamalan's films, and The Happening is no exception to that rule. I spoke to the 37-year-old Philadelphia resident about the personal philosophies guiding his career choices, the polarized reactions to his work, and what the future will bring.

M. Night Shyamalan's live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender now has a release date, according to Variety. Fans of the popular Nickelodeon series can circle their calenders for July 2nd, 2010 -- and start complaining about the title change. In order to avoid confusion with James Cameron's Avatar, the film will now simply be titled The Last Airbender.

The anime series follows a young hero who has the ability to manipulate the elements, and who must stop a ruthless nation from crushing everything in its path. It is heavily influenced by anime legend Hayao Miyazaki, which Shyamalan says was the big appeal of the project. "In The Last Airbender, I see an opportunity to make a live-action version of a Miyazaki film," Shyamalan said. He is penning the script himself, which may give fans a pause. There's been talk that an adaptation is just what Shyamalan needs to get his storytelling focus back on track -- but if he's doing the writing, there's no telling where this could go.