An extended clip from M. Night Shyamalan's new film The Happening is now online (watch it above or in higher quality over on Yahoo), with an introduction from M. Night himself saying how he was inspired by films like The Godfather and The Exorcist. What we get are snippets of scenes we've seen previously from the trailers, as well as the extended version of the train scene when Mark Wahlberg walks up to those conductors and says, "With whom?" (I love that part and I don't know why.) This is M. Night's first R-rated film, and he claims it's "the scariest movie he's ever made." I guess we'll see about that.

Or maybe someone already did. Yes, folks, there's the "early screening scooper" over at Collider who's written in with a very, very negative review of The Happening (check it out here, but watch for spoilers). This person goes after the acting most of all, as well as the awkward pacing -- going so far as to say "it's bad on an epic scale." Now it's clear M. Night asked for a certain small town, passive-aggressive tone out of Wahlberg, which he's delivered before (to a certain degree) in films like Boogie Nights. But I do agree that his whole shtick seems very odd here, though we're seeing one scene out of context so I won't go off and declare The Happening an absolute failure.

Personally, I hope this film is good. I WANT to love this thing. It looks creepy and uncomfortable, and I dig that about it. Who knows; fingers crossed. The Happening lands in theaters on Friday, June 13th.

UPDATE: JoBlo has revealed a new Red Band trailer for The Happening. Check it out over here. (P.S. And it might contain spoilers, so beware!)

Despite having one of the worst reputations in Hollywood, it would appear that things are starting to look up for M. Night Shyamalan. You can check out the latest trailer Shyamalan's The Happening above, and it already has me sold on the apocalyptic thriller. Even though I was relatively impressed with the first trailer, this one has definitely amped up the creep factor (caused some serious heebie-jeebies when I saw it in front of Iron Man last weekend).

Mark Wahlberg stars as a meek and mild high school science teacher who lands smack dab in the middle of an end of days scenario. And might I add that it will be nice to see Wahlberg play something other than his usual tough guy role -- I mean, it's been too long since he's really had to act. Zooey Deschanel co-stars as his estranged wife and the criminally underused John Leguizamo, Spencer Breslin (brother to Abigail) and Ashlyn Sanchez play fellow survivors.

The Happening is scheduled for release on Friday June 13th, which will put the thriller in direct competition with The Incredible Hulk for opening weekend supremacy. Between the critics who call Shyamalan a one-trick pony, and the bad buzz for the big green guy, it's going to be a tough call for audiences. I know which film I'm going to see first -- how about you?

What I'm about to say might shock you ... ready? I still think M. Night Shyamalan is a pretty good director. Okay, so he may have gone off the rails with Lady in the Water, but everyone is allowed a few stinkers, right? Hopefully things will start to turn around for him with The Happening. JoBlo now has new stills from his M. Night's 'end of the world' drama, and for those of you who like to be surprised, don't worry, they're spoiler-free. In fact, most of them look like they came straight from the trailer.

Most of the details have been kept under lock and key, but we did get some spoilers back in August (read at your own risk). What we do know for sure is that the story centers on an estranged couple (Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel) who band together to save their family during an environmental crisis (remember the news story about the disappearing bees?). That old chestnut even makes an appearance in the narrative. Joining Wahlberg and Deschanel in the cast are John Leguizamo and Spencer Breslin (star of The Shaggy Dog and brother to Abigail) as fellow survivors.

(Note: Above image was chosen totally at random. Yup. We'll go with that.)

It's beginning to look a lot like summer blockbuster season everywhere you go.

I've heard the words "calm before the storm" mentioned more times in the past week than I have all year. That's because it's almost April, which means the official start to the summer movie season is only one month away. One month! That's it! Are all of you as excited as we are? (Don't all stand up and cheer at the same time.) Anyway, pretty much all of the big summer flicks have released trailers by now (with the exception of The Mummy 3 ... and maybe something else that I'm forgetting -- it is Monday after all).

We've seen trailers for The Dark Knight, Iron Man, Speed Racer, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Incredible Hulk, WALL-E, Prince Caspian, Hellboy II, The X-Files, Wanted, The Happening, Hancock ... and so on. Of course, some films have been a little more aggressive than others -- like Iron Man (which comes out first), WALL-E (a few trailers, teasers and a very early viral campaign) and The Dark Knight (one teaser, one trailer and 50 billion viral sites). Indy's shoveled out a bunch of videos, as well as a trailer, and The Incredible Hulk has given us one trailer and a few images. One imagines all of these films will ramp up their marketing as their release dates draw closer.

But here's our question today: Which summer blockbuster trailer pumped you up most to see the film? Feel free to answer the poll below or write in your favorite in the comments section. (Me? I'm going with The Dark Knight.)

Oh man, this one is like an indie hipster's dream come true. According to EW, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and my future wife (in an alternate universe) Zooey Deschanel have signed on to star opposite one another in 500 Days of Summer, for Fox Searchlight. The film, which is said to be going into production this spring, tells the story of a woman who doesn't believe in love and the man who falls hopelessly in love with her. Sounds kinda like the opposite of every relationship I've ever seen. Kidding! I kid. We all love everything.

Music video director Marc Webb will direct the indie, which means a cool, hip soundtrack is all but certain. I love both these kids, so I'm sure we'll get some adorable moments out of this one. Only possible downside: It was written by the guys behind The Pink Panther 2, which may or may not be a bad thing seeing as the Panther sequel hasn't come out yet. Zooey can next be seen opposite Mark Wahlberg in M. Night's upcoming end-of-the-world flick, The Happening. Meanwhile, you can catch Gordon-Levitt in that new Iraq drama Stop-Loss.

(But seriously now -- how can you not love a girl named Zooey?)

After spending 2006 having the crap scared out of him by Daniel Day Lewis, Paul Dano could probably stand to work on something just a little more light-hearted. The Hollywood Reporter announced that Dano has signed to star in the independent romantic comedy, Gigantic. Dano will star alongside Zooey Deschanel, and plays a mattress salesman who falls in love with a young woman at the store where he works. I can only assume that Deschanel, fresh off of M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening, will play that young woman.

So far, no other cast has been named other than Frank Harts (Miracle at St. Anna). The relatively tiny cast leads me to believe that the film is going to be a pretty small affair. Although now that Dano still has some of that post-Oscar buzz surrounding him (despite being snubbed for a nomination), it could raise the profile of the film ever so slightly.

Gigantic will be directed by first-timer Matt Aselton, who also helped to write the script alongside Adam Nagata (also making his feature debut). Production is set to begin this March in New York, but a date has yet to be confirmed. After Dano finishes up work on Gigantic, he's off to work on another indie film, The Good Heart. Heart will reunite Dano with Brian Cox (the two worked together on L.I.E. back in 2001) in a story about an older man who befriends a young homeless man and makes him is protégé. Well, so much for Dano making more happy-go-lucky flicks. Gigantic is expected to be released later this year.

The first poster for M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening has been released online, courtesy of Coming Soon (click on the image for a larger version). The tagline really cracks me up: "We've sensed it ... We've seen the signs ... Now it's happening." Get it? His other films? How fun. Basically, The Happening seems to have all the makings of War of the Worlds 2, except without an aliens. Mark Wahlberg stars as a family man who must flee alongside his loved ones when a natural disaster threatens to extinguish all humanity. Here's my question though: If you're all gonna die, where is it that you're fleeing to? Seeing all those cars empty also brings back memories of War of the Worlds; remember the aliens in that film made it so you couldn't drive any cars. Except for the car Tom Cruise was in; he was special.

Personally, I really hope M. Night does something different with this film. For one thing, the cast is solid: Alongside Wahlberg, you have my favorite actress in the whole entire universe, Zooey Deschanel, as well as John Leguizamo and the male version of Abigail Breslin; her brother Spencer Breslin. M. Night needs to get this one right. The man was crucified following Lady in the Water; he's been hopping from studio to studio, trying to find someone to finance his bizarre tales. And how he's with Fox. Will he succeed? Will he fail? Will Wahlberg whip out his junk and fight storm clouds for 90 minutes? The Happening arrives in theaters on June 13th (that's a Friday people!), 2008.

The struggles have ceased and production has started on M. Night Shyamalan's next film -- The Happening. If you remember, the flick has made many of us worry, since the director's talents have been questioned lately -- especially after Lady in the Water. However, it does boast a solid cast -- Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel and John Leguizamo. Then again, each of his films have good casts. Argh. Anyhow, FEARnet has gotten a look at production on the film, which details an airborne disease that drives people nuts and makes them kill themselves.

Most of the pictures they've posted are crew and behind-the-scenes shots, although there are some weird snaps of this scene in a park. As people stand around, unfazed, this guy flails around and falls to the ground. There's also some pictures of a woman with a pink sweater over her shoulders -- a la '80s yuppie -- who just kind of stands there catatonically. I'm guessing that this disease also makes people apathetic before crazy. The site also has a video, but it's nothing too juicy -- just Shyamalan having a conversation.

I have to say, I'm kind of curious about this film -- which sounds like Outbreak mixed with some horror and thrills. I actually liked The Village, Signs freaked me out, but I couldn't even get remotely interested in Lady in the Water. So, I'm thinking I'll wait and see what the response is like. How about you? Will you you give it a chance blindly, or will you need to be convinced?

After the disappointing box office of Lady in the Water, some may be saying "why should I care about M. Night Shyamalan's new film?" Personally, I didn't see Lady in the Water, a decision based in part on my extreme dissatisfaction with The Village, but I have to think that the guy behind a genuinely great film (The Sixth Sense), a pretty damn good one (Signs), and one that ain't half bad (Unbreakable) has to have something else up his sleeve. I'm just hoping he's gotten past his over-reliance on the twist ending. His attempts in The Village at being the modern O. Henry reminded me more of a melted Snickers.

Shyamalan's latest movie The Happening is currently shooting in Philadelphia with Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel and John Leguizamo. A few weeks ago Phillyist.com posted some cell phone photos taken on the set. Now they have plot details and one decent sized spoiler from what they're calling a "trustworthy source," so if you don't want the plot details spoiled, then read no further. As an extra bit of security, I'm saving the spoilers for after the jump.

I hate to look forward to the next M. Night Shyamalan film after all I say about the guy, but I can't help but be intrigued. Sure, he's already done the threat-to-the-world thing, and sure, we've seen enough disaster movies of late, but you never know, it could be decent. Plus, the cast of the film, titled The Happening, is shaping up quite nicely. We've already heard about Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel. Now, John Leguizamo has joined the pic, cast as Wahlberg's character's best friend. Since the film focuses on a family on the run from disaster, I'm not sure how big the friend role will be, but I'm hoping it's substantial. I can't possibly be the only person who thinks Leguizamo should be receiving bigger roles.

That isn't to say I think Leguizamo is getting the shaft from Hollywood. He's certainly got a great resume and career. But after watching him in Crónicas again recently, I am spoiled. I should be satisfied with seeing him as supporting characters, though, because he can often redeem a bad movie -- or at least be the only good part of it, as he is with Spawn. As a character actor, he is good in comedies, dramas, musicals, zombie films, gangster movies, Shakespeare's tragedies, in drag, in a fat suit, as an animated sloth. I'm excited to see him later this year in Mike Newell's adaptation of Love in the Time of Cholera and I might even have to turn my television on and check him out in Spike TV's miniseries The Kill Point. Other than that, it's anybody's guess as to when his recent indie films, The Take, The Babysitters, The Ministers and Where God Left His Shoes will be released.

Variety is reporting that Mark Wahlberg has just signed to star in M. Night Shyamalan's new thriller, The Happening. Shyamalan has a lot to prove this time out. Audiences were ready to forgive the ludicrous ending of the otherwise pretty neat The Village, but nobody could have expected the full-on disaster that was Lady in the Water, a film that recently "won" Shyamalan two Razzie awards. The Happening will be an apocalyptic story and will likely be his first "R" rated film. Wahlberg will play "a man who takes his family on the run when the world turns upside and a cataclysmic natural crisis threatens to end the world. " 20th Century Fox will release the film worldwide on June 13th (that's Friday the 13th, y'all! Spooooky!) of next year.

Marky Mark has turned into quite the actor, and he's worked with several of the most interesting directors working today. To name just a few, he's acted for Paul Thomas Anderson in Boogie Nights, Jonathan Demme in The Truth About Charlie, Tim Burton in Planet of the Apes (Boo!), David O. Russell in Three Kings and I Heart Huckabees -- a production that seems to have just been a dream to work on, and Martin Scorsese in The Departed -- which I recently told you also didn't go so smoothly. Just last month it was announced that he will co-star with Matt Damon in Darren Aronofsky's The Fighter. And now Shyamalan, who I sincerely hope will get his groove back with The Happening. I think if he'd just get that ego in check, he could be one of our best directors. The Happening starts shooting in Philadelphia this August.

"Mark has a unique blend of charisma, humanity, authenticity and skillfulness as an actor," Shyamalan says. "All of which coalesced at this moment in his career, making him the perfect person to take on the role of Eliot Moore, the science teacher at the center of this event."

Not only is M. Night Shyamalan moving from (Disney to) Warner Bros. to Fox for his next project ... but it''ll be the guy's first R-rated movie, too! After shopping around a screenplay called The Green Effect, M. Night took some tips from colleagues, re-jiggered the script, re-named it The Happening, and landed himself a sweet deal at Fox. According to Variety, The Happening will be apocalyptic in nature, perhaps on scale with the studio's Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow. Expect the movie to hit theaters in June of 2008.

Mr. Shyamalan will head back to Philadelphia (yay!) in August to start shooting his new movie, and we're promised a "big name" for the lead role. The trade paper also states that the Happening budget will be $57 million, and also that the plot will be "a paranoid thriller about a family on the run from a natural crisis that presents a large-scale threat to humanity." One of the selling points on this particular project is that both Shyamalan and Fox chief Tom Rothman wanted to really "up" the scariness, thus resulting in a project that'll be M. Night's first R-rated effort. The controversial thriller-maker made reference to both Silence of the Lambs and Pan's Labyrinth while describing his vision of The Happening ... which makes me both skeptical and curious. Either way, I guess we'll have to wait a bit longer for Night's Avatar and He-Man projects, which is just fine by me.