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Fox lands M Night's THE HAPPENING - it's a helluva script!

Hey folks, Harry here... Well Tom Rothman did the right thing here - There's a pretty strong anti-M Night movement out there in the world right now. Personally - I'm 100% on the other side of the tracks. I love the work that M Night has done - and I completely understand why the films that so many seem to vocally dislike - play that way towards them - I just don't share that opinion.

With THE HAPPENING, I predict if Fox stays out of M Night's way, that this will be seen as M Night's 'comeback'. Right now, I'm 40 pages into reading the 106 page draft of M Night's THE HAPPENING, which on this draft was known as THE GREEN EFFECT. THE HAPPENING is a much stronger title in my opinion... For one, THE HAPPENING is a phrase that feels and oozes 1960s. And what M Night has constructed thus far in this script is a very 1960's End of the World scenario. If you've ever seen NO BLADE OF GRASS - combine that to the premise of something like Stephen King's THE CELL - and you're heading in the direction that this movie goes in.

The script begins with some haunting violent imagery. The sort of imagery that instantly scares the shit out of you. This isn't a long slow build up to something, right at the beginning, the shit has hit the fan. It's downright scary nightmare scenarios. Everything the media makes us afraid of - it's happening all around us. I won't spoil what's causing things to happen, but I will say that by page 40 - the thing we're led to believe is happening... is a SCARY FUCKING THING.

It isn't often that I can pat Rothman on the back, but good job picking this script up. It's going to be an amazing film.

------

Ok - just finished the script. This has the potential to be the best film M Night has made. It depends on the casting, but he's always done well with his casting. As with all of Shyamalan's films - at the heart of the script is spiritual healing and hope. However, unlike everything he's done - there's a mean streak. I see why so many studios were scared by the film, as there is definitely a fatalistic vibe pulsing through this film. However, I've always loved stories about the end of civilization as we know it. They always make for interesting conversations after you see the film. The "what would you do, if you were among the last survivors of a global pandemic? This is an awesome "fear" story. We'll follow this production as closely as we can.

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first?
by werideatdusk
Mar 7th, 2007
12:58:11 AM
ps i hate "first" people
by werideatdusk
Mar 7th, 2007
12:58:47 AM
M Night’s a hack and a pompous asshole!
by Mr. Moe
Mar 7th, 2007
01:05:13 AM
He may be a pompous asshole
by The Pusher
Mar 7th, 2007
01:07:43 AM
Also...
by The Pusher
Mar 7th, 2007
01:08:36 AM
?uv ajeD
by David Lazarus Long
Mar 7th, 2007
01:09:15 AM
Unbreakable = 2nd best superhero movie ever
by Beastmanseventy
Mar 7th, 2007
01:16:05 AM
Lady int eh Water was painful, but in this element...
by IndustryKiller!
Mar 7th, 2007
01:21:18 AM
when you isolate yourself, and have no accountability
by BadMrWonka
Mar 7th, 2007
01:26:05 AM
Why praise it so much when you are up to page 40?
by Rupee88
Mar 7th, 2007
01:28:47 AM
Sequel: "What's The Happening Now?"
by topaz4206
Mar 7th, 2007
01:35:25 AM
M Night has a lot to prove
by CarmillaVonDoom
Mar 7th, 2007
01:39:03 AM
don't let him write
by arrangedletters
Mar 7th, 2007
01:39:54 AM
All you sheep dissing Lady In The Water
by polyh3dron
Mar 7th, 2007
01:40:32 AM
Wasn't this the screenplay that Hollywood passed on?
by anchorite
Mar 7th, 2007
01:41:07 AM
So is this going to happen after "M"Avatar?
by Boondock Devil
Mar 7th, 2007
01:44:07 AM
Hitchcock would eat Shyamalan for breakfast...
by anchorite
Mar 7th, 2007
01:44:11 AM
Ebert's whole review of the village...funny and apropos
by BadMrWonka
Mar 7th, 2007
01:44:28 AM
Mr. Moe
by Jackson Healy
Mar 7th, 2007
01:47:20 AM
Unbreakable is one of my fave films of all time
by Amy Chasing
Mar 7th, 2007
01:56:11 AM
"down to earth hollywood superstar"
by BadMrWonka
Mar 7th, 2007
01:58:18 AM
Jackson Healy
by Mr. Moe
Mar 7th, 2007
01:59:51 AM
I thought he vowed to never work with Fox again.
by MaxTheSilent
Mar 7th, 2007
02:00:07 AM
Just too bad there won't be an Unbreakable sequel
by Boondock Devil
Mar 7th, 2007
02:02:24 AM
Amy Chasing
by Boondock Devil
Mar 7th, 2007
02:06:18 AM
What a twist!
by Celtican
Mar 7th, 2007
02:11:18 AM
I read a 106 page draft of The Green Effect...
by ODM
Mar 7th, 2007
02:16:25 AM
as for the Sixth Sense, honestly..
by Amy Chasing
Mar 7th, 2007
02:16:55 AM
ODM - we read the same draft
by HEADGEEK
Mar 7th, 2007
02:25:13 AM
Is this part of some elaborate hoax?
by Det. John Kimble
Mar 7th, 2007
02:27:52 AM
R-Rated M Night movie? Sign me up!
by Boondock Devil
Mar 7th, 2007
02:29:40 AM
This isn't a twist film
by HEADGEEK
Mar 7th, 2007
02:30:10 AM
nuanced performances = emotionless zombies
by Mr. Moe
Mar 7th, 2007
02:39:23 AM
There just wasn't enough story for me...
by ODM
Mar 7th, 2007
02:45:20 AM
Shyamalan is not a hack, just not that talented
by Rupee88
Mar 7th, 2007
02:50:18 AM
this script
by MisterCynic
Mar 7th, 2007
03:01:46 AM
and...
by MisterCynic
Mar 7th, 2007
03:06:19 AM
Ok Harry, Weiner just overruled you
by IndustryKiller!
Mar 7th, 2007
03:08:08 AM
The Village was great
by kwisatzhaderach
Mar 7th, 2007
03:16:41 AM
Great news about the R rating!
by NoPIX
Mar 7th, 2007
03:18:20 AM
Lady was a self indulgent cheesey wank
by quantize
Mar 7th, 2007
03:28:54 AM
hoo boy
by chappai
Mar 7th, 2007
03:34:20 AM
Hah! Hah! hah! Hah!! Hah!!!
by Jackson Healy
Mar 7th, 2007
03:39:01 AM
That Ebert review captures everything wrong..
by quantize
Mar 7th, 2007
03:41:12 AM
smelling of failed screenwriters?
by SAVOIR_faire
Mar 7th, 2007
04:08:26 AM
the dude above (kwiksukdiscock or some shit) that said
by BadMrWonka
Mar 7th, 2007
04:32:51 AM
I really, really, really...
by Brendon
Mar 7th, 2007
04:35:11 AM
This is the one where The Trees Strike Back,
by Captain Happy
Mar 7th, 2007
05:02:41 AM
It is his utter refusal to listen to anyone
by emeraldboy
Mar 7th, 2007
05:02:43 AM
lady in the water
by El Borak
Mar 7th, 2007
05:12:37 AM
The original "The Happening"
by OnomatoPoet
Mar 7th, 2007
05:15:14 AM
Tagline: "Mother Nature What a bitch."
by Boondock Devil
Mar 7th, 2007
05:22:38 AM
"The potential to be the best film Shyamalan has made"
by DerLanghaarige
Mar 7th, 2007
05:33:56 AM
Is he going to throw a fit when...
by mrfan
Mar 7th, 2007
05:50:02 AM
mrfan
by emeraldboy
Mar 7th, 2007
05:58:50 AM
and..
by emeraldboy
Mar 7th, 2007
06:11:45 AM
"I love the work that M Night has done"
by Trazadone
Mar 7th, 2007
06:20:13 AM
Wasted Potential
by Athanatos
Mar 7th, 2007
06:22:57 AM
There's a pretty strong anti-M Night movement out there
by Trazadone
Mar 7th, 2007
06:24:55 AM
Night Riders
by ZooTrain
Mar 7th, 2007
06:27:27 AM
Anyone British Remember the cheesy
by Lost Prophet
Mar 7th, 2007
06:31:53 AM
All right, I've only seen Signs once...
by OnomatoPoet
Mar 7th, 2007
06:38:50 AM
Read StrangeCo's post, not mine
by OnomatoPoet
Mar 7th, 2007
06:42:59 AM
I just got off the phone to M Night...
by HarryBlackPotter
Mar 7th, 2007
06:46:12 AM
Check out this link.......
by Blueballs333
Mar 7th, 2007
06:48:50 AM
An Idiot..?
by workshed
Mar 7th, 2007
06:55:48 AM
HarryBlackPotter...
by workshed
Mar 7th, 2007
06:58:09 AM
thus spake superwoman
by JRKerr
Mar 7th, 2007
07:03:08 AM
You're all sheep...
by Fridge
Mar 7th, 2007
07:20:15 AM
M Night's stuff is always interesting and challenging
by Doctor_Sin
Mar 7th, 2007
07:20:58 AM
Sounds like Night would benefit from some notes
by YackBacker
Mar 7th, 2007
07:37:39 AM
Not that I had much faith in Harry's tastes anymore
by Frijole
Mar 7th, 2007
07:38:07 AM
Borat was in a scripted MOVIE movie
by YackBacker
Mar 7th, 2007
07:43:18 AM
For what it's worth...
by OnomatoPoet
Mar 7th, 2007
07:52:52 AM
Don't like Borat either
by Lost Prophet
Mar 7th, 2007
08:03:22 AM
The problem with Lady in the Water
by Zino
Mar 7th, 2007
08:05:09 AM
dammit, you beat to the "..and it freaks me out!"
by durhay
Mar 7th, 2007
08:16:28 AM
So M. Night's making his version of another genre...
by Childe Roland
Mar 7th, 2007
08:19:15 AM
He should...
by mrfan
Mar 7th, 2007
08:30:19 AM
He should...
by mrfan
Mar 7th, 2007
08:30:23 AM
Signs is one of my favorite movies
by SPECTRE Agent
Mar 7th, 2007
09:08:34 AM
Just saw Unbreakable for the first time since it...
by Bronx Cheer
Mar 7th, 2007
09:39:18 AM
If this is more global warming crap....
by skycrapper
Mar 7th, 2007
09:40:14 AM
JUST REVISITED UNBREAKABLE
by WISEBLOOD
Mar 7th, 2007
09:43:41 AM
MANOJ NIGHT SHYAMALAN WILL DIRECT SPIDER-RAJ
by Bronx Cheer
Mar 7th, 2007
09:44:54 AM
Here, of all places, implausible scripting
by Guy Gaduois
Mar 7th, 2007
09:45:25 AM
Guy Gadois, Bill Gates rules the planet and he's a geek
by YackBacker
Mar 7th, 2007
09:56:07 AM
Blech, I misspelled your name
by YackBacker
Mar 7th, 2007
09:57:40 AM
This guy
by THE KNIGHT
Mar 7th, 2007
10:04:35 AM
Shamalayan bashing how very very old
by Lovecraftfan
Mar 7th, 2007
10:13:49 AM
For those who liked Lady in the Water
by Trazadone
Mar 7th, 2007
10:29:40 AM
Re: The Happening and Harry's review
by Trazadone
Mar 7th, 2007
10:34:59 AM
Is Rerun in it?
by houndog
Mar 7th, 2007
10:36:20 AM
Feed Me Seymour!
by Christopher3
Mar 7th, 2007
10:37:16 AM
I'm still holding out for the M Night Bollywood Epic
by Pound Sand
Mar 7th, 2007
10:37:30 AM
It's M Night's version of An Inconvenient Truth
by BrowncoatJedi
Mar 7th, 2007
10:52:22 AM
I liked Lady In The Water
by Lovecraftfan
Mar 7th, 2007
10:52:57 AM
Let him finish filming Unbreakble!
by Spandau Belly
Mar 7th, 2007
10:54:04 AM
USELESS ARTICLE
by Bishop6
Mar 7th, 2007
10:59:14 AM
Why not call it " The Day The Earth Farted"...
by anchorite
Mar 7th, 2007
10:59:37 AM
Harry is fighting a losing battle on M. Night's behalf
by anchorite
Mar 7th, 2007
11:01:13 AM
Shyamalan's best work was Stuart Little...
by anchorite
Mar 7th, 2007
11:06:37 AM
The only way to beat the plants!!!
by spectrebeeyatch
Mar 7th, 2007
11:08:30 AM
SUUUUUURE it is, Harry
by longshot7
Mar 7th, 2007
11:27:27 AM
For those of you who loved Unbreakable
by Lovecraftfan
Mar 7th, 2007
11:35:34 AM
Wow...
by Cellar Door
Mar 7th, 2007
11:43:33 AM
Lovecraftfan, where were we supposed to go?
by Bronx Cheer
Mar 7th, 2007
11:47:45 AM
Unbreakable Trilogy
by liljuniorbrown
Mar 7th, 2007
11:48:59 AM
What, exactly, are you on about, Lovecraftfan?
by Childe Roland
Mar 7th, 2007
11:56:07 AM
I just seem to remember a lot of people really hating
by Lovecraftfan
Mar 7th, 2007
12:06:04 PM
My two cents...
by Crimson King
Mar 7th, 2007
12:16:23 PM
...this will be paraodied...
by mr ahole ramirez
Mar 7th, 2007
12:20:33 PM
Lovecraftian....
by Crimson King
Mar 7th, 2007
12:23:43 PM
PS...
by Crimson King
Mar 7th, 2007
12:24:28 PM
Crimson King- No problem
by Lovecraftfan
Mar 7th, 2007
12:40:59 PM
Harry practiacally creamed himself over
by Yogsoggoth
Mar 7th, 2007
12:47:30 PM
I was floored by Unbreakable right off the bat
by The Pusher
Mar 7th, 2007
12:54:39 PM
mute
by Dollar Bird
Mar 7th, 2007
12:57:25 PM
micheal knight - - he's the hoff man!
by Mr_X
Mar 7th, 2007
01:15:43 PM
Yeah! FOX did the right thing.
by MrFloppy
Mar 7th, 2007
01:21:33 PM
Dollar Bird, I have to agree with you...
by anchorite
Mar 7th, 2007
01:36:08 PM
Question of the day: When will Harry print a retraction
by anchorite
Mar 7th, 2007
01:39:11 PM
M Night....
by landocolt45
Mar 7th, 2007
01:46:21 PM
This Is Madness...!
by buster00
Mar 7th, 2007
01:49:44 PM
Too Venomy!!
by boba_rob
Mar 7th, 2007
02:04:04 PM
anchorite
by Rupee88
Mar 7th, 2007
02:18:25 PM
Mr. Moe and co... and about Shyamalan
by moto
Mar 7th, 2007
02:20:27 PM
always have
by porkchop_Xpress
Mar 7th, 2007
02:25:56 PM
Rupee88 - Harry did read the whole script
by just pillow talk
Mar 7th, 2007
02:31:28 PM
M. Night Shyamalan's Day Of The Triffids
by Mr Incredible
Mar 7th, 2007
02:31:54 PM
M. Knight?
by Motoko Kusanagi
Mar 7th, 2007
03:13:28 PM
Hello, Moto...
by anchorite
Mar 7th, 2007
03:14:26 PM
Egomaniacs make poor Artists
by TheBlackSwan
Mar 7th, 2007
03:31:37 PM
None of You Sumbitches Called Him "Shamalamadingdong"
by Read and Shut Up
Mar 7th, 2007
03:39:02 PM
The plants are too venomy?
by henrydalton
Mar 7th, 2007
03:39:41 PM
Horrible director
by doke
Mar 7th, 2007
03:42:37 PM
...."he keeps getting worse.."
by Quin the Eskimo
Mar 7th, 2007
04:05:28 PM
TheBlackSwan
by Norman Bates
Mar 7th, 2007
04:41:38 PM
A Night to Remember
by oisin5199
Mar 7th, 2007
05:01:32 PM
THIS MOVIE WILL ROCK!!!
by DHAMAKA2007
Mar 7th, 2007
05:17:03 PM
ALL of these apocolyptic stories tend to go....
by Jimmy Jazz
Mar 7th, 2007
06:14:42 PM
Lady in the Water
by Beerisgood
Mar 7th, 2007
06:53:48 PM
The worst part of Lady in the Water...
by PolyesterRage
Mar 7th, 2007
07:42:27 PM
The Audacity of M Night's Return
by Shub-Wankalot
Mar 7th, 2007
08:00:35 PM
I love the end-of-the-world genre
by JackieJokeman
Mar 7th, 2007
08:38:52 PM
anchorite... shub... And the hate here at AICN
by moto
Mar 7th, 2007
10:46:52 PM
And enough about Shyamalan being an ego-maniac...
by moto
Mar 7th, 2007
10:57:06 PM
bout the ego thing
by Halfbreedqueen
Mar 8th, 2007
01:04:34 AM
Lady in the Water
by Halfbreedqueen
Mar 8th, 2007
01:07:45 AM
INDIANA JONES AND THE HARD R
by BannedOnTheRun
Mar 8th, 2007
04:04:17 AM
I can't sit though another 2 hour boring M.Night film
by Blarney-Man
Mar 8th, 2007
05:59:30 AM
I was hoping this was WHAT'S HAPPENING? the movie!
by YackBacker
Mar 8th, 2007
07:39:38 AM
Hey Yackbacker: Cast suggestions for WHTM
by Pound Sand
Mar 8th, 2007
10:58:02 AM
To anyone who loves M. Night for his "individualism"...
by anchorite
Mar 8th, 2007
11:12:54 AM
you guys are dense
by xxmychalxx
Jul 21st, 2007
10:37:09 PM
The Happening 2
by jigrig
Jun 3rd, 2008
01:46:56 PM

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