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*** Official THE HAPPENING Discussion Thread - Page 4

post #91 of 171
6/16/08 at 7:28am

Re: *** Official THE HAPPENING Discussion Thread

Quote:
Originally Posted by IanDP
If you've seen him in interviews, you know he's not a cocky guy. He just wants to make his kind of movies. He takes risks, and breaks the rules. You know what you're going to get from him. It will be strange, and unusual, unique and certainly different from anything else out there.

I read one recent interview with him (from "Empire") and his message (one of them) in that was pretty clear; I´ll do films in my way. Not all people have to like them. He knows, that they´re not for everyone. But, they have made some good business.. It´s not that people won´t go to see his movies at all or his films are "flops". Even in this thread, most people paid to see "The Happening".

Some people even hated "The Sixth Sense" and "Signs", so they´re probably also going to hate "The Happening"..
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post #92 of 171
6/16/08 at 7:37am

Re: *** Official THE HAPPENING Discussion Thread

While I found the film to be heavy handed at times and not nearly as sharp as the films Night has made in the past, I liked it. I did sense at times that what I was watching was a film by a man who had his confidence knocked. But, having said that, he found wit in ways that I honestly believe people missed. He was still able to ratchet up the tension at times, but the payoff wasn't as powerful because he had failed to build up an emotional resonance. We were side by side with the characters in his other films (and yes, I am even talking about LiTW which is perhaps the most drastically underrated film of the past few years, IMHO) - but here we are nothing but spectators and that left the ending a little cold for me.

The funny thing about the two leads here is that they reminded me of his other lead characters - odd, awkward and a little peculiar all the way. I don't think Zooey and Mark pulled it off as cleanly, but I enjoyed their awkwardness and liked their simplicity.
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post #93 of 171
6/16/08 at 10:41am
Thread Starter 

Re: *** Official THE HAPPENING Discussion Thread

Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeRS
Well, if you're gonna go there, why not mention the 30 million it made overseas as well.
Because foreign distribution agreements can very wildly and there's no similar rule-of-thumb percentage.

They could have similar percentage breakdowns, or they could be very different. For instance, New Line sold off all the foreign distribution rights to "The Golden Compass" last fall (to partially finance production of the film). So even though that film made over $300M internationally, none of that gross came back to NL.

For the most part, if the studio maintains the foreign rights, they probably receive a breakdown of the foreign rentals similar to the domestic percentage.

Sounds like CinemaScore is running in the C-/D range, so I'd expect at least a 70% drop this weekend (and that may be a bit conservative).
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post #94 of 171
6/16/08 at 11:06am

Re: *** Official THE HAPPENING Discussion Thread

Wait...the trees fight back because of pollution? Yet, have had no problem with us cutting them down for thousands of years??? LOL
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post #95 of 171
6/16/08 at 11:09am

Re: *** Official THE HAPPENING Discussion Thread

Quote:
Originally Posted by todd s
Wait...the trees fight back because of pollution? Yet, have had no problem with us cutting them down for thousands of years??? LOL
Kind of hard to complain when you're dead.
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post #96 of 171
6/16/08 at 11:52am

Re: *** Official THE HAPPENING Discussion Thread

Hey, where can I read the "whole story" behind M's cameo/no cameo?
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post #97 of 171
6/16/08 at 1:17pm

Re: *** Official THE HAPPENING Discussion Thread

Quote:
Originally Posted by Qui-Gon John
Hey, where can I read the "whole story" behind M's cameo/no cameo?

What do you mean, "whole story"?

It was a pretty subtle cameo, Zooey Deschanel's character gets a phone call early on from a guy named Joey, and it's Night's voice on the other end of the call. I'm not sure what the aural equivalent of "blink and you'll miss it" is, but it was that quick.
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post #98 of 171
6/16/08 at 1:57pm

Re: *** Official THE HAPPENING Discussion Thread

1. do u think there is a director's cut to salvage this? (which i can't possibly imagine how).

2. did fox "force" him to change it to a crappier movie? any1 know the politiks behind this? just wanted to place some blames. it's sooooooooooooo unlike M to do a movie this crappy.
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post #99 of 171
6/16/08 at 2:24pm

Re: *** Official THE HAPPENING Discussion Thread

Quote:
Originally Posted by Josh Steinberg
What do you mean, "whole story"?

It was a pretty subtle cameo, Zooey Deschanel's character gets a phone call early on from a guy named Joey, and it's Night's voice on the other end of the call. I'm not sure what the aural equivalent of "blink and you'll miss it" is, but it was that quick.

Actually, I did miss that.

But by "whole story", I read somewhere, maybe this thread or one of the reviews it links to, that the studio would not let him do a cameo on this one. Since he was listed as not only Director but Producer, seems strange he couldn't have one if he wanted. (One where he actually appears). I like the "Ray" in Signs cameo the best. Kind of a pretty important part, even though just a little screen time.
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post #100 of 171
6/16/08 at 2:33pm

Re: *** Official THE HAPPENING Discussion Thread

Quote:
Originally Posted by JediFonger
2. did fox "force" him to change it to a crappier movie? any1 know the politiks behind this? just wanted to place some blames. it's sooooooooooooo unlike M to do a movie this crappy.

There's a few reviews of the script when it was known as "The Green Effect" and pretty much every one of them is very positive. From Aint-It-Cool-News to Latino Review. I haven't seen the film yet so I don't know how close he kept to his original draft (which I think was written around when Signs was released)

- Script Reviews - Latest Movie Reviews and trailers

Further reading into this, M Night shopped this script around and was rejected by all the major studios despite claims that the script might've been one of his best. He asked for notes from the various studios and made the necessary changes in a re-write until it was eventually bought by Fox. Take that as you will.
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post #101 of 171
6/16/08 at 8:26pm

Re: *** Official THE HAPPENING Discussion Thread

Quote:
Originally Posted by DavidPla

Further reading into this, M Night shopped this script around and was rejected by all the major studios despite claims that the script might've been one of his best. He asked for notes from the various studios and made the necessary changes in a re-write until it was eventually bought by Fox. Take that as you will.

Venom Adjusted
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post #102 of 171
6/16/08 at 8:46pm

Re: *** Official THE HAPPENING Discussion Thread

Quote:
Originally Posted by ErichH
Any one finding something in this other than the garbage it is has been well trained. Enjoy your education, and peace be with you.
What is it with this thread?

Anyone who's truly confident in their own assessment of a film doesn't need to question the acuity of others. Just give your assessment, and move on.

M.
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post #103 of 171
6/16/08 at 8:51pm

Re: *** Official THE HAPPENING Discussion Thread

Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Reuben
What is it with this thread?

Anyone who's truly confident in their own assessment of a film doesn't need to question the acuity of others. Just give your assessment, and move on.

M.
You're right, I don't quite understand the venom being used against those that like this film. People don't have to validate their negative opinion of this film by slamming others that have a contrary view of it. What is really surprising is that it's being done by long-time HTF members that should know better than to behave this way.





Crawdaddy
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post #104 of 171
6/16/08 at 10:29pm

Re: *** Official THE HAPPENING Discussion Thread

i'd be very curious to find what m's response to all this negativity around his last 2 movies will be. i hope he 'grows up' by recognizing his arrogance/ego and move on by writer better material. i think he has also garnered a reputation that he is difficult to work with.
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post #105 of 171
6/16/08 at 11:30pm

Re: *** Official THE HAPPENING Discussion Thread

Quote:
Originally Posted by JediFonger
i'd be very curious to find what m's response to all this negativity around his last 2 movies will be. i hope he 'grows up' by recognizing his arrogance/ego and move on by writer better material. i think he has also garnered a reputation that he is difficult to work with.
No one in Hollywood cares about "negativity" if the film makes money, which it appears The Happening will manage to do, once all revenue sources are accounted for. And creatively, there's no better advice than the words sung by the ghost of Dot in Sondheim's Sunday in the Park with George:

Quote:
Stop worrying if your vision
Is new
Let others make that decision-
They usually do
You keep moving on
If I were Shyamalan, I wouldn't give a toss about a bunch of internet postings.

M.
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post #106 of 171
6/17/08 at 7:23am

Re: *** Official THE HAPPENING Discussion Thread

Quote:
Originally Posted by JediFonger
i'd be very curious to find what m's response to all this negativity around his last 2 movies will be.
As someone who didn't like his last two movies, I hope he doesn't care at all what I or anyone else thinks and is happy with the movies that he has made. I'd much rather see what I consider a talented man's failure than some piece of junk made by a committee that is designed to appeal to as many people as possible.
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post #107 of 171
6/17/08 at 7:49am

Re: *** Official THE HAPPENING Discussion Thread

Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Reuben
What is it with this thread?

Anyone who's truly confident in their own assessment of a film doesn't need to question the acuity of others. Just give your assessment, and move on.

M.

There are certain films, actors and directors, where the quite normal discussion - even healthy debate, doesn´t really apply. It´s "on" or "off". "good" or "bad". "Black" and "white".

This is obviously not the end of the world, but the problems often rise when some people with "off"-opinions simply can´t accept the fact, that some people just like this particular film, actor or director - even when they give some good "arguments" for the added measure (="Why I liked this film" etc).

Opinions are always just opinions, there´s no "universal truth" where some film/actor/director is "s**t". There isn´t such a thing, where some film/actor/director is "s**t" and "everyone should see it". Everyone are merely giving their opinions and thoughts. And in the end; that´s all (this includes also me! ).

We love films with passion. But sometimes we need to "live and let live". And chill out.
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post #108 of 171
6/17/08 at 8:09am

Re: *** Official THE HAPPENING Discussion Thread

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jari K
There are certain films, actors and directors, where the quite normal discussion - even healthy debate, doesn´t really apply. It´s "on" or "off". "good" or "bad". "Black" and "white".
I understand what you're saying, Jari, but HTF is supposed to be better than that.

M.
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post #109 of 171
6/17/08 at 8:32am

Re: *** Official THE HAPPENING Discussion Thread

I missed his cameo in The Happening as well.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Qui-Gon John
... I like the "Ray" in Signs cameo the best. Kind of an pretty important part, even though just a little screen time.
I hated MNS's appearance in Signs. Really hated it. The part was very important and he was completely flat beside a top tier actor like Gibson. Repeat viewings have me more accepting, but not much more. I groaned at his appearance in The Village as well, but repeats viewings help. He's just out of place in those. I didn't have a problem with his cameos in other films. I believe he should continue to appear in all his films but keep it brief and avoid speaking parts. Leave that to the actors. He's no actor.
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post #110 of 171
6/17/08 at 9:42am

Re: *** Official THE HAPPENING Discussion Thread

Quote:
Originally Posted by JediFonger
i'd be very curious to find what m's response to all this negativity around his last 2 movies will be. i hope he 'grows up' by recognizing his arrogance/ego and move on by writer better material. i think he has also garnered a reputation that he is difficult to work with.

There was a recent interview on those very questions.

EXCL: The M. Night Shyamalan Interview You Want to Read | Interviews | RopeofSilicon.com Entertainment News

Quote:
There is a growing presence of online film blogging and film criticism. Do you pay much attention to online rumor, speculation and conversation or is that something you tend to avoid?

MN: I don't really read that much. Unfortunately I am not that much of a computer guy. My kids are much savvier than I am. My wife gets irritated by the fact of how computer illiterate I am. I basically use the computer as a typewriter.

Quote:
How do you respond to people that say you have a large ego or you are pretentious?

MN: The only people that say that are people that haven't worked with me and haven't met me. If you are getting that from the guy that is carrying the lights on my movies then you can believe it. You'll never hear it from crew, cast, friends, the studio; you'll never hear it that way. The thing you have to approach your creativity, and your life I think, with an openness of "Are you a good listener? Can you listen? Can you hear a good idea when you hear it?" whether it is coming from a P.A. or something and that requires an openness.

If anything, what you're sensing is the rareness of a movie that is sold on the filmmaker, and that seems uncomfortable. Whereas if that was an actor doing the same exact gesture it wouldn't be seen as something about his ego, but more about his job.
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post #111 of 171
6/17/08 at 10:10am

Re: *** Official THE HAPPENING Discussion Thread

So M isn't reading all our crap?! Damn.
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post #112 of 171
6/17/08 at 11:30am

Re: *** Official THE HAPPENING Discussion Thread

actually, didn't a Disney studio head say that he was ego-manical as retaliation? or was that paramount vs. tom cruise? 2much ego@hollywood .

Quote:
How do you respond to people that say you have a large ego or you are pretentious?

MN: The only people that say that are people that haven't worked with me and haven't met me. If you are getting that from the guy that is carrying the lights on my movies then you can believe it. You'll never hear it from crew, cast, friends, the studio; you'll never hear it that way. The thing you have to approach your creativity, and your life I think, with an openness of "Are you a good listener? Can you listen? Can you hear a good idea when you hear it?" whether it is coming from a P.A. or something and that requires an openness.

If anything, what you're sensing is the rareness of a movie that is sold on the filmmaker, and that seems uncomfortable. Whereas if that was an actor doing the same exact gesture it wouldn't be seen as something about his ego, but more about his job.
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post #113 of 171
6/17/08 at 1:31pm

Re: *** Official THE HAPPENING Discussion Thread

Shyamalan calls 'The Happening' the best B movie ever - CNN.com

In this interview segment, he calls his movie a 'B-Movie' and explains how he picked up the pace to create a faster, tighter movie. This helps with furthering my appreciation for the film.
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post #114 of 171
6/17/08 at 4:07pm

Re: *** Official THE HAPPENING Discussion Thread

I'm surprised by some of the comments I've read on here.. but to each their own I guess. In my opinion this was bad on an epic scale.

When a big movie comes out people who don't like it often make gross exaggerations about how much they disliked it. But in this case.. I couldnt believe the movie was released. To me it seemed like the type of film studios shelve for two years so they can try and recut it into a watchable movie.

I saw this with a friend and we were speechless afterwards. We found the plot terrible, the dialogue terrible, and every performance from the leads to single line parts to be universaly terribly. We argued for hours afterwards about why it was so bad.

And just for background my friend and I quite enjoyed every M Night movie until this point with the exception of Litw. And even with litw we thought there were some good performances and even ideas.

I'm interested to see how the film does next weekend. I anticipate a quick exist from theaters. As the credits rolled at the end I could sense a very hostile feeling from the crowd. There was mock clapping followed by laughter.
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post #115 of 171
6/17/08 at 4:40pm

Re: *** Official THE HAPPENING Discussion Thread

Well one thing this film certainly has accomplished, (that I'm sure all can agree upon), is illustrate just how subjective enjoyment of a movie really is.
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post #116 of 171
6/17/08 at 4:44pm

Re: *** Official THE HAPPENING Discussion Thread

I'm not really seeing the 'slamming of others' that is said to be in this thread. Yeah there was rude comments early on though...This thread is interesting and that's why film is so intriguing: What some might find rather inspiring or good, some find rather awful.

Our expectations do play a role in either a negative way or positive but I think it bears repeating that not everyone who dislikes The Happening is the victim of too high expectations. It's really possible that the film just doesn't work for some in the same way it does work for others. Certainly I expect more from an actor/director that I like but in the end it's what's on screen that matters.
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post #117 of 171
6/18/08 at 1:30am

Re: *** Official THE HAPPENING Discussion Thread

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jari K
When it comes to Shyamalan, people really "love" or "hate" his work. There´s rarely "in-between" (="it was okay, but not great by any means", "Solid film and moody, but eventually not very interesting", etc).

Odd. That's how I feel about The Happening.

I had stayed away from all publicity, PR, previews etc, so for me the twist was that there was no twist.

From the way it developed, and in particular when Elliot and Alma threw caution to the wind, stepped out to 'be together' as they thought they were going to die, I was wondering if the twist was that somehow human emotions were involved in the toxin, i.e. anger sets it off, or perhaps rather love neutralises it. Which would also give some reason to all that focus on Elliot's mood ring throughout. But the plot simply seemed to be "The Plants Strike Back" to wipe out humanity.

Also, I thought a lot of the suspense this time was a bit too telegraphed. From the way they shot Elliot entering that bedroom and approaching the bed, you just knew Mrs Jones was going to be behind his shoulder. And music cues to build suspense seemed a lot more in-your-face.

I did enjoy the odd humourous bits, e.g. Elliot talking to the plastic plant, the two old ladies in West Virginia wearing gas masks. The man feeding himself to the lions, and the guy mowing himself, were a bit gruesome, though.

Still, despite those complaints, I can't say I hated it. "Meh" is probably the best way to describe my ultimate reaction.
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post #118 of 171
6/18/08 at 11:23am

Re: *** Official THE HAPPENING Discussion Thread

i don't think the basic formulas have changed for M's movies though. it's still his take on a given genre.

-sixth sense: premo/high-brow horror
-unbreakable: superhero
-signs: apocalypse/disaster
-village: time travel/SF/bubble displacement
-lady in water: fairy tales
-happening: B-schlock horror

the same conventions that govern the genres that he tackled are inside the film itself (like shooting the kidz as b-schlock, one should be laughing @that like a bruce campbell/evil dead movie.), but just with a M Night-twist.
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post #119 of 171
6/18/08 at 12:20pm

Re: *** Official THE HAPPENING Discussion Thread

Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert Crawford
You're right, I don't quite understand the venom being used against those that like this film. People don't have to validate their negative opinion of this film by slamming others that have a contrary view of it. What is really surprising is that it's being done by long-time HTF members that should know better than to behave this way.





Crawdaddy


Micheal, Robert

Please accept an apology. An overload of Rothbard & Scotch could be the culprit, but I had no right to spill on the keyboard.

E
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post #120 of 171
6/19/08 at 11:39am

Re: *** Official THE HAPPENING Discussion Thread

'The Happening' Is So Bad, Instead Of A Review I've Made A Spoiler-Laden List Of Its Most Hilariously Terrible Parts
by Christopher Orr

Well, I thought the review was amusing.
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