Double down on how weird and different it is: M Night Shyamalan on original ideas in franchise era

Double down on how strange and unusual it is: M Night Shyamalan discusses fresh concepts in the franchise era

New Delhi, Indian-M Night Shyamalan, an American director, says he believes, perhaps naively, that people look forward to fresh ideas, and he loves to attract their attention by emphasizing the “bizarreness” of the stories he tells.

The director, known for his mastery of suspense and unexpected endings, has now released “Trap,” which stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donaughue, and Shyamalan’s daughter Saleka.

Get unlimited access to the Hindustan Times E-paper and Archives for 1199/- per year.

Warner Bros. released “Trap” in India last week.

“It is a view, perhaps a naive one, that people are eager to experience something new if we can reach them… I tell my collaborators at Warner Bros. that what makes the film unique is what we should celebrate. “Double down on how strange and different it is,” Shyamalan told PTI in an interview.

In “Trap,” Hartnett plays Cooper Adams, an ordinary parent who is a dreaded serial killer known as ‘The Butcher,’ with Donaughue as his teenage daughter Riley.


since asked how tough it is for a filmmaker to develop original pictures since the majority of Hollywood films are franchises or superhero ventures with strong intellectual property, the 54-year-old responded there is no use in doing something “usual” in such an environment.

“The other side is that you must sell the bizarreness of the new concept and explain why this is a different tone. I have an accent when I tell stories. Make sure I have the accent. I used to have talks with the trailer creators. And I would say, ‘Don’t cut it like it’s everyone’s movie. You are stealing the thing that makes it distinctive. “And that is our weapon,” he added.

The Puducherry-born filmmaker, who grew up in Pennsylvania, broke into Hollywood with “The Sixth Sense” in 1999, earning Oscar nominations for best director and screenplay. He followed up with successes including “Unbreakable,” “Signs,” and “The Village.”

Then came a series of poorly received big-budget disasters, including “Lady in the Water,” “The Happening,” “The Last Airbender,” and “After Earth.”


Shyamalan reflected on that low moment in his career, saying it taught him the folly of trying to do things “the way the system wanted”.

What he did next is not something he recommends to others, but it worked for him and restored his career with “The Visit”.

“I wasn’t successful, and I wasn’t pleased… I was so unhappy that I said, ‘I’m going to make a movie. I’m not going to ask anyone. I am just going to go shoot a movie and mortgage the house. Let’s see what happens.

“That began this run, which included ‘Trap’ and ‘Servant’. I would not endorse what I did, by the way. But it gave me a fire and autonomy, which resulted in this hyper-originality that the audience could feel.”

In his second outing, the filmmaker has directed “Split,” “Glass,” “Old,” and “Knock at the Cabin”.

He teamed with musician-daughter Saleka on the song “Trap”. She plays Lady Raven, a Taylor Swift-like persona, during a performance Cooper is attending with his teenage daughter when he discovers the trap set for him.

Is the film, with its intricate musical setup, the closest he has been to directing a Bollywood-style musical?

“As Saleka would say, it’s kind of in our genes. So, making a fully music-based film does not seem as weird as you might expect. She mentions it frequently, so it’s possible that it’s on my mind. It’s fascinating.

“If I was more versed in Indian languages and worked from the south… My folks speak Tamil, but if I could speak it better, I’d consider doing something. “I love it,” he exclaimed.


When asked about his fascination with unusual ideas, Shyamalan stated that as a storyteller, he simply wants “to know what happens” next.

“On a gut level, the tone and viewpoint of the story are appealing to me. When I was younger, I probably couldn’t have articulated it in the same manner I did now, which is that there is an idea followed by an angle. I’ve realized you need both before the ignition goes off.”

Typically, the filmmaker explained, he starts with a premise, which in the case of “Trap” was about a guy caught at a concert.

“But the angle is that you are with him. You’re the father, you love him, and you need to find a way out. That’s what inspired me to make the movie.”

According to the internet, his original name is Mec Nelliyattu Shyamalan. How did ‘Night’ become a part of it?

Shyamalan claimed he picked his middle name when he was 17 or 18 and received the National Merit grant, which is a government-funded grant given to a select few pupils.

“To take it, I needed to be a citizen, but I had no middle name. In some ways, I felt I was reinventing myself. At the time, I was particularly interested in the Lakota Indian culture. I read this name. It was actually a female name. At the time, it was more about connecting with unknowns and nature, which felt appropriate to me.

“Later, when I found myself living in the thriller genre, it felt tonally appropriate for what I do for a career. But that was not the objective. “It felt like a ‘Hey, this is your second version of yourself’ moment,” he explained.

This article was prepared from an automated news agency feed without any text changes.