When he broke through with 1999's Oscar-nominated thriller 'The Sixth Sense,' director M. Night Shyamalan was declared the next Steven Spielberg. He had no idea it would all be downhill from there.After sweeping this year's Razzies for his 2010 flop 'The Last Airbender,' can it get any worse?
Maybe. Three movie fans are trying to raise $150,000 to send Shyamalan back to film school.
Chris Baker, a copywriter and author, was first inspired last year in a movie theater, when the phrase "from the mind of M. Night Shyamalan" (during a trailer for 'Devil') drew laughs from the crowd.
In developing his joke idea, Baker was soon joined by two advertising buddies, one of whom proposed "M. Night School" as a name for the site. When news broke that the Philadelphia-based Shyamalan was planning to step behind the camera yet again -- for '1000 A.E.' starring 'Karate Kid' Jaden Smith and his dad, Will Smith -- the trio went live with their campaign.
So far, around $520 has been raised. Baker agrees that yes, Shyamalan "will probably be a little hurt" when he finds out about the site. Still, "his movies do make money, for better or for worse, which is kind of the irony of the whole thing," says Baker.
Even if the wildly ambitious goal of raising $150,000 is met, Baker expects Shyamalan to turn it down. "We want to do a stunt where we present him with a giant check. Obviously, as he's a multimillionaire, he'll refuse it."
The backup sounds like the far more noble plan: Hold a festival in New York for young filmmakers aspiring to attend NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. The winner will receive the money raised -- as a scholarship in Shyamalan's name.
Hey, it just might be the greatest contribution to moviemaking Shyamalan has made since 'The Sixth Sense.'
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