Student Filmmakers - June 2008 - (Page 25) Mark Wahlberg plays Elliot Moore in The Happening. Zooey Deschanel and Mark Wahlberg. example – now that’s a difficult idea. I don’t feel the instincts to know how to make that film. You have to find the right balance of the kitschy-ness, the supernatural, the adventure aspect; you have to be invested in who the villains are. That’s more about tapestry and tonality and that’s much harder to pull off. E.T. on the other hand – to stay with Spielberg’s films – would be much easier to execute. This is not to say which is the better film; I’m talking about which is easier to execute. E.T. has a simplicity – an inherent movement – to it. You’re not dealing with 4,000 extras in a field. It’s about a child relating to another kind of child. You obviously have great self- I think I tipped too far on the fun-summerride side was Signs; it was a hair too much for me. James Newton Howard has written the music scores for all your films since The Sixth Sense. However, you often change editors, cinematographers, production designers on your films. Is this related to finding a style that fits the story, their personalities, or availability? Or is it a combination of those kinds of factors? M. Night Shyamalan: I think it’s a combination of those things. Each person brings his or her own specialty to the table and some people are more accessible than others. Location is also a big factor. One of the things I always come up against is that I live in Philly. Besides me, the one person who stays on the movie the longest is the editor. From production through postproduction, that’s almost eight months! If I lived in LA [Los Angeles], I’d be able to work with anyone over and over. But some of my editors are based in LA and, if I want to work with that pool, I almost have to do one-offs because it’s just too long for anyone to be away from family. You’ve worked with cinematographer Tak Fujimoto, ASC on three of your discipline. Do you have a daily regimen or philosophy to manage your lifestyle and work schedule? M. Night Shyamalan: Yes. I try to fill up my waking time with positive uses of my energy. For example, I won’t spend three weeks to write only ten pages of a script. If I get blocked in one area, I throw myself into another activity – whether it be developing another screenplay or returning phone calls – whatever needs to be done. I always try to make constructive use of my available time. With each successive film, do you try to push the envelope in your aesthetic or technical approach? M. Night Shyamalan: I do get into those ruts or traps of trying to be more complex, to have one more layer of symbolism, to push the blockbuster envelope and be more arty. I don’t want to feel the burden of that all the time so, every now and then, I do one just for fun. The Happening is probably a very pleasing balance of a fun-summer-ride and a more meaningful movie. One film where June 2008 studentfilmmakers 25
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