The Buried Secret of M. Night Shyamalan (2004) (TV)

Director:

Nathaniel Kahn

Writer:

Melissa Foster (writer)

Release Date:

18 July 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi

Plot Keywords:

Mockumentary | Character Name In Title

Cast

Billy Arrowood	...	Himself - Location Scout
Adrien Brody	...	Himself
Deepak Chopra	...	Himself - Author
Johnny Depp	...	Himself
Sean Andrew Fash	...	Himself
Callum Greene	...	Himself
Adrian M. Hickman	...	Video Store Manager
Nathaniel Kahn	...	Himself
Maggie Kiley	...	Cecilia Meadows
Ilana Levine	...	Publicist
Brick Mason	...	Himself - Storyboard Artist
Griffin Newman	...	Teenage Fan
Chandler Parker	...	Javier Ortega
Sharon Pinkenson	...	Herself - Film Commissioner
Jicky Schnee	...	Jennifer
M. Night Shyamalan	...	Himself
Benjamin Smolen	...	Shyamalan fan
John F. Street	...	Himself - Mayor of Philadelphia
Greg Urban	...	Himself - Anthropology Professor

Also Known As:

M. Night: Portrait of a Filmmaker (USA) (working title)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

Blinding Edge Pictures

Trivia:

This entire film was a mockumentary that was advertised as an unauthorized bio of reclusive director M. Night Shyamalan. After going as far as Shyamalan reporting to the press that he was upset about the release of this film, many fans and journalists became upset when they later learned it was all a hoax. The Sci-Fi channel released an apology a few days before release for their campaign strategies.

Movie Connections:

References Psycho (1960)

Obviously a hoax, but interesting nevertheless

You have to be completely gullible to think that this "documentary" was authentic, as the interviewees are obviously actors, and there are scenes where artificial lighting was obviously used, as in the scenes in the "haunted" house where Night supposedly used to live in. Also, Night isn't much of an actor himself, as you can tell by the interviews conducted with him that he was, well, acting. Then, at the end of the film, the Kahn has a corny coda where we hear Night leaving him a phone message pleading to him not to show this movie because, "the public won't believe a thing he shows", then he proceeds to interview people about their experiences with the supernatural. This is an obvious attempt to dupe the viewer into thinking that what they had just seen was the real thing.

With the said, the movie itself was well-made, and does raise some interesting questions about the nature of documentaries. When you think about it, a documentary is no more a portrayal of the truth as a work of ficiton is, as all documentaries are essentially depicting the truth as viewed by the filmmaker himself. Thus, Kahn's frantic search for supernatural connections in Night's life's are in reality nothing more than his attempt to salvage a project which was falling apart. In a way, all docs are like this, in the sense that the filmmaker starts out with an initial purpose and slant, and then the doc takes on a life of its own.

There's an interesting scene where Kahn is hanging out with Night, and Night gets angry at him because he keep trying to find an "angle" for his movie. Night suggests that not every movie has to have an angle, an interesting commentary on the nature of documentary film-making. Of course, the whole movie is a hoax anyways.

But for me, the most damning evidence of the inauthenticity of the movie were the scenes in Night's old house. If you ever shot a movie on film, which this doc was shot on, you know that when you shoot in dark rooms with boarded up windows, there's not enough lighting for the film to pick up any images. However, somehow Kahn was able to get pristine footage of a darkened room, despite the fact that all the windows are boarded up and there are no sources of sunlight.

Sci-Fi Channel and Kahn should just fess up and admit that Buried Secrets is a publicity stunt, albeit a well-made and perceptive one, to cash in on The Village. I mean, there are commercials for The Village during every break! In a way, this doc is offensive on that it is cashing in on the present craze in belief in the supernatural, and I wonder how those on the other side will react to this after Night and Kahn eventually pass away and enter the other side.

But, that's life, I suppose.