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

User Rating:

4.8/10   

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 mocumentary that was advertised as an unauthorized bio of reclusive director M. Night Shyamalan. After going so 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)

What a Great Idea!

It seems like some people are whining that this was probably fake. Huh? Of course it was fake. I would think anyone could tell that within minutes of the opening.

But think about the idea. Either someone pitched this idea to M. Night or he thought of it himself. We need to do a "puff piece" on the upcoming movie "The Village" but, goddamn it, this is M. Night Shyamalan! We can't just do a normal thing - interview the actors, hype the movie, etc. (think Catwoman). "Oh, he's such a great director, y'know." "I loved working with her, she's so professional, y'know." "There was such great chemistry, blah, blah, blah." Y'know??

Instead, we'll treat the whole puff piece as if it was an M. Night conspiracy story, except the conspiracy involves M. Night himself! Then we'll farm it out to the Sci Fi channel and pretend that it was SUPPOSED TO be a puff piece but then the director changed it in midstream to this expose on M. Night's personal story.

It's genius, I think. They fit all the things that are noticeably about M. Night into the plot. Why does he live in Philly instead of L.A. like all the other directors? Why has he had such great success at such a young age? How does his Indian heritage play into his direction? Why is he so private? Why are his latest movies all so dark? Why does he write the scripts and direct?

Congratulations to the creators of this fake-umentary. We loved every minute of it, and my view of the Sci Fi Channel just went up 150 points. You guys rock.

As for the back-and-forth of whether it's fake? Get over it.