Director Shyamalan Takes Next Film to Warner
Thu Mar 24, 2005 6:36 PM ET
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Movie director M. Night Shyamalan, whose thrillers such as "The Village," have raked in hundreds of millions of dollars for Walt Disney's film studio, is bringing his next movie to Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. president Alan Horn said in a statement on Thursday he hoped "Lady in the Water" would be the first of many films Shyamalan would make for Warner Bros., but a studio spokeswoman said their agreement, for now, called for the one film.
"'Lady in the Water' will be a major event movie for us," Horn said. Warner Bros. is a unit of Time Warner Inc .
Shyamalan broke into Hollywood's top directing ranks in 1999 with the haunting film, "The Sixth Sense," about a boy who sees dead people. It became a huge hit for The Walt Disney Co., raking in $673 million at worldwide box offices, according to boxofficemojo.com.
His subsequent films, "Unbreakable," "Signs" and "The Village," never reached those heights, but have all been successful. Of the three, alien invasion flick "Signs" was the biggest hit with global ticket sales of $408 million.
"Lady in the Water" was the second film in a two-movie deal Shyamalan had with Disney that included "The Village." Disney was given first option at "Lady in the Water" but passed.
"We have a terrific relationship with Night, and we look forward to working with him in the future," said a Disney spokeswoman.
Disney has had setbacks with some of its high-profile filmmakers over the past year, starting with Pixar Animation Studios Inc, makers of "The Incredibles," deciding it would look for a new distributor. But the company has relationships with many other producers like Jerry Bruckheimer, who produced hits such as the adventure, "National Treasure."
Thu Mar 24, 2005 6:36 PM ET
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Movie director M. Night Shyamalan, whose thrillers such as "The Village," have raked in hundreds of millions of dollars for Walt Disney's film studio, is bringing his next movie to Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. president Alan Horn said in a statement on Thursday he hoped "Lady in the Water" would be the first of many films Shyamalan would make for Warner Bros., but a studio spokeswoman said their agreement, for now, called for the one film.
"'Lady in the Water' will be a major event movie for us," Horn said. Warner Bros. is a unit of Time Warner Inc .
Shyamalan broke into Hollywood's top directing ranks in 1999 with the haunting film, "The Sixth Sense," about a boy who sees dead people. It became a huge hit for The Walt Disney Co., raking in $673 million at worldwide box offices, according to boxofficemojo.com.
His subsequent films, "Unbreakable," "Signs" and "The Village," never reached those heights, but have all been successful. Of the three, alien invasion flick "Signs" was the biggest hit with global ticket sales of $408 million.
"Lady in the Water" was the second film in a two-movie deal Shyamalan had with Disney that included "The Village." Disney was given first option at "Lady in the Water" but passed.
"We have a terrific relationship with Night, and we look forward to working with him in the future," said a Disney spokeswoman.
Disney has had setbacks with some of its high-profile filmmakers over the past year, starting with Pixar Animation Studios Inc, makers of "The Incredibles," deciding it would look for a new distributor. But the company has relationships with many other producers like Jerry Bruckheimer, who produced hits such as the adventure, "National Treasure."
