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M. Night Shyamalan <span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>  Manoj Nelliattu Shyamalan (b. August 6, 1970 in Pondicherry, India) is an Indian-born American screenwriter and director who became well known for having written, directed, and produced the Academy Award-nominated paranormal thriller The Sixth Sense. Shyamalan was born to father Nelliatu Shyamalan and mother Jayalakshmi (both doctors). He grew up in the Penn Valley area of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He idolized and emulated famed director Steven Spielberg and made dozens of home movies before he was seventeen years old. Shyamalan attended Catholic grammar school and The Episcopal Academy before attending the Tisch School of the arts at New York University. He graduated in 1992 and took on the professional name M. Night. His first film Praying with Anger was based on his own life experiences visiting India. The film was filmed in Chennai, India and was screened at the Toronto Film Festival. He also wrote and directed his second film, Wide Awake and shot it at a Catholic school in Philadelphia that he attended in his youth. His breakout film The Sixth Sense was also set in Philadelphia and starred Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Osment. The film was wildly successful, grossing over $670 million worldwide and earning six Oscar nominations and winning thirty other awards including Saturn Awards for Osment and Best Horror Film and a Nebula Award for Best Script. Shyamalan followed up his Sixth Sense success with Unbreakable. The film starred Bruce Willis as David Dunn, the sole survivor of a train crash and Samuel L. Jackson as the mysterious Elijah Price. The film earned mixed reviews and wasn't as successful as Sixth Sense but grossed $248 million worldwide. It was nevertheless a favorite of Shyamalans and became a cult classic. In 2002, Shyamalan's Signs opened in theaters. The film connected crop circles to an alien invasion. It starred Mel Gibson as a minister and father who recently lost his wife to a deadly accident and with it, his faith. Joaquin Phoenix starred as his brother, Merril. The film was a financial success, earning mainly positive reviews from critics. His next film, The Village, was not so fortunate in reviews. The film starred Joaquin Phoenix, William Hurt, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Sigourney Weaver. The Village was strongly promoted and expectations were high. It grossed 114.2 Million domestically and over 200 million worldwide but received mainly negative reviews from critics. Shyamalan's next film, Lady in the Water, opened in 2006. Oscar-nominated actor Paul Giamatti starred as an apartment maintenance man who discovers a young woman (Bryce Dallas Howard) swimming in the complex' pool and learns that she is a being from another world who is in danger. The film was panned by critics and proved a box office failure. The film's worldwide box office total of just over $72 million barely exceeded the production budget of $70 million. The film received four Golden Raspberry Awards. Shyamalan earned Worst Supporting Actor, Director, and Screenplay. Quotes
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Categories: 1970 births | Directors | Producers | Actors | American directors | American producers | American actors | Chennai directors
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