Lady in the Water (2006)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

M. Night Shyamalan

Writer (WGA):

M. Night Shyamalan (written by)

Release Date:

21 July 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Time is running out for a happy ending.

Plot:

Apartment building superintendent Cleveland Heep rescues what he thinks is a young woman from the pool he maintains. When he discovers that she is actually a character from a bedtime story who is trying to make the journey back to her home, he works with his tenants to protect his new friend from the creatures that are determined to keep her in our world.

Plot Keywords:

Apartment | Bedtime Story | Stuttering | Swimming Pool | Eagle

Awards:

2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Paul Giamatti	...	Cleveland Heep
Bryce Dallas Howard	...	Story
Jeffrey Wright	...	Mr. Dury
Bob Balaban	...	Harry Farber
Sarita Choudhury	...	Anna Ran
Cindy Cheung	...	Young-Soon Choi
M. Night Shyamalan	...	Vick Ran
Freddy Rodríguez	...	Reggie
Bill Irwin	...	Mr. Leeds
Mary Beth Hurt	...	Mrs. Bell
Noah Gray-Cabey	...	Joey Dury
Joseph D. Reitman	...	Long Haired Smoker
Jared Harris	...	Goatee Smoker
Grant Monohon	...	Emaciated Smoker
John Boyd	...	One-Eyebrow Smoker
Ethan Cohn	...	Glasses Smoker
June Kyoto Lu	...	Mrs. Choi (as June Kyoko Lu)
Tovah Feldshuh	...	Mrs. Bubchik
Tom Mardirosian	...	Mr. Bubchik
Maricruz Hernandez	...	Perez de la Torre Sister #1
Carla Jimenez	...	Perez de la Torre Sister #2
Natasha Perez	...	Perez de la Torre Sister #3
Monique Gabriela Curnen	...	Perez de la Torre Sister #4
Marilyn Torres	...	Perez de la Torre Sister #5
George Bass	...	Mr. Perez de la Torre
Joel Garland	...	Pool Guy (as Joel Marsh Garland)
James Breen	...	SPCA Guy (as James "Jimbo" Breen)
Nell Johnson	...	Phone Message (voice)
Walter Lafty	...	Silvertide Band Member
Mark Melchiorre Jr.	...	Silvertide Band Member
Kevin Frank	...	Silvertide Band Member
Brian Weaver	...	Silvertide Band Member
Nick Perri	...	Silvertide Band Member
Jeremy Howard	...	Tartutic #1
Brian Steele	...	Tartutic #2
Kurt Carley	...	Tartutic #3
Doug Jones	...	Tartutic #4
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Alexander Emmert	...	Blond Smoker (uncredited)
Scott Hatfield	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Keith Moyer	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Mark J. Parker	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Eugene Smith	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Mathew J. Wright	...	Party Guest (uncredited)

Directed by
M. Night Shyamalan

Writing credits (WGA)
M. Night Shyamalan		(written by)

Produced by
Sam Mercer	....	producer
Jose L. Rodriguez	....	associate producer
John Rusk	....	associate producer
M. Night Shyamalan	....	producer

Original Music by
James Newton Howard

Cinematography by
Christopher Doyle

Film Editing by
Barbara Tulliver

Casting by
Douglas Aibel

Production Design by
Martin Childs

Art Direction by
Stefan Dechant
Christina Ann Wilson		(as Christina Wilson)

Set Decoration by
Larry Dias

Costume Design by
Betsy Heimann

Makeup Department
Merribelle Anderson	....	key hair stylist (as Merribelle A. Anderson)
Steven E. Anderson	....	prosthetic makeup artist (as Steven Anderson)
Qodi Armstrong	....	hair stylist
Jason Barnett	....	special makeup effects technician: Spectral Motion
Adrienne Bearden	....	makeup artist
Roland Blancaflor	....	prosthetic department supervisor/speciality costumes: Spectral Motion Inc.
Diane Dixon	....	assistant hair stylist
Mike Elizalde	....	makeup effects supervisor
Mike Elizalde	....	prosthetic makeup department head
Diane Heller	....	makeup artist
Don Kozma	....	key makeup artist (as Donald A. Kozma)
Bernadette Mazur	....	makeup department head
Cass McClure	....	prosthetics technician: Spectral Motion
James Ojala	....	special makeup effects technician: Spectral Motion, Inc.
Betty Lou Skinner	....	hair stylist
Wesley Wofford	....	prosthetic makeup department head
Melissa A. Yonkey	....	hair department head (as Melissa Yonkey)

Production Management
Bill Daly	....	post-production executive
Sharon Mann	....	unit production manager
Ravi D. Mehta	....	executive in charge of production
Gerald Scaife	....	production supervisor
Jessie Thiele	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Keri Bruno	....	second second assistant director
Brick Mason	....	second unit director
Joseph Payton	....	dga trainee
Keith Potter	....	additional second assistant director
John Rusk	....	first assistant director
Basti Van Der Woude	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Richard J. Bell	....	greens foreman
Sean Bernard	....	paint foreman
Dawn Brown	....	set designer
Dianne Chadwick	....	graphic designer
Brandon Cook	....	props
Alan Danielson	....	key model maker
Leo Doyer	....	structural designer
Karyn Gerred	....	scenic artist
Daniel J. Gillooly	....	greens coordinator
L. David Gordon	....	drapery foreman
Frank Grasso	....	construction grip
Alicia Jacobson	....	scenic foreperson
Noelle King	....	set designer
Mitchell Landsman	....	model maker
Ted Lubonovich II	....	shop craft
Lori Marks	....	scenic artist
Vinny Mazzarella	....	assistant property master
James Mazzola	....	property master
Mary O'Brien	....	scenic artist
Jim Orr	....	set dresser
Randy L. Parisian	....	scenic artist
Sara Philpott	....	art department coordinator
Scott T. Pina	....	construction foreman
Sharon Potts	....	assistant property master
Jolie Scherberger	....	set dresser
John S. Schlicter	....	model maker
Stephen Siersema	....	camera scenic
Joseph Siwinski	....	lead man
Dennis Tillberg	....	scenic artist
Erica Vanstone	....	construction office coordinator
Kory C. Victor	....	art researcher
Christine Wick	....	assistant set decorator
Paul Williams	....	construction coordinator
Kurt Wunder	....	carpenter
James Passanante	....	lead scenic (uncredited)
Trey Shaffer	....	graphic designer: set decorating (uncredited)

Sound Department
Steve Boeddeker	....	sound designer
Lisa Chino	....	assistant dialogue editor
Lee Dichter	....	sound re-recording mixer
Aren Downie	....	assistant sound editor
Sean England	....	foley recordist
Frank E. Eulner	....	supervising sound editor (as Frank Eulner)
Andre Fenley	....	assistant supervising sound editor
Will Files	....	assistant sound designer
Scott Guitteau	....	sound effects editor
Ellen Heuer	....	foley artist
Marilyn McCoppen	....	supervising adr editor
Chris Munro	....	production sound mixer
Anthony Ortiz	....	boom operator
Mike Patrick	....	sound mix technician
Troy Porter	....	adr mixer
Frank Rinella	....	foley mixer
Ronald G. Roumas	....	sound re-recordist
Michael Scott	....	sound recordist
Kevin Sellers	....	foley editor
Michael Semanick	....	sound re-recording mixer
Dennie Thorpe	....	foley artist
Jana Vance	....	foley artist
Marshall Winn	....	supervising adr editor
Marshall Winn	....	supervising dialogue editor
Brian Magerkurth	....	sound mix technician (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Peter Abrahamson	....	puppeteer
Brent Baker	....	mold department and life-casting supervisor: Spectral Motion
Jim Beinke	....	creature effects crew
Brian Blair	....	special effects crew (as Bryan Blair)
Darin Bouyssou	....	creature effects technician: Spectral Motion Inc.
Steve Cremin	....	special effects coordinator
Joel Dobzewitz	....	special effects crew
Mary Elizalde	....	CFO: Spectral Motion Inc.
Mary Elizalde	....	special effects crew
Mike Elizalde	....	creature effects supervisor
Christian Eubank	....	special effects technician (as Christian F. Eubank)
Eric Fiedler	....	special effects crew
Frederick Fraleigh	....	special effects crew
Michael Frechette	....	special effects set foreman
Dave Grasso	....	special effects crew (as David Grasso)
Moto Hata	....	special effects crew (as Motoyoshi Hata)
Jurgen Heimann	....	animatronics
Jurgen Heimann	....	puppeteer
Anh Le Hoang	....	special effects technician (as Hoang Anh Le)
Nick Karas	....	special effects shop technician
Steve Katz	....	special effects crew
Taishiro Kiya	....	special effects crew
Daria Kokhanenko	....	special effects crew
Junko Komori	....	special effects crew
Tim Larsen	....	special effects crew (as Tim 'Gore' Larsen)
William Lee	....	special effects technician
Russell Lukich	....	painter
Russell Lukich	....	sculptor
Kyle Martin	....	special effects crew
Tim Martin	....	special effects crew
Cass McClure	....	prosthetics technician: Spectral Motion
Bud McGrew	....	special effects crew
Kevin McTurk	....	special effects makeup: Spectral Motion
Verena Mercenier	....	special effects crew
Scott Millenbaugh	....	special effects crew
Michael O'Brien	....	creature effects technician: Spectral Motion Inc.
Larry Odien	....	mechanical assistant: Spectral Motion
Erika Olseon	....	special effects crew
David Perteet	....	special effects crew
Tim Phoenix	....	special effects crew (as Timothy Phoenix)
Brian Poor	....	animatronics technician: Spectral Motion
Missy R. Russell	....	creature effects administrative assistant: Spectral Motion, Inc. (as Melissa Russell)
Tetsufumi Sakae	....	special effects crew
Yoichi Art Sakamoto	....	special creature effects
Noriko Sato	....	special effects crew
Mark Setrakian	....	key animatronic designer
Michael Shellito	....	special effects technician
Amber Skowronski	....	special effects crew
Tully Summers	....	special effects crew
Mario Vanillo	....	special effects shop foreman
Brian Walsh	....	production supervisor: Spectral Motion, Inc.
Steve Wang	....	special effects crew
Patrick Edward White	....	special effects
Peter Zhang	....	special effects crew
Douglas D. Ziegler	....	special effects technician (as Doug Ziegler)
Michael Broussard	....	mermaid effects supervisor: additional photography (uncredited)
David M. Sterner	....	special effects technician (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Charles Alleneck	....	animator
Christian Alzmann	....	visual effects art director
Kevin Barnhill	....	digital effects supervisor
Casey Basichis	....	digital artist
T.J. Burke	....	digital artist
Marshall Candland	....	digital artist
Ozzie Carmona	....	digital compositor
Mark Casey	....	digital artist
Daniel Cavey	....	production assistant: ILM
Grady Cofer	....	lead Inferno artist
Christopher Cram	....	visual effects associate producer
Lorelei David	....	visual effects editor
Jeff Doran	....	digital artist
Sam Edwards	....	Inferno artist
Jenn Emberly	....	digital artist
Conny Fauser	....	digital artist
Cameron Folds	....	animator: ILM
Bridget Maria Goodman	....	digital artist (as Bridget Goodman)
Tim Harrington	....	animation supervisor: ILM
Edward Hirsh	....	visual effects supervisor
Jiri Jacknowitz	....	lead digital paint & roto artist
Jeanmarie King	....	visual effects producer
Marshall Richard Krasser	....	compositing supervisor: ILM (as Marshall Krasser)
Lana Lan	....	digital artist
Mark 'Crash' McCreery	....	creature effects
Sébastien Moreau	....	sabre compositor: ILM
Josh Novak	....	lead compositor: main title sequence
Shane O'Connor	....	production assistant: ILM
Jim O'Hagan	....	digital compositor: Pacific Title
Erik Pampel	....	assistant visual effects editor: ILM
Janet Quen	....	Flame artist: ILM
Steve Rawlins	....	digital artist
Megan Rible	....	technical assistant
Thomas Rosseter	....	digital compositor (as Tom Rosseter)
Dale Taylor	....	visual effects coordinator: ILM
Johan Thorngren	....	digital matte artist: ILM
Greg Towner	....	animator: ILM
Alex Tropiec Jr.	....	Inferno artist: ILM (as Alex Tropiec)
Robert Weaver	....	digital artist
John Whisnant	....	digital artist
Bob Wiatr	....	Inferno artist: Pacific Title
Nick Woo	....	technical support
Keiji Yamaguchi	....	creature development
Roland Yepez	....	digital artist: ILM
Anna Bies	....	costumer: ILM (uncredited)
Maggie Oh	....	digital artist: ILM (uncredited)

Stunts
Jake Brake	....	stunt rigger
Julia Dumenigo	....	assistant to stunt coordinator
Jeff Habberstad	....	stunt coordinator
Jeri Habberstad	....	stunt double
G. Grant Jewett	....	stunts
Jake Lombard	....	stunt rigger
Gary Price	....	stunt double
Karin Silvestri	....	stunt double: Bryce Dallas Howard
Lee Waddell	....	underwater stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Chris Beattie	....	rigging grip
Matt Blades	....	dolly grip: "b" camera
Josh Blakeslee	....	second assistant camera
Phil Bradshaw	....	grip
David Brandon	....	electrician
Ronald Burke	....	dolly grip
David M. Carr	....	grip
John-Paul Chase	....	rigging grip
Glenn Davis	....	dimmer board operator (as Glenn R. Davis)
Thomas Devine	....	electrician
Edwin Effrein	....	Steadicam operator
Greg Finkel	....	second assistant camera
Kevin Flynn	....	key rigging grip
Timothy Flynn	....	rigging grip
Sean P. Gilbert	....	underwater first assistant camera
Kevin Groff	....	grip
Chris Hensel	....	grip
Russ Hoffman	....	electrician
Gregory F. Johnson	....	rigging grip
Brian Jordan	....	video assistant utility
Glenn Kaplan	....	key first assistant camera: "a" camera
Chris Kilduff	....	best boy grip
Jeremy Knaster	....	electrician
Michael Asa Leonard	....	additional first assistant camera
Rob Mabin	....	electrician
Frank Masi	....	still photographer
Rob Mock	....	grip
William D. Moran	....	grip
Jon D. Morrison	....	set lighting
Francine Natale	....	assistant chief lighting technician
Yen P. Nguyen	....	camera loader
Bill O'Leary	....	chief lighting technician
Justin Panzanaro	....	rigging grip
Colin J. Peters	....	electrician
Louis Petraglia	....	rigging electric best boy
Balint Pinczehelyi	....	best boy rigging grip
Tom Prate	....	key grip
Pete Romano	....	underwater director of photography
Joe Sarao	....	rigging grip
Daniel D. Sariano	....	assistant camera
Craig Striano	....	crane operator: Super Technocrane
Jude Webster	....	rigging grip
Franz Yeich	....	rigging grip

Casting Department
Melanie Crescenz	....	extras casting
Deborah Maxwell Dion	....	casting associate: Los Angeles
Barbara Harris	....	adr voice casting
Stephanie Holbrook	....	casting associate
Jeanine Pengiel	....	casting assistant
Deedra Ricketts	....	location casting
Sarah Tucci	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Rachel Leek	....	set costumer
Kara Morasco	....	tailor
David Paulin	....	costume dyer/painter
Kevin Ritter	....	key costumer: men
Autumn Saville	....	assistant costume designer

Editorial Department
Ian Blume	....	assistant editor
Stephanie M. Casey	....	additional assistant editor
Olivier Fontenay	....	color timer
Terry Haggar	....	color timer
Craig Hayes	....	associate editor
Mo Henry	....	negative cutter
Jordan Lindblad	....	assistant editor
Lauren Scott	....	post-production coordinator
Colleen Sharp	....	associate editor
Joe Violante	....	color timer: dailies (as Joey Violante)

Music Department
Nancy Allen	....	assistant music editor
Pete Anthony	....	conductor
Jeff Atmajian	....	orchestrator
Chris P. Bacon	....	music score programmer
Brad Dechter	....	orchestrator
Thomas S. Drescher	....	supervising music editor (as Thomas Drescher)
Grant Gershon	....	conductor: choir
Mark Graham	....	music librarian
Joel Iwataki	....	music score mixer
Susan Jacobs	....	music supervisor
Jon Kull	....	orchestrator
Alan Meyerson	....	music scoring mixer
Shawn Murphy	....	score recordist
Shawn Murphy	....	scoring mixer
Julia Newmann	....	scoring intern
Suzana Peric	....	music editor
Patrick Russ	....	orchestrator
Steven L. Smith	....	music preparation
Stuart Michael Thomas	....	music score programmer
Mel Wesson	....	composer: additional textures

Transportation Department
Corbin Kelly	....	mechanic
Michael Kelly	....	transportation
John Morrone III	....	transportation co-coordinator
Kirk Kelly	....	mechanic (uncredited)

Other crew
Guy Adan	....	unit publicist
Richard Bloom	....	assistant: Mr. Mercer
Victoria Boaz	....	production assistant
Christian Brockey	....	production coordinator
Chrismandu	....	photo double: Paul Giamatti
Chrismandu	....	stand-in: Paul Giamatti
Michele Cusick	....	set production assistant
Mary Cybulski	....	script supervisor
Benjamin Davidow	....	production assistant
Joseph DeBona	....	stand-in
Anthony DeFrancesco	....	set production assistant
Mike Duffy	....	production assistant
Lauren E. Enfield	....	production asssistant: first team
Jennifer Zolten Freed	....	post-production accountant
Jay Geller	....	metal work and welding
Andrew Gershon	....	production assistant
Matthew Hanlon	....	tool coordinator
April Harshaw	....	assistant: Mr. Shyamalan
Brandy Hartley	....	assistant construction office coordinator
Moet Hashimoto	....	assistant: Ms. Howard
Sarah Haugen	....	assistant: Ms. Howard
Bill Horton	....	location projectionist
Blair Howley	....	set production assistant
Jason Johnson	....	production assistant
Lyndsay Kancher	....	production assistant
Madeleine Karpel	....	assistant: Mr. Shyamalan
Meghan Keener	....	additional assistant to producer
Kathleen Kelly	....	key medic
Nick Klinger	....	additional production assistant
Michael J. Kraycik	....	facilities assistant
Tim Lamendola	....	stand-in
William Lebeda	....	title designer: opening sequence
Talia Leone	....	production assistant
James Lin	....	location manager
Elaine L. Liu	....	assistant: Mr. Doyle (as Elaine Liu)
Sandy Lizaola-Hernandez	....	physical production coordinator: staff
Michael B. Louis	....	location supervisor
Stuart Math	....	researcher: archival footage and photos
Mark Mayer	....	production accountant
Joseph McFadden	....	additional production assistant
Marisa Murphy	....	accounting clerk
Stacy Opalewski	....	extras coordinator
Athanasios Paliatsas	....	assistant: Mr Cremin
Sharon Pinkenson	....	film commissioner
Edward Poveda	....	payroll accountant
Mark Pricskett	....	stand-in
David Raynor	....	assistant production coordinator
Jon Rocks	....	production assistant
Eric J. Scheiner	....	production assistant
Skylar Schmidt	....	second assistant accountant
Dee Schuka	....	post-production accountant
Lauren Scott	....	production secretary
Lauren Scott	....	travel coordinator
Mark Setrakian	....	principal puppeteer
Michael Siu	....	assistant: Mr. Doyle
Pamela J. Sollie	....	assistant: James Newton Howard
Jon Stein	....	runner
Patricia Urias	....	seamer
Lisa Wiggins	....	first assistant accountant
Travis Quentin Young	....	adr voice
Dan Zarenkiewicz	....	production assistant
Terrence B. Zinn	....	key set production assistant

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures
• Blinding Edge Pictures
• Legendary Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (2006) (USA) (theatrical)
• Fox-Warner (2006) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2006) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2006) (Brazil) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2006) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2006) (France) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2006) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2006) (Philippines) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2006) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (Switzerland) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-Ray Disc)
• Warner Home Vídeo (2006) (Brazil) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) (special visual effects and animation)
• Spectral Motion (creature and makeup effects)
• Pacific Title and Art Studio (opticals)

Other Companies

• Bender ET  GFCI shock protection provided by
• Cable News Network (CNN)  footage (as CNN Imagesource)
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  dollies
• Cinelease  grip and electric equipment
• Decca Records  soundtrack
• ITN Archive  footage
• Los Angeles Master Chorale  choir
• Marcella C. Public Relations  special publicity
• NBC News Archives  footage
• Orbit Digital  HD services
• Otto Nemenz International  cameras
• Pacific Title and Art Studio  opticals
• Picture Mill, The  titles
• Technicolor  color and prints
• Temptu  tattoos
• Tony's Food Service  catering
• Trevanna Post  post-production accounting

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some frightening sequences.

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital EX | DTS-ES

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Malaysia:U | Ireland:12A | UK:PG | Canada:PG (British Columbia) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #42716) | India:U | Australia:PG | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Hong Kong:IIA | Finland:K-11 | Argentina:16 | Germany:12 | Brazil:10 | Netherlands:12 | Hungary:14 | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Zurich) | Sweden:11 | Italy:T | South Korea:All | Canada:G (Québec) | New Zealand:PG

Filming Locations:

Levittown, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Night, delighted after he discovered unknown Cindy Cheung, was shocked to hear that her agent demanded 1 million dollars for her role in the film. Night was prepared to pay the SAG minimum, $65,000. They settled at $100,000.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the bathroom scene where Cleveland Heep is speaking with Story, you can see a towel rack directly behind him with two towels hanging on it. They are both draped on it with the same length of towel showing. In the subsequent scene when they pan back to Cleveland, the towel on the right is clearly shorter than the towel placed on the towel rack on the left.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Cleveland Heep: Once, man and those in the water were linked. They inspired us. They spoke of the future. Man listened and it became real. But man does not listen very well. Man's need to own everything led him deeper into land. The magic world of the ones that lived in the ocean...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Supernatural: The Monster at the End of This Book (#4.18)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

I'm Getting Sentimental Over You

A story about Stories.

The lest said about the plot of the film the better. Not because it's bad because it's an imaginative one, and you should really go in having no idea what you're in store for. That's part of the point of the movie.

The introduction of this movie is done in cave drawings. It's a fitting opening and a good clue that this movie is about stories. No, not modern film, which many critics and audiences today think is about pushing boundaries and constantly doing something 'new'. This movie is about the good old fashioned story. The reason why our ancient ancestors sat around fires and told them, and their ability to inspire and save souls.

There isn't anything truly new about it (it has roots in the classic fairy tales and epic poems of antiquity), other than the fact that it dares to be a great film made in the mondern era in spite of being littered with elements of the now despised classical story (which apparently isn't good enough for modern film makers anymore).

The thing about these classic stories and the one that Shaymalan is attempting to tell is that they have a purpose, and strive to inspire society and humanity as a whole. They lead people to do great things, and make us all feel better in the end, where most modern 'stories' feel more like egotistical attempts of "artists" to make themselves feel great and leave us in awe of their great greatness.

Christopher Doyle lends some excellent shots to this film, which some how manage to make a scene of an every day loser frigthenedly warding off a were-wolf type monster with a pool skimmer seem exceptionally epic. At the same time it helps the story (for me at least) pull those same strings that great stories like Gilgamesh, and the Aeneid pull.

I saw this film the day it opened and I was delighted. I came home, as is my habit, and read all the reviews. A good section of this movie is directed at attacking assanine, jaded, film critics who think their opinions are authoratitive (it depicts them as being the ruiners of the classic story), and so, all of the assanine, jaded, and authoratative film critics seem to have panned it.

No one seemed really sure what the movie was about, but were all quick to pan M. Night as being arrogant for casting himself in the role of a writer destined to change the world. They, ironically, claim that he was being arrogant, completing unable to fathom that their own presumptions about why he cast himself in that role could in fact be a good deal more arrogant...

I'll have to admit that I've been the jaded film critic before, but one I came out of this one I remembered why I've always loved stories, and why they don't' always have to be new and fit into some silly sense of "reality".