M. Night Shyamalan - Fans of the Indian director M. Night Shyamalan are trying to raise $150,000 to pay for the director to go back to film school, reports Moviefone. M. Night Shyamalan gained acclaim for his Oscar nominated film 'The Sixth Sense' in 1999 but has since struggled to recapture the same level of praise. recapture the same level of praise.
Once dubbed "the next Steven Spielberg", Shyamalan followed up the 'The Sixth Sense' with 'Unbreakable' in 2000 and then 'Signs' in 2002. Both movies were well received and performed strongly at the box office. However, the director has come under fire for his recent releases, most notably 2004's 'The Village and the 2008 movie 'The Happening', which both failed to achieve critical or financial success. Chris Baker, a copywriter and movie fan, has enlisted the help of two advertising pals to raise $150,000 in order to send M. Night back to film school. As of today, a total of $520.33 has been raised but Baker admits the director "will probably be a little hurt" when he finds out about the campaign, adding, "We want to do a stunt where we present him with a giant cheque. Obviously, the guy's a multimillionaire, he'll refuse it".
Baker says if M. Night Shyamalan turns down the cash, he will hold a festival in New York where aspiring filmmakers will instead receive the money raised by the campaign.