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Breslin and Leguizamo Join Shyamalan's The Happening

by Alex Billington
July 18, 2007
Source: Variety, Hollywood Reporter

Although Lady in the Water wasn't very well liked last year, M. Night Shyamalan's next project is still being followed quite closely. Hopefully this is a good sign of better things to come. The latest casting news is that youngster Spencer Breslin and John Leguizamo have both joined The Happening as well. It was only a few months ago that Zooey Deschanel was also announced as joining Mark Wahlberg, who plays the lead.

Spencer Breslin, who is the 15-year-old older brother of Little Miss Sunshine Oscar nominee Abigail Breslin, said he was cast as one of the leads as "a typical teenage boy, a bit of a smartass" but "hasn't been clued in" to other aspects of his role in the film.

John Leguizamo, who almost everyone is familiar with, plays Mark Wahlberg's best friend. The film is about a man, played by Wahlberg, who takes his family on the run when an ecological natural disaster threatens to end the world.

The casting in this is sounding better and better by the minute. Although some others might disagree, the casting in Shyamalan's movies has always been one of the strongest parts in my own opinion. He brought us the incredible talent of Bryce Dallas Howard, and showed everyone how amazing Adrien Brody, Mel Gibson, Samuel L. Jackson, and Joaquin Phoenix all could be when put in the right roles. Now I've got a good feeling that he's chosen a cast that will really shine out of their ordinary performances: Wahlberg, Deschanel, and Leguizamo.

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Janet

This movie is all over the internet and I have to admit that it does seem interesting. The basic storyline that you have written looks as if it's going to be some kind of sci-fi action thriller! My kind of movie, if I may add. John Leguizamo seems to be a really busy man with a movie like this coming up next year and also his mini-series called "The Kill Point" with co-star Donnie Wahlberg that will air on July 22nd @ 9pm on Spike TV! Leguizamo comes out as a bank robber as Wahlberg comes out as the negotiator. It'll be a great mini-series & you can check http://killpoint.spiketv.com for the previews! I know this because I work with them,
DarthSauron

Interesting casting choice. It seems that this is the first time that Shyamalan wont be have an actor who was in his previous movie star in his following movie (Bruce Willis in The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable, Joaquin Phoenix in Signs and The Village and Bryce Dallas Howard in The Village and Lady in the Water). The premise of the movie is intriguing, and the only way he could screw this one up is by casting himself in a large part, like he did in LITW.
Alex C

As interesting as the plot can be, I am kind of worried by its development, seeing how Shyamalan disappointed a lot of SF/ movie/ Shyamalan fans both with "Signs" and the "Lady in the water". Excellent SF/ Fantasy plots and casts, but half-baked results (not to say major letdowns). Fingers crossed!