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Writer Stephen Gaghan Polishing Shyamalan's 'One Thousand A.E.'

by Ethan Anderton
November 11, 2011
Source: Variety

With production start on M. Night Shyamalan's sci-fi film One Thousand A.E. just around the corner in February of 2012, it's about that time for the script to be ready to go in front of the camera. Thankfully, some great writing talent has given some finishing touches to the script as Variety reports Traffic writer Stephen Gaghan has just finished polishing the script for Sony Pictures and Overbrook Entertainment, the production banner of Will Smith who is starring in the film along with his son Jaden Smith (The Karate Kid). What's truly exciting is that this is the first film that Shymalan didn't write himself. Read on!

Obviously Shyamalan showed promise in his first few films, but recently, his work has lacked substance and quality. Gary Whitta (The Book of Eli) wrote the original script about a father and son who crash-land on Earth one thousand years after mankind has abandoned the planet. The crash leaves the elder Smith badly injured, and it's up to the boy to find help in what is now a strange and dangerous place. Shyamalan rewrote some of the screenplay for his own needs, but it was Gaghan who really made the script shine and just turned his last batch of revisions into the studio last month. Some more work will likely be done alongside Shyamalan before shooting begins early next year, and personally I can't wait to see what Shyamalan does with a script that doesn't belong to him. How about you?

Explore tags: Development, Movie News

Natecsz

I agree. I think he has a pretty decent eye, but he sure as hell can't write anymore. And he should be forbidden to do a 3-D movie ever again.
http://www.nolanfans.com TeddyBlass

Whitta is a solid writer, and obviously Gaghan is very talented. I wouldn't blame anyone for not getting excited, but I gotta say, there is potential this results in decent entertainment.
Jedi

Really? Will and Jaden? Ugh. First Will and Willow remaking Annie and now this? The Pinkett-Smith Entertainment Machine rolls on.....
http://senzafine.net/ Yahzee

... M. Night Shyamalan fan here. He didn't do a 3D movie, he was forced by the studio to do a post-conversion (I'll never forgive the horrible and traumatic experience of "watching" The Last Airbender in 3D, but it all got corrected when the DVD came out)

Anonymous

...well, aside from the fact that the movie was terrible.

Anonymous

Shyamalan? will AND jaden smith?........i pass
Eric776_0

I don't know, M. Night Sham... Shamma... Shammalamalan could do well as long as their is a trademark twist
Lagoya

How the hell does shyamalmamymlamalyanmalan still get work????!!!!!

Anonymous

He gets work because he's actually had a number of big hits and has won awards and stuff. There are directors helming large projects that don't have that going for them. His films tend to break even here int he states, but he's still popular internationally and they still end up making a lot of cash overseas. The only real failure he's had, monetarily, has been Lady in the Water. Frankly, I think his only real issue is his writing, and even then his only problem is the fact that he keeps shoving in characters who don't have a purpose except to just act really odd. He must think it's whimsical or something. Quirky. Hopefully this script is decent, because he's actually a really good director. The only movie I've seen of his that I think was directed really poorly was Airbender, and that's just him trying to do too much in too short a time. Half of that was probably mandated by the studio, given that that was his first really big-budget movie. Studios don't like giving people money, even when it's big name directors with great track records. Remember how Del Toro couldn't get $100 Million for his Mountains of Madness flick? Remember how long it took for someone to greenlight The Hobbit? THE HOBBIT!? You know, the movie prequels to that one series that made like a bajillion dollars? Yeah, they had a hard time getting some guys in suits to give that project production money.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=535593758 JPaul Mendoza

I thought there was a consensus never to allow MNight close to any camera or script for the rest of his life. Who screwed up and let him get involved in this movie?
Joblo26

I like the way a lot of these articles are touting The Book of Eli as some great cinematic work. It has a lower IMDb rating than The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and Signs, and is only 4 points above The Village, which is supposed to be some colossal flop. On Rotten Tomatoes it has 48%, which is only 5% higher than The Village, and a great deal lower than The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs and even Devil. It's also worth reminding people that Shyamalan is himself an Oscar nominated screenwriter who sold his first Hollywood script at age 24 and adapted the screenplay for the critically well-received Stuart Little (current RT rating, 64%). Yes, his last two films were garbage, but the way you culture-vultures are trying to create this image of him as an Uwe Boll in waiting is just ridiculous.

Lebowski

Speaking as a culture vulture, I have to say, last two films? Two? The only decent things he ever made was the sixth sense and unbreakable. Signs was idiotic, the village was destroyed by an obvious and stupid twist and lady in the water was the filmic equivalent of m night masturbating to a picture of himself for two hours.