I’m not as down on M. Night Shyamalan as some people. Yeah, his last two movies didn’t do so well and neither one was particularly great, but he has made three very good or great flicks, I even thought The Village was ok. And he tries to be both different and accessible. He takes fantastical ideas and puts them plop down in the real world we all recognize (well, if we live in Philly.) He, to be clichéd, dares to be great. When you don’t dare to be great, you get this. And we sure as hell don’t want any more of that.

So, rather than admitting that he’s lost it and going away, M. Night is going to try to give us another movie where something interesting happens (at least in theory.) This time, Mark Wahlberg is going to help him out. Variety confirms the story we first brought you here that Wahlberg will star in Night's next movie The Happening, about a man who flees with his family from some sort of natural disaster of Biblical proportions. The film will start shooting in Philadelphia (naturally) this August and be released on Friday the 13th in 2008. Spooky.

M. Night says Wahlberg “has a unique blend of charisma, humanity, authenticity and skillfulness as an actor, all of which coalesced at this moment in his career, making him the perfect person to take on the role of Eliot Moore, the science teacher at the center of this event." Wow, a unique blend of humanity and authenticity that just got done blowing people away at long range in Shooter. But, again, M. Night is clearly gifted and has the ability to take us somewhere great. So let’s hope that Marky Mark will be leading the way.