M. Night Shyamalan's directing career has taken him from "Oscar-nominated wunderkind" for The Sixth Sense, then "summer blockbuster powerhouse" with Signs, then a string of disappointments like The Village, Lady in the Water, The Happening and especially The Last Airbender that's made him… what, exactly? A punchline for anyone who doesn't like twist endings? A punching bag for Last Airbender fans who think he destroyed something they love? A total mystery for those of us who still think he has a little bit of talent?
Whatever you think of Shyamalan at this point, you won't be getting rid of him any time soon-- despite the colossal awfulness of The Last Airbender it made $319 million worldwide, and Shyamalan is now moving on to another gigantic project, 1000 A.E., which will star Will and Jaden Smith as a father and son who crash land on earth 1,000 years after humans have acated the planet entirely. With the Smith family on board and a bid budget to play with Shyamalan is clearly in just as good a position as he ever was, and as he and Smith build their relationship before filming starts, he's also getting a new nickname to go along with it. When asked on Twitter by a fan what people call him, he had maybe the most hilarious response possible:
Most family calls me" Manoj." All my friends and everyone else calls me "Night." A few peeps call me "M." Will Smith calls me "M. Neezie."
Does this tell us anything about how 1000 A.E. will turn out? No. Does this give you any more faith in Shyamalan's directing abilities? Not really. But it's amusing, and for now, I'll take it. 1000 A.E. is aiming for June 2013 release date, so you have some time to decide if you want to get your hopes up for this or not.
