A still from M Night Shyamalan's newest movie After Earth.
New Delhi:
Indo-American director M NightShyamalan, who has been behind supernatural thrillers likeThe Sixth Sense and The Lady in the Water, is hoping thatthe upcoming sci-fi Hollywood film After Earth will revealanother dimension to his storytelling style.
Shyamalan does not believe that he has been pigeonholed asthe horror director but he plans to shake off this perceptionwith his future projects.
"It is both good and bad and it comes with conflicts andbenefits. I do like to do scary movies but that's not thewhole thing. That's one type of storytelling I like to do.
"As I traverse other genres and other stories, I hope thatas time goes by, I will be able to broaden the definitionabout what to expect from my name," Shyamalan told PTI in aninterview over phone from London.
Film's lead actor Will Smith has teamed up with his sonJaden for the second time after their successful last outingtogether The Pursuit of Happiness and Shyamalan found itexciting to explore the dynamics between a father and his son.
The Sony Pictures film releases in India on June 7.
"I want everyone to evoke that movie when they come to seeAfter Earth as it is like the second part. It centres on thedynamics between a father and son. It is about a pre-teen boyand he is becoming a young man," Shyamalan said.
The film revolves around teenager Kitai Raige (Jaden) andhis legendary father Cypher (Will) who crash land on Earth,1000 years after cataclysmic events forced humanity to abandonthe only home they knew.
With Cypher critically injured, Kitai embarks on a journeyto signal for help in a hostile terrain where everything hasevolved to kill humans.
Shyamalan took advantage of the real chemistry between thesuperstar and his son to tell this coming-of-age story, set infuture.
"We turned them into a kind of military family becausethat's what they play in the movie so their dynamics was funone and I definitely took advantage of that relationship tobring out some tension and conflict.
"You look for those things to mine with actors. Will andJaden were having a similar experience in real life to whatwas going on in the film in the sense that the father iscasting the torch towards the son and the son iscoming-of-age," said the director.
The film was born out of an idea that Smith had and thescreenplay was eventually developed by Gary Whitta. Shyamalanworked on the screenplay after coming aboard the film in 2010.
"I did write the screenplay. Will had an idea and weeventually developed it. It had enough detail to grab me and Ibecame a part of the parenting of the story.
"Through rewriting the screenplay, I had the opportunityto really customize it and bring the kind of emotions thatwere important to me. I had enough opportunity to make it myown and have come away feeling an ownership over the story,"said the director, who last helmed The Last Airbender.
Since the film is set in future, Shyamalan enjoyedindulging his fantasies while recreating the Earth 1000 yearslater.
"One of the favourite parts for me was the year that Ispent designing the movie with my production designer at myhouse.
"It was a fun and rewarding experience. We really got toplay with our imagination during that time period. We thoughtabout how the civilization would be like if we redid the wholething. I am happy that everything looks very organic in themovie."
Shyamalan will next be executive producing and directingFox's TV series Wayward Pines.
Shyamalan does not believe that he has been pigeonholed asthe horror director but he plans to shake off this perceptionwith his future projects.
"It is both good and bad and it comes with conflicts andbenefits. I do like to do scary movies but that's not thewhole thing. That's one type of storytelling I like to do.
"As I traverse other genres and other stories, I hope thatas time goes by, I will be able to broaden the definitionabout what to expect from my name," Shyamalan told PTI in aninterview over phone from London.
Film's lead actor Will Smith has teamed up with his sonJaden for the second time after their successful last outingtogether The Pursuit of Happiness and Shyamalan found itexciting to explore the dynamics between a father and his son.
The Sony Pictures film releases in India on June 7.
"I want everyone to evoke that movie when they come to seeAfter Earth as it is like the second part. It centres on thedynamics between a father and son. It is about a pre-teen boyand he is becoming a young man," Shyamalan said.
The film revolves around teenager Kitai Raige (Jaden) andhis legendary father Cypher (Will) who crash land on Earth,1000 years after cataclysmic events forced humanity to abandonthe only home they knew.
With Cypher critically injured, Kitai embarks on a journeyto signal for help in a hostile terrain where everything hasevolved to kill humans.
Shyamalan took advantage of the real chemistry between thesuperstar and his son to tell this coming-of-age story, set infuture.
"We turned them into a kind of military family becausethat's what they play in the movie so their dynamics was funone and I definitely took advantage of that relationship tobring out some tension and conflict.
"You look for those things to mine with actors. Will andJaden were having a similar experience in real life to whatwas going on in the film in the sense that the father iscasting the torch towards the son and the son iscoming-of-age," said the director.
The film was born out of an idea that Smith had and thescreenplay was eventually developed by Gary Whitta. Shyamalanworked on the screenplay after coming aboard the film in 2010.
"I did write the screenplay. Will had an idea and weeventually developed it. It had enough detail to grab me and Ibecame a part of the parenting of the story.
"Through rewriting the screenplay, I had the opportunityto really customize it and bring the kind of emotions thatwere important to me. I had enough opportunity to make it myown and have come away feeling an ownership over the story,"said the director, who last helmed The Last Airbender.
Since the film is set in future, Shyamalan enjoyedindulging his fantasies while recreating the Earth 1000 yearslater.
"One of the favourite parts for me was the year that Ispent designing the movie with my production designer at myhouse.
"It was a fun and rewarding experience. We really got toplay with our imagination during that time period. We thoughtabout how the civilization would be like if we redid the wholething. I am happy that everything looks very organic in themovie."
Shyamalan will next be executive producing and directingFox's TV series Wayward Pines.
