After Christopher Nolan’s Move To Universal, M. Night Shyamalan Shares Thoughts On Why Other Directors Should Join The Studio
M. Night Shyamalan thinks Universal is where directors like Christopher Nolan should be working.
While it’s been decades since we had the studio system, where talent was under contract to a particular studio and made nearly all their films in one place. It’s not uncommon today for actors or directors to find themselves working in one place again and again. Director Christopher Nolan has made his last several projects at Warner Bros. but his next movie will be done at Universal. And one director who has been hanging his hat there, M. Night Shyamalan, thinks other directors should do the same because of the studio’s commitment to original stories.
M. Night Shyamalan has found a home working at Universal Pictures in the last few years and he recently told THR that one of the things he loves about the studio is that it has a commitment to both original movie ideas and the theatrical experience. Both Shyamalan and Jordan Peele have been making original films at Universal with significant success. Shyamalan suggests that any director who cares about these things should come too. He explains...
Considering that Christopher Nolan is known for both original films (Batman notwithstanding), and he is a huge proponent of the theatrical experience. He likely will appreciate working at the studio if M. Night Shyamalan’s words ring true, and the Unbreakable director certainly has a lot of evidence in his favor.
While Universal Pictures certainly has its share of franchises, M. Night Shyamalan and Jordan Peele are two examples of directors who tend to write, and then direct, standalone projects that are original and are not necessarily meant to be franchise features. And they tend to do well with audiences, or critics, or both. Christopher Nolan could also be described this way.
There is, however, one big difference between Christopher Nolan and those other directors and that’s that M. Night Shyamalan and Jordan Peele tend to make movies with budgets on the low (for Hollywood) side. It’s easier to support original ideas when the loss will be minimal if they don’t work out. And the upside can be huge if they hit. Christopher Nolan is not known for those sorts of movies, His films are big and that usually also means expensive. Time will tell if Christopher Nolan and Universal work well together. If they do, then one expects the director will be hanging around.
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CinemaBlend’s resident theme park junkie and amateur Disney historian, Dirk began writing for CinemaBlend as a freelancer in 2015 before joining the site full-time in 2018. He has previously held positions as a Staff Writer and Games Editor, but has more recently transformed his true passion into his job as the head of the site's Theme Park section. He has previously done freelance work for various gaming and technology sites. Prior to starting his second career as a writer he worked for 12 years in sales for various companies within the consumer electronics industry. He has a degree in political science from the University of California, Davis. Is an armchair Imagineer, Epcot Stan, Future Club 33 Member.