M. Night Shyamalan says the studio marketed “Unbreakable” as another “Sixth Sense” because they didn’t dare describe the film as a comic book adaptation.
After the great success of The sixth senseM. Night Shyamalan releases Unbreakablea thriller that is now considered by many to be one of the best comic book movies of all time. However, at the time of its release, the studio was too afraid to market it as such.
Speaking to GQ, Shyamalan commented on the studio’s decision to market “Unbreakable” as just another horror/thriller film rather than the comic book movie it clearly was. “If you deny what it is because you are afraid it might be different, then you rob it of all its power.“, said Shyamalan. “They were like, “We made one of the greatest movies of all time and the same two people are making another movie. Let’s make it look like that movie.” As opposed to what it was, which was the beginning of a whole genre. They didn’t realize it because they were too afraid to say the word “comic book.”“
Shyamalan recalled that the studio believed no one would want to see a movie about a comic book.”In my mind, it was a movie that said, “This guy has an accident where everyone dies except him and he’s not even scratched, and someone says, ‘I know why that happened. You’re a real superhero.'”” he said. “That’s the movie, but that was never said or sold.“
Although Unbreakable was a success, but did not quite reach the same heights as The sixth sensewhich Shyamalan says is due to marketing.”Other people came and went. “It wasn’t scary,”“, said Shyamalan. “And I thought, “Who said it would be like this? Who said it would be scary?” And so I learned a really interesting lesson: If I want to be the purveyor of original stories for my life, I have to seek out partners who understand that we are reinventing ourselves every time, and we should celebrate that.“The film developed a huge cult following and even spawned two sequels years later. Share And Glass.
Catchthe director’s latest film, is now in theaters and, in true Shyamalan fashion, has received some pretty mixed reviews. Our Tyler Nichols wasn’t a huge fan, although he did find some elements he liked.Despite my negativity in this review, I did not directly hate Catch,“, wrote Nichols. “Hartnett and Pill’s performances are worth the price of admission. I could watch them both play in an empty room and be entertained. I’m just sick of Shyamalan coming up with these great concepts and then being so inept at sticking the landing. For every great moment in Trap, there is a illogical, and it feels like it was written by a teenager. If nothing changes, I think I’ve had enough of Shyamalan in the movies.“You can read the rest of his review here.
Would Unbreakable would have been more successful if the film had been marketed as a comic book film from day one?
