Buried Secret of M. Night Shyamalan

[Jem'hadar]

Did anyone see this "documentary" on the Sci-Fi Channel? What did you think?

I first assumed this was a real documentary that at some point must have upset Night & he wouldn't approve it.

But halfway through I began to believe this was all fake & just a publicity stunt for his upcoming movie, The Village. It was too contrived; too conveniently spooky. The more I saw, the more convinced I became this was completely fake.

I'm not quite sure why Sci-Fi Channel and Night did this. Obviously, for publicity, but considering Night's reputation, I think his name alone is all the publicity one would need. I would rather have seen a real documentary about his creative talents as a director & moviemaker. I don't need a fake story about Night's alleged supernatural experiences during his childhood.

I'll still go see The Village b/c it looks like a great movie. But my opinion of Night, as a person not as a director, is less b/c he must have been complicit in the making of this fake documetary.

[Balok]

It has been debunked. SciFi channel did this with Night's approval; they characterized it as "guerrilla marketing".

Evidently, NBC is now at least somewhat involved in running the SciFi channel (since the merger); they claim this sort of tactic is "not characteristic of the way we wish to do business", or some such thing.

<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/3906177.stm">Full story</a>

[strict31]

Missed it. Saw the promos and couldn't understand what the big deal was. I've seen interviews with the guy before and couldn't figure out why a documentary would be spookier than the CNN interview I saw.

Didn't Sci-Fi do a similar trick with Blair Witch? Cheeky monkeys.


Strictly Speaking

[Jem'hadar]

Originally posted by Fesarius
It has been debunked. SciFi channel did this with Night's approval; they characterized it as "guerrilla marketing".

Thanks for forwarding that article. I'm glad SciFi Channel has admittted this was fake, but I have a lower opinion of them & of Night b/c of this "mockumentary."

Unfortunately, it also sets bad precedent. A documentary is supposed to be about facts, not fiction. If you want to present fictional stories, be up front about it. I'll never believe another SciFi Channel "documentary" again & have doubts about anything Night may say too.