Posts Tagged ‘Aang’
Shyamalan embraces inner kid
Sunday, August 22nd, 2010 by Rohan
M.Night Shyamalan is known for spine-chilling thrillers with ghoulish final-frame twists like in The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and The Village. But director M Night Shyamalan says he loved getting the chance to be a big kid again when making his latest film ‘extravaganza’ The Last Airbender.
Based on a hit children’s TV series Avatar: The Last Airbender, the film in which the world is at war and its fate lies in the hand of one small boy. ‘I think each artist thinks of themselves at a certain period of their life and a little bit of me perceives me as a ten-year-old a lot,’ Shyamalan tells AAP from his home in the US.
‘You see it, even in my darker pieces – there’s always a perspective from that age group. Whether it’s Unbreakable when he sees his father in a certain way, obviously in The Sixth Sense and also in Signs which tells the kid’s point of view of what’s going on.
‘It’s always feathered in there. ‘The Last Airbender tells the story of a primitive world which is being threatened with extinction by the Fire Nation, who aims to annihilate the more peace-loving nations of Air, Water and Earth.
But then a ‘waterbender’, who is still learning to control her powers, discovers the long-lost Aang – not only the world’s last airbender, but an avatar sent to save the earth.
M. Night Shyamalan: Critics never get me
Thursday, August 19th, 2010 by RohanM. Night Shyamalan says he has learned to turn a blind eye to his detractors, particularly the ones across the pond.
“I don’t know what’s going on with me and the critics in the United States. They’ve never got me and it’s getting worse!” said the filmmaker.
Despite high praise for 1999′s The Sixth Sense, which was nominated for six Academy Awards, follow-ups including The Village and Lady In The Water went down like lead balloons.
The writer and director thinks cultural differences may play a part:
“I’ve always had a European sensibility to my movies, so the pacing is always a little bit off for (Americans). It feels a little stilted, they need more electricity.
“I’m very used to getting on a plane from the US having been savaged by them and going to – in this case – Japan next, and then they’re like ‘genius!’, he added.
Poor reviews or not, Shyamalan has already penned the sequel to The Last Airbender and a strong peformance at the US box office means it is likely to be made.
Shyamalan ‘not just about gimmicks’
Monday, August 9th, 2010 by RohanSay whatever you want to say or rant about M.Night Shyamalan, but it seems like Jackson Rathbone is standing shoulder to shoulder with 
M.Night Shyamalan from the beginning and defending the director. Jackson recently had the chance to sit with Digitalspy.com and do some talking.
Jackson Rathbone has said that there is more to M. Night Shyamalan’s work than plot turns and gimmicks. Rathbone also told Digital Spy that his Last Airbender director, whose early films The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable featured twist endings, was “amazing” to work with.
“People say he does twists in all his movies but where really was the twist in Signs?” he said. “It’s kind of hard to say that there’s a gimmick to his work, it’s not that, he tells a story so compelling that you’re on the edge of your seat all the way through the film.”
On Shyamalan’s approach to The Last Airbender, which is based on the popular Nickelodeon children’s TV show, Rathbone said: “What he was able to put into the live-action adaptation was a condensed version of the animated series. It was fun, it was amazing to get to work with a director of Night’s calibre, someone we’ve respected and admired for years now. We’re waiting for his next film to get out and see what he was going to do next.”
Do you agree or disagree with Jackson Rathbone?
Jackson Rathbone says Art is subjective
Monday, August 9th, 2010 by RohanThough it performed respectably at the box office, grossing nearly $130 million since its July 1 release date, M. Night Shyamalan’s fantasy flick
“The Last Airbender” received an icy reception from critics — a reaction that star Jackson Rathbone says is undeserved.
“The critics in the U.S. … I just don’t think they really like M. Night Shyamalan anymore,” Rathbone told MTV News while on the blue carpet for the 2010 Teen Choice Awards. “I don’t know why. It’s sad because he’s such an amazing director and an amazing person.”
The film, written and directed by Shyamalan, is a live-action remake of the popular Nickelodeon animated TV series “Avatar: The Last Airbender” and the first installment in a proposed trilogy. It received mixed reviews from critics, many who said the film emphasized style over substance. Nonetheless, Rathbone stands by the film’s box-office performance, adding that Shyamalan’s popularity is stronger than ever in foreign markets.
“It was interesting, the reception with ‘The Last Airbender,’ because they did extremely well with the U.S. domestic box office and even better than expected overseas,” he said. “Overseas, internationally, they still love him and think his work is genius.”
In the end, Rathbone believes it’s just a matter of taste. “It’s just one of those things,” he said. “Art is subjective.”
Shyamalan’s mettle will next be tested with September’s stuck-in-an-elevator horror-thriller “Devil,” a story he conceptualized, while Rathbone will begin work on the two-part “Breaking Dawn” film this fall.
Source: www.mtv.com
Dev Patel had injuries on Airbender set
Monday, August 9th, 2010 by RohanDev Patel‘s fight scenes in new movie The Last Airbender were so realistic he was left covered in bruises after each day of filming.
The Slumdog Millionaire star plays a martial arts expert in the action film, and underwent hours of gruelling rehearsals to make the fighting as lifelike as possible.
The shoot left Patel nursing several injuries, but he is adamant the stuntmen suffered even more – because he kept accidentally punching them in the face.
He tells Britain’s Mail on Sunday, “We did this whole sequence of 30 fight moves in one take. I had this flurry of fists coming at me. It was like being in The Matrix, an incredible adrenaline rush. There were broken bones and bleeding noses every day.
“I caused a few minor injuries when I’d miss my cue and one of the stunt guys would run into my fist or something. There’d be days when I was covered in bruises… Luckily, I avoided any kicks to the groin. I try to avoid those if possible!” »
Airbender Breaks $100 Million in Week 2
Sunday, July 11th, 2010 by RohanWhether the critics liked or disliked ‘The Last Airbender”, but M.Night Shyamalan’s actioner still attracted lots of people. The box office 
estimates are in for the weekend of July 9-11th, and The Last Airbender has surpassed the $100 million mark after its second weekend! After adding thirty four additional screens to bring its theater count up to 3,203, The Last Airbender dropped an estimated 57.5% from its opening weekend, grossing an estimated $17.15 million.
The film also has additionally made an estimated $10m from overseas markets which makes The Last Airbender worldwide numbers up to $110m.
Shyamalan Names The Last Airbender 2 Villain
Thursday, July 8th, 2010 by RohanWhile the fate of M. Night Shyamalan’s proposed trilogy is comtemplated at Paramount Pictures, writer/director M. Night Shyamalan is making
sure he’s ready to move forward on the first sequel if given a green light.
In speaking with MTV, Shyamalan offers up some hints about who the main villain in The Last Airbender 2 would be and what tone he hopes to strike. “The third is more ambiguous, but the second one, I’ve written a draft that I’m really happy with and is darker and richer,” he said. “And it has a wonderful antagonist in it in Azula, who’s kind of like our only real, pure antagonist in the series, so I’m excited about that.”
Azula, played by Summer Bishil, had a brief role in The Last Airbender and figures to be much more prominent in the proposed sequel. In the television series, Azula is a destructive Firebending prodigy who becomes obsessed with capturing the Avatar.
Currently The Last Airbender has a domestic box office gross of just under half of its estimated $150 million production budget. It will need to perform strong overseas and on Blu-ray Disc/DVD for Paramount to feel comfortable in ponying up the big bucks for a sequel.
Source: www.thehrdroom.com
10 Questions for M. Night Shyamalan
Tuesday, July 6th, 2010 by RohanTIME’s “Gilbert Cruz” had the chance to sit with director M.Night Shyamalan one on one as M.Night Shyamalan answered 10 questions from fans around the United States. M.Night talks briefly about race controversy and why he directed The Last Airbender.
Box Office: The Last Airbender closes in on Eclipse with $70M
Monday, July 5th, 2010 by RohanDespite the numerous negative comments and reviews M.Night Shyamalan’s THE LAST AIRBENDER narrowed the gap between
Monday’s No.1 and No.2 movie at the North American box office.
This Shyamalan’s actioner actually grossed $12.65m (vs. $13.54m for The Twilight Saga: Eclipse), according to Box Office Mojo.
While Eclipse, starring the popular combo Robert Pattinson-Kristen Stewart-Taylor Lautner, has been performing a little below expectations, The Last Airbender, has been performing way above expectations. Shyamalan’s actioner went up an estimated 34.7% on Monday (vs. Eclipse‘s 18.4% decrease).
One more drastic Eclipse attendance drop The Last Airbender can reach the top position at the North American box office. To date, The Last Airbender has collected $70.5m about $20 million more than many had predicted. And in order for Paramount to recover its $150m production costs alone not including the $130m spent on marketing, The Last Airbender would have to earn approximately $270-$300m domestically, as studios only get around 50-55% of a movie’s box-office gross.
According to current box office numbers The Last Airbender doesn’t seem at all likely will get that far, but that’s where the overseas market should come to the rescue.
The Last Airbender will open internationally just within few weeks.
Despite the negative reviews “Last Airbender” may pass $100M mark.
Monday, July 5th, 2010 by Rohan
According to “Box Office Mojo ” M.Night Shyamalan’s THE LAST AIRBENDER which is at a distant No.2 spot has collected an estimated $40.65m at 3,169 locations ($12,827 per-theater average) in the US/Canada.
The reviews for “The Last Airbender” has been overwhelmingly negative, word-of-mouth has been at best unenthusiastic (a “C” as per CinemaScore), and there have been numerous complaints about Paramount/Shyamalan’s decision to use a white kid in an East Asian role. Yet, the Paramount release starring Noah Ringer, Dev Patel, Nicola Peltz, Jackson Rathbone and Shaun Toub has scored a not inconsiderable $57m after only four days.
It’ll probably cross the $100m mark within the next ten days or so. How far it’ll go above that remains to be seen.
Although it seems THE LAST AIRBENDER won’t get close to recover its $150m production costs in addition to $130m in marketing costs at the North American box office, it will likely not turn out to be a disaster many had been predicting since its release on thursday, July 1st.
Also not to forget the overseas market which should come to the rescue, as big, special effects movies tend to do extremely well in foreign countries, e.g., Iron Man 2, Avatar, Prince Of Persia: Sands Of Time and 2012.
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