M. Night Fans » The Last Airbender

How I would have converted The Last Airbender from TV season to Film

Specter — Sat, 21 May 2011 04:56:44 +0000

I admit that The Last Airbender film has plenty of flaws. I will also admit to enjoying the film immensely once you get past those. Seeing the various forms of bending in live action is unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. The problems I have with the translation from the small screen have to do with the pronunciation of names and the characters not all being as they were in the series, Aang and Sokka being furthest from what I wanted from them. The levity those characters bring to the cartoon is needed so that the Fire Nation’s invasion isn’t all depressing.

That said, here’s what I would have done, and was under the impression that Shyamalan was doing. I would take a page from how they convert a book to the big screen.

Watch and outline the whole series

I would watch the whole series, and write it all out in an outline. It would be a massive outline, but thorough. This is something that Shyamalan did do. In fact, he was so thorough that the show’s creators sent him notes about which characters they think could be cut out, and what sequences weren’t necessary. He literally had included everything.

Note Cards

Put all of the major scenes down onto note cards, listing all appearing characters with color coded names for ease of site. Spread those cards out on pin boards around a writing room. Seeing the characters and sequences all laid out through the entirety of the story helps to find the important characters and through-lines.

I would take the cards and figure out what the overall storyline is, and what scenes are absolutely necessary to include to get that storyline told. In this series, the storyline is about Aang acceptance of his role, above all else, so I’d look though his story to make sure that it is told to the full. Then I’d look at all of his scenes and see what other characters appear in his scenes. I’d find out how they are important to the story and what sequences to include that are important to their characters. In this case, it’s Zuko, Iroh, Sokka and Katara – at least in Book One.

Editing the Series

Now, here’s where the fun begins. I would take the animated series itself into my editing software and cut each book down to a feature length film that contains all of the important character arcs. This would probably take multiple cuts to get it down to the proper length. Each book is roughly 7 and a half hours long, with the last being about 8. I’d give myself an extended edition cut to work with, that gives me a Lord of the Rings length of three hours per film.

By this time, I’d know what I did very clearly, and would ask some friends to watch my feature length edits of the series, to see if it works for them. It would be best if they had never seen the series.

I would then work on refining that animated cut to make sure the film has everything that it needs. It is also possible that new scenes will be needed to fill out some of the story in a way that was different than the animated version could convey. Now you’ve got a working pre-viz storyboard that you can show to the studio to give them a good idea of what you’re going to be shooting for in live action.

Script writing

Now I’d start writing the first draft of the script. I’d start with a line-by-line transcript of the film that I had cut together from the animated series. It’s likely that I’d also need to re-write some sequences or bits of dialog to get a message across that the film was missing.

I’d send that script off to the show’s creators to have them provide notes on things, and then I’d re-write it. I’d then hand the script over to the studio to get it budgeted. (This is something that is typical of all films with special effects this intensive, they estimate the potential budget for the script that they have been given.) Usually, this is followed by another re-write, and by the time the filming begins, it’s a near-final seventh draft. I say near-final, because sometimes the script will change on the set, and stronger scenes are written as filming goes on.

Pre-production

After the script is finally approved, and a budget is agreed on and approved, the film is green-lit and goes into heavy pre-production. It is here that I would find my cast, and we’d do a table read of the screenplay, and all sorts of effects work, set building and training begins.

And this is when the magic comes to life.

And that, folks, is how I would convert the animated series into a live-action film.

Why couldn’t Night accomplish this?

He had the whole series outlined, right? Well, for one thing, he only watched the series a known single time. It’s possible he watched it more than that, but he definitely watched the whole series once. He grew up hearing the names pronounced correctly, and in the animated series, the names had very different pronunciations than Night was likely used to. He thought it was doing the right thing, and I don’t fault him for that. I do fault him, however, for throwing away the pronunciations that we’re all used to from watching the series play out over 4 years, and talking to friends about the show. (There was one instance that a character pronounced Aang in the way that the tv series does, and it sounded so natural, I almost missed it.)

He was also given limitations on the run time for the film. The shorter a film, the more screenings it can have per day, the more people can see the film each day. This is something that had a negative effect on Ridley Scott’s film Kingdom of Heaven. Apparently the director’s cut of the film is incredible, while the 2 hour theatrical cut was missing a lot of story, including a whole character that had been cut out.

He has since said that it was self-imposed, that he hasn’t yet “earned the right” to make a longer movie. I don’t buy that for a minute. I think he’s just saving face, and that it was a studio imposed length to shoot for. I would have loved for him to pull a Peter Jackson and shoot for the long form, fan edition.

When it comes to the music, James Newton Howard did a terrific job on the film score, though I would have also asked him to subtly include the themes from the series as well.

What do you think?

Would this work? Has anyone created a feature film length edit of the animated series? Is that something that you’d be willing to try?

The other question has to do with the legality of the screenplay – if it was written as a transcript of your own edit of the series, did you really write it, or did all of the original writers? Is that legal? Probably not, as far as the Writer’s Guild of America is concerned – as well as the other writers. It wouldn’t be original enough, at least at first, but upon re-writes would become moreso. Your thoughts?

UNpopular opinion: The Last Airbender

Rohan — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 03:05:54 +0000

A friend, Paul Gagne who writes for Joblo.com has written an interesting article under their ongoing column called ‘Unpopular Opinion’ which features different takes on films that either writer hated, but that the majority of film fans loved, or that the writer loved, but that most others loathed. The film in question is ‘The Last Airbender.’ We all know about the negativity which is surrounding the film. Some loved the film and some hated it. Everyone has their own opinion, right? — But what’s really interesting about Paul’s take on ‘The Last Airbender’ is that he has the spotlight from a different angle and that pretty much explains it all in my opinion. It’s an interesting read and thanks to Joblo.com and Paul letting me share the article with the rest of Shyamalan fans.

“So, my final take on the film is that it stepped up to the plate with emotional arcs for the two main characters, great special effects and impressive fight scenes, great set design and costumes, and just a hint of socio-political undertones.”

Paul Gagne – Joblo.com

Hit the jump here to read the full article.

M.Night Shyamalan: CGI doesn’t scare me anymore

Rohan — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 01:53:02 +0000

Writer, Director and Producer, M.Night Shyamalan tells Metro about his feelings towards using CGI, his favorite directors and his most challenging film to date. M.Night Shyamalan, 40, first found commercial success in 1999 with The Sixth Sense. You can read the rest of the interview below and let us know your opinion whether Shyamalan should use CGI again.

What was making The Last Airbender like?

Because the movie took two-and-a-half years to make I had a lot of emotions. It was a great learning experience. I learned about CGI in a hardcore way. I’m so grateful to all the teachers I had on the film, whether that’s for stunts or CGI. It’s from a cartoon aimed at children. I made it for my seven-year-old daughter so it had a positive family atmosphere on the set.

Is your next effort going to be another special effects extravaganza?

I learned so much on this that putting CGI in my movies doesn’t scare me any more. With the thrillers they’re quite grounded and don’t have much need for CGI but I’m being offered a broader spectrum of movies since I’ve done this film. I’ll always make minimalist, grounded stuff but it was fun to learn this. Stanley Kubrick is one of my favourite directors and watching the diversity of his movies, from The Shining to A Space Odyssey: 2001, I’d love to have different accents to the way I tell stories.

Who else was an influence on your work?

I’m starting to think of my career as two separate things. For the thrillers it would be Kubrick, Hitchcock and Akira Kurosawa. Then the other side which I don’t do much, the family film side of me, the influence is Hayao Miyazaki. He has an interesting way of portraying fantasy. His films are for young kids but done with incredible artistry. Normally in the West, films for children are aimed at a broad age group with double entendres and jokes for adults and a cynicism for an older group. With Miyazaki it’s completely for children with incredible aesthetics.

Were you aware ‘bender’ is slang for homosexual in Britain?

Apparently some immature cinema-goers found dialogue such as ‘look out he’s a bender’ hilarious. No. I thought you guys used bender as a term for getting drunk, like: ‘I’m going on a bender.’ I wasn’t aware of that term. It was just the title of the cartoon show. Sometimes the title gets changed for particular territories. The title of my film The Happening was changed in some countries because happening meant party.

What’s been the most challenging film to make?

The biggest challenge for me is being ignorant of the context in which my movies are seen in the marketplace. I’ve only recently become aware that my movies are seen as being part of some bigger contextual issue. If I make six scary movies then I want the seventh to be a children’s film. I didn’t understand why some people would have an issue with that. When you do your first movie it’s a blank slate. It doesn’t mean you can’t do different things – look at Tom Hanks to how he went from comedian to dramatic actor.

So what direction do you want to go in?

I love suspense a lot. That’s where I live and I know audiences love it when I live there. I do have that edgy side, it’s not a conflict, and the next three or four ideas are all dark like that. It’s just when I want to do something different that it’s a problem putting it in context.

Have you ever had a supernatural experience?

No. I don’t know where it all came from in my films. The films I was making when I was 13 even had occasional supernatural elements in them so it’s always been there. I guess it’s because of people like Steven Spielberg and George Lucas – those guys were the reason I wanted to make films, they’re the greatest storytellers for kids – but a lot of their films were about something extraordinary happening to a very ordinary family or person. That whole set-up appeals to me.

The Last Airbender is out now on DVD

Shyamalan unaware of “bender” slang use

Rohan — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 03:13:41 +0000

About fews months ago Dev Patel one of the stars in M.Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender defended the use of the term “bender” in The Last Airbender. When he was asked, he told The Times: “It was too integral to the movie. We couldn’t call them fire or air manipulators. It would have been moving too far from the source material.” That’s why he didn’t inform Shyamalan about the term. You can read that article at Digital Spy.

So today, Digital Spy reports that M. Night Shyamalan has admitted that he was unaware of how the term “bender” is used as slang in the UK. Discussing the use of the term in The Last Airbender, Shyamalan told Metro that he did not consider changing the title.

When it was suggested that ‘some immature cinema-goers found dialogue such as, “look out he’s a bender” hilarious’, the director said: “I thought you guys used bender as a term for getting drunk, like, ‘I’m going on a bender’. “I wasn’t aware of that term. It was just the title of the cartoon show.”

He added: “Sometimes the title gets changed for particular territories. The title of my film The Happening was changed in some countries because happening meant party.”

Music in the movies: James Newton Howard

Rohan — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 01:57:38 +0000

A movie’s music is one of its most important aspects; a characteristic that is often taken for granted. A film can reveal so much within its music. Beyond the creepy background music of thrillers that tells you the killer is around the corner, music has the ability to expose characters’ feelings, actions, and a film’s tensions. Thanks to Den of Geek for the article and in their latest music in the movies column, Den of Geek salutes the work of James Newton Howard, the purveyor of themes for many M.Night Shyamalan films.

An accomplished musician at a young age, James Newton Howard studied at the USC School of music, and after he graduated, began a career as a session musician, working with some of the biggest names in the business before embarking on a career as a composer for film and TV. He composed the iconic score for the TV show ER, as well as scoring a wealth of memorable scores for movies over the years.

With the imminent release of The Last Airbender on Blu-ray and DVD, I thought now would be the ideal time to look at his work with the director M. Night Shyamalan, as well as two of my other favourites in his back catalogue…

Wyatt Earp

If I were to pick a genre where the highest number of my favourite scores came from, it would be the western. It seems that the vast majority have amazing scores, and James Newton Howard’s score for the much-maligned Kevin Costner-starring biopic can certainly be ranked alongside some of the best.

The score is as epic as the film itself, with Newton Howard acknowledging scores that came before, but opting for a more reined in approach for much of his work here, but unleashing grand themes when called upon, particularly in the gunfight during the film’s finale.

The Sixth Sense

The first of many collaborations with director M. Night Shyamalan, The Sixth Sense isarguably their finest work together. I was lucky enough to be in America when this film opened, so managed to go in knowing very little about it, which made what unfolded all the more effective.

Despite the gradual dip in quality of the director’s later work, this remains an excellent film that benefits from an eerie scene-setting score that plays on the audience’s emotions, eliciting high levels of sadness as well as being chilling at the same time. A great score for an excellent film.

Unbreakable

For the pair’s second collaboration, Shyamalan sought Newton Howard’s involvement immediately after completing The Sixth Sense. Shyamalan wanted a score that sounded distinct and simple, so Newton Howard limited himself to just strings, trumpets and piano, setting out to record a classic piece of work.

There’s an air of tension and a reoccurring leitmotif that carries much of the piece, and the recording sounds incredible, with large parts of it being recorded in a converted church. Definitely one that comes highly recommended.

Signs

Newton Howard pitches this as though he’s scoring a classic thriller, which helps to elevate the material on screen and portray the required levels of suspense effectively. It’s an incredibly bass-heavy score, which makes for quite an unsettling viewing experience.

Sure, there are flaws in the film, and this isn’t the most adventurous of the composer’s work, but it suits the film perfectly, even if it isn’t the greatest standalone listen due to its relentless nature.

The Village

For his fourth collaboration with Shyamalan, Newton Howard enlisted the help of the Hollywood Studio Symphony and violinist Hilary Hahn to bring his compositions to life. The results are quite fantastic, with Hahn’s work being the highlight.

Like Signs, I think there’s a good idea for a film here. I just feel that it failed to deliver on its early promise. It’s by no means a terrible film, just a mildly disappointing one. So, it’s a shame that Newton Howard’s score is often overlooked, as it’s attached to a maligned film.

The score does exactly what it needs to by creating a sense of an insular community with a mix of curiosity, of fear, and wonder of the outside world, resulting in an Oscar nomination for Best Original Score.

Lady In The Water

Grass dogs and evil tree monkeys are but two of the delights that Shyamalan treats audiences to in what, until recently, was regarded as his worst movie. It’s not without reason, as I struggle to think of a more blatant example of a filmmaker slamming film critics and praising his own genius in a film. It’s a masturbatory mess of a movie that has very few redeeming features other than its score.

Newton Howard makes the most of a large scale orchestra to make this a dramatic and stirring score that is much, much, better than the film deserves. Similarities have been drawn to Morricone’s score for Days Of Heaven, and these comparisons aren’t inaccurate.

There are also some awful Bob Dylan covers in the film that go some way to show how easy it is to ruin great songs.

The Happening

The score here bears similarity to his work on Signs and The Village, in that there’s a reliance on recurring themes and an ominous build of tension. Newton Howard’s work here is fine enough, it’s just a shame that the pay-off on screen doesn’t match the quality of his composition.

However, there’s not enough originality or inventiveness here to recommend the score to even fans of the composer’s. It’s very much a by-the-numbers piece of work.

Blood Diamond

Perhaps the score of Newton Howard’s I listen to most in isolation from its film, this is an incredible score that is one of the finest works of his career. Without exception, all of the pieces here are incredibly well thought out and performed to near perfection. And best of all, it shows off an experimental side that seemed to be lacking from some of his other scores leading up to the film’s release.

The Last Airbender

Okay, the film is obviously rubbish, and will, no doubt, be a prominent feature of the worst film of the year list for many people, but the score is probably one of the best efforts of the year.

Newton Howard has composed a score that far exceeds the quality of the film (not hard, I know), and in my opinion has composed his second best score for a Shyamalan film to date.

Whilst it perhaps lacks the inventiveness of much of his earlier work, he more than makes up for it with a sense of drama by using a huge orchestra to its full potential.

There’s a decent mix of moods, from the ominous and slow build in its opening passages, through to its dramatic finale. There’s little hope in the piece, which is generally quite dark. Comparisons could be made to the scores of John Williams, but it’s much more downbeat than much of that master’s work

M.Night Shyamalan Interviews

Rohan — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 21:22:54 +0000

Thanksgiving is over and hope you guys had a good one with your relatives and friends. This weekend I have been searching the net for some important Shyamalan interviews and I selected 3 good ones which are not that long, but they are useful if you are an aspiring writer or director. The first video is from Devil Premiere which we never posted before. And the last 3 videos are 3 part interviews with Rajeev Masand where Shyamalan talks about his personal life a little bit, The Happening, Lady In The Water, The Last Airbender, The Sixth Sense and all other controversial remarks against him. Check them out. They are not new interviews, but I find them interesting. And make sure to post your comments and let us know your thoughts.

Thanks to ChannelApa for the following video.

The following are 3 part interview with Rajeev Masand. Enjoy!

Today: The Last Airbender on DVD/Blu-ray

Rohan — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 01:58:25 +0000

Director M.Night Shyamalan’s action-filled fantasy based on an animated TV series “Avatar: The Last Airbender” has arrived on DVD and Blu-ray today. The Last Airbender centers on a 12 year old boy who learns he will never be able to lead a normal life because he is a reincarnated Avatar. Only he can keep the peace among the four nations: Water, Fire, Earth and Air. Order your copy of Blu-ray here and a copy of DVD here.

Below is a deleted scene from The Last Airbender in which young Katara shows off her waterbending skills to Master Pakku before elemental lecture. And thanks to UGO for the video.

Win a Last Airbender DVD Double Pack!

Rohan — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 04:18:54 +0000

Director M. Night Shyamalan brings to life the extraordinary journey of an unlikely hero called upon to save his world in The Last Airbender on DVD November 16th from Paramount Home Entertainment and M&C’s giving away four copies of The Last Airbender DVD Double Pack – which includes Avatar: The Last Airbender, Book 1: Water, Chapter 1-5.

Based on the hugely successful animated TV series “Avatar: The Last Airbender”, the live-action film tells the story of four nations, Air, Water, Earth and Fire, locked in an age-old conflict that can only be ended by the Avatar – a single boy with the power to manipulate all four elements.

The film features newcomer Noah Ringer (Cowboys & Aliens) as Aang, the lone Avatar, with Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire), Jackson Rathbone (Twilight saga) and Nicola Peltz (Deck The Halls).

DVD bonus features include:

Origins of the Avatar
Deleted Scenes
Outtakes

To enter, contestants need to provide a name and e-mail address. Upon notification of winning, contestants will have five days to reply with the name and address of where their prize should be sent.

Sorry, but this competition is open to residents of the USA only.

Click here to enter your name and email address. Monsters and Critics

Milla Jovovich wants to be part of Airbender 2

Rohan — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 19:29:47 +0000

The beautiful and talented onscreen actress-model Milla Jovovich sits with the folks at A.V Club to discuss about the new installment in Resident Evil series where she also brought up a short conversation about M.Night Shyamalan’s controversial film “The Last Airbender”. She reveals her desires to be a part of THE LAST AIRBENDER 2.

AVC: And yet it’s almost a career risk for a woman to be an action star. There are only a handful who’ve carried franchises – Linda Hamilton, Sigourney Weaver, Angelina Jolie…

MJ: I never looked at it like that before. What made it real to me was that it was something I really loved. I love the training, learning the stunts, doing them. I love feeling that power – doing things you could never actually do in life – like flying and doing backflips in the air! Like, I came over on a plane yesterday, and one the two movies I chose to watch were The Karate Kid and The Last Airbender, which I thought was awesome

AVC: The M. Night Shyamalan movie?

MJ: The action sequences were so good, and that little boy killed me. And I was all, like, in airbending mode the whole car ride home. I can’t help it. I love martial-arts movies. I grew up with my dad watching kung-fu theater every Sunday. So it was kind of my thing. I really want my agent to make sure they write a part in the next Airbender movie for me. I’ll be really upset if I don’t get to be a waterbender or something.

So far, The Last Airbender has earned an impressive earning from all the theatres around the earth and currently sits on $308.2 million, yet there are no words on a sequel being green-lit for production. We the fans of M.Night Shyamalan, of course, and personaly myself like the idea of seeing the talented Milla Jovovich to be in a M.Night Shyamalan film and we all would love to see her in The Last Airbender 2 as well as she is a capable action star. So, what you guys think of Milla’s comments and do you think M.Night would lock her in for The Last Airbender sequel if Paramount says the word “Yes” for the sequel?

To read the rest of her interview, jump here.

The Last Airbender jumps clean over $300M worldwide

Rohan — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 01:43:50 +0000

According to Box Office Mojo, M.Night Shyamalan’s THE LAST AIRBENDER passed $300M worldwide by adding another $6.5M to its international take of $168.9M. In domestic box office “The Last Airbender” is currently sitting on $131M. The film is a live-action film adaptation based on the first season of the animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender.

The Last Airbender is currently playing in 2,017 venues over 30 different territories across the earth and will be opening in theatres this October, 15th in Sweden. The Last Airbender Blu-Ray and DVD will be on the shelves in the US on November 16, 2010.

Source: Box Office Mojo & The Last Airbender Fans

M. Night Fans » The Last Airbender

How I would have converted The Last Airbender from TV season to Film

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