Writer-director M. Night Shyamalan has left the United Talent Agency after more than 10 years, following such big names as Jim Carrey and Will Ferrell out the door. He has signed with Creative Artists Agency, the industry leader.
UTA signed Shyamalan before he made “The Sixth Sense,” the 1999 movie that thrust him onto the A-list, earning him Oscar nominations for best director and original screenplay. The movie became a box office phenomenon, grossing $293.5 million. Shyamalan became one of the highest-paid writer-directors in Hollywood — he earned $5 million for writing his “Sixth Sense” follow-up “Unbreakable.”
In the summer, he wrote and directed “Lady in the Water,” which made only $42.2 million. He also was the subject of a book by Michael Bamberger, “The Man Who Heard Voices: Or, How M. Night Shyamalan Risked His Career on a Fairy Tale.”
[Reuters]