He’s gone on to find superstardom and Academy Award-winning accolades with roles like “Joker,” but actor Joaquin Phoenix’s path to the A-list was arguably paved with the help of filmmaker M. Night Shylaman, who cast him in 2002’s “Signs” and 2004’s “Signs” almost back to back. The two haven’t collaborated since, but it’s not for lack of trying.

Continue reading Joaquin Phoenix Almost Starred in M. Night Shylaman’s ‘Split’ & Dropped Out 2 Weeks Prior at The Playlist.

M. Night Shyamalan doesn’t leave much room for nuance. He never has. You can see that much in the critical and audience responses to his now two decades of filmmaking, beginning with “The Sixth Sense” in 1999. You can also see it in the films themselves, whose quality so often hinge entirely on whether you buy a startling third-act answer to a question you may never have asked.

Continue reading Searching For Meaning In M. Night Shyamalan’s Unlikely Cinematic Universe [Podcast] at The Playlist.

Sure, it’s the middle of January, and thus the doldrums of winter at the box office. But in the modern film industry, where tentpoles are launched every month, January 18 is the perfect time to release the trilogy-ending superhero film from a popular director that ends a story that began almost 20 years ago. So, as a surprise to exactly no one, “Glass” debuted this weekend and easily won the domestic box office.

Continue reading ‘Glass’ Falls Below Expectations But Wins Weekend Box Office As ‘Dragon Ball’ Is The Real Surprise at The Playlist.

Actor Samuel L. Jackson finds himself starring in some of the most highly-anticipated films over the next year. Just this weekend, he lent his voice to the massive kid’s film “Incredibles 2,” returning as the hero known as Frozone. However, that’s not all the superhero work he’s got coming up. He returns to the iconic role of Nick Fury in next year’s “Captain Marvel.” But perhaps most exciting is his return to the “Unbreakable” universe in the upcoming film “Glass.”

But according to Jackson, he didn’t realize “Glass” was even on the horizon.

Continue reading Samuel L. Jackson Didn’t Know About the ‘Split’/’Unbreakable’ Connection Until He Saw The Film at The Playlist.

Santa Claus may have come and gone, but in the film world, everyone is still making their list and checking it twice. There’s just a few days left on the calendar for 2017, and everyone is sharing their rundown of the best the year had to offer at the movies.

Over at IMDB and Rotten Tomates, they’ve crunched the numbers to determine the “best” films of the year. IMDB obviously leans very blockbuster, and seems more subject to films that underwhelmed at the box office and received mixed to thoroughly awful reviews, but were pushed by fanboys (here’s looking at you “Alien: Covenant” and “Justice League“).

Continue reading IMDB & Rotten Tomatoes Top Films Of 2017 at The Playlist.

The most high falutin’ best of the year list always belongs to Cahiers du Cinema who, when they aren’t going hardcore arthouse, are making bonkers mainstream selections. True to form, they’ve lived up to their reputation in 2017.

David Lynch‘s “Twin Peaks: The Return” has topped the list, which will once again stoke the Film Twitter fire and debate over, What is cinema? It’s a boring conversation and argument, so I’ll leave that to the turtlenecks and clove cigarette smokers to figure out.

Continue reading Cahiers Du Cinema’s Best Films Of 2017 Includes ‘Twin Peaks,’ ‘Get Out,’ ‘Split,’ More at The Playlist.

Sometimes a filmmaker appears down and out and destined for director’s jail, but M. Night Shyamalan’s “Split” proved going back to low budget basics can regalvanize a career. “Split” was an unqualified success at the box office with a haul grossing $277 million worldwide off a $9 million dollar budget. If you saw “Split,” you know that the twist ending reveals that the film is a “soft sequel” to Shyamalan’s 2000 film “Unbreakable.” Shyamalan will be exploring more of this territory with his newest film “Glass,” set to be released in 2019.

Continue reading M. Night Shyamalan Taps The M. Night Shyamalan Universe For ‘Unbreakable/Spilt’ Sequel at The Playlist.

Boy, the career of M. Night Shyamalan has had more twists and turns than an M. Night Shyamalan movie. He went from director of a virtually unseen indie debut, to an Oscar-nominated overnight success with “The Sixth Sense,” to a golden boy unable to do wrong with “Unbreakable” and “Signs,” to a critical piñata with “Lady In The Water” and “The Happening,” to blockbuster-flop helmer (and also still a critical piñata) with “After Earth” and “The Last Airbender,” to the director of well-executed, low-budget, career-reviving horror movies.

Continue reading M. Night Shyamalan Officially Announces His ‘Unbreakable’/‘Split’ Crossover Sequel ‘Glass’ at The Playlist.

With most of the country getting their living rooms ready for game day, and Hollywood serving up some lukewarm fare at the multiplex, it’s not a surprise that one of January’s biggest hits is holding on strong in February.

M. Night Shyamalan‘s “Split” topped the box office for the third straight week, taking in $14.5 million. It brings the domestic haul to just a shade under $100 million, and it’s the first time the director has had a movie top the charts for three weeks since “The Sixth Sense.” Again, if there’s any doubt, Shyamalan is back.

Continue reading ‘Split’ Slices The Competition In Third Straight Week, ‘Space Between Us’ Flops [Box Office] at The Playlist.

The weekend arrived with new movies offering a little bit of everything — cutesy family fare, another franchise sequel, and an A-list drama vehicle — but audiences wanted more M. Night Shyamalan.

“Split” topped the box office for the second straight week, bringing in an excellent $26.2 million, and seeing a week-to-week drop of 34.3%. Generally speaking, thriller/horror fare starts off big, then fades away fast, but it seems word-of-mouth and strong reviews are keeping the movie tickets selling for this one.

Continue reading ‘Split’ Wins Second Straight Weekend, ‘La La Land’ Crosses $200 Million Worldwide [Box Office] at The Playlist.

**Spoilers ahead, obviously** This weekend, M. Night Shyamalan proved that the success of “The Visit” wasn’t a fluke. The director’s comeback was secured with “Split,” his second hit in a row, and a movie that going in, every moviegoer thought was an original twisty thriller….however, the last few minutes really changed the game.

You can get the full breakdown of how it unfolds right here along with Shyamalan’s explanation of how it originated, but the short version is this: James McAvoy‘s villain not only survives “Split,” it turns out the movie takes place in the same universe as “Unbreakable,” complete with a cameo by Bruce Willis, and a mention of Samuel L.

Continue reading M. Night Shyamalan Says His Next Movie Will Follow Through On The Big Twist Ending To ‘Split’ at The Playlist.

It’s been a helluva week, with Donald Trump becoming the first Buffoon In Chief of the United States, while women hit the streets around the world to protest the misogynist, xenophobic new leader of the free world. And somewhere in there, moviegoers found time to make the new movie from Indian-American M. Night Shyamalan the number one picture at the box office. Rebellions are built on hope…

Riding strong reviews, “Split” wowed with $40 million and change to take the top spot at the multiplex this weekend and become the fourth-biggest January opening of all time.

Continue reading Audiences Unite For M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Split’ [Box Office] at The Playlist.

So, just how big is the final twist of M. Night Shyamalan‘s “Split“? Well, a member in the audience that I saw the film with screamed. Twice. And the second time, it was a sustained, very excited howl which included fist pumps. So yes, it’s pretty damn big, and obviously, don’t read further if you don’t want to know. But in case anybody is just skimming over this…

**MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD, SERIOUSLY**

**I’M NOT KIDDING, BIG SPOILERS LAY AHEAD**

Okay, with that out of the way, here’s what happens: After kidnapping three girls, and killing two of them, James McAvoy‘s Kevin remains on the run.

Continue reading M. Night Shyamalan Talks The Hugely Surprising Twist Behind ‘Split’ at The Playlist.

After a string of critical and audience failures like “After Earth” and “The Happening,” M. Night Shyamalan seemed destined to remain merely a punch line for his signature twist endings and declining quality. But with 2015’s “The Visit” and his latest film “Split,” the director is finally returning to his status as a capable thriller helmer who knows how to keep the audience engaged and pleasantly unsettled.

Continue reading Suspense-Filled ‘Split’ Is A Return To Form For M. Night Shyamalan [Review] at The Playlist.

M. Night Shyamalan has a new movie in theaters this week, “Split,” in which James McAvoy plays a man with 23 personalities who kidnaps three teenage girls. Shyamalan came to fame (and the billing of “the next Spielberg”) thanks to three big hits in a row, “The Sixth Sense,” “Unbreakable” and “Signs,” but thanks to those, he also became a byword not just for artful genre films, but also “Twilight Zone”-style shocking twist endings.

Continue reading The 50 Best Movie Plot Twists Of All Time at The Playlist.

M. Night Shyamalan is back in multiplexes this weekend with “Split,” his new thriller starring James McAvoy as a man with split personalities….and that’s all I want to know until I see the movie myself. And while the film apparently has one of the director’s trademark twist endings, you might be surprised to learn that Shyamalan looked to the arthouse for some inspiration for his new movie.

Continue reading M. Night Shyamalan Explains How ‘Dogtooth’ Influenced ‘Split’ at The Playlist.

Happy new year dear Playlist readers (or: how I learned to stop worrying and try to forget that 2016 ever happened). As we move forward in these crazy times, we look to the movies for not just entertainment, but perhaps a little hope, guidance and perspective. And so, we kick off 2017 with a look at what’s coming to theaters this month.

As per usual, this time of year sees most theaters still packed and playing awards titles and the latest Disney mega blockbuster (“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” is, of course, still killing it at the box office), with slim pickings in the truly new release department.

Continue reading 10 Films To See In January at The Playlist.

Who would’ve thought it would be modestly budgeted horror that would allow M. Night Shyamalan to get his mojo back? But that’s just what happened, with the director scoring a hit last year with the no frills “The Visit.” Now he’s back with “Split,” and if advance word from the surprise screening at Fantastic Fest last month is anything to go by, he’s done it again.

Continue reading James McAvoy Gets Creepy In New Trailer For M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Split’ at The Playlist.

Sometimes, survival in Hollywood means leaning how to adapt, and credit to M. Night Shyamalan as he’s done just that. While kicking of his career with movies like “The Sixth Sense,” “Unbreakable,” and “Signs,” the director hit some serious bumps in the road, that would’ve stopped many filmmakers in their tracks (seriously, “The Last Airbender” would’ve been a career killer for some).

Continue reading First Trailer For M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Split’ Starring James McAvoy at The Playlist.