M. Night Shyamalan

Born in Puducherry, India, and raised in the posh suburban Penn Valley area of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 'M. Night Shyamalan' (qv) is a film director, screenwriter, producer, and occasional actor, known for making movies with contemporary supernatural plots.He is the son of Jayalakshmi, a Tamil obstetrician and gynecologist, and 'Nelliate C. Shyamalan' (qv), a Malayali doctor. His passion for filmmaking began when he was given a Super-8 camera at age eight, and even at that young age began to model his career on that of his idol, 'Steven Spielberg' (qv). His first film, _Praying with Anger (1992)_ (qv), was based somewhat on his own trip back to visit the India of his birth. He raised all the funds for this project, in addition to directing, producing and starring in it. _Wide Awake (1998)_ (qv), his second film, he wrote and directed, and shot it in the Philadelphia-area Catholic school he once attended--even though his family was of a different religion, they sent him to that school because of its strict discipline.Shyamalan gained international recognition when he wrote and directed 1999's _The Sixth Sense (1999)_ (qv), which was a commercial success and later nominated for six Academy 'Awards' (qv), including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. Shyamalan team up again with 'Bruce Willis' (qv) in the film _Unbreakable (2000)_ (qv), released in 2000, which he also he also wrote and directed.His major films include the science fiction thriller _Signs (2002)_ (qv), the psychological thriller _The Village (2004)_ (qv), the fantasy thriller _Lady in the Water (2006)_ (qv), _The Happening (2008)_ (qv), _The Last Airbender (2010)_ (qv), _After Earth (2013)_ (qv), and the horror films _The Visit (2015)_ (qv) and _Split (2016)_ (qv).::< mwprods@mindspring.com> and Pedro Borges