About book The Man Who Heard Voices: Or, How M. Night Shyamalan Risked His Career On A Fairy Tale (2006)
Indeed this is a very absorbing account. Excluding the end results of the film Lady in the Water, which the narration primarily focuses on, it became obvious what inspiration/creativity is not. The making of the film The Sixth Sense may have better represented this territory. And still, I give The Man Who Heard Voices five stars because any book that ties me to each page until the tail end is inspiration, in and of itself. In its own right it has done its job. Off the top, the writing is inviting. The short sentences...the opening...tapping on all the bits lending into the making of the film...what Night (writer and director) was hearing and thinking, along with specks from many of the actor's and crew's lives kept the momentum going, holding my attention. I read along in awe at some of the audacity, but then understanding too some of what Night must have been experiencing. Also, I didn't recognize Paul's name at first sight, but after checking IMDb's database, whaala, I learned he is one of my favorite actors! A really nice surprise, not to mention, I loved the portrayal of him (and his father!). And of course, Chris Doyle was a riot and some...at least initially. If anyone caught me laughing while I was reading this book, it undoubtedly was at something Chris was saying or doing. Albeit, towards the end his antics become a little tiring. The best part, or should I clarify, the overall enamoring facet are the eye-droplets of film-making tidbits coupling around a very sage premise which now convinces me of exactly what inspiration/creativity is. Very interesting read.
This is the most extraordinary book on the process of film-making I've ever read (and I've read more than a few!) The author was given unprecedented access to his subject, and as an existing fan of Night's films, the insight into his creative process was absolutely fascinating. It helps that I think "Lady in the Water" is a magical, beautiful, sadly underrated film. After reading this book, I have more respect than ever for the absolutely complete commitment a filmmaker makes to creating a film he is proud of, regardless of how that film is received by the public. Fascinating.
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I'm fascinated by behind-the-scenes accounts of movie making. Bamberger did a great job trimming the fat, and I didn't book the book down once I started reading it. (Ok, I did once, but that's because it was one o'clock in the morning and my eyes decided to punch out.)M. Night Shyamalan is a fascinating guy, and sounds like the kind of director I want to be when I grow up. Occasionally, Bamberger's descriptions veered close to hero-worship, but for the most part, he was pretty even-handed.If you watched Lady in the Water and thought (like I did), "Shyamalan has no idea what he's doing," you should read this book. The movie may not have impressed many people, but this book makes it clear that nothing about it was unintentional.
—Christian
I've never been a huge Shyamalan fan, and flat out hated the film that this book covers. It made for a fascinating read. the author gets fantastic insight in Night, and you get an up close look at creative ego unrestrained. It's a polite book, not a character assassination, but because it's so unguarded Night nor the Hollywood system come off looking all that great. Anyways, if you want to get an interesting look into how a high profile director works in the Hollywood system, you probably couldn't do better then this book.
—Russell Grant
