Pedigree: Shyamalan's stock is low, but don't forget the thrill of his early films, and this is a sexy cast. Estimated budget: $57 million. Predicted box office: $170 million (US gross), $370 million (worldwide).

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While rumour had him as a Hollywood pariah following Lady In The Water, M. Night Shyamalan has been quietly going about business as usual. After a few tweaks to his idea, 20th Century Fox stepped aboard The Happening, although, significantly, to offset the risk they have split the modest budget of $57 million with a Mumbai-based company called UTV.

The director has spoken of it as "a paranoid thriller about a family on the run from a natural crisis that presents a large-scale threat to humanity". Filmed in and around his familiar Philadelphia (home to all his films), the cast includes Mark Wahlberg, John Leguizamo and Zooey Deschanel. This being Shyamalan, the internet is a-buzz with potential plot descriptions, the most intriguing of which has the crisis surrounding a virus that drives people to suicide. Well, it certainly seems he's moved back into more shocking territory...

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The 25 Most Exciting Films Of 2008 ~ Select A Film ~
	Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull
	Hellboy II: The Golden Army
	Hancock
	Wanted
	Iron Man
	The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor
	Blindness
	Son Of Rambow
	The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian
	Jumper
	Get Smart
	Frost / Nixon
	The Incredible Hulk
	Burn After Reading
	The Dark Knight
	Speed Racer
	Pineapple Express
	The Happening
	Valkyrie
	Wall-E
	Sex And The City: The Movie
	Quantum Of Solace
	Star Trek
	Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince
	Where The Wild Things Are

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