Quiet, sad, delicate, intelligent,the site wrote.
Its a story told with long takes, calm dialogue, and nary a stitch of spandex.
At the time of its inception, however, Shyamalan was just hoping the movie would save his career.
Credit: ILLUSTRATION by CUN SHI for EW
I remember writing the script, doing one of the last touches on a draft, he says.
It was the dayThe Sixth Senseopened, and I read theNew York Timesreviewand it was not good at all.
And I was like, Theyre going to trash me.
Frank Masi
So I said, Lets just write the next thing and concentrate on this comic-book hero.
Here, the director and his cast look back atUnbreakables beginnings and its yet-to-be-drawn conclusion.
He shared the idea for his next film with hisSixth Sensecollaborators.
M. NIGHT SHYAMALAN (writer-director)I was thinking about a plane crash.
And about one person surviving and that person being untouched.
And then that person realizes that he is a superhero.
Derek Thompson
I remember the feeling of dread and excitement in the bedroom when I thought of it.
But I wanted it to be as grounded as possible.
And my instinct was to be slightly concerned about that.
Frank Masi
But as I understood what he was going after, I became excited by the very clear metaphor.
There are lots of people in the world who are not doing the thing that really turns them on.
Night has found this through becoming a filmmaker and pursuing his dream.
Derek Thompson
SHYAMALANAnytime I wrote a scene that was too comic-bookish, I yanked it out.
It became about being out of sync.
He said it was a combination of a superhero story and a familial story with some comic-book mythology.
I saw my part as a mild, withdrawn guy who suddenly finds out little things about himself.
And we all can do that.
Sometimes were not fully aware of whats happening to us.
Frank Masi
He continued toiling on theUnbreakablescript, which he lugged around in a bag.
SAMUEL L. JACKSON (Elijah Price/Mr.
I was like, Hmm, could it be?
Then I heard his voice and said, ItisBruce.
WILLISAnd I said, ItisSam.
JACKSONAnd Bruce went, Sam, theres this guy whos writing a script for us.
And he called M. Night on the phone and Night says to me, This is amazing.
Im writing one of your scenes right now.
SHYAMALANIt was some crazy coincidence.
And you know me, as with everything: Oh, must be a sign!
I asked Sam if he liked the subject of comic books.
JACKSONIm in [the L.A. comic-book store] Golden Apple, like, twice a month.
So my answer was Yes and Ill do it.
It was a ridiculous conceit, because the subject matter is so gratuitous, you know?
PHILDELPHIA FREEDOM
Disney, ShyamalansSixth Sensestudio, gave him a $73 million budget.
The film contains dozens of shots that last minutes without a cut.
WILLISThat was the first time Id experienced a director shooting long takes like that.
Ive been in long sequences but mostly in action movies, and I dont putUnbreakablein that category.
These long takes were revelatory.
But for the reshoot, it was all done in one long take and very quickly.
Most of that shot is seen through a mirror.
Night never did anything straight ahead.
SHYAMALANYou get an incredible hit of specificity doing it that way.
You dont get any latitude of any kind.
We were doing one or two shots a day, thats all.
It was a four-minute scene, all in one take, and we filmed it nine times.
It was so taxing on all of us, and not just because it was an emotional scene.
Eduardo Serra, who was our cinematographer, was sweating bullets.
SHYAMALANThe camera operator at one point walked off the set because I was like, No.
You have to pan here with his line here.
You have to listen to the actors.
He just stormed off, and I was like, Im sorry.
I remember feeling like I dont know if I can do the entire shoot like this.
CLARKAnd then that same night, Night had gotten an original print ofJawsfrom Spielberg.
Thats the holy grail of grounded, edgy entertainment.
The balls of suspense and humor and humanity all perfectly juggled.
DYLAN TICHENOR (editor)There are only a couple of cuts in the first 10 minutes ofUnbreakable.
The pace of the film is slow, and the build is more emotional than physical.
Night wanted to make a superhero movie that wasnt an action movie, and it was a big challenge.
All of that went on the cutting-room floor.
Night decided less was more.
SHYAMALANThere was a real struggle with how to do the action sequences.
I was adamant that the story never deteriorate into a kind of mano a mano action movie.
So I worked on the movie for 13 days, but I was in Philadelphia for three months.
It was great for him.
Okay for me, too.
I got to play a lot of golf.
WILLISI really like the last scene when Im taking Robin Wright up the stairs.
Going up the stairs I like it.
SHYAMALANThat was an incredibly difficult shot, which I remember it took us forever to accomplish it.
I think it was 11 hours.
It was meant to be a finished illustration by a comic artist who was kind of a purist.
Its background was a whole wall of broken glass.
I dont think thats in the film.
There was meant to be a progression of cuts getting closer and closer to this piece.
In the finished film you never see the artwork.
And as Bruce Willis is looking closer and closer he realizes that this entity is Mr. Glass.
Hes overcome with the revelation and hes overcome with emotion.
It had this powerful, haunted ambiguity to it.
But the idea was that this was meant to be an Act One movie.
It was meant to tee up two more films.
SHYAMALANNo, it was never meant to be a totally internal thing.
I dont ever recall it that way.
I think thats all referring to the post-handshake revelation.
They needed to touch, which theyd never done.
So I always saw the ending as Sam saying, Nows the time we shake hands.
After they shake hands, Bruce has a flash and realizes that his mentor is a supervillain.
Then he looks at the walls and puts it all together.
JACKSONI actually have two original drawings of me and Bruce that were done for the film.
Theyre great theyre in my screening room.
TICHENORNight had a concept of highlighting colors, and it was used to visually represent Bruce Willis power.
He would get these flashes, these visions, when he brushed up against people.
Then, of course, our main bad guy is wearing a big orange jumpsuit.
I was 13 and I remember that rattling me so much.
CHANCE KELLY (Orange Suit Man)People always repeat that line to me, Can I come in?
I like your house.
That was the line I auditioned with.
Thats as dark as it gets.
And I had to separate myself from it.
SHYAMALANThere was a philosophy behind all the shots in the movie.
Theres something about that angle that we associate our terrors with.
WILLISI had no dialogue in that sequence.
It was a beautiful exercise in trying to avoid telling the audience what was happening with me.
David has a phobia of water, which is his kryptonite.
But its all very underplayed.
Its highly dramatic, but Night had a way of letting the audience figure it out.
THE SEVENTH SENSE
Unbreakablegrossed $95 million but was considered a disappointment compared withThe Sixth Sense.
Shyamalanwas hurt by the reaction and shelved his plans for a trilogy.
SHYAMALANI remember our Philly premiere.
JACKSONIts like when people talk aboutJackie Brownand they go, Well, thats a disappointment for Quentin.
No, no, its not.
Its a great movie.
It just isntPulp Fiction 2.Unbreakableis an amazing movie.
It just isntThe Second Senseor whatever the f that movie was.
WILLISI was never disappointed byUnbreakable.
If a film makes money, great.
If it doesnt, I dont judge.
I would watch it right now and get hooked.
JACKSONComic-book people know what the movies all about.
Yeah, there will always be other people who never get it.
TICHENORMaybe some people were disappointed by the films pace.
But then an equal or I think maybe greater number of people were ultimately grateful for its pace.
And for its concentration on an internal struggle.
I was 29 or whatever, and so I was like, Huh, okay.
And so they sold it more as an amorphous thriller.
NINA JACOBSON (Disneys then production president)I do remember conversations about Shyamalan and the twist.
Whats the twist gonna be?
But we were pre-Marvel.
SHYAMALANI didnt have any opinion in the marketing.
And I said, Were not doing this again.
And I told him, Absolutely nothing.
History tells you how successful you are.
It stands the test of time.
The director and stars say its not completely out of the question.
It has to be organic and has to come from the right place otherwise itll smell of artificiality.
But its fascinating how much its stuck around.
I do think about it a lot.
JACKSONPeople talk to me about that movie all the time.
It would have cemented everything he was trying to say if he had done the trilogy.
JACOBSONI remember conversations about the ending.
The hero walking away from the villain always troubled me.
And to leave so much unknown was something I wondered aloud about to Night.
So maybe there should be a sequel.
SHYAMALANWhen Im at Comic-Cons and all this, everybody says, Are you going to make a sequel?
ButUnbreakableisnt even a comic-book movie.
Its a drama about the subject of comic books.
But theres something about these tropes.
Bruce is still around.
And Id love to break out of the asylum.
