M. Night Shyamalan

Has in his office posters from 3 of his most favorite movies: Raiders of the Lost Ark , The Exorcist , and Die Hard .

Favorite film of all time is Raiders of the Lost Ark .

Favorite film of all time is Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).

His six favorite movies are Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), The Exorcist (1973), Die Hard (1988), Psycho (1960), Nayakan (1987) and Reservoir Dogs (1992).

Has in his office posters from 3 of his most favorite movies: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), The Exorcist (1973), and Die Hard (1988).

1988 Graduate of Episcopal Academy.

Graduate of Waldron and Episcopal academies; NYU Tisch School of the Arts.

Graduate of Waldron and Episcopal academies; NYU (1992) Tisch School of the Arts.

His Wide Awake was one of the year's lowest-grossing, least- profitable films; in contrast, The Sixth Sense was 1999's No.2 box-office phenomenon, surpassed only by Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace .

Aside from Wide Awake and The Happening , Shyamalan has a credited appearance in each of the feature films he has directed.

Aside from Wide Awake (1998) and The Happening (2008), Shyamalan has a credited appearance in each of the feature films he has directed.

His Wide Awake (1998) was one of the year's lowest-grossing, least- profitable films; in contrast, The Sixth Sense (1999) was 1999's No.2 box-office phenomenon, surpassed only by Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999).

Has worked with two Academy Award-nominated child actors. He led the first one to a nomination (Haley Joel Osment in "The Sixth Sense" ), and he discovered the second (Abigail Breslin in "Signs" ), who was nominated for "Little Miss Sunshine" .

His inspiration for The Sixth Sense was based on an episode from "Are You Afraid of the Dark?: The Tale of the Dream Girl (#3.10)" directed by David Winning.

His three supernatural thrillers, The Sixth Sense , Unbreakable , and Signs , grossed over $1.3 billion worldwide.

Has a reputation for attaining A-list actors of his first choice to star in his films, in roles specifically written for them. Shyamalan was able to cast Bruce Willis in The Sixth Sense , Samuel L. Jackson in Unbreakable , Mel Gibson in Signs , Joaquin Phoenix in The Village , Paul Giamatti in Lady in the Water , and Mark Wahlberg in his next project, The Happening .

Made many films using a video camera when he was young. When his theatrical films go to DVD, he puts in a scene from one of his childhood films that marks his first attempt at the same kind of movie. The Sixth Sense includes the ghost story Nightmare on Old Gulf, Unbreakable includes the action movie Millionaire, Signs includes the monster movie Pictures, and The Village includes an untitled period piece.

Has a reputation for attaining A-list actors of his first choice to star in his films, in roles specifically written for them. Shyamalan was able to cast Bruce Willis in The Sixth Sense (1999), Samuel L. Jackson in Unbreakable (2000), Mel Gibson in Signs (2002), Joaquin Phoenix in The Village (2004), Paul Giamatti in Lady in the Water (2006), and Mark Wahlberg in his next project, The Happening (2008).

His inspiration for The Sixth Sense (1999) was based on an episode from "Are You Afraid of the Dark?: The Tale of the Dream Girl (#3.10)" (1994) directed by David Winning.

Has worked with two Academy Award-nominated child actors. He led the first one to a nomination (Haley Joel Osment in "The Sixth Sense" (1999)), and he discovered the second (Abigail Breslin in "Signs" (2002)), who was nominated for "Little Miss Sunshine" (2006).

His three supernatural thrillers, The Sixth Sense (1999), Unbreakable (2000), and Signs (2002), grossed over $1.3 billion worldwide.

Made many films using a video camera when he was young. When his theatrical films go to DVD, he puts in a scene from one of his childhood films that marks his first attempt at the same kind of movie. The Sixth Sense (1999) includes the ghost story Nightmare on Old Gulf, Unbreakable (2000) includes the action movie Millionaire, Signs (2002) includes the monster movie Pictures, and The Village includes an untitled period piece.

He is an avid comic book fan, which was made apparent in his film Unbreakable .

Said in the bonus disk that the movie Unbreakable was made from what started as only the first third of the original script. He said he felt no connection to the last two thirds of the text and decided to discard them.

Said in the bonus disk that the movie Unbreakable (2000) was made from what started as only the first third of the original script. He said he felt no connection to the last two thirds of the text and decided to discard them.

He is an avid comic book fan, which was made apparent in his film Unbreakable (2000).

One of the first scripts he sold was called "Labor of Love" about a man who walks across country to prove his love for his recently deceased wife. As of March 2001, it has still not been made.

Recipient of Episcopal Acamemy's 2001 Distinguished Alumni Award.

One of the first scripts he sold was called "Labor of Love" about a man who walks across country to prove his love for his recently deceased wife. As of March 2001, it has still not been made.

Recipient of Episcopal Acamemy's 2001 Distinguished Alumni Award.

Became the highest paid screenwriter in Hollywood when Disney gave him $5 million to write Signs .

Became the highest paid screenwriter in Hollywood when Disney gave him $5 million to write Signs (2002).

Ranked #21 in Premiere's 2003 annual Power 100 List. Had ranked #64 in 2002.

Ranked #21 in Premiere's 2003 annual Power 100 List. Had ranked #64 in 2002.

Ranked #23 in Premiere's 2004 annual Power 100 List. He was the 5th-highest ranked director. Had ranked #21 in 2003.

Ranked #23 in Premiere's 2004 annual Power 100 List. He was the 5th-highest ranked director. Had ranked #21 in 2003.

Ranked #30 on Premiere's 2005 Power 50 List. Had ranked #23 in 2004.

Ranked #30 on Premiere's 2005 Power 50 List. Had ranked #23 in 2004.

He and Dan Aykroyd, are the only two men to direct themselves in performances that "won" them a Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor. Shyamalan "won" the award for, and also directed, the film Lady in the Water .

He and Dan Aykroyd, are the only two men to direct themselves in performances that "won" them a Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor. Shyamalan "won" the award for, and also directed, the film Lady in the Water (2006).