Stephen Gaghan Re-Writes M. Night Shyamalan's ONE THOUSAND A.E.
Oscar winning Traffic writer turns in final draft for Signs and The Sixth Sense helmer's new apocalyptic drama that stars Will Smith and Jaden Smith.
The increasingly baffling auteur M. Night Shyamalan has spent the last year quietly working on his next movie, the sci-fi apocalyptic blockbuster One Thousand A.E., whilst he awaits his long set lead Will Smith's schedule to free up. Smith has spent the year shooting Men in Black 3 but as that project is now coming to a close, Shyamalan will be hoping that Smith's interest is still strong and that they can get moving on the Sony Pictures tentpole that is due to start filming in February. If for no other reason, Shayamalan needs the box office boost the biggest film star on the planet can give him! One Thousand A.E. is based around a father and son who land on Earth 1,000 years after it has been abandoned by mankind. We don't know the plot convictions for how/why this has happened just yet but we do know the movie follows the son helping the badly injured father battle the elements in the now deadly terrain. Will Smith and his Karate Kid starring son Jaden Smith will lead, the latest family project from the Smith family. One of the more promising signs about One Thousand A.E. is that Shyamalan, who we all know by now is a better director than writer having ran out of intriguing ideas after his 2002 film Signs, has decided to make a film from somebody elses screenplay for the first time, a move we've suggested for years. His nine previous films have him listed as sole screenwriter. Book of Eli writer Gary Whitta has crafted the screenplay (which Shyamalan did do a polish on) and now Variety reports that Stephen Gaghan (Oscar winning writer of Traffic) has just completed a re-write. Shyamalan is so impressed by his work he may keep him around and even bring him to the set during filming. We haven't seen any of Gaghan's work since he made Syriana in 2005 but he has a CV with some strong work with the aforementioned Traffic and the decent court room thriller Rules of Engagement (2000). One Thousand A.E. has a June 7th, 2013 release date set. Shyamalan is wisely banking on the Smith/Summer blockbuster formula still being strong to help him out of his current mire.