Saturday, August 14, 2004

I Went to the Movies Last Night...


...and what did I see but The Village. I went because the controversy regarding whether or not M. Night Shyamalon ripped off a YA book from 1995 got me all psyched to see the movie. Once again, I am not revealing the name of the book because I've read it. If you have read it, knowing that it shares some plot elements with The Village will ruin the movie for you. Since the movie has some big gaps in logic, anyway, I don't want to make anyone's viewing experience any worse then it needs to be.

Okay, here is my spin on the movie/book controversy: Yes, there is a similar basic plot. However, Shyamalon adds a couple of romances while the author of the YA book adds a sinister plot. And Shyamalon romanticizes the behavior of some of the characters while the author of the YA book holds them responsible for their actions.

I think the similarity could easily just be a coincidence. For one thing, how expensive could it have been to have bought the rights to this YA book? The book did okay, but we're not talking Harry Potter, here. Why would someone with as big a name as Shyamalon risk all this hassle by ripping off a book he could have easily bought the film rights for? It doesn't make sense.

But then, this is the guy who had a blind girl fight a bad guy in the woods and win. So...

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