The Man Who Heard Voices: Or, How M. Night Shyamalan Risked His Career on a Fairy Tale

In The Man Who Heard Voices, journalist Michael Bamberger takes readers inside Shyamalan’s world for the first time, getting total access to the man who has been called "the modern-day Hitchcock" as he prepares, creates, and test-screens his next film, Lady in the Water, which stars Paul Giamatti (star of Sideways) as a building superintendent and Bryce Howard (star of The Village) as a mysterious sea nymph. Bamberger’s intimate perspective and insightful narrative prose will bring to life Shyamalan’s creative process—from his multiple drafts and revisions of the screenplay to his on-location work with his cinematographer and crew and his relationships with the actors under his direction. The book also follows the high- stakes business decisions behind the scenes, including his agonizing decision to move from Disney to Warner Bros. for this film, his involvement in the studio’s massive marketing campaign, and the evaluation of the crucial initial test-screening of the film.