The Happening (2008 film)

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The Happening (2008 film)
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	M. Night Shyamalan
Produced by	Barry Mendel Sam Mercer M. Night Shyamalan
Written by	M. Night Shyamalan
Starring	Mark Wahlberg Zooey Deschanel John Leguizamo
Music by	James Newton Howard
Cinematography	Tak Fujimoto
Editing by	Conrad Buff
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	June 13, 2008
Running time	91 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	US $57 million
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

The Happening is a R rated 2008 American apocalyptic film written, co-produced and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. It stars Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel. Production began in August 2007 in Philadelphia. The Happening will be released on Friday, June 13, 2008, deliberately planned to fall on Friday the 13th.

1 Cast
2 Plot
3 Production
4 Soundtrack
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Cast

Mark Wahlberg as Elliot Moore, a high school science teacher from Philadelphia
Zooey Deschanel as Alma Moore, Elliot's estranged wife
John Leguizamo as Julian, a high school math teacher and Elliot's friend
Ashlyn Sanchez as Jess, Julian's daughter
Betty Buckley as Mrs. Jones
Spencer Breslin as Josh
Robert Bailey Jr. as Jared
Frank Collison as the nursery owner
Jeremy Strong as Private Auster
Alan Ruck as the principal
Victoria Clark as the nursery owner's wife
M. Night Shyamalan as Joey
Ian Pritchard as a school student

[edit] Plot

The movie is a thriller that shows the results of the horrific release of a neurotoxin by plants. When this toxin is inhaled, the victim will attempt suicide by very violent means. The protagonist, a science teacher named Elliot Moore (Mark Wahlberg), runs for his life together with his estranged wife, Alma Moore (Zooey Deschanel), in order to survive while the world goes into a violent whirlwind of self destruction.^[1]

[edit] Production

Shyamalan submitted a spec script entitled The Green Effect to various studios, but none expressed enough interest to purchase the script. The director collected ideas and notes from meetings, returning home to Philadelphia to rewrite the script, and 20th Century Fox greenlit the project.^[2] Now titled The Happening, the film will be produced by Shyamalan and Barry Mendel and will be the director's first R-rated project.^[3] Shyamalan compared the film to the earlier paranoia films The Birds (1963) and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956).^[4]

Later in March, actor Mark Wahlberg, with whom Shyamalan had been negotiating at the same time as his deal with Fox, was cast into the lead role of the $57 million project. Shyamalan had previously cast Wahlberg's brother Donnie Wahlberg in The Sixth Sense. The India-based company UTV will co-finance 50% of the film's budget and distribute the film in India, with Fox distributing in the rest of the territories. Production began in August in Philadelphia.^[5] The release date for The Happening is set for June 13, 2008, intentionally set for Friday the 13th to suit the thriller.

[edit] Soundtrack

Main article: The Happening (soundtrack)

The score to The Happening was composed by Oscar-nominated composer James Newton Howard. He recorded his score with the Hollywood Studio Symphony at the Sony Scoring Stage with a 90-piece orchestra, and featured solos by cellist Maya Beiser.^[6] The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack for The Happening was released by Varese Sarabande Records on June 3, 2008.^[7]