Template:Actor infoboxManoj Nelliyattu Shyamalan (pronounced [ˈʃaməˈlan]; Tamil:மனோஜ் நெல்லியட்டு சியாமளன்; born August 6, 1970), known professionally as M. Night Shyamalan, is an Academy Award-nominated American filmmaker and script writer of major studio films, known for making movies with contemporary supernatural plots that usually climax with a twist ending.
He was chosen to direct the film adaption of Avatar: The Last Airbender, which was released as The Last Airbender.
Though full American citizens, his parents traveled to India for his birth, giving him Indian citizenship before American. He began making home films at a young age, and clips from several of these films are included on DVD releases of his feature films, typically with an introduction where he decries the poor skill he had at the time. Though he began making films professionally in 1992, it was not until the release of The Sixth Sense in 1999 that he found mainstream success.
Shyamalan was introduced to Avatar by his children, when his daughter wanted to dress up as Katara for Halloween. His children convinced him to watch the show in late season two. He was immediately intrigued and bought the DVDs of season one, which quickly made the whole family fans of the show. His favorite character is Zuko due to the morally gray complexities of his personality.
In recent years, many critics have accused him of declining quality, with The Last Airbender having a 6% "rotten" rating on "Rotten Tomatoes".
Shyamalan is currently writing and preparing The Last Airbender 2, despite negative criticism of the first film. A third movie is also planned.
Many of Shyamalan's other films had been ill-received prior to the release of The Last Airbender.