TPWW Forums - View Single Post - M. Night Shyamalan ripps off a children's book

**dan26** · 08-12-2004, 06:58 AM

http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,14684,00.html

(Warning: Major spoilers ahead in black .)

"It was the fans that really pointed it out in the first place," says van Straaten. "The book is about a young tomboyish girl in a rural village in the 1800s who comes to learn that, in fact, it is a historical preserve in 1996 and that the adults have kept that secret from the children of the village. She finds that out when her mother sends her out to get medicine. But she learns it pretty early on in the book and then discovers all sorts of other intrigue."

Shyamalan's plot, on the other hand, centers around an innocent, blind tomboy (Bryce Dallas Howard), who must venture out of her close-knit 19th century village and into a haunted wood beyond its border to obtain medicine for the one she loves. Along the way, she discovers that the elders have their own secret that they've kept from the younger people in their community, and things aren't what they seem.
Haddix could not be reached for comment Tuesday. But she did tell the New York Times that she saw The Village and noted that "the spoiler ending is the thing that is the biggest similarity."

Disney and Shyamalan's Blinding Edge Pictures were quick to dismiss any suggestions of plagiarism.

"Whatever claims are being made of similarities between the book and the movie have no merit," says a statement from Disney's Buena Vista Pictures, which distributed the picture.

Shyamalan, whose previous mind-bending thrillers include his blockbuster breakthrough The Sixth Sense followed by Unbreakable and Signs, is in Europe on a promotional tour for The Village and was unavailable for comment.

Shyamalan remains locked in a legal battle with Pennsylvania screenwriter Robert McIlhinney, who claimed Signs ripped off McIlhinney's unproduced script for a film titled Lord of the Barrens: The Jersey Devil.

Running Out of Time is a hugely popular title among the 8-to-12 set, says van Straaten, noting that it has sold well over half a million copies and was nominated for an Edgar Award--the nation's top prize for mystery stories (it's named after Edgar Allen Poe).

"It's is a terrific seller for us," she adds.

Haddix has since gone on to write the best-selling Shadow Children series, also published by Simon & Schuster.

08-12-2004, 06:58 AM	#2
dan26 Posts: 69	http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,14684,00.html (Warning: Major spoilers ahead in black .) "It was the fans that really pointed it out in the first place," says van Straaten. "The book is about a young tomboyish girl in a rural village in the 1800s who comes to learn that, in fact, it is a historical preserve in 1996 and that the adults have kept that secret from the children of the village. She finds that out when her mother sends her out to get medicine. But she learns it pretty early on in the book and then discovers all sorts of other intrigue." Shyamalan's plot, on the other hand, centers around an innocent, blind tomboy (Bryce Dallas Howard), who must venture out of her close-knit 19th century village and into a haunted wood beyond its border to obtain medicine for the one she loves. Along the way, she discovers that the elders have their own secret that they've kept from the younger people in their community, and things aren't what they seem. Haddix could not be reached for comment Tuesday. But she did tell the New York Times that she saw The Village and noted that "the spoiler ending is the thing that is the biggest similarity." Disney and Shyamalan's Blinding Edge Pictures were quick to dismiss any suggestions of plagiarism. "Whatever claims are being made of similarities between the book and the movie have no merit," says a statement from Disney's Buena Vista Pictures, which distributed the picture. Shyamalan, whose previous mind-bending thrillers include his blockbuster breakthrough The Sixth Sense followed by Unbreakable and Signs, is in Europe on a promotional tour for The Village and was unavailable for comment. Shyamalan remains locked in a legal battle with Pennsylvania screenwriter Robert McIlhinney, who claimed Signs ripped off McIlhinney's unproduced script for a film titled Lord of the Barrens: The Jersey Devil. Running Out of Time is a hugely popular title among the 8-to-12 set, says van Straaten, noting that it has sold well over half a million copies and was nominated for an Edgar Award--the nation's top prize for mystery stories (it's named after Edgar Allen Poe). "It's is a terrific seller for us," she adds. Haddix has since gone on to write the best-selling Shadow Children series, also published by Simon & Schuster.