How Spike Lee became M Night Shyamalan’s number one filmmaking influence: “I just followed his lead essentially”
Most people who have watched an M Night Shyamalan movie can probably identify a few prominent influences on his filmmaking. The ‘Master of Suspense’ Alfred Hitchcock springs to mind, as does Steven Spielberg, especially in his early films like Jaws, Duel, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
However, according to Shyamalan himself, while those directors may have helped shape the kinds of movies he makes and how he tells his stories, another filmmaker is the main reason he got into directing in the first place. This director might not seem to share many surface similarities with Shyamalan, but as Trap’s helmer admitted, he’d have likely gone into medicine if not for their influence.
Shyamalan’s entire life course changed one unassuming day in 1994 when he was taking his parents to the airport. The Philadelphia native perused the shelves of the airport book shop and found something that caught his eye—a nonfiction tome entitled Spike Lee’s Gotta Have It: Inside Guerrilla Filmmaking.
The book, first published in 1987, was a how-to guide for prospective young filmmakers. It included the entire shooting script of Lee’s debut movie, a detailed journal, and production notes revealing how he made the film without the backing of a major film studio. The book also included a lengthy, warts-and-all interview with Lee about his fiercely independent process.
Even though Shyamalan had been obsessed with movies from a young age, and by the time he was 17, had already made 45 short movies with his Super 8 camera, he’d never truly considered filmmaking as a realistic goal. After all, he lived in Philadelphia, had no connections in the movie business, and, like most people, thought of Hollywood as “this fantasyland” that normal people like him could never hope to experience.
Suddenly, though, reading Lee’s book made him realise, “Wow, you could do this as a job”.
Shyamalan had never considered simply making his own movie, instead of waiting for permission and/or funding from a studio to do it. “I thought, ‘You can just go out and make movies? This is crazy; I didn’t know you could go do that!'” he told UPI with a grin. “And I was like, ‘This is legitimately something I could go do!'”
So, with Lee’s example in his mind, Shyamalan decided to bet on himself, making his debut feature, Praying with Anger, while studying at New York University. It was an incredibly personal film for Shyamalan, and miles away from the supernatural mysteries he would later become synonymous with. The film tells the story of a young Indian American – played by Shyamalan himself – who returns to his family’s native land and experiences the vast differences in cultural values between America and India.
Heartwarmingly, as he made his name in Hollywood and began interacting with many of his heroes, Shyamalan met Lee and told him how instrumental he was to his filmmaking journey. They soon became friendly, and in 2021, Shyamalan revealed, “He’s been so supportive and he’s come to my premieres.”
That same year, when Shyamalan was asked about the single biggest influence on his career, he said, “It was definitely Spike Lee and he knows this. The reason that I’m a filmmaker was [him] leading the way. He didn’t look like anybody in Hollywood, he did it in a different way, he didn’t ask for permission. I just followed his lead essentially. He’s super meaningful to me.”
Amusingly, though, Shyamalan quipped that there are two people who weren’t overly thrilled with Lee altering his course in such a profound way: his parents, a neurologist and an OB-GYN who envisioned their son following in their footsteps. “I know if I didn’t watch She’s Gotta Have It, I’d be a doctor now,” Shyamalan laughed.
