PROVIDENCE — M. Night Shyamalan is bringing his eye for the bizarre, unusual, and unnerving to Rhode Island.
The “Sixth Sense” director will film an upcoming “supernatural romantic thriller” starring Jake Gyllenhaal in the Ocean State this summer, the Rhode Island Film & Television Office announced on Thursday.
For the project, Shyamalan is collaborating with best-selling author Nicholas Sparks (“The Notebook”). Sparks will write a book and Shyamalan will write a screenplay, separately, based on the same original story.
“Night is a visionary who always attracts top-notch talent in front of and behind the camera,” Steven Feinberg, executive director of the state Film & Television Office, said in a statement. “Rhode Island is a special location steeped in history, beauty and great mystery. With all of these amazing ingredients in the hands of a master filmmaker, we can expect M. Night Shyamalan and his outstanding team to tantalize our senses and make a movie we can all be proud of!”
Further details about the film have not yet been reported. But in announcing the partnership with Shyamalan on social media in January, Sparks said the project is “unlike anything we’ve done before.”
“I’m teaming up with the brilliant Academy Award-nominated director M. Night Shyamalan to create a film adaptation that will blend the heartfelt, timeless romance you know and love with his signature touch of mystery and suspense,” Sparks said.
In separate statements on Thursday, Rhode Island House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi and Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio touted the production is slated to bring jobs and help boost the state economy.
Rhode Island most recently served as a backdrop for “Ella McCay,” a movie starring Emma Mackey, Woody Harrelson, and Jamie Lee Curtis filmed in the state last year now set for a September release. Portions of an upcoming documentary on the life of “Twilight Zone” creator and mastermind Rod Serling were also filmed in East Greenwich, Providence, and South Kingstown, R.I.
“With our unique landscape and talented local artists, Rhode Island is an ideal location to film a motion picture or television series,” Governor Dan McKee said in a statement on Thursday. “Every time a production shoots here we see a positive impact on our local businesses. This is the type of energy that keeps moving our economy forward.”
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