The last news we heard about the upcoming SPLIT/UNBREAKABLE sequel GLASS was producer Jason Blum saying the new film was going to have a bigger budget than SPLIT's "low" $5M.
That news gets a bit more interesting today as it seems writer-producer-director M. Night Shyamalan plans on funding the bigger budget himself.
Shyamalan was recently speaking with Deadline about THE VISIT and the freedom he found in financing his own movies, and when the focus of the interview inevitably switches over to GLASS, Shyamalan mentioned he would be funding that film as well.
M. Night Shyamalan on GLASS:
I’m going to approach it the same way I approached The Visit and Split, with the same kind of philosophy—that this is the budget, I’m going to fund it, and we’re going to make it for that number. If we can’t afford it, then I can’t use that person, or I have to rewrite that scene. Just put those limits on myself, and for a reason—to come up with a type of film that, in its genetics, feels like it is ideas-driven and not money-driven.
While this could have been merely a slip of the tongue on Shyamalan's part, he DID finance THE VISIT on his own. I wasn't aware he had done the same for SPLIT, but after all of those massive blockbusters the man had back in the day, it makes sense he has some money to burn, so to speak. And now after the success of SPLIT, I can only imagine he has even more cash in the bank so maybe financing SPLIT 2 isn't completely unheard of. I mean someone's got to do it, right?
All of this money business aside, I'm liking Shyamalan's over-all new philosophy on making movies. Keep them ideas-driven and not money-driven. Sounds like a step in the right direction.
What do you think of Shyamalan funding his own films and/or GLASS in general? Let us know on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram!
GLASS hits theaters January 18, 2019.
Zooey Deschanel wonders why she starred in THE HAPPENING.