Even Bad Publicity is Still Publicity, Mr. Shyamalan!

M. Night Shyamalan, the 33-year-old heir apparent to thriller-meister Alfred Hitchcock and the creator of such super hits as "The Sixth Sense," "Unbreakable" and "Signs," has disassociated himself from a Sci-Fi channel special focusing on his private life. Last fall, the young director granted Nathaniel Kahn and Callum Greene exclusive access, thinking that the resulting documentary would be about the process of making movies. However the project veered off into sensitive, personal areas provoking Shyamalan to break off an on-camera interview and withdraw his support.

Problems began when the two documentarians expanded their inquiries beyond the list of planned interviewees provided to them by Shyamalan. Dissatisfied with the superficial information that they were collecting, Kahn and Greene opted for questions of a more personal nature. Reportedly, this annoyed Shyamalan's friends and colleagues who complained to the filmmaker, prompting him to curb his cooperation. Undeterred, the Sci-Fi directors moved further away from the original concept by provocatively naming the piece, "The Buried Secret of M. Night Shyamalan." A representative of the Sci-Fi channel further taunted Shyamalan by saying, "If the project reveals more than Night was comfortable with, that was an inherent gamble that he was aware of long before this started."

Although Kahn and Greene claim that, even though they showcase Shymalan's 'unguarded moments,' they are on firm legal ground. That may be so, but it seems that such a blatant move to cash in on someone else's fame and talent could backfire. Even if the secret they present isn't sufficiently embarrassing to get a rise out of Shyamalan's legal team, such a dirty trick could discourage other celebrities from putting their trust in this team. Also, Shyamalan's career is just beginning. There are many possible projects in his future -- and lots of ways to settle old scores like this.

The program airs on July 18, which is less than two weeks before the release of Shyamalan's long-awaited new movie, "The Village." Obviously, Kahn and Greene hope to draw a large audience by creating controversy on the eve of what might be another blockbuster film. Even though Shyamalan is reportedly upset by this turn of events, surely more publicity will introduce his work to even more people and expand the size of potential audiences beyond just his existing fan base.