The other day I was thinking about douchebags. This is a long story. But that's not what I'm writing about. I got to thinking, my favorite director is Quentin Tarantino, a self-promoter of all sorts. One of my least favorites is M. Night Shyamalan, who I believe to be the most self-promoting man in Hollywood.
And I realized something terrible. They're amazingly similar.
First off, before I get into it, Sixth Sense was great. I'll delve later.
Now, both Shyamalan and Tarantino made a nineties film that struck gold and left a huge impact on pop culture for years to come (both of which, coincidentally, featuring Bruce Willis). After this, Shyamalan just went downhill. He decided he had to top it everytime. And he kept assuming that he did top it. And he didn't. He never did. And I don't think he can. Now, Tarantino just keeps making ideas. Admittedly, he hasn't made a film as good as Pulp Fiction. He's made good films, but not as good. But I've yet to see one by him that I can say is that bad. Now, I've yet to see Death Proof, but if that's all that bad, then at least his others aren't bad. I haven't seen anything by Shyamalan that's been remotely passable since Signs, and nothing as good as Sixth Sense.
So where's the line drawn? When Tarantino brags, it's because he's genuinely proud and successful. Do you remember when The Happening came out? And the trailers for TV were just him saying "This is one of the best things I've seen in awhile. You're gonna love it. It's rated R!"
It makes me shiver that somebody hasn't just beaten the shit out of this guy yet. I mean, he's not the worst in Hollywood. Far from it. Not saying he's good anymore, but there's far worse crap out there. My point here is that he's just an ass. Excuselessly. I can safely say that he's tied for first with my least favorite people in Hollywood. Up there are Michael Bay and a Mr. Matthew McConaughey. Now, all of these people have redeeming accomplishments. The reason they're here? They only see those redeeming accomplishments.
Now why, then, isn't Tarantino there? He's braggadocios. He's self-loving. So why?
Because he has heart. Bay is a moron who got lucky, same goes for McConaughey. Now, Shyamalan is a different story. He and Tarantino split when he got cocky. When Tarantino got cocky, he already knew what he wanted to do. He is creative. He is a man with a plan. Shyamalan wrung himself dry. That was it. And he didn't acknowledge it.
Fuck M. Night Shyamalan.
That is all.