Orlando Bloom did it a few years ago with “Lord of the Rings” and “Pirates of the Caribbean.” Samuel L. Jackson sort of had it going on with the “Star Wars” and “xXx” films. And Ian McKellen might have been the king, as he balanced the “LOTR” and “X-Men” movies for years... in his 60s! Now, could Jackson Rathbone be the next actor to pull off the rare simultaneous-double-franchise trick?

“Aw, man I got to do a lot of fight scenes in ‘Airbender’,” the affable “Twilight” star explained to us when we asked about his recently-wrapped upcoming blockbuster based on the “Avatar: The Last Airbender” TV cartoon show. “It was fun for me, because I grew up a little bit in Texas, and did a little Texas football. So, that little contact is good every once in a while; it kind of lets the aggression out.” Read more...

FROM SPLASH PAGE: The new trailer for M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Last Airbender” has hit the ‘Net, and we have your first look at it here on Splash Page!

Now, even though the new trailer keeps things simple and doesn’t reveal too much about the story, that doesn’t mean there aren’t some things we can learn about Shyamalan’s live-action adaptation of the award-winning animated series. Heck, we’re pretty sure there are some of you out there who probably haven’t even heard of “The Last Airbender” until now — but that’s going to change.

Here’s a quick breakdown of “Airbender” alongside some shots from the new trailer. Consider it “Airbender 101″ for the uninitiated.

Continue reading Freeze Frame: ‘The Last Airbender’ Trailer!

FROM SPLASH PAGE: M. Night Shyamalan's "The Last Airbender" doesn't hit theaters until next July, but we have your first look at the trailer here on MTV.com! (Click here for the high-definition version of the trailer.)

Set in a world full of martial arts and magic, "The Last Airbender" is a live-action adaptation of the award-winning Nickelodeon animated series "Avatar: The Last Airbender." In the series, the last survivor of a race of nomads who can "bend" air sets out to bring peace to warring nations that each control one of four elements: air, water, earth and fire. "Slumdog Millionaire" star Dev Patel stars as the villainous Prince Zuko, heir to the throne of the Fire Nation.

For more on the new trailer for M. Night Shyamalan's "The Last Airbender," head over to SplashPage.MTV.com.

FROM SPLASH PAGE: On the surface, it might look like M. Night Shyamalan has moved on from “Unbreakable,” the director’s fourth feature film. After all, he’s already hip-deep in production on “The Last Airbender,” his adaptation of the popular animated series — does he really have enough room in his geek bone to revisit the moody superhero film?

During a recent press event, Shyamalan addressed that very question as put forth by MTV News — is he still considering “Unbreakable 2″? According to the director, that answer is a resounding yes.

Continue reading M. Night Shyamalan Still Considering ‘Unbreakable’ Sequel

Ask any knowledgeable movie fan over the age of fifteen about “Avatar,” and they’ll hardly be able to control themselves as they geek out over James Cameron’s 2009 comeback movie. Talk to anybody too young to have seen “Titanic” in the theaters, however, and that same word will summon a very different potential blockbuster.

“I wrote the first [movie], which I’m just finishing and polishing up – that’s what I was doing this morning,” grinned M. Night Shyamalan this week when we caught up with him to talk about “The Last Airbender,” his upcoming film based on the hugely-successful Nickelodeon series “Avatar: The Last Airbender."

While making a film for a younger audience is a big change for the man behind such thrillers as “The Sixth Sense” and “The Happening,” he told us that the gig is a great chance to stretch some new muscles. “What’s great about doing something like that is that let’s say your instinct is to distill me down into three characteristics: thrillers, scary, twist. Let’s just say, ‘Oh, that’s what he does,’” Shyamalan explained. “Then when they come see ‘Last Airbender’ – which has none of those three things in there - and yet, you’ll be able to tell in 30 seconds that I directed it. Now you’ll have to go, ‘Wait, I realize there are other things that define him. [Things] I knew, but was never really acknowledging them on the same level as these other characteristics.’” Read more...

The quirky, melodramatic performances in "Happening" have spurred YouTube videos, widespread head-scratching and one of "Saturday Night Live"'s most popular skits in years, but here's the thing...according to director M. Night Shyamalan, it was all intentional.

The acclaimed director of "The Sixth Sense" and "Unbreakable" tells MTV News that the entire mood of "The Happening" -- from the acting of stars Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel to the plot itself -- is rooted in the classic sci-fi films of the 1950s.

"I definitely responded to that whole 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' [thing]," exclaimed Shyamalan. "That feeling that they had in their performances was great." Read more...

"The Happening" may have been a critical flop, but nobody can say Mark Wahlberg holds any grudges against his erstwhile director M. Night Shyamalan. "He's a sweet guy," Wahlberg told us. "For whatever mistakes he's made, I think he's learned from them and he's a true artist."

But that doesn't mean he's fishing for career advice from the guy. Because as Wahlberg related, when he saw his ucpoming weapons-toting hero Max Payne in the editing room, "I was like, ‘Yes! This is the sh-t I need to be doing! This is the stuff that makes people say, ‘You know what, you’re the man!’ This is it!’"

Which brings us to M. Night's probably ill-fated recommendation. “[Night] gave me the worst advice he could have ever given me. He said, ‘After [‘The Happening’], you can never hold a gun again. You know that, right?’ I said, ‘Are you crazy?’ He said, ‘I’m serious, don’t ever hold a gun again.’ And I said, ‘I don’t know about that, man.’” Read more...

In Michael Bamberger's "The Man Who Heard Voices: Or, How M. Night Shyamalan Risked His Career on a Fairy Tale ... And Lost," which was written with the director’s permission in the lead-up to "Lady in the Water," Shyamalan is painted as something of an egomaniac, an absolutist who wants things his way or not at all. So what's the twist? Turns out Shyamalan is actually quite personable, engaging and even charming.

And humble? When the topic is "Indiana Jones" he is.

Shyamalan was contracted to write a version of "Indy 4" sometime in the early 21st century after the phenomenal success of "The Sixth Sense" (which was coincidentally produced by Frank Marshall, a co-producer on Indy).

Having heard horror stories from writers like Frank Darabont, who liken their experience working on Indy to a "waste of a year," we expected the worst. So what does he recall from his adventure in Indy screenwriting? Read more...

As I write this "The Happening" sits on Rotten Tomatoes with a putrid score of 21% from critics. To put that in perspective that means that both "Drillbit Taylor" AND "What Happens in Vegas" were favored by the national media over this scare-fest wannabe. So you might be asking yourself as a person who loved "The Sixth Sense" and whispered "I see dead people" a dozen times to your friends nine years ago, can it really be as bad as people are saying? Has M. Night Shyamalan really lost it?

Er...maybe? I think that's the most positive spin I can give to the perplexing enigma that is "The Happening." Read more...

- Jon Favreau thinks "Iron Man 2" release date is unrealistic, not enough time to develop strong follow-up. (Myspace)

- Jason Segel wants Paul Williams back to compose music for new Muppet movie. (IESB)

- M. Night Shyamalan talks "Airbender." (Sci Fi, Rope of Silicon, & Coming Soon)

- Final red band trailer for "Wanted" pops up online. (Apple)

- Bill Maher hears the voice of God in new trailer for "Religulous." (Apple)