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...

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...

I kind of thought Mark Wahlberg might hit me if I brought up A) New Kids on the Block or B) the Funky Bunch in my interview with him to ostensibly promote "The Happening." Lo and behold 15 minutes into our chat I found him to be a charming, self-effacing guy who was more than happy to laugh at his past a little.

His reaction to brother Donnie hooking up with NKOTB once again? "Whatever floats your boat. If the Rolling Stones can be wheeled out on wheelchairs then why can't the New Kids go out there?"

What about a reunion with the Funky Bunch who are also reportedly getting back together? "Not a f---ing chance," he told me.

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