Hitting the #1 movie rental charts is the adventure, mystery, and science fiction film titled “The Happening,” which makes one think they are going to encounter an alien-related plot, but something quite different unfolds instead. With an interesting plot twist and vivid images, “The Happening” will challenge common thought for some, astound others, and leave the rest either wanting more or heading for the hills.
The Plot
The main character of the movie is Elliot Moore , a high school science teacher who appears to quiz his students on an article regarding the sudden, puzzling disappearance of bees. With theories swirling about the reaction and actions of Nature, sometimes there simply aren’t any ready explanations about the way of the world. Odd things start to happen along the East Coast, first in Central Park, where terrifying behavior is overtaking those within the park. Soon after, the rest of the city is affected. The rest of the movie follows Elliot, Alma (his wife), and Jess (the young daughter of a friend), as they run and dodge the force that is slowly closing in on them.
Elliot Moore is played by Mark Wahlberg, whereas his wife Alma is played by Zooey Deschanel. John Leguizamo plays Moore’s best friend, Julien , a fellow teacher who is forced to leave his child in the care of the Moores while he seeks out his wife who is trapped in a different city.
“The Happening” Trivia and Facts
The tagline associated with the marketing of “The Happening” was ” We’ve Sensed It. We’ve Seen The Signs. Now… It’s Happening.”
The writer and director for this film was the same , M. Night Shyamalan.
Other working titles that the movie has been known as within production circles includes “Green Planet” and “The Green Effect.”
“The Happening” was filmed in the following locations: 100 W 18th St (New York City, New York); 30th Street Station – 3001 Market Street, (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania); G-Lodge Diner – 1371 Valley Forge Road (Phoenixville, Pennsylvania); Julia Masterman High School – 1699 Spring Garden Street (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania); Literary Walk, Central Park, (Manhattan, New York); Paris, France; Ridley Creek State Park – 1023 Sycamore Mills Road (Media, Pennsylvania); Rittenhouse Square – 18th and S. Walnut Streets (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania); Route 23/Country Club Road (Phoenixville, Pennsylvania); Unionville, Pennsylvania; and Wynnewood, Pennsylvania.
When M. Night Shyamalan sat down to write the screenplay for “The Happening,” he had already envisioned Mark Wahlberg taking on the lead role.
Out of all the movies that M. Night Shyamalan has written, this is the first to bear an R rating.
M. Night Shyamalan has been quoted as saying that 85% of “The Happening” takes place in the great outdoors.
Filming for the movie took 44 days to complete. The first production day took place on August 6, 2007, which is interestingly exactly eight years to the day since production for Shyamalan’s “The Sixth Sense” (1999) first kicked off.
Unlike other movies to hit the big screen, “The Happening” was shot totally in sequence.
If you pay attention to the end of the film, Jess is seen putting on The Last Airbender (2010) backpack. The number written on the front of her school bus is 2010, which was added as a reference for the next M. Night Shyamalan movie in the making.