Mumbai, Nov 4 (IANS) Filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan has opened up about struggling with the outline of his upcoming film, saying that research calls, video meetings and a visit to Los Angeles have pulled him away from the creative process of writing.

In a candid video update shared on Instagram, the filmmaker said he had been filling his notebook with "disparate ideas" and was finding it difficult to shape them into a cohesive outline.

In the video, Shyamalan said: “It's November 3rd, 2026. It's been about two weeks, I think, since the last time we talked. I've been outlining and writing in the journal. This has been, I was gonna say, a little bit of a hot mess, to be honest, but I'm trying to understand why I'm struggling so much.”

“I think I've filled, I'm filling this notebook and I think to some extent it's becoming rantings of disparate ideas. I've done a bunch of calls to individuals that have experience with the areas and places that I'm making this new movie about,” he added.

“So I did a lot of research calls and Zooms, and they were very helpful, but they started to, they're starting to pull me; everything is pulling me away from it just being an expression of something in me, not giving myself a good grade at all for these two-week period. I went to LA, showed my new bosses ‘Remain’, which was a wonderful experience.”

The filmmaker said that “everything was lovely”, but “I wasn't writing and we can lie to ourselves a lot about why we're not writing, but you're not writing and that's all that matters.”

He added: “At the end of the day, all of this, this house, everything, every piece of clothing I own came from me writing and I just need to get back to that. Rather than a grade, I would give myself, you know, did not attend school. That's probably what I would give it.”

Taking to the caption section, he said: “It's been about two weeks since my last update, and I've been struggling with the outline of my new movie after @remainmovie. I've been filling this notebook with ideas and doing research calls, but I've been feeling lost.”

“I almost gave up on the outline altogether but this morning I committed to outlining through the end of the year, then starting the screenplay after Christmas.”

Shyamalan often employ supernatural plots and twist endings. He has received various accolades, including nominations for two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards and a Golden Globe.

--IANS

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