Filming Shyamalan's The Village

The Hollywood Reporter has published a new feature article on the shooting of writer/director M. Night Shyamalan's The Village in Philadelphia. The supernatural thriller, starring Joaquin Phoenix, Sigourney Weaver, Adrien Brody, William Hurt and Ashton Kutcher, is set in Pennsylvania during 1897 and revolves around a close-knit community that lives with the frightening knowledge that a mythical race of creatures resides in the woods around them. Here's a clip...

"The reason we have chosen to shoot in this area is because of the community itself," says Sam Mercer, a producer who has worked with Shyamalan on all of his films since "The Sixth Sense." "It's a real cross-section of America and a family-oriented community that we believe just energizes our films. Plus, there is a wonderful talent pool and crew base that we've been able to work with here."

Shooting in the region is so important to Shyamalan and his team, Mercer adds, that they have pushed hard to ensure that each of their films would set up shop near Philadelphia -- flying in the face of recent industry runaway production trends.

"Economics are important in putting together any movie and you always have to keep an eye on the bottom line no matter how much success you've had," Mercer observes. "But we work pretty efficiently and feel strongly about the importance of shooting here, so we've fought to do it."

While no spoilers are revealed about the film, the interesting two-page article can be read in full at the link above.