Rewatchables Reference

• The car accident sequence at the end, where Cole reveals his secret to his mother (unanimous).
• Other nominees: the opening shooting of Malcolm Crowe, dinner with Anna on their anniversary, the 'I see dead people' revelation, Kyra's first appearance, and the Pop-Tarts/kitchen drawers moment.

• VHS tapes everywhere.
• Landlines.
• Dingy Eastern seaboard home decor – 'transitioning out of the 70s into an IKEA-dominated world, but not quite there yet' (Chris).
• Complete lack of cellular technology – 'nobody Googles' (Chris).

• The tone and pacing – 'to be this patient in a summer blockbuster is powerful and rare' (Sean).
• Late-90s twist endings in general – Sean misses them.
• Haley Joel Osment – 'greatest child performer ever' (Sean). Gives you sadness, elation, real anger, and fear.
• Toni Collette – 'maybe the best on-screen crier of my lifetime' (Jason). This was her only Oscar nomination.
• 'Philadelphia' as a setting – 'a living and dead piece of history' (Chris).

• M. Night Shyamalan's twist ending factory – he 'found a story that was appropriate for the way he writes dialogue, which is super weird and stilted' (Chris). When Haley Joel delivers it, it's atmospheric; when Zooey Deschanel does it, 'it becomes borderline The Room'.
• Bruce Willis as a child psychologist – 'I'm not sure he's terribly convincing' (Sean). Also, the mayor of 'Philadelphia' gave this guy an award even though his ex-patient grew up to be a murderer.

Marisa Tomei was considered for the role of Lynn Sear. Chris: 'More authentically Philadelphian, but I don't know if you get that moment in the car.'

• Winner: Trevor Morgan as Tommy Tomasino – 'he gets more backstory than almost any other character' (Chris). The whole commercial, improv talk, and 'did you like how I put my arm around you?' line.
• M. Night Shyamalan as Dr. Hill – 'just a lot to cast yourself in that role' (Chris).
• Bruce Norris as Stanley Cunningham, the stuttering teacher.

• Chris goes with Bruce Norris as Stanley Cunningham – a celebrated playwright and Steppenwolf member in real life.
• Other nominees: Glenn Fitzgerald as Sean, Olivia Williams as Anna Crowe.

Donnie Wahlberg – lost 43 pounds for approximately 90 seconds of screen time and shaved his eyebrows. His prior filmography: Bullet, Ransom, Black Circle Boys, Body Count, Butter and the Danuma, Southie.

• David Vogel bought the script for $3 million without corporate approval and was dismissed from Disney.
• Haley Joel Osment read the full script three times before his audition, not just his part.
• Rented by 80 million people in 2000 – year's top VHS and DVD title. 'Sleeper hit' in Entertainment Weekly's 1999 summer preview, it wasn't even mentioned.
• In early drafts, Bruce Willis's character was a crime scene photographer, not a child psychologist – 'which perhaps explains his wardrobe' (Sean).
• The color red is intentionally absent from most of the film, used only for things tainted by the 'other world'.
• The soundtrack CD gives away the ending: the final track is called 'Malcolm Is Dead'.
• According to Shyamalan, the movie was inspired by an episode of 'Are You Afraid of the Dark?' called 'The Tale of the Dream Girl' (1994).
• All of Malcolm's clothes are items he wore the evening of his death.

• M. Night Shyamalan: yes – 'the top of the Himalayas' (Chris). Sean compares the cultural impact to 'Get Out' as the only other example of a filmmaker who 'instantaneously transformed their life and career with one movie.'
• Haley Joel Osment: yes.
• Bruce Willis: no – 'Die Hard' is his apex mountain.
• Toni Collette: no.

• The funeral scene logistics – a kid shows up without an adult, goes hunting in the dead girl's room for a VHS tape, and the father watches it immediately at the funeral. No police interview afterward.
• During the 'I see dead people' scene, a tear runs down Cole's face; when he turns away, his face is dry with no trace of a tear.

• Not as a 10-episode show – 'unless you're going to really delve into Tommy Tomasino, what are you spending those 10 hours doing?' (Chris).
• Jason: could work as a 5-episode show, but the twist wouldn't survive – 'somebody would watch it the first night and spoil it.'
• Chris: 'The more you show him interacting with Olivia Williams, the more skeptical people would get. This movie is exactly the right running time.'

Is this a good movie if you already know the ending? Chris: 'I was entertained but not emotionally involved.' Jason: yes, the car conversation still hits. Sean: 'I've come to admire it more and more over time.'

M. Night Shyamalan – 'basically becomes a movie industry for the next 10 years' (Sean).