Shyamalan opposes quick DVD releases

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- M. Night Shyamalan says a move to eliminate the window between a film's theatrical release and its debut on video would diminish the artistic integrity of moviemaking.
Part of what makes movies an art form is that they are viewed on a big screen with a big audience, Shyamalan said in an interview in Friday's editions of the Los Angeles Times.
"If I can't make movies for theaters, I don't want to make movies," the 35-year-old writer-director said. "I hope this is a very bad idea that goes away."
The proposal to simultaneously release movies in theaters and on DVD is the most pressing issue facing the exhibition industry today, with the discussion focusing on the need to increase studio revenues.
Shyamalan, who lives in the Philadelphia suburbs and makes his movies in the area, said his speech at the ShowEast convention in Orlando, Fla., on Thursday night, was intended to address "the human factor."
"When I sit down next to you in a movie theater, we get to share each other's point of view. We become part of a collective soul. That's the magic in the movies," he was quoted as telling some 800 theater operators and suppliers.
"Nobody has benefited more from DVD sales than me. I bought my house on DVD sales from 'The Sixth Sense,"' he said. "But take away my house. That's not why I do what I do."
He added: "If this thing happens, you know the majority of your theaters are closing. It's going to crush you guys."