A New Day Dawns For Night

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As a director, Shyamalan feels his multicultural background gives him an advantage: "Decisions I make in my filmmaking are for a global audience. The domestic box office is an important thing, but it's just as important for me that the worldwide audience is enjoying the movie, as in The Sixth Sense. I picture my uncles and aunts and people abroad watching my movies."

Family matters are close to his heart. He and his wife Bhavna, who is studying to earn a Ph.D. in child psychology, have two children, ages 1 and 4. Shyamalan says he lives in the Philadelphia area because it puts distance between his work and Hollywood and keeps his perspective fresh. He also shoots his movies in the area so that he can be with his family. "I'm there to take the kids to school and put them to bed 330 days out of the year," he says. "This life can get so overwhelming. You have to protect your family as much as you can. Nobody else is going to do it for you." Clearly, the director of The Sixth Sense has plenty of common sense as well.