From his office walls, M. Night Shyamalan's idols and inspirations look down on him. His production company, located in Conshohocken, Pa., just outside Philadelphia, has a cozy main room that is dominated by several framed movie posters. There's one from The Exorcist, which is one of Shyamalan's favorite horror films. There's also a poster from Raiders of the Lost Ark, a film directed by one of Shyamalan's heroes, Steven Spielberg. And finally, there's a large poster from Die Hard featuring a sooty portrait of Bruce Willis, who right now is Shyamalan's favorite leading man.
Despite the decor, Shyamalan, 30, is not...