How Taylor Swift inspired M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap

M. Night Shyamalan’s upcoming thriller, Trap, draws inspiration from Taylor Swift and The Silence of the Lambs.

The film follows a serial killer called “The Butcher” (played by Josh Hartnett). While attending a concert by pop star Lady Raven (Saleka Shyamalan) with his daughter, Riley (Ariel Donoghue), he realizes that the concert is a trap to catch him.

In addition to Hartnett, Donoghue and Shyamalan, Hayley Mills, Alison Pill, Marnie McPhail and Vanessa Smythe also star in the film. Shyamalan wrote and directed the film and produced it with Marc Bienstock and Ashwin Rajan.

Speaking to Empire, Shyamalan revealed his original pitch for Trap: “What if Silence of the Lambs happened at a Taylor Swift concert?”

Additionally, the film is inspired by Operation Flagship of 1985. It was used to lure fugitives to NFL games with free tickets.

“It was hilarious,” Shyamalan said. “The cops were literally cheerleaders and mascots. These guys were dancing as they came in. And they all got caught. It was so twisted and funny.”

The film is a double whammy. Shyamalan got to conduct a pop concert with his daughter, a real pop star.

“I conducted an entire concert!” he told Empire. “And it wasn’t just a background thing. It’s just as important. There’s no such thing as a fake concert.”

“I like the idea that cinema is a window within a window. One of the reasons why we come to see a film in the cinema is that there is literally a real concert that you cannot see anywhere else but in this film,” he continued.

What is Trap?

Trap is Shyamalan’s sixteenth film and marks his return to Warner Bros. His last five films, starting with The Visit, were distributed by Universal Pictures. Lady in the Water was Shyamalan’s last film to be distributed by Warner Bros, and that was in 2006.

It’s Shyamalan’s original idea. He acknowledged in his interview with Empire that there is a “safety” in making IP films such as the MCU. But he fights for original stories to be told.

“I want the industry to move toward more original stories,” Shyamalan said. “I think the public would really appreciate that. I know that intellectual property is security. But it’s really important that we go to the movies and see something we’ve never seen before. I will continue to fight for this. »

Who is M. Night Shyamalan?

M. Night Shyamalan is an award-winning director who rose to prominence with The Sixth Sense. He then directed Unbreakable, Signs and The Village.

In 2010, Shyamalan branched out into IP filmmaking by directing The Last Airbender. It was an adaptation of the animated series Avatar. His other notable credits include After Earth and The Visit.

He revisited Unbreakable with the surprise standalone sequel, Split. It feels like an original film until the final moments. Glass concluded the trilogy.

Shyamalan has since directed Old and Knock at the Cabin. He also produced The Watchers, the directorial debut of his other daughter, Ishana Night Shyamalan.

Trap will be released on August 2.