M. Night Shyamalan recalls Bruce Willis comparing him to Quentin Tarantino, saying, “You got this, kid.”

M. Night Shyamalanthe recent film of Trap It’s not doing well, and it’s getting completely panned by critics. The film isn’t good, and it’s just another addition to Shyamalan’s inconsistent filmmaking resume.

Since then The Sixth SenseShyamalan has had ups and downs with the films he has made. Some of them have been great and some of them have been downright awful.

During a recent interview with Total Film, Shyamalan recalls a moment he had with The World of Bruce Williswhere the actor had initially reacted coldly to a note from the young director.

As Shyamalan shared: “There was a slightly tense moment in the last thing we were shooting that Friday where [Bruce] I made a joke and I had a note. You never know when that moment comes, when you make or break your career, when you become who you are going to be.

“I was like 26 or 27. He gave me this cold look: ‘I think we did it.’ And I went to him. He was cold. And I whispered the note in his ear. I said, ‘I want you to der-der-der-der.’

“He looked at me and I immediately said, ‘OK, roll sound. Here you go!’ I didn’t even give him a conversation.”

Shyamalan went on to explain how Willis continued to shoot and “nail” the scene and, later, called the director into his trailer to talk to him.

As you can imagine, Shyamalan was incredibly nervous that Willis might lash out at him in some way. But that’s not what happened. Instead, Willis continued to compare the director to Quintin Tarantino.

Shyamalan recalls: “I go up, I knock on the door and the door opens. I say, ‘Hey, did you want to say something?’ and he says, ‘I’ve only heard that once before.’

“I heard it on pulp Fictionand I heard it just now.’ And then he said, ‘You did it, boy.’ Then I said, ‘Oh, thank you!’ He closed the door and I literally jumped out onto the sidewalk.

“But that’s what he was. He would test you and basically say, ‘Do you believe in yourself? Because I don’t think you believe in yourself.’ And if it works, it works. If it doesn’t work, you’re dead. And it worked!”

Shyamalan certainly had it back then, but he has since lost it and is nowhere near as talented as Tarantino.

I remember when I first saw The Sixth Sense I thought Shyamalan was going to be the next Spielberg. But boy, was I wrong. I think he had potential, but his journey took him in a different direction.