Lady in the Water (2006)

Lady in the Water is a 2006 American urban fantasy drama film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, who produced with Sam Mercer. The film features the starring cast of Paul Giamatti and Bryce Dallas Howard with Bob Balaban, Jeffrey Wright, Sarita Choudhury, Freddy Rodriguez, Bill Irwin and Jared Harris in supporting roles. Produced by Legendary Pictures and Blinding Edge Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, the film's plot concerns the superintendent of an apartment complex in Philadelphia who discovers a young woman in the building's swimming pool. Gradually, he and his neighbors learn that she is a water nymph (or Narf) whose life is in danger from a vicious and wolf-like mystical creature called a Scrunt that tries to keep her from returning to her watery "blue world".

Lady in the Water was released on July 21, 2006. It is Shyamalan's first film not distributed by Walt Disney Studios under their Touchstone Pictures and Hollywood Pictures labels since Wide Awake. The film received negative reviews, with criticism revolving around the self-indulgence with which Shyamalan cast himself in the film, the lack of consistency, and the film's characterization. The film was also a financial failure grossing $72 million against a $70 million production budget. At the 27th Golden Raspberry Awards, Lady in the Water received four nominations for Worst Picture and Worst Screenplay, and won two for Worst Director, and Worst Supporting Actor for Shyamalan.