Following on the heels of The Happening, which has done just alright at the box office this summer (well… better than Lady in the Water, at any rate), it looks like M. Night Shyamalan is teaming up with Media Rights Capital to create his own production company called Night Chronicles. Contrary to what you might think, however, this isn’t a partnership set up for him to operate independently of the major studios. Rather, it will be an outfit for him to produce films that will be directed by others… sort of like Sam Raimi’s Ghost House Pictures imprint. The deal that is currently in place will see him produce three new thrillers over the next three years.

According to Tory Metzger, head of MRC, the movies are still likely to come from the mind of Shyamalan, based on the assumption that he often generates more ideas than he can bring to the big screen on his own. M. Night Shyamalan had this to say: “Working with the next wave of innovative filmmakers will teach me many things that I can bring to my own writing/directing and give my stories the opportunity to be brought to the screen in a stunning way.”

It actually sounds like a good partnership all around, although after his last few flicks, you have to wonder what kind of wacky ideas he might have saved up that he hasn’t decided to act on yet. Either way, having Shyamalan take on a slightly different role in the filmmaking process could be a big win for everyone involved. It will allow him to learn to collaborate a little more, and by keeping him in the background it will avoid any negative connotations that his name currently holds in the public eye (unless they decide to release the movies under the banner “M. Night Shyamalan Presents”, that is).