The Sci-Fi channel’s documentary titled “The Buried Secret of N. Night Shymalan” promised a revealing secret about the successful filmmaker. The film suggested that a childhood drowning accident had a great deal to do with Shymalan’s interest in mysterious subjects and alleged that the documentary was an unauthorized look at the director. Shymalan, who shot to fame after “The Sixth Sense” and whose most recent movie “The Village” opens July 30th was supposedly unhappy about the project.

The documentary did have moments where the filmmaker appeared clearly upset at the direction in which its Oscar-nominated director Nathaniel Kahn was going but Shymalan has said he enjoyed working on the project. In a statement through his publicist Leslee Dart, Shyamalan appeared to play down the controversy. 'I had a great time working with the SciFi channel on this project. They are extremely innovative and enthusiastic and have had several great successes by thinking out of the box,' the filmmaker said. 'I was, of course, involved in the production of the special but had nothing to do with the marketing of it. If the SciFi channel erred in their marketing strategy, it was totally out of enthusiasm,' he said.

Documentary director Kahn, who was nominated for an Oscar for his documentary My Architect on his world renowned architect father Luis Kahn was commissioned by the channel in last October to do the documentary, which would be released before Shymalan’s latest movie. His documentary postulates that Shyamalan which has been haunted by occurrences in his own life which influenced his films. The documentary’s one daring moment occurs when Kahn suggests to a reluctant Shyamalan that his movies are autobiographical rather than fictional and the latter terminates the interview saying 'What are you doing?'

The SciFi channel's website says what 'started as a normal documentary' ended up capturing details 'you were never meant to know'. The hoax was part of a 'guerilla marketing campaign' that went too far, network president Bonnie Hammer said Friday. The channel in seeking to emulate the eeriness of Shymalan’s movies planned the campaign as a marketing gimmick. The way the film is shot also echoes Shymalan’s film style and attempts to create an aura of mystery and intrigue. Instead, many viewers have felt duped by the hype. It is unclear yet what sort of effect this controversy will have on the success of Shymalan's latest movie.