Trivia / The Happening

• Completely Different Title: In Spanish, while the film was released in Spain under the closest translation possible (El incidente, "The Incident"), in Latin America it was released as El fin de los tiempos ("The End of Times").
• Creator Backlash:
  • Mark Wahlberg has admitted that this is one of the worst films he has ever done.
    "…Fucking trees, man!"
  • Chris Stuckmann once relayed an anecdote about when he attended a screening of The Cabin in the Woods, which starred Kristen Connolly, aka the friend of the knitting needle woman from the opening scene. When he asked about her experience on The Happening, Stuckmann noted that Connolly's expression turned sour.
• Creator-Chosen Casting: M. Night Shyamalan wrote the screenplay with Mark Wahlberg in mind for the lead role.
• Creator Killer: M. Night Shyamalan was already feeling it after Lady in the Water became his first bona fide failure since he became famous, but this film only made him that much more of a laughingstock. While the film was successful at the box office (unlike Lady in the Water), Shyamalan briefly left the horror genre for a few years afterwards, so when he came back with The Visit, he was able to market it on nostalgia for his earlier pictures and avoid the impact of The Happening's notoriety.
• Deliberate Flaw Retcon: This article argues that the film is actually a work of genius, the 'flaws' being deliberately worked in to subvert B-Movie Sci-Fi Horror tropes.
• Meaningful Release Date: Given that it was supposed to be a chiller, it was released on Friday, June 13, 2008.
• Similarly Named Works: There was another film called The Happening released in 1967, and most of the people who have seen it also find that one terrible.^note Ironically, the 1967 Happening is a comedy with a reputation for being unfunny, the opposite reason that the 2008 Happening is considered bad. If it's remembered at all now, it's for being the screen debut of Faye Dunaway, and for its hit title song by The Supremes.
• Throw It In!: Mark Wahlberg's line "Be scientific, douchebag" was improvised.
• Voice-Only Cameo: Unlike most of his other cameos in his films, M. Night Shyamalan never appears in-person in this, but he provides the voice for the character of Joey, who is only heard from a phone
• What Could Have Been: Amy Adams turned down the role of Alma.

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