AceShowbiz -

A shaft of light is really shining down upon M. Night Shyamalan now as he finally makes his way to sell his spec script of "The Happening", previously known as "The Green Effect", to 20th Century Fox after shopping it around for awhile.

Variety reports that the studio has delightfully given the green light to the filmmaker to go on with the project, which will be his first R-rated effort. It is said that the man is aiming to shoot the film in Philadelphia this August while at the same time continuing to work on the script for "Avatar: The Last Airbender."

Expected to carry a budget of around $57 million, "Happening" is a paranoid thriller centering on a family who is on the run from a natural crisis that presents a large-scale threat to humanity. Shyamalan will also seat as producer alongside Sam Mercer and Barry Mendel, who previously produced his two films, "The Sixth Sense" and "Unbreakable."