Yet another movie not screened for critics.

An American colleague tells me he was told by a publicist today that there will be no advance screenings of The Happening, the first R-rated film from M. Night Shyamalan. That’s interesting, since Shyamalan’s last film, Lady in the Water (2006), had advance screenings even though it was one of the worst major releases in recent memory — and this despite excellent acting from Paul Giamatti, excellent cinematography from Christopher Doyle, and excellent music from James Newton Howard. Then again, Lady in the Water was released by Warner, whereas The Happening is being released by Fox — and Fox has had a somewhat twitchy relationship with critics for at least the past year. The film opens in a couple weeks, on Friday the 13th.

MAY 30 UPDATE: The plot thickens. Two days after I was told — by two different sources — that there would be no press screenings, at least not in Chicago or Vancouver, I now hear from a colleague in Washington DC that he has been invited to a screening on the morning of June 10, three days before the film opens. Does that mean Fox has changed its mind, as they apparently did with last month’s Deception? Or does it mean they are being ultra-selective with the cities and critics for whom they screen the film, as they were with, e.g., Pathfinder (2007)?

JUN 2 UPDATE: New York-based critic Kyle Smith writes:

Fox still hasn’t announced when they are screening the film, opening next Friday, meaning a possible pre-birth burial of holding no critics’ screenings whatsoever, though the last time I reported that, on the Ewan McGregor-Hugh Jackman flop, “Deception,” they reversed course a day or two later.

They’ve announced a screening in Washington DC but not in New York? Curiouser and curiouser. What about, say, Los Angeles?

JUN 4 UPDATE: Lou Lumenick and SlashFilm report that there will be a screening in New York, now, and my colleagues tell me it will be showing in Los Angeles and Chicago, too. Still no word about Vancouver, though. Apparently Fox has added some extra conditions, including a ban on guests at the screening and a stern warning against blogging the film before its release date.

JUN 6 UPDATE: A Vancouver screening has been arranged, after all. The invitation arrived by e-mail this morning — four days before the screening takes place (or, if you prefer, two business days before the screening takes place, not counting the weekend). That’s cutting it kind of close, but it’s better than nothing.