Sam Mercer

Movies

The BFG
Producer
The BFG is no ordinary bone-crunching giant. He is far too nice and jumbly. It's lucky for Sophie that he is. Had she been carried off in the middle of the night by the Bloodbottler, or any of the other giants—rather than the BFG—she would have soon become breakfast. When Sophie hears that the giants are flush-bunking off to England to swollomp a few nice little chiddlers, she decides she must stop them once and for all. And the BFG is going to help her!
Heaven Is for Real
Executive Producer
The true story of the 4-year old son of a small-town pastor who, during emergency surgery, slips from consciousness and enters heaven. When he awakes, he recounts his experiences on the other side.
Snow White and the Huntsman
Producer
After the Evil Queen marries the King, she performs a violent coup in which the King is murdered and his daughter, Snow White, is taken captive. Almost a decade later, a grown Snow White is still in the clutches of the Queen. In order to obtain immortality, The Evil Queen needs the heart of Snow White. After Snow escapes the castle, the Queen sends the Huntsman to find her in the Dark Forest.
Devil
Producer
A group of people are trapped in an elevator high above Philadelphia, and one of them is the devil.
The Last Airbender
Unit Production Manager
The story follows the adventures of Aang, a young successor to a long line of Avatars, who must put his childhood ways aside and stop the Fire Nation from enslaving the Water, Earth and Air nations.
The Last Airbender
Producer
The story follows the adventures of Aang, a young successor to a long line of Avatars, who must put his childhood ways aside and stop the Fire Nation from enslaving the Water, Earth and Air nations.
Visions of 'The Happening'
Himself
This making-of features additional background on the original ideas for the film. Shyamalan discusses his initial inspiration to make the ultimate B-movie, but one that morphed into something deeper. The cast and crew discuss the character motivations, the mood of the film, shooting in and around Philadelphia, and more.
The Happening
Producer
When a deadly airborne virus threatens to wipe out the northeastern United States, teacher Elliott Moore and his wife Alma flee from contaminated cities into the countryside in a fight to discover the truth. Is it terrorism, the accidental release of some toxic military bio weapon -- or something even more sinister?
Things We Lost in the Fire
Producer
A recent widow invites her husband's troubled best friend to live with her and her two children. As he gradually turns his life around, he helps the family cope and confront their loss.
Reflections of Lady in the Water
Explores the nature of creativity and collaboration on the making of this very unique story in an earnest and unexpectedly touching manner.
Lady in the Water
Producer
Apartment building superintendent Cleveland Heep rescues what he thinks is a young woman from the pool he maintains. When he discovers that she is actually a character from a bedtime story who is trying to make the journey back to her home, he works with his tenants to protect his new friend from the creatures that are determined to keep her in our world.
Jarhead
Executive Producer
Jarhead is a film about a US Marine Anthony Swofford’s experience in the Gulf War. After putting up with an arduous boot camp, Swofford and his unit are sent to the Persian Gulf where they are eager to fight, but are forced to stay back from the action. Swofford struggles with the possibility of his girlfriend cheating on him, and as his mental state deteriorates, his desire to kill increases.
Deconstructing 'The Village'
Self
In this making-of documentary, we see movie snippets, shots from the set, and interviews. We get notes from the crew and cast. We learn about the movie's genesis and development, the choice of time period and setting, finding a location and creating the sets, the flick's visual design and cinematography, working with the actors and bonding on the set, the costumes, problems with the weather, shooting in the woods, casting, the actors' "boot camp", editing and storyboards, audio design, the score, and the movie's creatures.
The Village
Producer
When a willful young man tries to venture beyond his sequestered Pennsylvania hamlet, his actions set off a chain of chilling incidents that will alter the community forever.
Van Helsing
Executive Producer
Famed monster slayer Gabriel Van Helsing is dispatched to Transylvania to assist the last of the Valerious bloodline in defeating Count Dracula. Anna Valerious reveals that Dracula has formed an unholy alliance with Dr. Frankenstein's monster and is hell-bent on exacting a centuries-old curse on her family.
Making 'Signs'
Himself - Producer
Nearly every possible aspect of fimmaking used to produce the motion picture Signs (2002) is closely examined here. This serves as a good companion to the film, normally where a commentary track would. Though it does feature a portion of promotional value, it is still very informative and interesting to watch director M. Night Shyamalan at work.
Signs
Unit Production Manager
A family living on a farm finds mysterious crop circles in their fields which suggests something more frightening to come.
Signs
Producer
A family living on a farm finds mysterious crop circles in their fields which suggests something more frightening to come.
The Making of 'Unbreakable'
Self
This making-of piece showcases the evolution of the film from script (the entire movie is generally the first act of your typical film), the differences in crew between Unbreakable and The Sixth Sense, the thematic elements seen throughout the movie, the pace and shooting of the movie, and so on.
Unbreakable
Producer
An ordinary man makes an extraordinary discovery when a train accident leaves his fellow passengers dead — and him unscathed. The answer to this mystery could lie with the mysterious Elijah Price, a man who suffers from a disease that renders his bones as fragile as glass.
Mission to Mars
Executive Producer
When contact is lost with the crew of the first Mars expedition, a rescue mission is launched to discover their fate.
The Sixth Sense
Unit Production Manager
Following an unexpected tragedy, a child psychologist named Malcolm Crowe meets an nine year old boy named Cole Sear, who is hiding a dark secret.
The Sixth Sense
Executive Producer
Following an unexpected tragedy, a child psychologist named Malcolm Crowe meets an nine year old boy named Cole Sear, who is hiding a dark secret.
The Relic
Producer
A homicide detective teams up with an evolutionary biologist to hunt a giant creature that is killing people in a Chicago museum.
Congo
Producer
Eight people embark on an expedition into the Congo, a mysterious expanse of unexplored Africa where human greed and the laws of nature have gone berserk. When the thrill-seekers -- some with ulterior motives -- stumble across a race of killer apes.
Peggy Sue Got Married
Location Manager
Peggy Sue faints at a high school reunion. When she wakes up she finds herself in her own past, just before she finished school.
Pee-wee's Big Adventure
Location Manager
The eccentric and childish Pee-wee Herman embarks on a big adventure when his beloved bicycle is stolen. Armed with information from a fortune-teller and a relentless obsession with his prized possession, Pee-wee encounters a host of odd characters and bizarre situations as he treks across the country to recover his bike.
National Lampoon's Vacation
Location Manager
Clark Griswold is on a quest to take his family on a quest to Walley World theme park for a vacation, but things don't go exactly as planned.
The Escape Artist
Location Manager
The young and self-confident Danny bluffs at the local police-station that he will escape from prison within an hour. What follows is a flashback showing his childhood with his uncle and aunt, who are 'vaudeville'-artists themselves.