I went to college with Manoj (the M. in M. Night - Certainly nobody ever called him anything but Manoj back then) at NYU. I wasn't in the film school, but most of my friends were, so I ended up helping them a lot either in front of or behind the camera, and spent a buttload of time in the film school building. Anyway, I don't know what his politics are, but in terms of his personal life he's one conservative dude. Kind of uptight (by college standards, at least), refuses to move out of suburban Pennsylvania, got married and settled down very quickly, etc. I'd be quite surprised if he turned out to be a hardcore Democrat.
I remember that the dean of the film school told them all during an orientation, "If one person out of every two graduating classes ends up with a successful career in film, then we have succeeded as teachers." Guess he's it.
Thanks, Timesink, for your information on the author. As I said previously, I had heard that he was a conservative by Michael Medved on Laura Ingraham's radio show the other day. In light of this recent film, it would not surprise me. I do feel he is one of the brightest filmmakers currently on the scene.
Brad