The Exorcist - appreciation thread

[Pubrick]

"Audiences should expect for things not to happen the way they're used to... to think about things that are both scary and mysterious".

"Audiences are advised to not be passive  idiots and make an attempt at using their brain before they die miserable and unfulfilled fuuuuckihateyouall."

[Mesh]

Instead of being a gore fest, Schraeder's take is described as "a picture that combines colonial-era action and adventure with personal introspection and deeper psychological horror"

I hope what they finally do release is 95% Schrader's film.  I can understand the studio's need to toss some shocking, graphic moments into (perhaps) the trailer, just get the film through the initial teaser/promotional hump.  After they succeed in getting people into the seats, though, I'd like to see what Schrader can muster with this type of story.  I mean, "personal introspection and deeper psychological horror" were all over Affliction, were they not?  I mean, Coburn's character was scary in a very 1973, original Exorcist type way, don't you agree?  The whole intrigue of that film was Nolte's struggle not to become possessed by his father's demons....(to stretch the Exorcist angle to its limits....)

And let's face it.  The Exorcist was a one-time deal.  You can't recreate that film, that kind of shock, or, frankly, that era.  That was Watergate time; America's political innocence had been shattered for the second time in 10 years; real American paranoia was in its infancy.  What The Exorcist did was to break new ground in defiling things we held sacred—it violated upscale East Coasters, it violated old churches, it violated a prepubescent girl—all that was brand new.

Now:  Schrader's film has what I see as an unprecedented opportunity to really turn the knife, as it were, into America's 911 wound.  When, in our history, have we been more aware of and afraid of the atrocities that perversions of beautiful religions can create?  I think that's what this new Exorcist film might attempt to get at.  Perhaps I'm extrapolating too much from this quote from Schrader:

"This is a loss of faith story," he says. "They discover that this church has been buried, there's a possession and it's how Merrin comes to get his faith back"

A buried church?  That's just such a big, lumbering metaphor for crumbling, ruined religions....

BTW:  I haven't read any Caleb Carr and I know nothing about William Wisher (the screenwriter and story-writer)....Any help?

[MacGuffin]

Paul Schrader Dumped from Exorcist: The Beginning
Source: Page Six

Famed writer/director Paul Schrader Has been unceremoniously dumped from "The Exorcist IV: The Beginning" because he didn't put in enough blood, guts and vomit, insiders say.

Schrader - who wrote "Raging Bull" and "Taxi Driver" and directed films including "Rolling Thunder" and "Auto Focus" - was hired last year to direct the horror movie by Morgan Creek Films, which has a distribution deal with Warner Bros.

One production source told PAGE SIX, "[Morgan Creek] was just so excited with having a marquee name, they didn't bother with the details."

The picture, starring Stellan Skarsgard, Gabriel Mann and Francesca Barone, was shot in Rome and Morocco.

"The whole movie is done," another source said. "When Paul went to turn it in, Morgan Creek refused to give him his post-production money because they hated it. Paul had given them what was in the script - a creepy psychological thriller, with no gore.

"Morgan Creek wanted gore. They think that will sell. There were huge fights between Paul, who is more artistic, and the company, and earlier this week Paul was fired. They are planning on hiring a new director to reshoot some scenes."

The production source added: "They'll probably have the new director shoot a couple of [gory] scenes. Paul is a great filmmaker; there was just something different Morgan Creek had in mind.

"The script they gave Paul just didn't translate well onto the screen."

Schrader declined comment, citing legal agreements. A rep for Warner Bros. said, "Warner Bros. pictures distributes Morgan Creeks movies but we don't produce and therefore we have no comment."

Caleb Carr, the best-selling author of "The Alienist," wrote the "Exorcist IV" screenplay for Morgan Creek. He told us: "The problem with Paul's cut of the movie is it does not deliver the psychological fear we were looking for. It does have some good dramatic elements which can be rearranged with some good shooting into a very good movie."

[markums2k]

I love Caleb Carr, but this project has 'failure' written all over it.  I should know.  Takes one to know one.  

[Pwaybloe]

Yeah, that's pretty sad.  But to anyone who's seen "The Kid Stays in the Picture," you know there are 3 sides to every story.

[AlguienEstolamiPantalones]

this thread is 6 pages long and i do not have the time to see if this was covered already but, friedkin has real big mother  isssues and is known to be anti woman

so that added a extra layer to the film

that whole thing about the priest and the mom, was very inspired in the book or not '

much like the cancer scenes in magnolia, where you know pta was showing you what he went through

friendkin had weird mom issues and that took on a weird twist

and he hated woman so he made linda blair well just personify evil and do things that are just wrong

couple more things there was a scene when max von sydow had to look all freaked out and spazzy over the devil while he yelled at the devil so friedkin pulled sodow to the side and said

" do you trust me"
sydow said yes
and then boom friedkin slapped him across the face, sydow was so stunned and angry he didnt know what to say or do so friedkin said

" USE IT IN THE SCENE"

Another weird moment was ellen burston was tied to a cabinet for a scene and on the first take she complained that it hurt to have the cabinet thrown at her so to her face he said " no prob " then in ear shot behind her back he said pull the fucking thing harder

and then he broke her elbow or arm or something with that scene , when you see her scream its real

billy friendkin is a nutty fucker, but he really loves his films and will sacrifice his actors to do so

[AlguienEstolamiPantalones]

who else thinks that markums is retarted now?

ohh i do

[markums2k]

who else thinks that markums is retarted now?

ohh i do

 So clever.  Truly an asset to humanity.

Try to not let topic-specific arguments leak into other threads.  Troll.

[MacGuffin]

Horror Express got speaking with scribe Caleb Carr this week and right up front asked about last week's news of Director Paul Schraeder being fired from the prequel. The response was surprisingly strong - "I can confirm that Paul Schrader's connection with the film has been concluded, by mutual agreement. More details than that, I do not know. As for my reaction and the future of the film, I am heartened by the departure of a director who had apparently taken on the project not because he loved it, but for a paycheck and as a way to get (by his own public statement) "back" into the mainstream of commercial films (his previous solid lock on commercialism apparently having been that landmark of popular culture, CAT PEOPLE). Mr. Schrader has left us with a good amount of useable material which, when cut in with necessary reshoots, should make up a fine film; but in the future, I'd hope that he would have more respect for the work of others than to treat it as a tool with which to gain his private, unconnected, pragmatic goals".


More here.

[filmcritic]

I so wish that Paul Schrader hadn't been fired off of this. I don't know who they think they are. He's the guy who wrote "Taxi Driver", "Raging Bull" and "Last Temptation of Christ" and directed "Affliction" and "American Gigolo. And they fired him because he was too artistic for a movie like this probably.

[modage]

I so wish that Paul Schrader hadn't been fired off of this. I don't know who they think they are. He's the guy who wrote "Taxi Driver", "Raging Bull" and "Last Temptation of Christ" and directed "Affliction" and "American Gigolo. And they fired him because he was too artistic for a movie like this probably.

shit!  THAT paul schrader??!

[Ravi]

Maybe Brett Ratner can step in?

[MacGuffin]

Renny Harlin will be replacing Paul Schraeder for the reshoots. Harlin will be given several million for the shooting, and a release is now due out around Easter next year.

[godardian]

Renny Harlin will be replacing Paul Schraeder for the reshoots. Harlin will be given several million for the shooting, and a release is now due out around Easter next year.

Gross. My sympathies to Paul Schrader. To go from the peak of Autofocus to this fiasco...  

[bonanzataz]

yeah, because auto focus was sooooo fucking good...  

but, yeah, replacing the original director with renny harlin midway through the shoot on the exorcist prequel. this one looks like it'll be REALLY good...


is there an award given for most sarcastic post ever?