Exorcist: The Beginning/Dominion

[modage]

yes, this is going to be a very interesting mess for the marketing dept. to figure out.  i'm guessing it will only come out in a limited arthousey release.  if they open it wide, consider me very surprised.  but it'll be hard for it to suck more than the harlin version which i actually watched 2 nights ago.  i was actually surprised at how restrained the first hour or so of the movie was.  so restrained it was a bit of a bore, but then when all the signature exorcist stuff started happening it just got bad.  it was actually the first sequel i've seen but one of these days i'll get around to seeing the other two suck-fests.

[Weak2ndAct]

Exorcist 2 is a spectacular train-wreck.  It's so bad it's incredibly watchable.  Richard Burton is completely shitfaced throughout the whole thing, and James Earl Jones is the Locust King!  Also, you might feel dirty leering at teenaged Linda Blair.

[Thrindle]

Also, you might feel dirty leering at teenaged Linda Blair.

And sometimes it's all the same in the end...  

[Pubrick]

PHOTOSHOPPED!

So the question is... how do they market this so it's succesful enough to let the stuidos understand that it's okay for a movie to be good? that they don't have to remake it into a piece of shit?

it'll hav to be a trailer with a bit of backstory. backstory to the backstory  

"the version we thought u wouldn't like!"

[MacGuffin]

Schrader puts 'Exorcist' tale in perspective

BRUSSELS -- Director Paul Schrader insists that, if nothing else, his Hollywood odyssey has been unique in film history. Speaking at the premiere of his ill-fated "Exorcist" prequel at the Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Film, Schrader noted that "film schools will now have the easiest example of a compare-and-contrast question."

Said Schrader: "In that sense, this is an asterisk in the history of cinema."
 
Schrader had been brought in to shoot "Exorcist: The Beginning" after the original director, the late John Frankenheimer, fell ill. But producer Morgan Creek felt Schrader's version was too tame. They shelved it on delivery and hired Renny Harlin to reshoot the entire movie, which came out last year.

After almost two years in Hollywood purgatory, Schrader allowed himself a moment of vindication at the Brussels Festival which ended Saturday. "If you've made a film that had been shot, and you've been fired, you've been tarred with a brush and it's almost impossible to get that tar off of you," he said. "You can explain until you're blue in the face about how you actually made a good film, and no one will ever believe you, because no one throws away a $35 million good film. It had to be a stinker."

Schrader said it was a close call that his work -- now tentatively named "Paul Schrader's The Exorcist: The Prequel" -- wasn't entirely junked. "The fact that this film exists owes itself to two phenomena that were not present 10 years ago," he said. "The first is DVD. We were able to say to the financier, 'Don't throw away that film: There is money to be made down the road in DVD.' The other thing is the Internet, whereby through use of fan-based Web sites you can keep talk about the film alive so that the subject never quite dies. Were it not for the Internet, it would have been forgotten."

It was partly because of the horror fan base that Schrader chose Brussels for the screening. "I approached the festival because it was low-key enough that I might get away with Morgan Creek letting me do it. Also, in a more high-profile festival, I would just be in a sidebar somewhere, and here I'm the centerpiece," he said.

"This is a specialty festival," said Schrader -- screenwriter of "Taxi Driver" and "Raging Bull," and director of "Auto Focus." "The two times Merrin kissed the girl, they were like, 'No, don't kiss her! She's gonna turn into the Devil!' These people are so far ahead of you in the genre: You have an audience that cheers when a woman gets a screwdriver stuck in her eye."

Despite the relief at finally being granted a premiere, Schrader also admits to a certain discomfiture about seeing it. "There are some painful moments watching one's own movie," he said. "Although I can see the good bits, I also see the mistakes. And so there are two thoughts that go through my mind when seeing my work on the screen, neither of them positive. The first is, 'That was really good: Whatever happened to my talent?' The second is, 'That was no good: I never had any talent.'"

[modage]

"You have an audience that cheers when a woman gets a screwdriver stuck in her eye."

hmm.... that actually sounds LESS restrained than the harlin version.

[RegularKarate]

now tentatively named "Paul Schrader's The Exorcist: The Prequel"

Worst title ever

[MacGuffin]

Schrader's Exorcist Set
Retooled horror prequel set for release.
 
Warner Bros. has set the retooled Paul Schrader version of Exorcist: The Beginning for a May 20th big-screen release. Yes, that's just one day after Star Wars: Episode III debuts in theaters – not exactly a vote of confidence.

For those unfamiliar with the Exorcist prequel saga, or those of you thinking, "Didn't that get released last year?"... Paul Schrader was hired to helm the film after original helmer John Frankenheimer dropped out due to illness.  Schrader aimed to make a prequel worthy of the original Exorcist, preferring psychological suspense and spiritual themes to blood-and-guts horror. But soon after production ended, backers Morgan Creek and Warner Bros. were unpleasantly surprised by the filmmaker's creative choices – someone, apparently, didn't get the memo.

Schrader was given the axe and Renny Harlin was hired to reshoot the entire film.  The studio spent an additional $35 million on the picture and released it last year to lackluster reviews and a stunted box office take.  Ultimately, Schrader was called on again by editor Tim Silano who was preparing a bonus cut of the movie for the impending DVD release.  The director was given the opportunity to finish his film and debuted it to positive critical response at the Brussels Fantasy Film Festival earlier this year.

"Schrader's intelligent, quietly subversive pic emphasizes spiritual agony over horror ecstasy, while paying occasional lip service to the need for scares," wrote Variety.  "Schrader has delivered a 100 percent Paul Schrader film, drenched in the spiritual and moral angst that's watermarked his career."

Now, while most moviegoers are flocking to see the final installment of George Lucas' Star Wars prequels, horror fans will have a chance to check out Schrader's version on the big screen. Given the unfortunate release calendar placement, they're guaranteed a good seat in the theater.

[Mr. Merrill Lehrl]

I really feel like everyone should go see his version a bunch of times.  Send a message to the studios that we want smart films instead of what they think we want.  I really feel like despite generally favorable reviews that his version will receive it will ultimately rake in a small sum and be forgotten by the general public.

Such is life.

[Weak2ndAct]

From Ebert's answer-man column:

Q. I noticed that you did not review the prequel, "The Exorcist: The Beginning" that came out last year. Do you have something against the movies that continue the story of the original "Exorcist"?

Dan Harris, Brookings, S.D.

A. It was not previewed for critics, and I never caught up with it. I have, however, just seen Paul Schrader's original "The Exorcist: The Prequel," which was shelved by the studio, reportedly because it was "too serious." Renny Harlin was hired to make a version that replaced three of the four leads, spent $50 million on top of Schrader's $30 million, and the movie scored only 11 percent on the Tomatometer.

The Schrader version is a very good film, strong and true. It is intelligent about spiritual matters, sensitive to the complexities of its characters, and does something risky and daring in this time of jaded horror movies: It takes evil seriously. It will have a limited theatrical run next month before a DVD release.

[MacGuffin]

'Exorcist's' twin spawn
The behind-the-scenes story of Morgan Creek's two prequels is enough to make your head spin.
Source: Los Angeles Times

Under normal circumstances, the marketing strategy would hardly raise an eyebrow: a trailer for one horror film turning up on the DVD of another.

But the recent Australian DVD release of director Renny Harlin's "The Exorcist: The Beginning," a prequel to William Friedkin's epochal horror classic, "The Exorcist," contained a puzzling bonus feature. It housed a movie trailer for an alternate version of "The Exorcist: The Beginning" — the one directed by art-house auteur Paul Schrader that had been shot earlier and shelved in favor of Harlin's prequel.

"I don't know how or why it showed up there," Schrader said. "It was the same trailer they used for Renny's version but with different shots — with shots from my film instead of Renny's."

On May 20, little more than nine months after Harlin's "Exorcist" prequel completed its underwhelming $41-million theatrical run, Schrader's film, newly retitled "Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist," will roll out in limited release on 110 screens.

Morgan Creek, the company that produced both films, acknowledged the strangeness of the situation — and that the company might have made an expensive mistake. "Right now, we're saying, 'We could have been wrong,' " said Brian Robinson, senior vice president of worldwide marketing. "That takes a big company to admit."

Both versions of the film feature Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgard as Father Frank Lankester Merrin (a younger incarnation of Max von Sydow's character in "The Exorcist") battling Satan in colonial Kenya. And both were shot in Rome's Cinecittà Studios by renowned cinematographer Vittorio Storaro.

Taken together, the competing versions represent one of the most torturous production tales in Hollywood history. In 2002, a version based on a script by bestselling historical novelist Caleb Carr was given the go-ahead by Morgan Creek. During pre-production, the project's first director, John Frankenheimer, suffered a stroke and died. Schrader, who is best known as the screenwriter of edgy morality thrillers including "Taxi Driver," stepped in.

Principal photography took place in Morocco and Italy, wrapping in early 2003. But Schrader's $40-million production was essentially scrapped by Morgan Creek CEO James Robinson, who concluded during the editing phase that the film was too cerebral. Schrader was dismissed and Dutch action movie ace Harlin, director of "Die Hard 2: Die Harder," was brought on to amp up the fright factor. He, in turn, persuaded Robinson to start over from scratch. Although elements of Schrader's version remain, "The Exorcist: The Beginning" was rewritten, recast (with Skarsgard persuaded to return) and re-shot — at an additional cost of nearly $60 million.

While Schrader's film has languished at Morgan Creek since late 2003, fan interest in the project never waned, largely due to the director's tireless campaigning on horror fan websites. "Through these, I was able to keep the myth of the movie alive," he said.

The Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film proved to be a turning point. Screening there in March, Schrader's version received some flattering reviews, convincing Morgan Creek that the film's time had come. "The critical acclaim warranted a theatrical release," Brian Robinson said.

"Dominion" will be distributed by Warner Bros. and hits theaters the same weekend as the hotly anticipated "Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith" — a risky but strategic counter-programming plan.

The strategy also poses an unusual marketing dilemma for Morgan Creek. In marketing two versions of the same movie, is it better to emphasize the films' shared lineage? Or their differences?

"Therein lies the problem," said Brian Robinson. "How do you make them so they're related but show their differences in a 30-second TV spot?"

Morgan Creek's marketing campaign for the movie is still being finalized, but tentative plans exist to use a blurb from Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert that pays tribute to the Schrader version while also distinguishing it from the Harlin version of the film.

Brian Robinson said Morgan Creek is not afraid of looking silly for its earlier business choices.

"If ['Dominion'] takes off and everybody goes crazy and it's the 'Exorcist' everybody wanted to see — because a lot of people didn't like the Renny Harlin version — then we'll have to say, 'We had it all along and didn't need to shoot the Renny Harlin version.' "

Anticipating his remarks at the press screenings of "Dominion" planned in Los Angeles tonight, Schrader made light of the whole imbroglio. "I know what I will say before the movie starts," he said, chuckling. " 'Welcome to Paul Schrader's class in comparative film at the Morgan Creek School of the Arts.' "

[MacGuffin]

Schrader exorcises Hollywood demon with 'Dominion'

When Paul Schrader's prequel to "The Exorcist" debuts next week, the veteran screenwriter and director finally will see a Hollywood demon lifted from his soul.

Schrader finished the movie in 2003 only to see it taken away by the producer, reshot by an action director to add gore and distributed as "Exorcist: The Beginning" last year.

So when his "Dominion: A Prequel to the Exorcist" opens in theaters on May 20, movie fans will have two versions of the same film, both prequels to the 1973 classic "Exorcist" about a girl possessed by the devil.

"My feeling now -- more than vindication, more than revenge -- is relief. I don't have to spend the rest of my life explaining what my film was like," Schrader told Reuters.

"Dominion" focuses on a spiritual crisis by the Father Merrin character of the first film and lacks the projectile vomiting and head twisting of the original.

Schrader said the decision to eschew gore led the film's backer, Morgan Creek Productions, to conclude "Dominion" needed spicing up to draw its target audience of mostly young men.

Morgan Creek hired director Renny Harlin to add human-eating hyenas, leeches, maggots and lots of blood-letting.

A Morgan Creek spokesman was unavailable to comment.

Critics panned "Exorcist: The Beginning," and it went on to earn an unremarkable $77 million worldwide despite opening No. 1 at box offices last August. It cost around $105 million to make and market, according to tracker boxofficemojo.com.

GREED HAS WON

Schrader said he found "The Beginning" so bad that he left the theater smiling because he thought "Dominion" might have a chance at being released.

"From the time I left that screening, I began a long campaign to come to this day," Schrader said.

He has spent his own money on promotion and publicity, called in favors to finish music scoring and editing, and even received some money to finish "Dominion" from Morgan Creek.

Schrader said the production company decided the movie might be able to recapture some of its original investment, principally due to DVD sales.

"Thankfully, greed has won," Schrader said with a laugh.

Schrader, 58, knows a lot about the business of show business. His 1976 screenplay for "Taxi Driver" vaulted director Martin Scorsese and actor Robert DeNiro to stardom.

He penned the scripts for Scorsese's "Raging Bull," and wrote and directed the 1980 hit "American Gigolo."

But his 1982 erotic thriller "Cat People" flopped, and since then his work has stayed mostly confined to art-house theaters where "Dominion" will likely find its chief audience, too.

Schrader is not known for making films that hit big at box offices. "Affliction," a 1998 film about an abusive father-son relationship, earned James Coburn an Oscar for supporting actor but sold only $6.3 million worth of tickets.

Schrader said he worries less about the money than about letting audiences see films such as "Dominion."

"Its commercial legs were cut out from underneath it by the other film," he said. "I benefit artistically, but I lose commercially, which, I guess, is sort of the damnation of my career, anyway," he said.

[Ghostboy]

Did anyone else see this?

The best I can say about it is that yes, it has some good ideas, and yes, it takes evil seriously. But it's also pretty awful in its own right. A good story, marred by bad writing and equally bad direction. I feel bad saying that about Schrader, but it just doesn't work.

What's more, the print that's been released looks like it's been blown up from a DigiBeta tape (which is probably the case). And the CGI -- Jesus Christ, this movie has the worst special effects since Mortal Kombat 2. This should have been released to eBay, where it would have a lively life as a prized bootleg.

My full review is here.

[w/o horse]

The bad directing is almost expected, but the bad writing...that's too bad.  Perhaps Schrader should stick to humanistic horror.

At least my expectations are low.

[metroshane]

Um, yeah...thanks to all those that post nudity.  

When will I learn you guys can't be trusted when I'm at work?