William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist” is getting a sequel directed by the director of the new “Halloween” trilogy.
The film that traumatized an entire generation and paved the way for exorcism films can be rediscovered in theaters since June 7, on the occasion of 100 years of Warner Bros.
Released in cinemas in September 1974, The Exorcist by William Friedkin is in 7th place in the TOP 10 of the most profitable horror films with 441 million dollars in revenue worldwide (the 1st being the recent remake of It by Andrés Muschietti).
This masterpiece of horror cinema is adapted from the book by William Peter Blatty, itself inspired by a real news story: a case of possession that occurred to a young thirteen-year-old boy residing in Cottage City, Maryland, in 1949. Friedkin’s film was nominated in 10 Oscar categories and won the Best Adapted Screenplay statuette.
In The Exorcist, actress Chris McNeil (Ellen Burstyn) is worried about her baby girl Regan (Linda Blair): after curious noises are heard coming from her room, the little one has changed, uttering constants insanities. A paranormal force inhabits it, which costs the life of the director of Chris. Desperate, the latter calls on two exorcists (Max von Sydow and Jason Miller).
A trilogy by the duo behind “Halloween”
Almost 50 years after the theatrical release of the feature film, David Gordon Green and Jason Blum, at the controls of the last Halloween trilogy, will make a sequel to Friedkin’s film in the form of a trilogy.
The duo will indeed apply the same formula as for Halloween: bring back the actress from the original film and continue the plot of the first opus. The Exorcist: Believer will therefore not take into account the sequels: The Exorcist 2 – The Heretic by John Boorman (1978) and The Exorcist III by William Peter Blatty (1990).
Jason Blum managed to convince Ellen Burstyn to come back. A great first since so far the actress had refused to appear in the suites.
The reason for Ellen Burstyn’s return
Asked about it by the American magazine The Hollywood Reporterthe Oscar-winning actress for her role in Alice is no longer here, said she accepted only to be able to finance a program for young actors.
She states thus: “I refused many times to do the sequel to The Exorcist. I said no every time. This time they offered me a lot of money and I still refused. And then they surprised me and came back doubling their offer. (…) I replied: “That’s a lot of money. Let me think about it.”
Warner Bros. Ellen Burstyn in The Exorcist
The next thought that came to mind was, “I feel like the devil is asking my price.” And then I thought, “My award is a scholarship program for talented students in our master’s program at Pace University.” So I reversed my decision, negotiated my salary up and ended up getting what I wanted: scholarships for young actors.“
Ellen Burstyn will be joined here by Leslie Odom Jr (Hamilton), Jennifer Nettles (The Righteous Gemstones), Ann Dowd (The Scarlet Maid), Okwui Okpokwasili (Madeline’s Madeline), Raphael Sbarge (Once Upon a Time), Lidya Jewett (Good Girls) and Olivia Marcum. Linda Blair should also appear in the film by David Gordon Green since the latter was seen on the set.
In this sequel co-written by David GordonGreen and Peter Sattler, two little girls will find themselves possessed. Their father then seeks help from Chris MacNeil.
William Friedkin will not be involved in the project. When the trilogy was announced, the director, quite talkative on social networks, said: “There’s a rumor on IMDB that I’m involved in a new version of The Exorcist. It’s not a rumor, it’s a barefaced lie. There isn’t enough money or motivation in the world to make me do this.”
The Exorcist: Believer will be released in theaters on October 11, 2024.
Ugc
From June 7 to August 29, UGC cinemas are celebrating 100 years of Warner Bros., with an exceptional program of 100 studio masterpieces in 20 UGC cinemas across France, all summer long, at the price of 8, €5 per seat.
All programming on ugc.fr :
UGC Ciné Cité les Halles: 1 film per day, i.e. 84 films during the summer and various events and entertainment to accompany this anniversary program
UCG Ciné Cité Bercy: exceptional retrospectives around franchises and filmmakers (The Lord of the Rings, Christopher Nolan, DC universe, etc.)
Dedicated programming in 18 cinemas across France on Saturday and Sunday evenings: UGC Ciné Cité Vélizy, UGC Ciné Cité Créteil, UGC Ciné Cité Cergy, UGC Issy les Moulineaux, UGC Ciné Cité La Défense, UGC Ciné Cité SQY Ouest, UGC Ciné Cité Rosny, UGC Ciné Cité Parly, UGC Ciné Cité Noisy-le-Grand, UGC Ciné Cité Part-Dieu (Lyon), UGC Ciné Internationale City (Lyon), UGC Ciné Cité Atlantis (Nantes), UGC Ciné Cité Bordeaux, UGC Ciné Cité Bassins à flot (Bordeaux), UGC Talence (Bordeaux), UGC Ciné Cité Lille, UGC Ciné Cité Strasbourg, UGC Nancy.