William Peter Blatty, author of the original Exorcist novel and subsequent Oscar winning screenplay, has revealed that the big boss of the 1973 movie, William Friedkin, has agreed to direct a new version. Brace yourself for a 3D do-over with a younger cast and all-CG effects… then unbrace because, actually, I don’t think that’s what we’re set for here at all. No need to spin your head and spew pea soup quite yet…. but how will Mark Kermode, The World’s Biggest Exorcist Fan, react to this news, I wonder?
Blatty has written the new Exorcist in the form of a miniseries teleplay. If Mad Men, The Sopranos and The Wire have shown me anything (besides women in tight sweaters, sudden cuts to black and 101 reasons to not go to Baltimore) it’s that the expectations for even quite mainstream television can be allowed to overlap with the expectations we typically reserve for literature. This could work well for the new Exorcist.
On the bigger canvas of a miniseries, Blatty would be able to include a lot of the original novel’s material not seen in the movie, as well as make some fresh changes he’d have us believe are for the best.
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As you probably know by now, Gallery 1988 will be holding their third annual pop culture art show Crazy4Cult 3D from July 16th (TONIGHT!!!) to August 8th in Los Angeles. Gallery1988 has given us permission to run an exclusive preview of some of the cool artwork which hasn’t been seen yet, that will be available at the show. After the jump we’ve included over 30 pieces of the awesome art you’ll see at the show. If you’re interested in buying any of the original art — make sure you’re there! If you want to order any of the prints, you can email Gallery 1988 at gallery1988@aol.com or call them at 323 937 7088.
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Editor’s Note: You probably know Alex Proyas as the director of films like The Crow, Dark City, Garage Days, I Robot and Knowing, but for the next week and a half the filmmaker has agreed to become a guest blogger on /Film. I asked Alex to blog about some of his influences, and you can now read the resulting blog post below.
I was too young to see The Exorcist in its first run at the theaters, but I remember reading the novel and being scared to death. Many years later when I was able to see the film, its impact was no less potent. I love thrillers with a spiritual aspect… simply because it centers around a danger out of human control. Sell the initial concept (brilliantly achieved by BLATTY), and you have the potential to create some of the most thrilling moments possible. Forget about the scary beats and cheap jumps which sustain most modern thrillers and horrors – I like a film that prolongs tension for so long that even a quick scene cut to a girl lying in bed with special effects makeup scares the hell out of you.
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Gremlins vs. Batman, The Goonies, The Exorcist, Indiana Jones
The Pitch: Sacha Feiner created this incredible alternative fan sequence using the Gremlins 2 Film break scene. Created over two months using computer enhanced puppets. Sacha writes: “I made a new mold out of a hard cast of one of the original sculptures from the production. I created a batch of new foam puppets especially for this project. Their performances are enhanced by computer effects, which makes them able to do nearly anything, from running to jumping or facial expressions. The entire shooting takes place in a bluescreen studio, arranged in my basement, in order to superimpose the gremlins in the chosen movies.” … “This is a fan, non profit project. I did everything alone, from the filming to the compositing. I only had assistants for the puppeteering. The overall budget, including the purchasing of the original sculpture, the HD and studio equipment, the molding and painting of the puppets and the editing, was about US $3000.” Thanks to the Movie Blog for the tip.
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Video of the Day is a daily feature of /Film showcasing geekarific video creations. Have a video we should be feature on VOTD? E-Mail us at orfilms@gmail.com.
