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The Exorcistshocked the universe when it premier in 1973 , and it was n’t long before its gigantic winner pave the manner for copycat flick . withThe Omenbeing one of the most illustrious . To capitalize on the thunder winner ofcreepy supernatural horror filmsof the time , Warner Bros. quickly pushed for a sequel in the physique ofExorcist II : The Heretic .
While it started off with the good of intentions , the sequel quickly corkscrew into ego - destruction and became one of the mostcritically tear apart horror pic ever made . Eventually , Exorcist IImanaged to claw some bread and butter in the shape of a small but consecrate furore fan al-Qaida ( both ironic and otherwise ) , but the year still have not been genial . Many repugnance fans would be scandalize to know the behind the scenes facts about the sequel , which are story unto themselves .
There Was Strong Opposition To A Sequel
The original cast and crew of theThe Exorcistwere none - too - slap-up on the idea of a subsequence to their originative masterpiece , which in hindsight might have been the first and more obvious warning sign . From a originative linear perspective , this made perfect sentience give that the original film was a monumentally toughened number to succeed .
OriginalExorcistdirector William Friedkindropped out early after failing to come up with an inventive premise for the film with author William Peter Blatty , and Ellen Burstyn was n’t the least scrap interested in reprising her role as Reagan ’s female parent . It should have end there , but fate had other plans .
Linda Blair Agreed To Star Because Of Richard Burton
Linda Blair , who play Regan in the first photographic film , was reluctant to do a subsequence in favor of pursuing veterinary school , but she had a modification of bosom when she read the original script and see that actor Richard Burton would be playing the theatrical role of Father Philip Lamont .
In fact , Blair ’s enthrallment and latria of Burton was nearly overwhelming . Blair loved work with Burton ( and vice versa ) so much that the two excise up a don / daughter - type relationship on correct and managed to pick apart out their scenes with a natural chemical science .
The Opening Night Was A Disaster
The picture show touched down on opening night to scathing interview reaction that enrage fans of the originalExorcist , who thought they would see a continuance of that film . audience had fit in theaters , threw thing at the screen , and reportedly participated in riots according to film director John Boorman .
One particular write up told by William Friedkin allege that studio apartment executive attended a sneak prevue of the film in a limo before tell the driver to pick up some food . Ten arcminute into the plastic film , the crowd single them out and turned their passion against the White House who were forced to flee the dramatic art without the limo driver there to pick them up . They were reportedly tag down the street by an angry mob of pissed ofExorcistfans .
Martin Scorsese Loves It
The Exorcist IIwas critically panned by referee and audiences likewise , but a few big name likeQuentin Tarantinoand Martin Scorsese loved the sequel . The film director ofThe DepartedandThe Wolf of Wall Streetwas intrigued by the story , which he consider mimicked the story of Job in the Bible . For the unfamiliar , this is a story about great goodness bringing great evil upon itself .
He even give out so far as to say that while the originalExorcist"scared the hell " out of him , the sequel was even more terrific . It ’s hard to conceive of the reasoning behind such a comparison , but such is the peach of artwork and its immanent nature . But since Scorsese is ( in his words ) a relapse Catholic , it ’s more or less unsurprising thatThe Exorcist II –which is profoundly entrenched in the religion and its opinion – dissemble him on a personal level .
John Boorman Had Good Intentions For The Sequel
Director John Boorman had achieved critical acclaim for his work on the classic thrillerDeliverance , but his reaching exceeded his own grasp when it came toThe exorciser II.According to Boorman , he wanted to move away from the ugliness and revulsion of the originalExorcist , andtake the story in a more positivistic direction .
In hindsight , Boorman admits that his bankruptcy was not giving the audience the form of horror movie that they wanted . So powerful and iconic was the original that deviating too far from it prove to be its own undoing .
Too Many Writers Killed The Story
Linda Blair recounts that the original script forThe Exorcist IIwas superb , and it was one of the cause she decided to reprise her role as Regan . However , the problem begin when John Boorman wanted to rewrite the script to incorporate other ideas .
Chaos result shortly thereafter with constant book revision in the center of shooting . By the death of filming , The Exorcist IIwas nothing like the original book . " That script was rewrite five times , " say Linda Blair during an interview for Scream Factory . " So the pic we set out to make never befall . Too many cooks mar the brewage , and in this case it ’s what affected this moving-picture show . We all left with outstanding dashing hopes , I believe . for sure I know I did . "
Nobody Understands The Locusts' Symbolism
One specially odd melodic theme ofExorcist IIis the construct of locust tree and how they relate to several characters in the film . The hearing glimpse this during a setting when a young African boy begin to whirl a reata around his header to grapple with an incoming violent storm of locusts attempting to devour crops . The theme would be revisit in the last act of the photographic film when Regan simulates the action , on the face of it to banish evil .
Linda Blair remarked " I have no idea why any of it happened , " a opinion no doubt echoed by the hearing who could n’t figure out what was pop off on .
James Earl Jones Refused To Redub His Lines
legal editor in chief Tom Priestley noted that thespian James Earl Jones ( who played the grownup Kokumo ) was not keen on having to go through the process of redubbing his phone line , which is a coarse part of the movie - hit process . Priestley noted that Jones was unwilling to total back and sync up his lines with his on - CRT screen performance , instead saying that he ’d read the lines three or four times and then leave it up to Priestley to outfit them in .
Priestley notice that Jones’stage backgroundmight have had a lot to do with his reluctance . Many leg actors who make the jumping to Hollywood are frequently put off by the immensely different production method necessary to make a movie .
The Seduction Scene Was Originally Much Worse
The writers in the beginning want to contribute a controversial scenery andadd to its notorietyby throwing in as much explicit intimate content and violative imaging as possible , but this never saw the luminance of Clarence Day . The scene involves a infernal version of Regan attempting to sexually seduce Father Lamont and prey on is weaknesses .
Linda Blair and Richard Burton reportedly found the prospect weird and uncomfortable but if the rewritten storyboard had seen the ignitor of day , it might have get more harm to the film than intended . Blair , who was 17 twelvemonth honest-to-god at the time , immediately refuse to do it and the estimate was scrapped in favor of the inflect down version in the final moving picture .
An Alcoholic Richard Burton Read Cue Cards
Linda Blair recount the days when Richard Burton began reading off of clue plug-in to complete his scenes , which she had call " the new norm . " Blair was not explicitly clear what she entail by this , but theories postulate that it could have something to do with the monolithic amount of script rewrite taking place during filming .
Another theory is that Burton , a be intimate alcoholic at the clock time , start strike the bottle as tensions increase and morale among the cast and crew began to flitter . According to Blair , Burton had start off fine but often show up drunk between the middle and final parts of filming .
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