Exorcist: The Beginning


Tells the story of Father Merrin's journey as a young priest to Africa in the early 20th century, which led to his first encounter with the evil forces.

LATEST NEWS

8/05/04
A cool Exorcist sound board is up here.

7/20/04
You can check some spoiling new pics here, and also a new "full" trailer is up.

6/28/04
Captain Howdy is reporting that a new trailer for the film was underway, but got declined by the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America), deeming it "too scary". You can read more on it here.

6/12/04
Director Renny Harlin spoke with SciFi Wire yesterday about how he didn't set out to reshoot the film with more gore and violence like what it was originally reported to be when previous director Paul Schrader was on board. He was quoted saying... "The key is that they [Production company Morgan Creek] wanted to make sure that the movie would be faithful to the original 1973 film, and because it is the most famous horror film in the world, they wanted to make sure that this film was suspenseful and offered the kind of experience that the original film had. So I guess that they didn't feel that the script that they had had or the film [Schrader had] shot, for whatever reason, ... quite [gave] that experience. ... They first considered just doing some reshoots and doing some additions. But [they] then came to the conclusion that the movie had a certain structure and certain style and certain nature, and they wanted a different kind of a film. So that's what we tried to do."

He then went on to say... "We follow the same type of themes and ideas and maybe solve some of the questions and mysteries that were established in the original Exorcist, because this is a prequel, we really, really have the chance to set up some of the things that are not explained in the 1973 film, and at the same time I think that they felt that it was very important that the audience would experience the same kind of discomfort and fear and unsettling emotions as in the first film. ... They really were concerned that ... there would be a certain similarity in the genre and make sure that the film, while a character study and the study of the battle between good and evil, was scary and suspenseful like the original, and didn't rely on any kind of wild special effects that wouldn't really make sense. ... In a way, this film feels like it could have taken place before the 1973 film, so it's definitely ... not about gore. It's not about flying monsters and special effects at all."

6/09/04
MTV has the first trailer for the film. You can check it by clicking the link on your left.

6/08/04
The official site is active, where you can view images and loads of other stuff for the film.

4/29/04
You can check a scanned pic of an article from Entertainment Weekly for the film here.

4/14/04
I've added a new pic, which you can view on the bottom right. Also, according to Variety you may expect to see the cut Paul Schrader version of the film on the upcoming DVD release.

4/05/04
I've added a few behind-the-scenes pics for the film taken from the official Gary J. Tunnicliffe site, who's doing some of the effects work on the movie. You can check the pics on your bottom right. Thanks to "Sean" for the heads up.

3/07/04
An August 20th release is set.

2/24/04
The NY Time has an article on the film here.

2/22/04
Renny Harlin's reshots of the film apparently wrapped up February 22 after 13 weeks on Rome's Cinecitta Studios backlot. The new footage is said to "generously feature revolving eyeballs, spinning heads and loads of projectile vomit."

1/19/04
Added some pics for the film. One or two of the pics may be for the Paul Schrader version, but it's still cool to see anyway. Thanks to "justycist" from the captain howdy forum.

1/09/04
I've added a new pic.

12/08/03
I've added Izabella Scorupco to the cast.

11/19/03
Alexi Hawley has been set to rewrite the script, originally written by William Wisher, Jr. and Caleb Carr.

10/23/03
Cinescape reported that Deep Blue Sea director Renny Harlin is the new director for the film and the WB is dishing out an extra 8 million to get him to make the film their way.

9/18/03
It's now official that director Paul Schrader is no longer the director. They are now in search of a new director.

9/07/03
There's an interesting interview up with screenwriter Caleb Carr that offers a lot of info on whats been going on with the film. You can check it here.

8/25/03
Sounds like more bad news with the film. Apparently its been reported by the NY Post gossip column that director Paul Schrader has been fired from the project, even after it's already been filmed. You can read more about it here.

8/14/03
You can find some pics at Captain Howdy.

Also apparently there's a bit of trouble with the final cut of the film. According to an article in a UK newspaper Director Paul Schrader handed in his final cut of the film last week and Warners execs "simply didn't like it - it doesn't have any of the turning heads and projectile vomit they were anxious to see."

With post production still to go, the direction the film will now take is unsure. 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... it's the film that seriously makes the closest attempt to get back to elements that made the first one so great. [It has] a kind of creeping, growing eeriness that permeates inside you until you realise you're really scared and freaked out. Audiences should expect for things not to happen the way they're used to... to think about things that are both scary and mysterious."

N/A Date
Director Paul Schrader talked with SCI FI Wire about how he will upend the original film for his movie, which takes the story back to its origins. He was quoted saying..."I have to kind of flip the formul, I can't have another 13-year-old girl being demonically possessed."

In The Beginning, audiences meet Father Lankester Merrin as a middle-aged priest, first during World War II in his native Holland, and later as an archaeologist in Kenya, where he has his first encounter with demonic forces. "The formula gets flipped by having a young boy who is ... physically afflicted, and as everything in this area of British East Africa ... gets worse and worse, and the sort of craziness and the human evil increases, he gets better," Schrader said. Merrin makes a startling discovery and the story plays out with a battle between good and evil.

DETAILS

- A new writer, Alexi Hawley, was brought in to rewrite the William Wisher and Caleb Carr script, and a new editor is working only with Harlin's material for the recut.
- Original cast members Clara Bellar, Gabriel Mann, and pop star Billy Crawford wont likely be in the finished cut since they didn't return for the reshots.
- It's said that not a single frame of the footage shot by Paul Schrader will be included in the film.
- Director Renny Harlin took over shooting the film after Paul Schrader dropped out last year due to creative differences.
- Originally budgeted at $25 million.
- James D'Arcy replaces Gabriel Mann's character.
- Izabella Scorupco played a Bond girl in Goldeneye.
- Alexi Hawley has been set to rewrite the script, originally written by William Wisher, Jr. and Caleb Carr.
- Filming took place in Morocco and Rome.
- Ryan Phillippe and Kerr Smith were both considered for the role of Father William Francis.
- Swedish actor, Stellan Skarsgård replaced Liam Neeson, who dropped out because of scheduling conflicts.
- This is the obvious 4th film in the Exorcist series.

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