Exorcist: The Beginning (MERGED THREAD) (1 Viewer)

[Rex Bachmann]

[Nelson Munz laugh]Ha! Ha![/Nelson Munz laugh]

The well deserved fate of anyone stupid enough to hire Paul Schrader to do a "horror" picture. Have they never viewed that sad, indulgent mess that was Cat People (1982)?!?

 

[Kevin M]

I rather liked Schrader's Cat People, interesting if not wholly original connections between sex & death and the difficulty and danger in restraining our inner animal.

I look forward to this new film.

 

[Nick Graham]

This sucks...just as I was wondering what had happened to this film, I found this article. Before you rip Schrader, I would take a look at his screenwriting credits, as well as he directorial credits aside from Cat People. I would be willing to bet this film is quite good.

Too bad Morgan Creek are likely going to destroy it.

 

[Rex Bachmann]

Nick Graham wrote (post #23):

". . . . aside from Cat People"??? Well, the point is that, no matter wherever the man's talents, such as they are, may lie, it is not in making "horror films" of any kind, and he was a piss-poor choice for any such assignment. The producers should have known that from the record. Cat People was a "sex-and-guilt-trip" from start to finish, not a "horror film", as it was billed. (And, yes, I know the original was (sort of) also; but that was made in a wholly different era.)

Thumbs down.

 

[Mike Graham]

Schrader seems like a good choice for a psychological drama - the scripts he wrote for Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, along with directing turns in Affliction and Autofocus are exactly what a prequel dealing with inner demons needs to work; the studio was silly to hire him in hopes of a gore fest to break the box office.

Frankly, I'd prefer to see Schrader's version, which would more then likely turn out to be the better movie.

 

[Joshua_Y]

Cat People is a great flick IMO...and I think he is an excellent choice for this kind of movie...lets just hope the studio doesnt mess it up!

 

[Erik Johansson]

There's a letter from the movie's writer, Caleb Carr, about this at Jeffrey Well's August 15 column at Movie Poop Shoot. He's mad at Schrader in a private letter to "insiders". He's also mad at Well's for publishing the letter. Apparently he has removed it now.

 

[Randall Dorr]

Pagesix

Found this part rather amusing:

Caleb Carr, the best-selling author of "The Alienist," wrote the "Exorcist IV" screenplay for Morgan Creek. He told us: "The problem with Paul's cut of the movie is it does not deliver the psychological fear we were looking for. It does have some good dramatic elements which can be rearranged with some good shooting into a very good movie."

They're going to up the psychological fear by adding more violence? :rolleyes

 

[Ricardo C]

Pathetic

I was eager to see this film, but not anymore.

 

[Mike Graham]

Has there ever been a sucessful case of a second director coming in to "fix" a picture??

 

[Paul_D]

5 words. The Island of Dr. Moreau.

No seriously, what about Terry Gilliam replacing Alex Cox on Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas?

 

[Eric Peterson]

I was mildly interested in seeing this film, but now my interested has peaked at ZERO!

 

[Mark Zimmer]

Second directors successfully coming in to fix pictures: Gone With the Wind, Fleming replaced Cukor. You know the results. I think Fleming also replaced someone on Wizard of Oz the same year.

But this I'm afraid does not have Gone With The Wind written all over it. Hopefully they keep Schrader's materials so the eventual DVD can reconstruct the original version.

 

[Will K]

The same thing happened 14 years ago with Exorcist III. The studio thought there wasn't enough demonic pyrotechnics and/or gore and did some reshoots; the difference is William Peter Blatty wasn't fired off that movie. At least that film turned out mostly excellent, even with the tampering.

I could give or take Paul Schrader. Some of his work is edgy and fascinating, some pretentious and boring. It's just a guessing game thus far where the present version of Exorcist IV falls. Personally, I'm still interested in seeing the film, though I'm still not sure why they chose to revisit Exorcist II territory!

 

[Steven_V]

Here is more from "Exorcist IV" screenplay writer Caleb Carr:

"...Vittorio Storraro, who had spent months planning an elaborate and creative lighting scheme, was treated with such respect by Maestro Schrader that he ended up throwing his hands in the air, and thus the whole movie, which Schrader wanted lit "hot" to suggest the desert sun and the Devil (one supposes) ends up having the depth and creativity of a slightly upscale porn flick; but that's nothing compared to the cast of fine (if lesser-known) actors who stand around the screen with that unmistakable "Somebody, please, in God's name, direct me!" look on their faces; all have their moments, but they are accidental and far between, and generally come at the wrong times. As for the "psychological horror" of the piece that Schrader says the "studio suits" are trying to rip out of his precious cut: the ****ing psychological horror is sitting THROUGH his miserable cut, and his LIES in this article can't change that. I worked for the best part of four months AT MORGAN CREEK writing this movie, EVERY EXEC THERE read it repeatedly..."

source: Creature Corner

 

[Chad R]

Yeah, but Cukor had shot about two weeks or so, Fleming came in and directed the good majority (before leaving for two weeks due to exhaustion) of the film.

What's at stake here is firing a director in Post and trying to rework what he shot to be better. If what he shot is crap, then no amount of editing or re-shoots of gore will help it.

 

[Nick_Scott]

5 words. The Island of Dr. Moreau.

Well, if you read Fangoria, you would think that the 1st version of Dr Moreau would have been the greatest horror movie ever made.... until the director was pulled.

nick

 

[Ray H]

I thought Superman II (Richard Lester replacing Richard Donner) was good, but not as good the first.

 

[Dennis Castro]

Has there ever been a sucessful case of a second director coming in to "fix" a picture??

I believe that Eastwood stepped in on The Outlaw Josey Wales after problems the original director.

 

[Anthony Neilson]

I can believe that the studios are disappointed with what Schrader delivered, but WHAT DID THEY EXPECT ??!
This is a man whose films have all been deeply personal and idiosyncratic. Did they think that his obsession with Calvinism would somehow tie in with the film's themes ?
They should have the guts to stick with their original decision or they should have chosen someone else to begin with.