Schrader Exorcised from "Exorcist"
Maybe the devil made them do it.
Acclaimed writer-director Paul Schrader has been cast out from helming The Exorcist IV: The Beginning by the film's producers because he failed to throw in scenes of vomit, blood and gore to go along with the requisite holy water, according to the New York Post.
Schrader, who recently wrapped principal photography on the prequel in Rome and Morocco, was exorcised this week by Morgan Creek Productions after reportedly turning in footage that was devoid of the kind of demonic bloodletting that made the original, 1973's The Exorcist, the most celebrated horror flick of all time and one of the top-grossing films ever at the box office.
"The whole movie is done," another production source says in the newspaper. "When Paul went to turn it in, Morgan Creek refused to give him his post-production money because they hated it. Paul had given them what was in the script--a creepy psychological thriller, with no gore."
Exorcist IV stars Stellan Skarsgard as the young incarnation of The Exorcist's Satan-battling priest Father Merrin. The prequel chronicles Merrin's missionary work in post-World War II Africa and his first epic clash with Pazuzu, the demon that later possessed Linda Blair's Regan, in the first movie. (Screen legend Max von Sydow played the aging Merrin, who was killed by the devil in the original.)
The Schrader firing is the latest in a series of setbacks that could lead some to believe the project is cursed. The film was initially going to star Liam Neeson in the Merrin role, with John Frankenheimer directing. However, the helmer died last year, and Neeson subsequently dropped out due to scheduling conflicts.
In replacing Frankenheimer, Morgan Creek settled on Schrader, known for his gritty writing (Taxi Driver and Raging Bull) and stylish directorial work in thrillers (American Gigolo, Cat People, In the Comfort of Strangers) and dramas ( Affliction, Auto Focus).
"[Morgan Creek] was just so excited with having a marquee name, they didn't bother with the details," an unnamed company insider tells the Post.
After clashing with producers over his vision for the prequel and refusing to compromise by shooting additional scenes of carnage, producers reportedly made the decision to replace Schrader with a more accommodating filmmaker.
According to bestselling novelist Caleb Carr, who wrote a draft of the Exorcist IV screenplay, Schrader's version just didn't hack it horror-wise.
"The problem with Paul's cut of the movie is it does not deliver the psychological fear we were looking for," Carr tells the Post. "It does have some good dramatic elements which can be rearranged with some good shooting into a very good movie."
No word who producers have in mind to do the devil's dirty work, but whoever comes aboard will likely have to reshoot key scenes and ratchet up the pea soup quotient.
A publicist for Morgan Creek did not return phone calls Monday. Shrader also declined to comment, as did Warner Bros., which is expected to release the film next February.
Meanwhile, in other Exorcist news, the original movie's director, William Friedkin, and scribe William Peter Blatty, who wrote the book upon which the film was based, settled a dispute with Warner Bros. last month.
The two had sued the studio, claiming Warners had screwed them out of $10 million in profits from the 2001 revamped edition that was released under the title The Exorcist: The Version You've Never Seen. Financial details of the settlement were not disclosed.
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