Behind The Exorcist

Celebrating 50 years of The Exorcist with a behind the scenes look at one of the greatest, scariest and most influential horror films of all time.

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Director William Friedkin talks actor Jason Miller through a scene on the set of The Exorcist.

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Special effects technician Marcel Vercouter and second assistant director Alan Green test out the levitation rig with actress Linda Blair during the construction of Regan’s bedroom on the set of The Exorcist at the now-demolished Ceco Studios in New York.

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Jason Miller (top) and his lighting double (bottom) on the set of William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist III during filming of the exorcism scene.

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Author, screenwriter and producer William Peter Blatty observes as William Friedkin directs Linda Blair, Max Von Sydow and Jason Miller through a rehearsal of the exorcism scenes on the set of The Exorcist.

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Author, screenwriter and producer William Peter Blatty observes as Linda Blair, Jason Miller and Max Von Sydow rehearse the exorcism scenes on set of The Exorcist.

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William Peter Blatty, the Academy Award-winning author, screenwriter and creator of The Exorcist, has passed away just 5 days after celebrating his 89th birthday.

Director William Friedkin broke the devastating news via Twitter on Friday morning, followed by a confirmation from Blatty’s widow, Julie, revealing he had died on Thursday at a hospital in Bethesda, Maryland. The cause of death was multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer.

Our thoughts are with his family during this difficult time.

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A series of rehearsal photos from John Pielmeier’s new stage adaptation of The Exorcist, directed by Sean Mathias. 

Pielmeier’s script has received a major re-vamp after the show’s initial run at the Geffen Playhouse in LA failed to impress critics, and stars an all-new cast which includes Clare Louise Connolly as Regan, Jenny Seagrove as Chris, Peter Bowles as Father Merrin, and Adam Garcia as Damien Karras. 

The show is currently running until November 5 at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre in the UK. Tickets can be purchased via the Rep Theatre website, here.

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We stopped by the Museum of the Moving Image on our way through New York last week, where the original head-spinning dummy double of Linda Blair from The Exorcist now resides as a gift from the legendary make-up artist Dick Smith, who collaborated with special effects technician Marcel Vercoutere to bring it to life for William Friedkin’s classic film.

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Trolley wraps advertising Fox’s new The Exorcist series spotted around San Diego ahead of the show’s preview screening at Comic-Con.

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Max Von Sydow reprises his role as Father Merrin from The Exorcist for a special portrait session with renowned celebrity photographer Andy Gotts.

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October 30, 2015 - The Exorcist author William Peter Blatty is joined by director William Friedkin for a special commemoration event at The Exorcist Steps in Georgetown, Washington DC, where Mayor Muriel Bowser officially unveiled a plaque honoring the film and its iconic filming location.

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“Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation...”

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Linda Blair passes the time with a bit of knitting in between takes whilst filming on the set of The Exorcist.

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Portrait of Regan from an iconic scene in The Exorcist by Robin SH. You can follow Robin’s work on Tumblr here, or purchase art prints, phone cases and other goodies here, just in time for Halloween!

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A cracked closet door – part of Regan’s bedroom set from The Exorcist – will be on display at Warner Bros. studio in Hollywood this month as part of their new exhibit, ‘Horror Made Here’, which runs for a very limited time until November 1st. Fans can also get an up-close look at the original crucifix used in the film, which is on permanent display inside the studio’s museum.

A Nightmare on Elm Street, Gremlins, The Corpse Bride, Interview With the Vampire, Practical Magic, Annabelle, and The Conjuring are among some of the other horror films featured in the exhibit.

Tickets available via the Warner Bros. website.

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Another alternate shot from the original edited-for-TV version of The Exorcist. This particular shot is slightly extended compared to the theatrical version of the film, showing more of the transition between Regan and "Captain Howdy” as Father Merrin arrives at the MacNeil house.

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An alternate shot of the desecrated Mary statue filmed especially for the edited-for-TV version of The Exorcist, which had its broadcast premiere on CBS in 1980.

In order for the film to be deemed suitable for television, most of the profanity and "blasphemous" language was either dubbed with new dialogue (by actress Ellen Burstyn) or cut out completely.

As director William Friedkin did not wish to work with Mercedes McCambridge again, Friedkin himself provided some of the demon’s new dialogue, replacing classic lines such as “your mother sucks cocks in hell” with the slightly less offensive “your mother still rots in hell”.

You can watch a compilation of all the edits here.