Aunt Lydia, a central character in Margaret Atwood’s saga.
Ann Dowd joins the first film in the trilogy of The exorcist Designed by Universal Studios.
The Emmy-winning actress – who achieved worldwide fame thanks to her work as Lydia on the hit series The Handmaid’s Tale – joins a previously announced cast that includes Leslie Odom Jr. and Ellen Burstyn, reprising the role of Chris MacNeil.
David Gordon Green is in charge of directing the project and knows Dowd well, with whom he worked on the drama. Our brand is the crisis. The screenplay is written by Scott Teems, Danny McBride.
Ellen Burstyn, along with Linda Blair, in a scene from the film released in 1973.
the original movie
William Friedkin directed the original The exorcistwhich caused a sensation in 1973. The story follows a 12-year-old girl possessed by a mysterious entity and how far her mother and two Catholic priests have gone in an attempt to save her.
Burstyn will repeat the same role as the original film in the new saga.
The film was nominated for 10 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, as well as an actor nomination for Ellen Burstyn.
Universal and Peacock have acquired the worldwide rights to create a new intellectual property based on the franchise. The exorcist in association with Blumhouse and Morgan Creek.
new trilogy
The first film of the planned trilogy will be released in theaters on October 13, 2023, with Universal showing the film both in theaters and at the Peacock. Universal spent $ 400 million on the deal.
Jason Blum will produce on behalf of Blumhouse. David Robinson and James Robinson will produce for Morgan Creek. Green, McBride and Couper Samuelson will serve as executive producers. Ryan Turek is overseeing the Blumhouse project.
Dowd, who was recently praised for her performance in the play Mass and will soon be seen in the political thriller The independentis represented by Principal Entertainment and Innovative Artis.
The beginning of it all
Robbie Mannheim, in 1949, was playing “Ouija” when he ended up having a terrifying experience: he said he was talking to his dead aunt. Soon after, this 14-year-old boy’s parents found him speaking a strange language.
The paranormal phenomena did not take long to manifest themselves. Terrified by fear, the young man’s parents decided to take him to the hospital, but the doctors contacted were unable to give them answers.
In 1973, the release of “The Exorcist” caused success and controversy at the box office. Many people left before the end, I couldn’t stand it.
The next step was to consult a priest who, upon seeing him, assured him that the boy was possessed and that he would only be saved through an exorcism.
In 1969, twenty years later, William Peter Blatty wrote The exorcist, the book in which he recreated Robbie’s story. Finally, the novel was released in 1971 and became a resounding success, selling 13 million copies.
a cursed movie
For audiences of her time, thinking of “The Exorcist” means thinking of a possessed Linda Blair.
Due to popular acceptance, Warner Bros decided to hire the creator of the story to shoot the film. Blatty was the screenwriter and William Friedkin was the director. But on the screen the possessed person would not have been a boy like in the real story of 1949 but Regan MacNeil, a 12-year-old girl played by Linda Blair.
During the recording of the film, the two main actresses, Linda Blair (Regan) and Ellen Burstyn (her mother) sustained serious injuries while performing stunts. In fact, in one of the shots, Regan throws her mother to the ground and it is at that moment that the actress hurts her back and the cries of pain that are seen on the screen are true.
There was a tense atmosphere on the set and, due to the constant satanic coincidences, Ellen Burstyn came up with the idea of exorcising the recording studiobut the priest preferred only to bless him.
Once The exorcist released in theaters on August 15, 1974, many viewers fainted, vomited and had convulsions. One woman is suing the studio for claiming she came out of the projection so terrified that she lost her balance and broke her jaw.
CJL
Source: Clarin