SUBMITTED BY Timbo

February 22, 2004 — The New York Times takes a fascinating look behind the scenes of "Exorcist: The Beginning" and its troubled journey to the big screen (and it's not there yet):

Mr. Schrader was an unusual choice. He favors psychological tension to the head spinning and projectile vomiting for which the original "Exorcist" was remembered. Furthermore, his most acclaimed films attracted an alternative crowd, not the more mainstream audiences of such Morgan Creek productions as "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" and "Major League." And he didn't seem to have much in common with Mr. Robinson, a Baltimore native (who still lives there part-time). He first made his fortune in distributing auto parts, and has a reputation for being mercurial and combative. But their differences did not deter Mr. Robinson. "This movie needed someone who didn't do the standard horror-type movie," Mr. Robinson said.

For Mr. Schrader, it was a chance to direct a big-budget movie, his first since "Cat People," which bombed in 1982. His first step was hiring a new lead: Stellan Skarsgard, the Swedish actor who starred in "Breaking the Waves" and "Good Will Hunting." Other cast members included Gabriel Mann as a priest and Clara Bellar, a doctor named Rachel. In November 2002 the cast and crew flew to Morocco, where they filmed for six weeks, and then to Rome, where they spent two more months at the famous Cinecetta Studios. The movie had a budget of $38 million, Mr. Robinson said, and was still scheduled for a summer 2003 release.

That is, until Mr. Robinson and Mr. McElwaine of Morgan Creek watched the director's first cut with Mr. Schrader, on April 17 last year. Even before he showed it to them, Mr. Schrader knew the movie needed work. "There was a scene where Father Merrin meets the devil and we shot it the wrong way," he said. "We tried to fix it with the computer but the scene was over lit. It should have been darker."

But as the producers walked out of Screening Room 5 on the Warner Brothers lot, the lighting was the least of their concerns. "The movie was plain not scary enough," Mr. Robinson said. It was too introspective; it needed more special effects. "The cut that I looked at was not going to work." He said he told Mr. Schrader immediately and suggested that the movie was also too long. They agreed to talk later.

Read the rest at the link below (free registration required).