How much do you know about everybody's favourite scary movie?

How does The Exorcist rank in your personal favourites list of horror movies? Personally, Your Editor is not that into horror, and prefers other works by William Peter Blatty, in particular, the novel and film The Ninth Configuration. Come on: dogs playing Hamlet in an antiwar movie? What's not to love?

Here are the answers.

1. What stunt did William Peter Blatty pull in the 1950s? He pretended to be an Arabian prince. Not that big a stretch: Blatty was Lebanese American. His hilarious impersonation at parties and dinners, and his friendship with a certain television announcer, got him a spot on Groucho Marx's show. Watch, laugh, thank me later.
2. How did the bed jump around? Would you believe demonic activity? You wouldn't? Neither would we. Would you believe 'forklift'? Yep.
3. What special effect was used to show clouds of breath? Are you kidding? This was 1973. They cooled the room to 30 degrees below zero (Fahrenheit). Actors appreciate CGI.
4. Where did the casting director find Vinny Russell, the drunken beggar? In a bar. He shot the scene drunk and wearing his own clothes. Apparently, he was still drunk months later when they needed him to record in post-production.
5. What was remarkable about the actor who played Father Dyer? He was an actual Jesuit priest.
6. What was von Sydow's problem with this story? He didn't believe in God. This took the director aback, as von Sydow had played Jesus in The Greatest Story Ever Told.
7. What baggage-related problem did the director face in Iran? The demonic statue was shipped to Australia by mistake.
8. What product was used for the projectile vomiting? If you said 'pea soup', give yourself a point. The brand was Andersen's: Campbell's just didn't have that demonic tinge. The soup was mixed with oatmeal for texture. Now go have lunch.
9. What requisite did many theatres hand out with the theatre tickets? Barf bags. The actors weren't the only ones who got nauseous.
10. What actress from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was first considered for the role of the possessed child in The Exorcist? You probably guessed it: Denise Nickerson, aka Violet Beauregard. Then her parents read the script, so Denise didn't get to go from blueberry to pea soup.

Okay, enough snark. Get to writing your essay/guide entry for this month's challenge. And don't say, 'The devil made me procrastinate.'

Dmitri Gheorgheni

17.04.17 Front Page

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