Boorman and the Devil

After the success of Point Blank and Deliverance, Warner Brothers offered John Boorman the opportunity of a lifetime... the chance to direct a sequel to their smash hit, The Exorcist directed by William Friedkin in 1973. The result was one of the biggest disasters in movie history.
A critical and financial failure that not only changed how Hollywood did business, but nearly ended Boorman’s filmmaking career. But to be an artist is to be a risk-taker.
Now, John Boorman, Linda Blair, Louise Fletcher, Karyn Kusama, Mike Flanagan, and more reflect back on the ambition of the film, the artistry and craft, and the value of big creative swings.

When I first saw The Exorcist as a teenager, it bewitched me — both as fan of 1970’s films as well as a horror fan. Next to it on the shelf of my video store was its 1977 sequel, Exorcist II: the Heretic. I knew it had a bad reputation — but I saw it was directed by John Boorman, who I knew had made a number of critically acclaimed movies (which I hadn’t seen yet) so I quickly rented it.
Exorcist II: The Heretic was mesmerizing to me. It didn’t play like a conventional horror movie, in fact nothing felt conventional about it at all. It was a sequel that was nothing like the original — it was visually stunning, colourful, kinetic, overflowing with ideas and images. It felt like it came from another world.
Over the years, I became obsessed with this film. And when I got the opportunity to connect with director John Boorman about it, I embarked on a seven year journey to tell the story of how he made one of the most audacious, big-budget creative swings in Hollywood history, and then endured a critical and commercial cataclysm. It’s a story about how Hollywood once took huge bets on auteur filmmakers, and how that era ended. And it’s the story of one of the most hypnotic, subversive and misunderstood studio films in Hollywood history.

PRODUCTION 1:
Triple Fire Productions – David Kittredge
200 North New Hampshire Ave Unit B
90004 Los Angeles, United States of America
Tel: +1 323-459-7164
E-mail: davek@triplefire.com
Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/davidkittredge/ - Instagram

PRODUCTION 2:
Snowfort Pictures, Inc. - Travis Stevens
909 South Serrano Ave #19
90006 Los Angeles, United States of America
Tel: +1 323-839-2723
E-mail: snowfortpictures@gmail.com
Web: http://www.snowfort-pictures.com
Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/travisstevens/ - Instagram

PRODUCTION 3:
Milton Ventures Media

OTHER PRODUCTIONS:
Jim Fall - Producer

WORLD SALES:
WTFilms
98, Rue du Faubourg Poissonnière
75010 Paris, France
Tel: + 33 1 42 610983
E-mail: sales@wtfilms.fr
Web: www.wtfilms.fr
Social Media: www.instagram.com/what__the__films/ - Instagram

PRESS OFFICE:
RJ Millard - Obscured Pictures
25 East 21st Street, 8th Floor
10010 New York, United States of America
Tel: +1 917 693 2869
E-mail: rj@obscuredpictures.com