Firstly, it must be
acknowledged that "Elsewhere" has been selected as book of the month
by "Book of the Month Club", and amazon.com has sold out of the first
shipment, requiring the book to go back to the presses. Be sure to
order through CemeteryDance.com now if you are after any remaining
first edition copies! Congratulations, Bill.
Furthermore, we have yet more exciting
information from
CemeteryDance.com regarding the upcoming magazine issue #62:
"Cemetery Dance #62, the William Peter Blatty special issue, is
currently being proofread and will be ready for the printer at the end
of July, right on schedule for the September release date. We haven't
posted the contents on our website just yet, but if you look to the
right, you'll see a small preview of the amazing Les Edwards cover
artwork for the issue. And if you
subscribe today, you won't have to worry about picking up the
issue on your local newsstand when it comes out!"
In order to bring
TheNinthConfiguration.com full circle, I will (within the next week or
so) re-launch the forum, add the "image" galleries to both the TNC and
Legion sections, compile the "quotes" pages, and fill in the remaining
blanks that have said "under construction" since the site was
launched. Ironically, these are things I would normally do first
with a website (as I have done in the past), but I have focused
primarily on relevant updates and rare images/videos for the most part
here.
In
any case, look out for all of this and more in the coming weeks! I
will also finally create the "My Personal Collection" page (located in
"Other" in the above menu), just in time for the arrival of the
numbered and lettered editions of Elsewhere, along with a
couple of other extra goodies I have on the way.
Mr. Brian Freeman from
Cemetery Dance
has once again supplied TNC.com with a nice little bit of insight
regarding upcoming Blatty-related material:
"Our
next Blatty book is not DIMITER, but instead a special edition of a
previously published book. (I actually interviewed Bill for this
special edition and it turned into a 10,000 word marathon covering
everything from his early days through DIMITER and other upcoming
projects. Part of that will appear in CD [Cemetery Dance Magazine]
#62.)
For the special issue of the magazine, we have two previously
unpublished "lost" sections of Blatty scripts and an old short story
of his that has never been published. All very good stuff! :)"
I am
unsure at this stage whether these latter "lost" sections are the same
ones that will appear in the "SMOKE AND MIRRORS" release mentioned
below in the April 15 update. As soon as it is determined, it will be
added to this entry. Plenty of good stuff to look forward to in the
future, Blatty fans!
Update: They are previously unseen sections from Bill's scripts for
The Exorcist and
Legion.
I would first like to
preface this update with another posting made by
Cemetery Dance:
"And finally, if you’re a big William Peter Blatty fan like we are,
keep watching your inbox for the Cemetery Dance newsletter because we
have a surprise project to announce later this summer — and it’s going
to sellout VERY quickly once the news gets around!"
Sounds exciting! Now, on to the main news...
Simon Mordue has
been kind enough to pass along a plethora of rare promotional images
and lobby cards to TheNinthConfiguration.com, which have been added
(in addition to the recent Mexican lobby cards) to the TNC > Film >
Rare Images / Video, Etc. section.
His
contributions range from "Lobby Card (4)" to "Promo Photo (18)":
This morning I received
a very thoughtful e-mail from Bill, providing me with some very exclusive
content for TNC.com. I will here post what Bill had to say, and provide
the images he sent along below. Enjoy!
* * *
"When
my son Paul told me he was studying German film at the University of Maryland,
mentioning "M" and Fritz Lang, it sent me into recall of something I've
never told anyone and that might interest your site, and it's that at
a time before The Exorcist, I met with the elderly Fritz Lang at a coffee
shop somewhere in Beverly Hills with a view to him standing behind me
as a directorial mentor should I ever get The Ninth Configuration financed,
as at that time I couldn't imagine even directing my grandmother across
the street. Fritz agreed to do it but passed away before I ever got the
funding. My impression of him was that of a very sweet-natured old world
gentleman.
What an incredible opportunity missed! I also have a couple of photos
for your site should you ever want to use them. One is of a Man named
Gerald Lankester Harding, whom I knew when I was stationed in Beirut.
He was formerly Curator of Antiquities in Jerusalem at which time he was
instrumental in bringing the Dead Sea Scrolls into
view of the public: an old Bedouin led him to the cave containing the
scrolls. Anyway, Gerald was the physical model in my mind when I created
the character of Father Merrin [from The Exorcist], whose first name,
please note, is Lankester. Another is a photo of me and Linda Blair at
the preview of "The Version You've Never Seen." Also an oddball photo
of me in Air Force OCS. Still searching for a Ninth C. photo on the set
in Budapest. One day I'll find and send."
* *
*
Listed
below are the images of Gerald Lankester Harding, who Bill based Fr. Lankester
Merrin on from The Exorcist novel and film. Additionally, here
are the images of Bill with Linda Blair from the "TVYNS" screening in
2000, along with Bill's photo from his time in the Air Force OCS. Please
click on the thumbnails to view the full-sized images.
With
any luck, he will also be able to locate the shot from Budapest on the
set of The Ninth Configuration! We will keep you updated, should
anything else be located.
Thank
you very much to Bill for providing this excellent insight to TNC.com!
As mentioned in the recent
post from May 23, here is the "miscellaneous" TNC content that I have
had sitting around. Alternatively, you can find the Legion miscellanea/updates
in the
Legion
section of the website.
Firstly,
a new photo of Bill can be located in the William Peter Blatty >
Photos section:
Furthermore,
seven Mexican lobby cards from The Ninth Configuration (all of which I
have puchased!) can be located in the TNC > Film >
Rare Images /
Video, Etc. section
of the website, plus two other obscure images I managed to locate: one
advertising Bill and Mark Kermode's book signing session at "The Cinema
Store" back in 1999, and another image of Kermode and William Friedkin
signing a few different Blatty-related texts. Those two can be located
in the TNC > Film >
Variations section.
The first edition hardcover
of "Elsewhere"
is out now (officially as of May 15, 2009).
Cemetery
Dance are currently putting the finishing touches on the numbered and
lettered editions, and they should be sent out soon!
Incidentally,
I will be updating the main site shortly (when I get a free moment!) with
some other miscellaneous content to do with both TNC and Legion that I
have had sitting around for a while now. I will also begin re-compiling
the forum.
“The always popular
Special Issues are coming back this summer and the first two will be dedicated
to two of the biggest names in the genre, Peter Straub and William Peter
Blatty. We’ll be posting more about the incredible contents of these special
issues in the coming months, but we think readers are going to be thrilled
with the rarities these authors are making available here for the first
time ever.”
It has come to my attention
that William Peter Blatty will be featured in the "Smoke And Mirrors"
publication, due out in 2009. The Cemetery Dance website excerpt states:
"Just
a few of the highlights include a never before seen comic script from
Joe Hill; two rare teleplays from Frank Darabont; an original, never filmed
full-length screenplay by Mick Garris;
a rare teleplay and treatment
by William Peter Blatty;
Neil Gaiman's original take on an H.G. Wells' short story; Joe R. Lansdale's
stage adaptation of one of his legendary short stories; and much, much
more!"
It is
available in three different states, ranging from $40 to $400. When I
receive more information about Blatty's own contribution to the anthology
it will be posted here.
Update:
Bill has let me know the following about his particular contribution:
"The
teleplay is called FAITH, a modern-day fantasy Easter story I wrote for
the old Insight series. Lou Gossett was wonderful as the Christ figure.
As for the treatment, at the moment I can't recall what it was!!"
Further
Update: Brian
Freeman from Cemetery Dance has confirmed the treatment to be "Hell Hospital"
-
"I
believe they're older pieces from the 1970s and I'm not aware of these
pieces being published anywhere else."
Unfortunately, my web host
recently had a horrible catastrophe happen with their sever, and a lot
of people have lost the content for their websites. All of TheNinthConfiguration.com
had fortunately been backed up, but I am going to have to re-create the
forum, as none of the databases were saved. Please be patient.
Sitting in my drawer are
countless editions of The Ninth Configuration on DVD, VHS and BETA
VHS tapes, none of which I have paid particularly close attention to of
late. Today, however, I decided to investigate a couple of them, and in
doing so noticed a brief scene that is not featured on the definitive
DVD release that most people have in their possession. I have recorded
the (semi-explicit) scene and embedded it below. It takes place inside
the bar that Cutshaw and the bikers inhabit: two women carelessly displaying
their breasts.
The scene
can be viewed on the VHS 'guild' amaray case release of The Ninth Configuration
from the UK.
:: Mark Kermode talks about
the lost Legion footage
Mark Kermode, another fellow
Blatty, Ninth Configuration and Legion enthusiast, recently
spoke once again about the "lost" Exorcist III (Legion) footage,
which can be read about in more detail at the following links:
Mark
claims that the quest for the missing footage is "ongoing". Don't forget
to keep an eye on the upcoming
book by my dear friend, Erik Myers, which will detail this continuing
debacle from its very inception to the present day quest for the long
lost footage. Here is the link to the video, which I have also embedded
below:
Christmas is just around
the corner! As a nice early Christmas present for visitors of TNC.com,
I have scanned high-resolution images of the
aforementioned original Twinkle, Twinkle, "Killer" Kane press
kit I recently located. You can view them by clicking
here.
Additionally,
advance reading copies of Blatty's
Elsewhere publication (which now appears to have been pushed back
to a 2009 release) are beginning to be sent out. I recently won a copy
on eBay, and will provide images of it when it arrives. Discuss all things
Elsewhere
here!
**
Update ** - Another Elsewhere ARC has appeared on eBay, this
time with an image:
I hope
you have a safe and happy holiday break, and a fulfilling new year. God
bless.
Just in time for Halloween,
the TNC.com official
forum is now up and running again. Several modifications and tweaks
have yet to be implemented, but, on the whole, it is functionable. Previous
members will need to re-register, as this was a complete overhaul.
Please
enjoy your stay, and I look forward to conversing with you all!
:: American Exorcist
news; more promotional photos
As posted at the
American Exorcist microsite,
advanced copies of American
Exorcist: Critical Essays On William Peter Blatty have been distributed!
Very exciting times ahead indeed. Click on the thumbnails below to view
larger images:
Front Cover
Back Cover
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Additionally,
I located several more TNC promotional photos on eBay. Check them out!
Firstly, 'Stung417' (Bryan
Layne), who conducted and provided the interview with Stacy Keach in the
previous update, has provided the website with an autographed photo of
Bill that he acquired during one of his first-ever interviews. Click on
the thumbnail below to view the full-sized image.
Furthermore,
the latest news regarding the stand-alone publication of Elsewhere
can be found at the official
Cemetery Dance Publications website:
Production Status:
Elsewhere has been designed, Alex McVey has turned in the surprise interior
artwork, and the final round of proofreading was just completed. As soon
as the signature sheets are signed, this one will be ready for the printer!
It appears
that the limited-to-52-signed-copies lettered edition has sold out, though
the limited edition version is still available. The official cover for
the book has also been put online, along with a glimpse of the interior
artwork that will come with it (click on the Cemetery Dance link above
to view the images). I managed to place all three editions on order -
I hope you managed to as well!
Finally,
eBay has been quite generous lately, in terms of providing me with lobby
cards/promotional images from The Ninth Configuration that I had
no idea existed. Here are some of the ones I have purchased so far (the
third of which has been signed by Stacy Keach!):
Note
the erroneous caption on the second image - Richard (biker, right) was
not an inmate.
It contains
a very nice interview with Stacy Keach, briefly talking about The Ninth
Configuration, working with Jason Miller and so on. Be sure to give it
a read!
"American
Exorcist: Critical Essays On William Peter Blatty" is to be published
and released later this year; an anthology of critical essays based upon
Mr. Blatty's works, compiled by fellow friend and Australian Blatty fan,
Benjamin Szumskyj.
Check
out the following link at CaptainHowdy.com for more information about
the publication:
It can
be pre-ordered from McFarland Publishing
here, or from amazon.com
here.
The essay
I have contributed is entitled "Twinkle, Twinkle, "Killer" Kane and
The Ninth Configuration: A Comparison," which compares the novel of
TTKK, the revised novel of TNC, the film adaptation, and
an unreleased copy of the original TTKK script. It also comments
upon Blatty's work and the man in general.
I'm a big fan of The Ninth Configuration and I wanted to point you towards
a custom poster I made. I'm a graphic designer and do mostly movie posters
here in Iceland.
I started a project recently, for myself mostly, where I make new poster
designs for my favorite films. The first one was
Point
Blank and I just finished a poster for Ninth Configuration. And since
you are such a huge fan as well I wanted to give you a downloadable copy
of it. What you can do is download the PDF file and take it to a print
shop and have them print it out since it's 27x40". If you like it that
is.
The poster is located
here and I included a small jpg version as well.
I know that you are in contact with Blatty himself so if you could maybe
let him know about this I would greatly appreciate it. I won't be selling
these posters, they are for free for those who want them, but they have
to print them out themselves of course.
Well take care man.
Omar
P.S.
I just started work on a Exorcist 3 poster."
Thank
you for the e-mail, Omar! The poster is really quite nice:
It's
an absolute pleasure to receive e-mails of this nature. Additionally,
Charlie Kondek wrote in with the following:
"Ryan,
just wanted to let you know I really appreciate your site and it has been
a major reason I have really gotten into Blatty's work. I blogged about
my experience here:
Rich Savine has been
kind enough to supply TNC.com with a variety of material. You can now
find scans of the UK presskit for The Ninth Configuration, UK promotional
photos for The Exorcist III and a review of The Exorcist III
from Samhain magazine at the following links:
The first
of the eight Exorcist III UK promotional photos is particularly
of interest, in that Karras (?) is seen standing at the summit of the
stairs, whereas every other photo I have seen depicting the staircase
has either been vacant, or shows the stunt-man tumbling halfway down.
Please
note that the American, French, German and Spanish promotional photos
("lobby cards") can be found here:
Additionally,
I have added an alternate trailer for The Exorcist III in
rare section of the
Legion
website. This trailer differs from both the one available on The Exorcist
III DVD, and the rare, unreleased
"head morphing" trailer. Check it out here:
Things have been a little
slow lately (due to a lot going on in my life at the moment) but rest
assured, plenty of updates are on the horizon. In the meantime, a new
picture of Bill has been added to the
gallery:
An incredible haunted house novel from William Peter Blatty, the legendary
author of The Exorcist! Disturbing, unsettling, chilling, and laced with
a nasty streak of dark humor, Elsewhere is a must-have for all fans of
dark fiction! Sure to become a time-honored classic in the genre!
Available in three states:
- Trade Edition bound in full-cloth with full-color dust jacket artwork
($25)
- Slipcased Limited Edition of 350 signed and numbered copies ($75)
- Traycased Lettered Edition of 52 signed and lettered copies bound in
leather with satin ribbon page marker ($250)
I am currently looking to
purchase two pieces of Blatty-related memorabilia. The first is the
only remaining promotional poster from The Ninth Configuration
film that I do not yet own, along with a black and white Legion
lobby card that I do not seem to be able to track down anywhere:
If you
are in possession of either of these and are willing to part with them,
or are able to point me in the right direction of acquiring them, please
click the "Contact" link in the menu above and let me know.
Update:
I have since located the poster. I am, however, still after that lobby
card!
:: Legion Call Sheet
/ TheNinthConfiguration.com on MySpace!
First and foremost, be sure
to head over to the Legion section
of the website for brand new, exclusive images directly from William Peter
Blatty's home.
If you
are a MySpace member, click
here to check out TNC.com's profile. Don't forget to add us!
A MySpace
profile has also been created for
Legion.
Additionally,
the remaining TNC out-takes have been uploaded (1, 3, 5, 6, 7 and 8).
:: "Elsewhere" -
December 28, 2007? / Blatty 1958 and 1985 Articles
Update: Bill's wife
let me know that he looked into it, but it isn't true. However, she did
also state the following: "It IS a shame....don't know why it's listed.
Maybe if there are enough pre-orders, they really will re-release it..."
Here's
hoping!
According to Barnes & Noble
(bn.com), Blatty's "Elsewhere"
short story from the
999 Anthology is set to be published on December 28, 2007:
During the filming of the exterior castle scenes, William Peter Blatty
decided to deepen the character of Groper by allowing him to verbalize
his disgust at the cowardly 'play acting' in which he believes the inmates
are indulging. Actor Neville Brand was America's second most decorated
veteran of World War II and a man whose bravery and forthrightness impressed
the author greatly. Following conversations with Brand, Blatty penned
an impressive outburst in which Groper berates the men for their perceived
weakness as he assembles them for inspection. This elongated version of
Groper's address was considered successful on set, but in the editing
room, Blatty accepted that it was, if anything, too powerful for its own
good; the force of Groper's words jarred with the comic tone of the surrounding
material. Thus the speech was cut, although its exclusion still causes
Blatty some regret.
One of the most significant abbreviations of all released versions
of The Ninth Configuration is the shortening of Cutshaw's late-night encounter
with Kane in which the astronaut talks specifically about the problem
of evil and his resultant disbelief in God. In its original form, the
scene (which immediately follows Kane's discussion with Krebs) finds Cutshaw
expanding upon his belief that evil is an inherent, rather than a learned,
trait. Using a mocking example of Jack the Ripper, he parodies the platitudes
of psychiatry, before concluding that wicked men started out life as wicked
children, heartless souls who would torture caterpillars for amusement.
Although the shortening of this scene may have helped the dramatic pace
of the film, it also removed the explanation of why Cutshaw [Kane] would
later use the phrase "green soaked caterpillar torturing bastard." The
original, lengthier version of this key scene also contains an explanation
of Cutshaw's eccentric substitution of the word 'Foot' for 'God', a habit
which is left bafflingly unexplained in the released version.
Comprehensive
image galleries of The Ninth Configuration and The Exorcist
III are next on the list, along with an extensive list of correspondences
and links between Blatty's films, the actors in his films, and
recurring themes that appear throughout his written works.
If you have always been
wondering what the original opening sequence to "The Ninth Configuration"
would have looked like, had WPB stuck with his initial ideas, you can
now read it on this website. Click
here!
:: R.I.P. Peter Vincent
Galahad Blatty: 1987 - 2006
On November 7, 2006, William
Peter Blatty's son, Peter Vincent Galahad Blatty, passed away.
Peter's
death, among a variety of other things, was what prompted me to re-launch
a website such as this. I had previously run a variety of sites pertaining
to Blatty's own work as a writer and director (apart from the world-renowned
The Exorcist), but, to my dismay, they quickly began to dwindle
(see the about
page). In any case, this new website will be incessantly updated and
filled to the brim with content.
I also
wish to publicly declare my belated condolences to the Blatty family.
A tribute can be found
here.
This website is currently being (re)constructed, and much of its content
will be online and available within the following weeks. Please do not
hesitate to bookmark this page and check back occasionally.
