The Exorcist for the 21st Century should ship with the Stephen King
book in December."
Furthermore, the
Cemetery Dance #62 Special Limited Edition Hardcover Magazine has the
following update:
"CD #62 through #66
of the magazine are all going to press at the same time in September,
so they can ship by the end of the year. Lots of great Blatty material
on the way!"
Finally, after all these years, it's really happening! Release date is
October 25th, and additional special features will be announced at a
later date. I guess the lost footage wasn't "lost" or "destroyed"
after all, thank God!
You�ve heard the rumors for months... and they�re all true! William Peter Blatty�s cult favorite THE EXORCIST III will be bearing its cross on a 2-disc Collector�s Edition Blu-ray set from us on October 25th.
Extras (of which there are tons of) are underway and will be announced at a date in Late Summer / Early Fall. The newly-designed front-facing artwork from Joel Robinson you see here is final (not pictured is the reverse wrap image which will showcase the original theatrical poster art.) Early pre-order now directly from us @ https://www.shoutfactory.com/film/film-horror/the-exorcist-iii-collector-s-edition and receive a free 18" x 24" poster of the new art (while supplies last) plus early shipping!
We know that the biggest question you might have is: Will there be a �Director�s Cut� of the film? The answer is yes�but with some caveats. We are working on putting together a version that will be close to Blatty�s original script using a mixture of various film and video tape sources that we have been provided with. This is still a work in progress and we will update you with more details at the time we announce the full list of bonus materials.
I'd also like to take
this opportunity to remind readers of Bill's TRILOGY OF FAITH, which
he actually revised back in 2011 if you missed it. Click the link
below to read more:
While I still have access to a sufficient number of neurons,
I would like to use your site to correct a misapprehension that I see
still turning up here and there, including on Amazon'sExorcist site, namely that I consider The Ninth
Configuration to be the sequel to The Exorcist Did I ever say that? Who knows: I'm almost 84 years old. But I
think this misapprehension might well be traceable to Mark Kermode, who long ago named The
Exorcist, The Ninth Configuration and Legion "The Trilogy
of Faith." Or not. But today the three of my works I would link
together are The Exorcist, Legion and Dimiter. The Exorcist
argues for God's existence in a very general way while Legion
approaches itin a very specific, evidential way that to a
great extent involves intelligent design. In Legion there is a
dream sequence in which the Humphrey Bogart of Casablanca
criticizes Lt. Kinderman for leaving Christ out of the equation, to
which Kinderman replies that he intends to include him. Dimiter
is the fulfillment of Kinderman's promise. To quote from A Man
For All Seasons, "I trust I make myself obscure."
From William Peter Blatty, renowned author of The Exorcist, comes
one of the most unique and extraordinary films on screen,
The Ninth Configuration, a taut theological thriller from 1980,
which makes its UK Blu-ray debut courtesy of Second Sight.
This mind-blowing cult classic arrives on Blu-ray and DVD, as well as
download and On Demand, on 25 April 2016, complete with a whole host
of newly produced bonus features, including brand new interviews with
William Peter Blatty, Stacy Keach, and many more.
Deep in a forest of pine trees near the coast of Washington State,
stands a secluded Gothic castle, commandeered by the Pentagon for use
as a military asylum. Determined to establish the true nature and
origin of the men�s mental illness, the Pentagon enlists the services
of Colonel Kane (Stacy Keach, American History X), a brilliant, yet
strangely unorthodox psychiatrist. With a reserved calm, he indulges
the inmates� delusions, allowing them free rein to express their
fantasies. But some are wary of the newcomer and his methods. There
may be more to Kane than meets the eye, and the insanity escalates
towards an explosive revelation.
Written, directed, and produced by William Peter Blatty, this tense
and gripping tale mixes theology and psychology and hosts a stellar
cast including Scott Wilson (The Last Samurai), Jason Miller (The
Exorcist), Ed Flanders (The Exorcist III), and Tom Atkins (Lethal
Weapon).
Who is Kane? And what has is he hiding?
Bonus Features:
� Audio Commentary by Writer/Director William Peter Blatty
� The Writer/Producer/Director � Interview with William Peter Blatty
� Confessions of Kane � Interview with Actor Stacy Keach
� The Debrief of Sgt. Christian � Interview with Actor Stephen Powers
� Designing the Configuration � Interviews with Production Designer
William Malley
and Art Director J. Dennis Washington
� Killer on My Mind � Interview with Soundtrack Composer Barry De
Vorzon
� The Party Behind the Curtain � Interviews with Actors Tom Atkins,
Jason Miller,
Richard Lynch, and William Peter Blatty
� Mark Kermode Introduction
� Deleted Scenes and Outtakes
Some news. TNC star
Robert Loggia recently passed away. Rest in peace, Robert. I also
neglected to mention, several years ago, that
Richard Lynch also passed. A belated RIP.
And as for the news most people have been salivating about: the Blu-ray re-release of The Exorcist III (aka LEGION), and the missing (supposedly �lost�) footage. All I can say is:
Me: Morgan Creek have been posting some rather cryptic things on their Twitter account with regards to a DVD special release. Can you shed any light on what they may be talking about?
Bill: They are planning a new Blu Ray of �my cut.�
Regarding HOW the missing footage was found, Bill has said that "it�s not clear as yet."
Further to the update on November 12, Bill
has provided me with the "almost final" cover for the March 30 release
of Finding Peter: A Wild Ride In Search Of The Soul.
The latest caption
reads:
A True Story Of The Hand Of Providence And Evidence Of Life After
Death
It is appears that The Ninth Configuration on Blu-ray has been
delayed, though some lucky fans have received theirs in advance.
According to Billy, the distributor ran out of stock and have yet to
be re-supplied. December 2 looks like our best bet, or thereabouts.
Perhaps sooner.
In any case, here are some more pictures of the physical product
(click them to enlarge):
It is my pleasure to provide some updated details on the
previously
reported upcoming work by Bill, then tentatively titled Not A
Horror Novel: A Wild Ride In Search Of The Soul.
The book will now be
titled Finding Peter: A Wild Ride In Search Of The Soul, and
will be released on March 30, 2015. To remind you, Bill described it
as "part funny memoir and part proof of life after death".
Here is a more in-depth product description:
"For those who have
lost a loved one to that liar and fraud named Death.
So reads the
dedication of William Peter Blatty's "Finding Peter," a deeply moving
memoir that tests the bounds of grief, love, and the soul. Blatty, the
bestselling author and Oscar Award-winning screenwriter of "The
Exorcist," lived a charmed life among the elite stars of Hollywood.
His son Peter, born over a decade after "The Exorcist," grew from an
apple-cheeked boy into an "imposing young man with a quick, warm
smile." But when Peter died very suddenly from a rare disorder,
Blatty's world turned upside down. As he and his wife struggled
through their unrelenting grief, a series of strange and supernatural
events began occurring--and Blatty became convinced that Peter was
sending messages from the afterlife. A true and unabashedly personal
story, "Finding Peter" will shake the most cynical of readers--and it
will remind those in grief that our loved ones do truly live on."
Below are several
working covers for the book (click them to enlarge):
The Ninth Configuration on Blu-ray is now available, though
temporarily out of stock at amazon.com. However, it is widely
available on eBay. Grab yours now!
Furthermore, fright-rags.com have come up with these amazingly well
done shirts based on scenes from The Exorcist III. Pre-orders
start tomorrow (Wednesday, November 12 @ 10am EST) -
May 10, 2014
update: Smoke & Mirrors anthology update, directly from Cemetery
Dance:
Note:
Smoke And Mirrors has long been in production, featuring Bill's
teleplay "Hell Hospital" and a treatment called "Faith".
>>
The
trade hardcover of SMOKE AND MIRRORS will begin shipping around the
end of the month and orders for the Limited Edition will ship later
this summer when the slipcases arrive. If you haven't seen a photo of
the slipcases yet, visit this page for one:
Furthermore, directly
from Bill (with more info to come!) --
"I've finished a new non-fiction
book that's part funny memoir and part proof of life after death. It's
called NOT A HORROR NOVEL, A Wild Ride in Search of the Soul. Also,
The Ninth Configuration is presently being converted to Blu-ray.
Cemetery Dance is planning publication of six of my screenplays [note:
listed in a previous update], including my first draft of ONE FLEW
OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST. We're casting THE EXORCIST play in hopes of a
Broadway run. Next week I MIGHT have some word on THE EXORCIST
mini-series. I'll tune you in."
Lots happening this year. Stay tuned!
In addition, Bill stated the following when I queried a Blu-ray
release of Legion (The Exorcist III) --
"Regarding
Legion,
Warner
Brothers is doing an
all-Exorcist package which will include a Blu-ray, though without
any features. As for my Julie Kinderman work-in-progress, I've
competed about 80 pages that I'm quite happy with and have a
single-spaces 35 page treatment to work with but have found it
difficult to go back to it inasmuch as it is a pure "entertainment"
and I feel I'd rather be remembered for Dimiter, Crazy, and
Not A Horror Novel as my farewell works rather than
an excursion into the horror pits. We shall see. how the Muse moves
me."
Also, the
forums are a little bit deserted, if you would like to join in on
(or initiate!) some discussion.
THIS DEAL INCLUDES TWO
EXCLUSIVE SIGNED LIMITED EDITIONS WITH A COMBINED RETAIL
VALUE OF $150! Fans of William Peter
Blatty and Stephen King Please Take Note Because You'll Love The Two
Exclusive Books!
These two
exclusive NOT FOR SALE Signed Limited Editions are...
The
Exorcist For the 21st Century by William Peter Blatty
This brand new Signed Limited
Edition will feature an original and never before published adaptation
for a new miniseries of Blatty's classic novel, which is considered by
many readers to be one of the scariest books of the last century.
We can't actually say much more
about this project, other than the current version we have is some of
the most compelling 250 pages of screenplay we've ever read and we've
read a lot of screenplays!
Why can't we say more? Because
the broadcast deal isn't announced yet and it's going to be MAJOR NEWS
when it hits. This signed Limited Edition alone should make the Book
Club worth it for most of our collectors!
The retail price on this Signed
Limited Edition would have been $75 if it was made available to the
general public.
Lots of news regarding the lettered, traycased edition of The
Exorcist 40th Anniversary Edition, including images:
"Hi Folks!
I've posted the current production updates from Lonely Road Books on
the website's
News Page. Recent updates include photos of the Deluxe Lettered
Edition of The Exorcist: The 40th Anniversary Revised Limited Edition
by William Peter Blatty.
Thank you, as always, for your continuing support!
Best wishes,
Brian James Freeman"
In addition to this, a new anthology has just been announced that is
VERY limited:
Five Lost
Screenplays by William Peter Blatty!
Five Separate Limited Edition Volumes Housed In One Beautiful
Slipcase! A Signed Collectible Set With A Print Run Determined By The
Collectors! Viva Las Vegas, One Flew Over The
Cuckoo's Nest, Mastermind, Handcarved Coffins,
and Demons Five, Exorcists Nothing
This is an incredible
project by Lonely Road Books that we think will have collectors
talking for years to come because we've never seen anything quite
like it before!
William Peter Blatty, the
legendary author of The Exorcist, Legion, and many
others, has opened his personal library to share five screenplays he
wrote at different stages of his career including a first draft of
Viva Las Vegas (yes, the Elvis movie!), a version of
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest meant to star Kirk Douglas, a
screenplay based on an unfinished novella by Truman Capote, another
constructed around the idea of a "behind the scenes" look at the
making of a film very much like The Exorcist, and the story
of a Japanese detective set in Tokyo. Each screenplay will be bound as its own collectible
Limited Edition volume and those five volumes will then be housed in
a hand-made slipcase. Each screenplay is an exact reproduction of
the writer's work, down to any imperfections in the typewriter he
was using at the time. You'll never be closer to these
films-that-could-have-been than when you're reading these
screenplays.
The versions you will hold
in your hands have never been read outside the offices of Hollywood
production companies and William Peter Blatty's personal library, so
this is a rare glimpse into an alternate film universe that could
have been very different from the one we know. There are no plans
for these screenplays to ever be reprinted.
When
you consider the number of volumes in this set, you're only paying
$35 per bound book and these beautiful hardcovers will be housed in
a handsome hand-made slipcase to protect your investment for years
to come.
Please Note:
We're also offering Free US Shipping via Media Mail for ONE WEEK
ONLY, so don't wait to order if you'd like to take advantage of
those savings!
How the print run
will be determined:
To make this project extremely collectible, Lonely Road Books will
only be printing enough copies of this beautiful Limited Edition set
to fill the orders placed between October 1 and October 25. If 200
copies are sold, that's all that will be printed, so this could
become one of the most collectible special editions ever published
by Lonely Road Books. There will only be 52 copies of the Lettered
Edition produced and those are being sold on a First Come, First
Served basis.
The five volumes
are: Viva Las Vegas
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Mastermind
Handcarved Coffins
Demons Five, Exorcists Nothing
Blatty's notes
about the five screenplays: Viva Las Vegas. How na�ve could I be? My comedic premise
was that Elvis was hired as a Vegas casino lounge act because the
booker was certain he was so loud and annoying he would drive the
gamblers out of the lounge and to the tables. The "Colonel" was not
amused.
One Flew Over the
Cuckoo's Nest was written in 1968 for Kirk Douglas who was to
play McMurphy. I met with Ken Kesey and crafted the script to be as
faithful to the novel as I could possibly make it, which was not the
case with the film made years later with Jack Nicholson. That this
script with Kirk in the lead wasn't made is perhaps the biggest
heartbreak of my literary career.
Mastermind was a spec script with the lead character
emulating my Inspector Clouseau from A Shot in the Dark,
the second film in The Pink Panther series. The key to the fun with
Clouseau was his sensitive sense of dignity, so I created Japanese
Inspector of Police Hoku Fat with that same essence in mind. The new
head of ABC Films and his assistant met with me in my office at
Warner Brothers to tell me � are you sitting down? � that "Inspector
Clouseau isn't good enough anymore. You need a serious theme. We
suggest Youth versus Age." With rewrite money and a three month stay
in Tokyo where the film would be shot on the line, I replied that I
"couldn't be a party to the destruction of my material." I was
fired. Worse befell ABC Films: the rewritten screenplay to this day
can only be seen on Kuwaiti Airways.
Handcarved Coffins
is based on a vaguely plotted, unfinished novella by Truman Capote
with Michael Cimino set to direct. I gave it a plot but Michael
wasn't satisfied and my screenplay languishes somewhere in the ether
just above Laurel Canyon.
Demons Five, Exorcists
Nothing is entirely based on my novel of the same name and is
built around the making of a film very much like The Exorcist.
I think of both the novel and the screenplay as "A Christmas Carol
for Hollywood."
About this Special
Collectible Edition:
With an oversized page size and an extremely low print run, these
Limited Edition volumes will be printed on a high-quality paper
stock and feature a deluxe binding selected from the finest
materials available. This stunning special edition set will be a
fine addition to any collector's personal library.
Limitation
Information:
� Limited Edition Set: signed by the author on a deluxe signature
sheet in the first volume, with each volume bound in a deluxe
material and the entire set housed in a custom-made slipcase, the
print run will be limited to the number of collectors who preorder a
copy during the preorder window in October 2013 ($175)
� Lettered Edition Set: 52
copies with all the special features of the Limited Edition, plus a
different type of high quality binding, all volumes will be housed
in a custom-made deluxe slipcase with a unique closure system ($500)
Regarding the aforementioned release dates of Smoke & Mirrors
and the lettered edition of The 40th Anniversary Edition of The
Exorcist, Cemetery Dance has said:
"EXORCIST cases should be on the way very soon for the lettered
editions.
And then for SMOKE AND MIRRORS... you can keep posted here for
updates:
My copies of the
re-releases of Demons Five, Exorcists Nothing and Dimiter
have arrived. Regarding the revisions, Bill has stated:
"As for Dimiter, I added
in a section I had originally omitted because I had already explored
it (my answer to The Problem of Evil, namely The Theory of the Angel),
but for this special edition I thought it fitting to restore it. It
occurs in dialogue by the one-eyed priest in the cell. With Demons,
all I did was soften a bit of unnecessary vulgarity, plus a few things
that might have hurt the feelings of my former roommate, [name removed
for privacy purposes]. Still, it remains a roma e clef with sixty
percent of it being factual recollection rather than fiction."
Also of note, the
title Demons Five, Exorcists Nothing: A Fable has been retitled
to Demons Five, Exorcists Nothing: A Hollywood Christmas Carol.
Images below:
The Exorcist: 40th
Anniversary Edition Blu-ray release is scheduled for October.
Details and cover art
here.
The four remaining Blatty-related
releases on the horizon (that are currently
public; there are lots more things to come, including a script version
of The Ninth Configuration through Cemetry Dance at some
point), include the lettered edition of The Exorcist 40th Anniversary
Edition
publication, as well as the Smoke & Mirrors anthology, which I
previously mentioned includes Bill's teleplay called "Hell Hospital"
and the treatment called "Faith".
The other two are revised re-releases of DEMONS FIVE, EXORCISTS
NOTHING: A FABLE (1996) and DIMITER (2010) through
Centipede Press, limited to 250 signed copies of each bearing new
covers and interior artwork:
- Limited to 250 copies, each signed by
William Peter Blatty.
- Striking dustjacket printed on Mohawk Carnival stock.
- Printed endpapers.
- The complete text of Demons Five, Exorcists Nothing, with the
author�s preferred revisions and additions, never before published.
- Full cloth cover with front image inset on front board.
- Ribbon marker, head and tail bands, three-piece cloth construction.
- Limited to
250 copies, each signed by William Peter Blatty.
- Striking dustjacket printed on Mohawk Carnival stock.
- Printed endpapers.
- The complete text of Dimiter, with the author�s preferred revisions
and additions, never before published.
- Full cloth cover with front image inset on front board.
- Ribbon marker, head and tail bands, three-piece cloth construction.
Finally, here is an
interesting interview with Stacy Keach from March that I didn't get
around to posting until now -- about The Ninth, of course:
Defying genre to provide a
one-of-a-kind film experience, 1980�s THE NINTH CONFIGURATION is a
twisted, trippy film experience from the creator of THE EXORCIST. To
celebrate a special screening at New York City�s Lincoln Center this
week, which will include a Skype chat with star Stacy Keach, Fango
talked to Keach about his experiences on the Budapest-lensed
production.
Also released in a different
cut as TWINKLE, TWINKLE, �KILLER� KANE, the movie was written,
produced and directed by EXORCIST scribe William Peter Blatty from his
novel (also issued in distinct versions under the two titles). Keach
stars as Colonel Kane, the new head doctor at a military insane asylum
located inside a remote castle. Chief among his patients is Billy
Cutshaw (THE WALKING DEAD�s Scott Wilson), an astronaut who went mad
during a moon mission, who begins to suspect that Kane may also be
crazy. The supporting cast is as eclectic and eccentric as NINTH
CONFIGURATION itself, sporting THE EXORCIST�s Jason Miller, EATEN
ALIVE�s Neville Brand, PSYCHO II�s Robert Loggia, MANIAC�s Joe Spinell,
NIGHT OF THE CREEPS� Tom Atkins and BAD DREAMS� Richard Lynch. NINTH
CONFIGURATION will be shown at Lincoln Center�s Howard Gilman Theater
(144 West 65th Street) with Aram Avakian�s END OF THE ROAD as part of
a �Stacy Keach in the Bughouse� double feature tomorrow, March 19
starting at 6:30 p.m., with Keach doing the Skype Q&A and ROAD
introduced by Steven Soderbergh; go
here for more
details.
FANGORIA:
THE NINTH CONFIGURATION was shot in Budapest�a frequent location for
American-backed productions now, but not so much back then. What was
that experience like?
STACY
KEACH: That was, at that time,
still a communist country, and I was told there were frozen funds from
Pepsi-Cola in Hungary that were used to finance the shoot. It was
great being there, but you know, being in a communist country, you had
that feeling of restriction. It wasn�t a very laissez-faire attitude
in the streets; there was tension. The communists had very wisely,
from their point of view, left all the bullet holes from the Hungarian
Revolution in the walls all over the city, so the remnants of that war
were still very present. It was an intense time.
We were sequestered, in a
way. We all got on a bus in the morning to go to work, and there was
security. The only time when we were able to sort of let loose was
after work; we�d go to the local bars�and with Joe Spinell and Jason
Miller, it was hard to keep up, I gotta tell you! We had a great time.
That cast was an extraordinary group of actors, and they were all
perfectly suited for the roles they were designated to play. It�s hard
to believe that most of them are gone now. I�m in the process of
writing a memoir, and we were just going through NINTH CONFIGURATION
stories, and I was remembering specifically the bocce games we used to
play between takes and in the halls of the hotel as a form of
relaxation. Or backgammon. We had softball games�it was a very
athletic group of guys, we were all young and active. Good memories.
FANG: Do you
have any specific recollections about Miller or Spinell?
KEACH: Well,
I love Jason. He and I became very close friends, and as a result of
my relationship with him, we did THAT CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON some years
later. It was hard to keep up with those guys! I mean, they could put
it down. I�m not a heavy drinker, and it was tough to keep up. But
every night, we�d go out and talk about film and the world and carry
on, and it�s amazing to me that everybody survived that experience!
FANG: With
such a varied cast, did you have to deal with co-stars who might have
had different individual approaches to acting?
KEACH: Well, Scott Wilson
and I had done THE NEW CENTURIONS together, so we were friends and
knew each other and were familiar with one another�s acting styles.
Everybody had their own way of working, but they were all wonderful
film actors. And Bill Blatty was an excellent director in the sense
that he wanted everyone to find their own means of expression, but
then he would tweak what they came up with in a way that was conducive
to what we were trying to do. In my case, he wanted me to kind of
flatten things out and make the lines very kind of monotonic�except
for the one time when Kane explodes, when he�s in the Nazi uniform and
blows up with the red eyes. That was a very different kind of
experience, that scene. It was a wonderful piece of direction; he
wanted that moment to be so startling, and that�s why he wanted
everything else flat before that, so it would come as a shock and
surprise, and show a different side of Kane�s nature.
One of the things Bill did that I thought was
revolutionary and innovative was, he played the music that had been
scored for the scenes prior to shooting them, as inspiration. Barry
DeVorzon wrote the music, which was great, and it was a wonderful way
of getting into character.
FANG:
The whole film has an interesting balance between humor, spirituality
and moments of darkness.
KEACH:
Exactly, and I think that balance is one of the virtues of the film. I
always thought of THE NINTH CONFIGURATION as the flip side of THE
EXORCIST. It�s like, THE EXORCIST is about the devil, and this is
really a Messianic, almost Christian rendering. It�s ultimately about
faith, I believe, and Bill told me once that he structured the story
based on the Catholic Mass. I found that fascinating; I never
completely understood it, but his theological background is very, very
present all through that movie.
[SPOILER ALERT] The big
dilemma, the question Bill wrestled with for a long time, was whether
or not Kane commits suicide, or if he dies protecting Cutshaw. The
ending was changed a number of times. I�m sure you know about that; it
has been talked about a lot on websites.
FANG: Well,
it has been released with different endings in different media.
KEACH:
Exactly. And I haven�t talked to Bill in a while, but I�d be very
curious to know what his current feelings are about it.
FANG: There
are two versions of the book as well; did you read either one to
prepare for the role?
KEACH: Yes,
I read the book in preparation. Interestingly enough, Bill wrote the
screenplays for both THE EXORCIST and THE NINTH CONFIGURATION prior to
the books. He�s very innovative�he did the scripts first, and then the
novels.
Firstly, a belated happy birthday to Bill who turned 85 on January 7
-- with a full year of releases ahead of him/us!
For regular readers, another update from Cemetery Dance:
Update on The Exorcist limited edition!
"We have big news on the publication date for this title. The
slipcases for the Limited Edition will be completed by the end of
February 2013. Traycases for the Lettered Edition should be ready in
the first half of 2013 as well."
For those with items on order from Cemetery Dance, here is the latest
update on several items, namely: The Exorcist & Legion (Traycased);
Smoke & Mirrors; The Exorcist 40th Anniversary Edition (numbered); The
Exorcist 40th Anniversary Edition (lettered) -
> - Traycased, lettered edition of The Exorcist & Legion [DELAYED],
We should have the traycases in January 2013.
> - Smoke & Mirrors [DELAYED],
Late spring 2013.
> - The Exorcist 40th Anniv. Edition (Numbered),
> - The Exorcist 40th Anniv. Edition (Lettered)
Some news from Bill Blatty regarding upcoming releases. Merry
Christmas!
"A smattering of news: The Exorcist play had a most successful
(at least in terms of sellout audiences for six weeks) and will now
move to London; Tor/Forge is republishing The Ninth Configuration
as a trade paperback and will be offering my entire backlog of work in
digital form, which pleases me since I feel that my comic novels are
probably my best. Oh, well, at least I actually enjoyed writing them;
and next year, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of The Exorcist
film Warner Brothers will put out a new high def Blu-ray with lots of
new features, including a 40-minutes doc featuring a revisiting the
tiny guest house in which I wrote the novel and reminiscing about it,
plus some never-before-seen footage of an interview about the 1949
case of possession with Fr. Eugene Gallegher, the Jesuit priest in
whose class at Georgetown U. I first heard about it; and, finally, I'm
thinking of a plan for a new book for readers who, like you, are
searching, and have -- at least for now -- abandoned a terror novel of
which I've completed only about 70 pages. It's what they call "an
entertainment," whereas the faith book is an apostolic work."
Released in 1995 (the book originally published in 1973) and now long
out-of-print, and to celebrate the final re-launch of the
TNC.com forums, here, as a gift to you, is the audiobook version
(in mp3 format, converted from the original cassette tapes) of Bill
reading this moving book about his mother and life after death.
You will need WinRAR to
open and extract the files (the first option for most people: WinRAR
x86 (32 bit) 4.20 beta 3) from here:
https://www.rarlab.com/download.htm
Please right click and
hit "save as" on this link to extract and listen! -
**June 9 update: The
forums are now back up and running! Also, look out for audio mp3s
of the long out-of-print cassette audiobook version of I'll Tell
Them I Remember You up here soon, read by Bill!**
In an effort to bring
Georgetown University back to its former glory (which has sadly
dwindled over the years), Bill is currently very busy with The
Father King Society.
To help Bill help Georgetown, please visit the following website and
fill out the petition:
Georgetown Alum William Peter Blatty Says Canon Law Suit �Our Only
Hope�
William Peter Blatty�s 1971 novel The Exorcist�which went on to become
an Oscar-winning movie�depicts an epic battle of good versus evil
waged under the auspices of the Catholic Church. Reportedly based on a
real exorcism Blatty heard about as an undergraduate on a scholarship
at Georgetown University, the novel is steeped in Catholicism. Indeed,
the �hero� of The Exorcist is the fictional Father Damien Karras, a
Georgetown Jesuit, who, at great personal cost, drives out the demon.
Now Blatty, a longtime financial contributor to his alma mater, says
that Georgetown is no longer true to the Catholic identity he knew
there as a member of the class of 1950. In this interview, Blatty, now
retired and living in Maryland, explains why he and a group of other
concerned alumni have filed a canon law lawsuit to pressure the Jesuit
university either to reclaim its Catholic identity or cease to call
itself a Catholic institution.
Here is the full interview:
Q. You have put together an impressive website at
www.gupetition.org, and you�re developing a case under the Catholic
Church�s canon law. You certainly look to be very serious about this.
How far are you willing to go to return Georgetown to its Catholic
roots?
A. To quote from the Georgetown Alumni Song, �Until the sun grows
cold.� I am ready to go all the way for as long as it takes, and if
something happens to me, other Father King Society members will take
the baton. I know that canon procedure can be murky, but I have great
faith in the Holy Spirit that churchmen will do the right thing. I
have faith, most of all, in the Holy Father. He knows that 21 years of
ignoring Ex corde Ecclesiae makes a mockery of our Church and of
Christ Himself.
Q. So you must be pretty steamed about the situation at Georgetown
to be doing all of this instead of enjoying your retirement with your
lovely wife! What motivates you?
A. What motivates me? Love. In the middle of my senior year at
Brooklyn Prep, my mother and I lived in poverty, so that without the
full scholarship Georgetown gave me, I would likely never have been
able to go to college. Every blessing that I have, in particular my
strong faith, I owe to my mother and to my alma mater whom I love and
want back: beautiful, healthy and, above all, faithful.
I am not �steamed.� I am aggrieved. And I finally came to realize that
I have only one more important thing that I can do, and this is it.
Q. I understand that you are an alumnus and have donated generously
to Georgetown in the past. Have things really changed so much that you
would now publicly challenge the university to return to its Catholic
roots?
A. Yes, of course. I considered even asking them to give my money back
to transfer to a scholarship fund in my son�s name at an actually
Catholic school. The change crept in over many years. It was disguised
by talk that sounded right but hid secondary motives.
Even now, Georgetown puts up a Potemkin village. It points to its
chaplains, its Masses, its Knights of Columbus Chapter. At alumni
dinners, they will make sure there is a Jesuit in a collar at every
table, like the floral arrangement. But they refuse to recruit
Catholics, and the faculty is now at 20 percent Catholic! Catholic
students have to live as if they are in a foreign country, where all
around them everyone is treating them like strangers. Just for being
authentically Catholic! If we do not all act now we will lose the
great universities. I refuse to accept that.
I believe the Church should be clear that our universities are still
Church property, and that we should go to court if necessary to undo
all the unauthorized legal gymnastics that claimed to transfer Church
property to civil corporations. If that does not work, then the Church
should be clear that you can�t get club privileges without paying the
dues.
Let me speak to the latest scandal, the invitation to Kathleen
Sebelius to speak on commencement weekend. Let�s not shield our eyes
or mind from the brutal details of what occurs in a partial birth
abortion. First, surgical scissors are banged down into the infant�s
head, after which the abortionist scrapes it around in order to widen
the hole enough so it can accept a vacuum tube, which is then used to
suck out the baby�s brains. You know all this? Good. But did you also
know that a consensus of pediatric neurologists are now agreed that by
20 weeks � and a few say even as early as six weeks! � the infant not
only feels the excruciating pain, but feels it far more than would an
adult? As governor of Kansas, Kathleen Sebelius vetoed a bill that
would have banned this demonic practice! And a supposedly Catholic
university, if not merely a humane one, honors her?
Q. Why a canon law suit? What do you hope will result?
A. I believe it is the only thing that can stop Georgetown in its
path. Only firm Church action can save it and make it a great
university. It is our only recourse. Our only hope. And not just at
Georgetown. I hope alumni from other colleges will contact me for help
in submitting petitions regarding their colleges. I hope that
Georgetown will see the light and alter its course. At very least, I
hope that this action foments a great debate. My friend and classmate,
Richard Alan Gordon, used to say that �Debate is a servant of the
Truth.� Only evil fears Truth, and only evil would fear debate.
Q. Ultimately, the Church has final authority over Georgetown�s
right to be identified as Catholic. Is that the goal of a canon law
suit � to take away Georgetown�s identification as Catholic?
A. The goal is simple. It is to do as John Paul exhorted us to do: to
preserve for the Church the highest places of culture. We can walk
away, but that is not what Christians do. Georgetown will be given a
choice: comport with the dictates of Ex corde Ecclesiae or discard
your Catholic identity. You don�t deserve it.
Q. What is your timeline for the canon law suit?
A. First our canonists, then our scholars, then the Cardinal
Archbishop, then Rome if need be. We will study everything for a few
months more, but our brief is essentially written, and there is no
lack of evidence. We are very hopeful that His Eminence Cardinal Wuerl
will act as Jesus did when he disciplined the money-changers. As I
recall it, the Lord knocked over a few tables.
Q. You have asked The Cardinal Newman Society to assist your
efforts. Why CNS?
A. The Cardinal Newman Society is the best thing going for anyone who
is taking this issue seriously. They have been at their work for
almost two decades now and have had an enormous impact. More than
anything, I am a big believer in bringing everyone to the same table
and getting everyone to work together. I do not know that we could do
this without CNS.
Q. And are there others involved?
A. Yes. We are seeking advice from the St. Joseph�s Foundation in
Texas. They provide canon law advice. We are getting students at
Georgetown excited about this. But I expect that when we are done,
tens of thousands will have signed our Mandate and scores of
organizations will be by our side. Not to mention the scholars and
churchmen.
Q. I�m sure you�re prepared for shallow media references to your
success with The Exorcist. But on a serious level, there�s something
of a parallel here, isn�t there? Yours is an urgent effort to reclaim
what the Church lost in just a couple generations, and many souls are
at risk.
A. Yes, yes, there is a parallel. But imagine it a different way.
Think of all the souls that were not saved; all the minds that were
not awakened over these past two or three decades as Georgetown
drifted. Think of the great disservice that we have all done by being
silent, ineffectual and comfortable �and doing nothing while the other
side organized and took Georgetown away from the Church.
Q. What do you think? Are the scandals at Georgetown primarily the
result of ambivalence� disbelief� or is it simply cooperation with
evil?
A. All of these. But cooperation with evil is everywhere at
Georgetown, if only on each occasion that the administration stays
silent in the face of deception and harm.
Q. What role does faith play in this effort for you, personally?
Are you spiritually prepared for what might come next?
A. I have prayed on this action for almost two years. I see the Holy
Spirit in every step along the path to where we are. And we have
allies. We will dedicate our efforts to St. Jude, to the Little
Flower, and to Blessed John Paul II, whose personal blessing I was
once privileged to receive. Perhaps this will be his miracle.
The
Exorcist: The 40th Anniversary Revised Limited Editionby William Peter Blatty is being proofread now and we're still
right on track for a summer publication date.
Here is the artwork and cover design for the Deluxe Limited Edition:
Here is the artwork and cover design for the Deluxe Lettered Edition:
I'll post more news as I have it, but you can also always email me if
you have any questions.
Thanks again to everyone for your support of Lonely Road Books. Keep
watching your inbox for more exciting news and announcements.
The book is designed
and being proofread now. We're still right on track for a summer
publication date.
As I mentioned last
time, originally I planned on having 6 color artwork plates in this
special edition, but Caniglia went overboard and turned in 13 (!)
color pieces, so I'm breaking the budget and adding all of them to the
book.
In addition, Mr.
Blatty has provided an introduction and an afterword that won't be
appearing in any other edition, so those have been added to the Lonely
Road Books special edition as an unannounced bonus.
Finally, there is
also a special unannounced bonus for the Lettered Edition customers:
because Caniglia turned in so much extra artwork, there will be
entirely different artwork on the Lettered Edition's dust jacket.
Shipping in
late February, the hardcover edition is now up for pre-order.
The hardcover
edition is limited to just 100 signed and numbered copies, signed
by editor Danel Olson as well as authors William Peter Blatty,
Thomas Ligotti, Michael Arnzen and Thomas Hibbs.
Ribbon
marker, head and tail bands, fully clothbound with four color
image inset in the front board.
Two new updates
regarding publications. The first from Centipede Press:
THE EXORCIST
Studies in the Horror Film This title will also be available in about three or four weeks. The
hardcover edition is signed by editor Danel Olson, William Peter
Blatty, Thomas Ligotti, and a few other writers. More information will
be coming soon!
The second, from Lonely Road Books and Brian Freeman:
Caniglia has turned in all of the color interior artwork, and he
really went overboard. The original plan was 6 pieces, but there's
definitely more than that here. I'm going to break the budget a bit to
include ALL of them. Final count will be unveiled in a future update,
but I think our collectors will be blown away.
The book is being designed now and we're moving along at a good clip.
We hope to have design and proofreading completed by April and then
the book will be ready for the printer for an early summer publication
date.
Also, there's a special unannounced bonus for the Lettered Edition
customers: because Caniglia turned in so much extra artwork, there
will be entirely different artwork on the Lettered Edition's dust
jacket.
Thanks again to everyone for your support of Lonely Road Books. Keep
watching your inbox for more exciting news and announcements.
Happy new year! Firstly,
a belated happy birthday to Bill Blatty who turned 84 on January 7.
Lots of things to look forward to in 2012, including the STAGE PLAY
for The Exorcist and the stunning Lonely Road Books release of
the original novel that sold out almost instantly:
"As I
mentioned a while back, Lonely Road Books will be publishing a special
Limited Edition of
The Exorcist: The 40th Anniversary Revised Edition by William
Peter Blatty. The book sold out just 30 hours after it was
announced, which is excellent for the collectors who managed to snag a
copy, and production is moving along smoothly. In fact, today I'm
extremely pleased to unveil Caniglia's incredible cover painting
for the book, which I absolutely love.
In some sadder news, it is with a heavy heart that I report that
the great actor Nicol Williamson, best known for playing Father Paul
Morning in The Exorcist III and originally slated to play the
role of Kane in The Ninth Configuration passed away on December
16, only being announced today by his son, Luke:
It's with great sadness, and yet with a heart full of pride and love
for a man who was a tremendous father, friend, actor, poet, writer and
singer, that I must bring news of Nicol's passing. Dad died peacefully
in the early hours of the 16th of December after a two year all out,
balls to the wall struggle against esophageal cancer. He gave it all
he had: never gave up, never complained, maintained his wicked sense
of humor to the end. His last words were "I love you". I was with him,
he was not alone, he was not in pain.
Bill's own personal response:
O, dear God! Too sad! I
had great affection for Nicol. And that type of cancer is hideous.
Requisiat in pacem.
For
those interested, embedded below is a video of Nicol discussing the
topic of death:
When
you consider the number of volumes in this set, you're only paying
$35 per bound book and these beautiful hardcovers will be housed in
a handsome hand-made slipcase to protect your investment for years
to come.
