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.
