Latest Lists

When The Exorcist was released in novel form in 1971 it went straight

Summary: When The Exorcist was released in novel form in 1971 it went straight to the top of the best seller lists It didn t take long for Hollywood to show interest with Blatty quickly selling the film rights to Warner Brothers for $641 000 00 When filming began in August 1972 articles surfaced in newspapers and magazines around the country that explored the author producer s various reference sources Of these writings the most significant to appear was authored by Gwen Dobson in the November 3 1972 edition of The Evening Star and The Washington Daily News Washington D C Titled Luncheon With Father John J Nicola the article explains that Nicola then 43 year old assistant director of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in D C and regarded as one of the country s leading authorities on exorcism was called upon to serve as the movie s technical consultant Details of the entire case are recapped along with Nicola s views on the subject as a whole What makes the work intriguing however is that one unusual piece of information surfaces while Dobson is discussing aspects of the actual rite of exorcism that was performed on the boy The article states The first priest who worked with him suffered a slashed arm when the boy wrenched a bed spring coil loose and cut the priest While the name of the priest who had his arm slashed is not divulged and no further information is offered this marks the first time that such an event had ever been mentioned in print After the Novel

Image Dimensions: 72 x 130