William Friedkin Never Saw Any Exorcist Sequels; Looks to TV and Not Movies for Entertainment
Steve Barton
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Times have changed. Big time. William Friedkin recently sat down with the The Telegraph to discuss the state of the film industry and much much more.
“Films used to be rooted in gravity,” says Friedkin. “They were about real people doing real things. Today cinema in America is all about Batman, Superman, Iron Man, Avengers, Hunger Games: all kinds of stuff that I have no interest in seeing at all.”
Friedkin says “the best work” for directors is on television with cable and streaming networks that make shows such as “True Detective” and “House of Cards.” “You develop character at a greater length, and the story is more complex and deeper than cinema,” the director said, “This is the new zeitgeist. Many of the fine filmmakers of today are going to long-form TV. It is the most welcoming place to work for a director today.”
As for the sequels to his most famed creation The Exorcist…
“I am not interested in making movies just for the paycheck. I have to love the film, the story, the characters. There were four sequels to The Exorcist, and I’ve seen none of them, nor do I want to or intend to.”
Don’t blame him there. I’ve tried unsuccessfully for decades to get the bad taste of Exorcist II: The Heretic out of my mouth. Still, William, if you’re reading… Give Exorcist III a spin! It’s totally worth your time!
Categorized:News
