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William Peter Blatty on the Exorcist from Novel to Film

Tom Doherty Associates

The First Draft Screenplay of The Exorcist

FADE IN:

EXTERIOR SERIES OF VERY EARLY MORNING, CLOUDY-DAY MOOD SHOTS OF GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY CAMPUS AND ENVIRONS IN WASHINGTON, D.C.:

1. CAMPUS VIEW OF THE POTOMAC RIVER, FEATURING KEY BRIDGE AND JEFFERSON MEMORIAL IN FAR BACKGROUND.

2. THIRTY-SIXTH STREET, SHOOTING PAST HOLY TRINITY CATHOLIC CHURCH AT A BROODING BRICK HOUSE WHERE THIRTY-SIXTH DEADENDS INTO PROSPECT STREET.

3. ANGLE FEATURING THE SAME HOUSE, BUT WITH CAMERA SHOOTING DOWN PROSPECT STREET TO INCLUDE THE JESUIT RESIDENCE HALL DIAGONAL TO THE HOUSE.

4. UP ANGLE (WITH CAMERA POSITIONED ON M STREET BELOW) TYING IN HOUSE TO A LONG AND PRECIPITOUS FLIGHT OF OLD STONE STEPS IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT TO IT.

5. SHARP DOWN ANGLE AT STEPS.

6. UNIVERSITY BELL TOWER.

7. COPLEY RESIDENCE HALL.

8. ANGLES AT MOTION-PICTURE DRESSING-ROOM TRAILERS AND EQUIPMENT STRUNG OUT ON DRIVEWAY BESIDE MAIN ADMINISTRATION BUILDING. EXTRAS. THE CREW. SPECTATORS. AMONG THE LATTER, A JESUIT PRIEST (DAMIEN KARRAS). IN HIS FORTIES. POWERFULLY BUILT. HIS FACE IS SAD AND CHIPPED LIKE A MELANCHOLY BOXER'S, AND SEEMS TO HARBOR SECRET PAIN. BESIDE KARRAS STANDS A FEY, DIMINUTIVE YOUNGER PRIEST (FATHER JOE DYER) WEARING STEEL-RIMMED SPECTACLES AND DEADPAN EXPRESSION.

At the outset of this series of shots, we hear the voices of a man with a British accent (Burke Dennings) and a woman (Chris MacNeil) engaged in spirited argument. Up through shot #5, the voices are indistinct, as if coming from afar, but from shot #6 on, they are closer and we clearly hear, though in lowered and guarded tones:

CHRIS (off scene)

... not being difficult. The line doesn't make any (sense)—

BURKE (off scene)

(overlapping "sense")

Darling, you're the leader of the rebels, and you (have)—

CHRIS (off scene)

(overlapping)

Burke, I can read. She yells "Let's tear it down," but I (don't)—

BURKE (off scene)

(overlapping, giggling)

My baby, you want to tear it down because it's there! You—

CHRIS (off scene)

(overlapping)

Because it's there in the script?

BURKE (off scene)

(giggling harder)

Because it's there on the grounds!

CHRIS (off scene)

Yeah, well, this kind of character just wouldn't do that.

BURKE (off scene)

She would.

CHRIS (off scene)

No, she wouldn't and I think we should change it.

The scene is bucolic, the camera now trained on the campus athletic field and astronomical observatory through the branches of a tree as we hear off scene:

BURKE (off scene)

Shall we summon the writer? I believe he's in Paris.

CHRIS (off scene)

Oh, yeah? What's he doin' there? Hiding?

BURKE (off scene)

Fucking.

We hear a splutter, then laughter from Chris as we go to:

EXTERIOR ADMINISTRATION BUILDING—AREA OF GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY CAMPUS—FULL HIGH DOWN SHOT

We now see clearly that a motion-picture company is filming on campus and that Chris and Burke are alone except for a young assistant director (Chuck) in the center of the silently observing cordon of cast, crew, and a few spectators. Chris has collapsed with laughter against Burke. She is attractive and gaminlike, and looks to be in her middle thirties. She is costumed in jeans and a sweatshirt. Burke, the director, is in his fifties, is very slight of frame, and has an elfin quality accented by the large red pimple on the end of his malmsey nose. He seems perpetually flushed with gin, even at this hour of the morning, and always on the verge of either a giggle or a guffaw, as if all is a game and actors and actresses merely children who must be humored. He is nervously nibbling on a thin strip of paper. Chuck has a rolled-up script in his hands and stands to the side, arms folded, head bent, as he waits.

THREE-SHOT—CHRIS, BURKE, CHUCK

CHRIS (laughing)

Oh, Burke, you're impossible, dammit!

BURKE (proudly)

Yes.

Then Chris swiftly turns to check something off scene.

CHRIS'S POINT OF VIEW—KARRAS AND DYER

Karras is nodding, giving Chris a slight but warm smile as if to reassure her that he has not been offended. The tower clock is booming out the hour and Dyer has been looking at Karras with concern.

DYER

Damien?

Karras turns to him.

DYER

Your train.

Karras checks his wristwatch, the grave look returning to his face, but now deeper; and after gripping Dyer's wrist with a nod of farewell, he moves away somberly, the camera pivoting to cover him.

AT CHRIS—BURKE—CHUCK

Chris watches Karras leave, a look of pleasant surmise and curiosity on her face as:

BURKE

Now then, shall we get on with it?

CHRIS (in a light fog)

Hm?

(disengaging)

Oh, yeah. Yeah, let's do it.

BURKE (turning to Chuck)

Thank heavens.

CHRIS

No, wait.

BURKE

Oh, good Christ!

CHRIS

But—

BURKE

What is it?

CHRIS (meekly)

Can I go to the bathroom?

He swats her behind, sending her off.

BURKE

Oh, go.

(at Chuck)

Call a ten-minute break.

CHUCK (to company)

Take ten.

CHRIS (off scene)

Fifteen!

BURKE (at Chuck)

Make it twenty and we'll have us a gin.

TRACKING SHOT

Chris approaching trailer dressing room. We hear:

CHUCK (off scene)

(over bullhorn)

Make it twenty!

As Chris passes a grip:

GRIP

How ya feelin', Chris?

CHRIS

Fine, Eddie. You?

In the meantime the second assistant director has fallen in beside Chris. He carries a clipboard from which he has detached a shooting schedule. As he hands it to her:

SECOND ASSISTANT

Well, you get the morning off tomorrow, kid. You're not in any of the scenes.

CHRIS

Shit, movies are better than ever. Hey, what's all this—?

She has reached the trailer and now breaks off (the second assistant moving away, oblivious), as she spots something off scene. A pixieish expression comes over her, and with a mock-threatening "Ahhhhh ..." sound deep in her throat, she crooks out her arms, as if intent on capturing someone. She is looking toward:

POINT-OF-VIEW SHOT—SHARON AND REGAN

Regan is a pretty eleven-year-old girl. Freckles. Hair in ponytails. Braces and a missing front tooth. Sharon Spencer is a blonde in her late twenties to early thirties. Her manner and looks are fresh and direct. Regan, holding her hand, has been skipping along, but now she stops, grinning slyly as she sees that her mother has spotted her.

FULLER ANGLE—THE TRAILER

In a scene for which the dialogue, if any, should be spontaneously generated by the actors, Chris and Regan play a game that seems a combination of touch-tag and hide-and-go-seek, Chris the pursuer and Regan the pursued. When at last Chris captures Regan she gets her down on the lawn and tickles her. When it is over they both sit back, panting, as:

CHRIS

So whadjya do today, Stinkpot?

REGAN

Oh, stuff.

CHRIS

So, what kind of stuff?

REGAN (thoughtful; index finger to mouth)

Well ...

CHRIS (imitating her voice and gesture)

Well ...

REGAN

Well, I studied, of course.

CHRIS

Of course.

REGAN

An' I painted.

CHRIS

Whadjya paint?

REGAN

Oh, well, flowers. Ya know, daisies? Only pink. An' then— Oh, yeah! This horse!

(excited, eyes widening)

This man had a horse, ya know, down by the river? We were walking, see, mom, and then along came this horse! He was beautiful! Oh, mom, ya should've seen him, and the man let me sit on him! Really! I mean, practically a minute!

Chris twinkles up at Sharon (off scene).

CHRIS

The big spender?

ANOTHER ANGLE AT SHARON

SHARON (smiling mischievously)

Um-hmm.

REGAN (off scene)

It was a gray horse!

ANOTHER ANGLE AT CHRIS AND REGAN

Regan is now kneeling and has her arms around her mother's neck.

REGAN

Mother, can't we get a horse? I mean, could we?

CHRIS

We'll see, baby.

REGAN

When can I get one?

CHRIS

Lemme up, hon, I gotta go tinkle.

REGAN (rising)

Me, too.

(starting to run off scene toward the trailer steps)

And me first!

CHRIS (rising and chasing after)

No, me!

(and from off scene)

I'm your mother!

REGAN (off scene)

No, me!

CHRIS (off scene)

I'm a star, you creepy kid!

ANGLE AT BURKE

He is sitting in a camp chair and holds a glass into which Chuck pours from a bottle of gin. Behind them, activity, as:

BURKE

Yes, that's fine, love. Now, then, let's have a munch.

Burke sips at his drink, then puts it aside as Chuck hauls out a script from his back pocket, opens it and offers it to Burke as an altar boy offers the missal to a priest at solemn mass. The edge of the script looks gnawed, with narrow strips ripped off. During this, a still photographer passes behind Burke, momentarily touching a hand to his shoulder with:

STILL PHOTOGRAPHER

How's it goin'?

BURKE

Oh, twiddles and twaddles.

Burke has begun to surgically shave off a narrow section from the edge of a page of the script. His fingers shake alcoholically. During this:

BURKE (scanning the page as he tears)

My God, you know she's absolutely right about this scene. It's really mad; it's simply absolutely hideous; just vomit.

CHUCK (warily squinting up at the sky)

More clouds.

INSERT—CLOSE AT BURKE'S SHAKING FINGERS TEARING PAPER

BURKE (off scene)

Please hold still, love.

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

We're losing the light.

BACK TO SCENE

BURKE

Yes, I know. They're going out all across the fucking world.

He puts the end of the strip into his mouth and begins to chew it, then worriedly squints up at the sky.

POINT OF VIEW—AT SKY

A rolling mass of windswept black clouds. Distant rumble of thunder; faint flash of lightning in the distance. During this, superimposed are the words:

" ... As Jesus stepped ashore, He was met by a man possessed by devils ... Jesus asked him, 'What is your name?'"

QUICK CUT TO:

INTERIOR HOLY TRINITY CHURCH—FULL HIGH SHOT FROM ALTAR—NIGHT

Dim lighting. Shadows. A scrubwoman mops the floor, advancing slowly toward the rear of the church. As we come in, she briefly pauses to wipe sweat from her brow, the small action explaining why the doors of the church are seen to be wide open in the far background. Outside, it is still. A late hour. We hear only the mopping as we superimpose:

"... 'Legion,' he replied, 'for we are many ...'"

CLOSE (AND FULL) AT THIRD STATION OF THE CROSS

We hear the mopping off scene as over the descriptive narrative on the plaque below the station ("Jesus Falls the First Time") we superimpose:

James Torello: "Jackson was hung up on that meat hook. He was so heavy he bent it. He was on that thing three days before he croaked."

The camera shifts over to the next station and we superimpose onto the plaque:

Fiore Buccieri (giggling): "Jackie, you shoulda seen the guy. Like an elephant he was, and when Jimmy hit him with that electric prod ..."

The camera shifts to the next station and we superimpose onto the plaque:

Torello (excitedly): "He was floppin' around on that hook, Jackie. We tossed water on him to give the prod a better charge, and he's screamin' ..."

LOSE SUPERIMPOSURE AND QUICKLY SUPER:

Excerpt from an FBI wiretap of a Cosa Nostra telephone conversation

And now the camera makes rapid cuts to the tenth (Christ stripped by executioners), eleventh (Christ nailed to the cross), and twelfth (Christ dies on the cross) stations as we superimpose on the plaques, in order:

Dachau

Auschwitz

Buchenwald

On each, a jolting stab of the score. Then silence and the mopping sound as the camera drifts down from the last station to the rear of church ... pokes into the foyer ... past the pamphlet rack ... then holds on the holy-water font as abruptly the mopping sounds cease and we hear a gasp from the scrubwoman off scene. The camera now swishes to and holds on a statue of the Blessed Virgin. We hear the mop falling to the floor, the scrubwoman racing away down aisle toward the priests' residence. The statue of the Virgin has been desecrated: rouged, lipsticked, and painted harlotlike, effecting a dissolute appearance.

SCRUBWOMAN (off scene)

Father Toomey!

We now hear muffled and ominous rapping sounds that are irregular, yet rhythmically clustered, like alien code tapped out by a dead man. They grow louder (and seemingly closer) as the camera moves down the church front steps and out into:

EXTERIOR 36TH STREET—NIGHT

Deserted. The camera follows the rappings, moving closer to the house beside the steps at the corner of 36th and Prospect, where a single light is on in an upstairs bedroom. During this, superimpose:

"They said, 'What sign can You give us to see, so that we may believe You?'"

The rappings grow louder and swifter, and the camera rushes to the front door of the house as we:

QUICKLY CUT TO:

INTERIOR MACNEIL HOUSE—NIGHT

Heavily paneled colonial. We are in the entry hall, and the camera is still in motion, slowly climbing the staircase to the second-floor hall. The rappings are now much clearer and more immediate. Coming to the open door to the bedroom, the camera stops, looking in, as Chris MacNeil, in bed studying a script, abruptly peers over it, frowning at the rappings. She looks down to the script again; then irritably slams it down on her lap, flouncing out of bed. She exits into the hall, frowns, looking around for the source of the sound; locates it. The camera tracks with her as she moves toward the door to another bedroom. And now the rappings accelerate and come regularly, much louder, building to a crescendo as Chris throws open the door.

INTERIOR REGAN'S BEDROOM—AT DOOR—CHRIS—NIGHT

The rappings have abruptly ceased. Chris looks baffled.

POINT OF VIEW—THE ROOM—CAMERA SHIFTING

to follow Chris's scrutiny. It is a typical child's bedroom, with large stuffed animals, paintings, and sculptures executed by Regan placed all about, among them a green clay sculpture of a turtle on the window seat in front of the large bay window overlooking the steps outside the house. Regan is asleep in her bed, her blankets kicked off and askew. She is lightly perspiring. Chris moves to her bedside.

CHRIS (a whisper)

Baby bear? You awake?

No response. Heavy breathing, regular and deep.

CHRIS (louder tone; weary)

OK, Rags. Old mother's ass is draggin'. Say it: "April Fool."

Still no response. Chris considers, then abruptly notices goose pimples on her arms. She rubs at them, shivering as if at an icy coldness and frowning in puzzlement as she looks at:

REGAN

The blankets tossed off; perspiration on her brow.

AT CHRIS

She squints her eyes in consternation and vague apprehension; looks back down at her goose pimples. Now she hears a scraping sound from above, like tiny claws scratching at the edge of a galaxy. Arms folded for warmth, while still trembling uncontrollably from the cold, she lifts her puzzled stare to the ceiling as we:

FREEZE THE FRAME AND REPRISE THE RAPPINGS

SUPERIMPOSE: FEMALE STAR'S CREDIT

INTERIOR NEW YORK SUBWAY STATION—NIGHT

Silence. Points of light stretch down the darkness of the tunnel like guides to hopelessness.

SUPERIMPOSE (IN GOTHIC):

"... You do not believe although you have seen."

ANGLE AT PLATFORM—MAN

The station appears to be deserted. The man stands close to the edge of the near platform. Black coat, hat and trousers. Powerfully built. He carries a valise resembling a doctor's medical bag, and stands with his back to us, head down, as if in dejection. Near him, a vending machine on a pillar. We hear echo chamber voices, remembered whispers of conversations.

OLD MAN'S VOICE (TOM)

A transfer to the New York province, Damien?

KARRAS'S VOICE

It's my mother. I never should have left her. She's alone, Tom. At least here I could look in now and—

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Excerpted from William Peter Blatty on the Exorcist from Novel to Film by William Peter Blatty. Copyright © 1974 William Peter Blatty. Excerpted by permission of Tom Doherty Associates.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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