The Exorcism Director Joshua John Miller and Writer M.A. Fortin Interview

Tales of cursed sets aren't in short supply in Hollywood, but it wasn't inexplicably tragic deaths that plagued The Exorcism. According to director Joshua John Miller and co-writer M.A. Fortin, the duo behind The Final Girls script, their set faced a number of challenges - religious trauma, COVID, a fire in Australia, and "crazy stuff happened that just kept happening" - that nearly led its director to give up. What ended up saving the production of this Russell Crowe-led horror, however, is nearly stranger than fiction.
While religious horror films are not new (The Exorcism now joins the 2024 roster alongside Immaculate and The First Omen and Late Night With the Devil), Miller and Fortin's take on the genre is a unique perspective from its genesis. For starters, the meta movie-within-a-movie aspect was championed by Scream creator Kevin Williamson, who serves as a producer for the film. On top of that, Miller tells Collider's Steve Weintraub, "My responsibility as a filmmaker is to be an archivist," referring to his love letter to his mother, Susan Bernard (Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!), who was "a scream queen herself," with The Final Girls. As it turns out, The Exorcism is also a nod to his father, Jason Miller, an actor best known for portraying Father Karras in The Exorcist.
During the Q&A, Miller and Fortin discuss the hurdles they overcame throughout production, from casting to post. They talk about fighting for the lesbian couple at the center of the movie, played by Ryan Simpkins and Chloe Bailey (you'll never guess what kind of backward note they got on that), what it was like pitching the movie to Russell Crowe, his involvement in the casting process, and why Miller nearly gave up on the whole thing. They also reveal how a call from Quentin Tarantino saved The Exorcism and what's up next for them, including a special Marilyn Monroe project.
#theexorcism #joshuajohnmiller #mafortin
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[@skilledu]

Awful movie, it made me sleepy