Latest news with #Exorcist
Buzz Feed
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
23 Films Linked To Real-Life Murder Cases
Probably one of the wildest behind-the-scenes facts I know is that Curb Your Enthusiasm literally saved a man accused of murder, possibly even from the death penalty. The man, Juan Catalan, was accused of murdering teenager Martha Puebla in 2003. He said he was at the Dodgers game with his daughter and his friends when the murder occurred, but there wasn't enough proof of Catalan's lawyer discovered Curb Your Enthusiasm had filmed at that very same game. Raking through the footage, they were able to find Catalan at the game and back up his alibi. Similarly, the infamous O.J. trial almost used footage from O.J.'s recent TV pilot, Frogman, which was never released following the murder accusations. Why was the footage relevant? It showed O.J.'s proficiency with a knife. Simpson had reportedly received military training for the role. Also, Simpson's costar Todd Allen had once gone with O.J. to Ross Cutlery — the suspected source of the murder weapon, which was never found — between shooting scenes. Eerily, the show also featured the death of the character's ex-wife. The footage did not end up being used in O.J.'s trial, in which he was acquitted of murder. The Exorcist features a real murderer and possible serial killer. Director William Friedkin went to an NYU radiology lab to scout locations and extras, and to observe an angiogram that would inspire a similar scene in the film. While at the lab, he met the technician Paul Bateson and decided to cast him as a technician in the movie as well. Bateson was later convicted of the murder of film critic Addison Verrill and is suspected of multiple other murders. There was evidence connecting him to the murder of six other men, though the judge in the case decided it was not enough, and he was convicted only of Verrill's murder. The Godfather cast Gianni Russo after he helped smooth tensions between mob boss Joe Colombo and the film's producers. Russo had grown up adjacent to the mob and knew many mob bosses, including Frank Costello, lending authenticity to the film, which jump-started a long acting career for Russo. The film actually saved his life at one point; Russo owned a casino and got into an altercation with a customer, which led to Russo killing him in self-defense. It was ruled a justifiable homicide, but Russo wasn't off the hook — the man he'd killed was a cartel member. According to Russo, a hit was put out on him, but he was spared because Pablo Escobar liked The Godfather. The Sopranos cast several men with mob ties, including Michael Squicciarini. After his death, Squicciarini was accused of being involved in the murder of drug dealer Ralph Hernandez. It was claimed that he had lured Hernandez to a club so that he could be shot by a member of a crime family he was associated with. Squicciarin was only implicated after witnesses noticed him on the show and recognized him from the night of the murder. Goodfellas also gained authenticity for casting Louis Eppolito, who had grown up around the mob but became a cop. However, he was later infamously convicted of being a mob assassin (Eppolito still claimed he was innocent until his death). He was also in the films Predator 2 and Lost Highway. Speaking of Lost wasn't the only suspected murderer in the film. The film, which is about a man being accused and jailed for murdering his wife, also starred Robert Blake. Blake was later arrested for the murder of his wife, who was shot while sitting in their car during a dinner date. It was alleged that Blake had hired two stunt performers to kill her, though the jury did not believe the stunt performers, who were abusing drugs. Blake was acquitted, though he was later held liable for her death in a civil case. Back to The Zodiac killer was a big fan of the film. He actually mentioned it in one of his letters, calling it, "the best saterical comidy (sic) that I have ever seen." The famous killer would later inspire the film's screenwriter to write what would eventually become The Exorcist III. Jeffrey Dahmer was a fan of this film and even showed it to one of his would-be victims, Tracy Edwards, who escaped being murdered by Dahmer. Danny Rolling, the Gainesville Ripper, was also influenced by The Exorcist III and the book that inspired it, Legion, which featured the Gemini killer. The murderer claimed his alternate personas, Gemini and Ynnad (Danny backwards), were responsible for his crimes. The backwards spelling of Danny appeared to be a reference to the possessed speaking backwards in the film. While we're on the subject of killers inspired by films, we have to mention John Hinckley Jr., who tried to assassinate then–President Ronald Reagan to impress Jodie Foster, whom he had become obsessed with after seeing her in Taxi Driver. A handyman allegedly obsessed with Psycho reportedly set out to murder Marli Renfro, the woman who acted as Janet Leigh's body double in the notorious shower scene, but killed the wrong person by accident. His victim, it turns out, was Myra Davis (who also went by her stage name Myra Jones), who was Leigh's stand-in for lighting and staging, but not the double seen on screen in the shower scene (though her hand is seen briefly). Natalie Wood, who starred in a number of films including West Side Story, Rebel Without a Cause, and Gypsy, died under extremely mysterious circumstances while filming Brainstorm. Wood, who was 43 at the time, was with her husband Robert Wagner on his boat on a weekend vacation. According to Wagner himself (though he initially denied this), he and Wood argued, and then he went to bed without her. The next morning, she was found drowned a mile away. Wood had been drinking, and it's possible her death was an accident, but she was found with bruises that could mean she was attacked. Nearby witnesses had heard a woman scream. The captain of the boat, Dennis Davern, allegedly drunkenly confessed to Wood's sister years later that he'd seen Wagner push Wood, who then fell overboard, and that Wagner refused to rescue this is unconfirmed. We'll likely never know exactly what one person might: Brainstorm costar Christopher Walken, who was also there that night, and had reportedly also argued with Wagner. Jean Spangler was just starting to gain headway in Hollywood when she disappeared at 27, leaving behind a note that read, "Kirk, Can't wait any longer. Going to see Dr. Scott. It will work best this way while mother is away." Kirk apparently referred to someone Spangler had met on set, according to her mother. Police speculated that Kirk might refer to the famous actor Kirk Douglas, whom she had recently worked with on Young Man with a Horn. Douglas was in Palm Springs at the time, and told police he barely remembered Spangler. "I told Detective Chief Thad Brown that I didn't remember the girl or the name until a friend recalled it was she who worked as an extra in a scene with me in my picture Young Man With a Horn," Douglas said. "Then I recalled that she was a tall girl in a green dress and that I talked and kidded with her a bit on the set, as I have done with many other people. But I never saw her before or after that and have never been out with her." Spangler's disappearance has never been solved, and Young Man with a Horn was one of her final films. Shelley Malil, perhaps best known for costarring as Haziz in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, was later imprisoned for stabbing his ex-girlfriend 23 times in front of a friend while her children slept upstairs. She survived, and he was released after eight years, against the wishes of his victims. He blamed his actions in part on a lack of roles following The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Actor Johnny Lewis — who had once dated Katy Perry and is allegedly the person "The One That Got Away" is about — murdered his landlady, killed her cat, then attacked a house painter and his neighbor (who were able to escape), before dying from what was ruled an accidental fall in 2012. Ironically, Lewis had left Sons of Anarchy years prior because it was too "violent." In the years since, he had played a serial killer on Criminal Minds and starred in the horror film Lovely Molly. The murder came shortly after Lewis moved back into the Writer's Villa, a Los Angeles home where a woman had rented out rooms to young creatives for decades. Lewis had been going through a personality change following a motorcycle accident, which many family and friends believed contributed to his violent outbursts, which came on suddenly and seemed to get worse after stints in jail. Serial killer Clifton Bloomfield appeared as an extra on shows like Breaking Bad and Felon, basically mid–killing sprees. For example, he was hired on Felon after serving time as a convicted killer, and a month later, went on to kill three more people before being caught and imprisoned again. According to the casting director, no one on set even knew or was told that Bloomfield was a convicted killer. Tara Correa-McMullen, an up-and-coming actor who appeared on shows like Zoey 101, died in a gang-related potential drive-by shooting at age 16 in 2005. Friends said that she had recently been hanging out with a "bad crowd" but had been trying to get her life back on track. Eerily, Correa-McMullen was best known for playing a former gang member on Judging Amy. Her character was trying to turn her life around after involvement in a drive-by shooting, but ultimately failed and was killed in jail. In another creepy coincidence, Judith Eva Barsi, the child actor who most famously voiced Ducky in Land Before Time, played a child murdered by her father in Fatal Vision. She was later murdered by her father at the age of 10. He also murdered his wife, Judith's mother, before killing himself. Imagine going on a dating show to meet the love of your life and meeting a killer instead. That's exactly what happened on the popular game show The Dating Game. Contestant Rodney Alcala actually won his episode (though he ended up being rejected for a date). It was later revealed that Alcala was a serial killer who would end up being convicted of seven suspected of many more. A contestant on Megan Wants a Millionaire and I Love Money 3, Ryan Jenkins, also later turned out to be a killer — in fact, just after the latter show finished filming, his wife's dead body was found. It was soon discovered he had a history of assault, which apparently his background check hadn't uncovered. This didn't actually involve murder, but it's a wild behind-the-scenes fact involving a murder trial. Cannibal Holocaust was so horrifically violent and offensive that in Italy, director Ruggero Deodato was charged with obscenity and later murder after it was suspected that some of the actors had actually died in the film. The actors literally had to come to court to prove they were alive. Deodato was also charged with animal cruelty (though it was later overturned) because multiple animals had been killed onscreen. And finally, we can't make this post without mentioning the tragic death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust. Alec Baldwin was using a gun as a prop when it went off and killed Hutchins. The gun had been declared safe before using, and Baldwin reportedly did not know it was loaded — he also denied pulling the trigger, though the FBI reported the gun could not have fired without the trigger being pulled. Baldwin was originally charged with involuntary manslaughter, but the charges were later dismissed. First AD David Halls was sentenced to probation, and armorer Gutierrez-Reed was convicted and sentenced to 18 months in prison. Filming eventually resumed, and the film was quietly released last month.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘The Ritual' Review: Exorcisms Happen, Excitement Not So Much in Drab Horror Opus With Al Pacino
Not since Paul Schrader's ill-starred 'Exorcist' entry 'Dominion' in 2004 has an exorcism-centric thriller taken itself quite so seriously as 'The Ritual.' Based on a real-life case, like director David Midell's prior 'The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain,' this more fantastical drama is a relatively restrained effort less interested in standard horror effects than the events' psychological impact on their participants. Nonetheless, its integrity and able performers only do so much to elevate a reluctant genre movie that emerges as rather dreary — not unlike 'Dominion,' albeit minus theological discussions. With Al Pacino and Dan Stevens topping the cast, XYZ Films' release should lure in some genre fans. Still, their disappointment may be salved only by the thought that this is a definite genre improvement over the abysmal 'The Exorcist: Believer' from two years ago. Midell's feature is billed as being based on 'the true story that inspired 'The Exorcist,'' though William Peter Blatty's original novel was purportedly more influenced by a 14-year-old Maryland boy's alleged demonic possession in the '40s. Here, the source is accounts of Emma Schmidt, a middle-aged midwesterner who had already been tormented by inexplicable behaviors before being turned over to Catholic authorities in 1928 for emergency spiritual intervention. Because clergy involved documented the exorcisms (which took place over four months), her travails are still considered by believers as one of the strongest proofs for occult possession being an actual thing. More from Variety Spike Lee Says Denzel Washington Deserved Oscar for 'Malcolm X' Over Al Pacino: 'It's Like Basketball, Where the Ref Blows a Call' Al Pacino Joins Bobby Moresco-Directed Biopic 'Maserati: The Brothers' Al Pacino, Katie Holmes Getty Kidnapping Drama 'Captivated' Set for Imminent Rome Shoot as Producer Andrea Iervolino Boards (EXCLUSIVE) The movie's much younger version of Schmidt — played by Abigail Cowen, who's in her late twenties and could pass for a teen — arrives at St. Joseph's as a frail, frightened and passive presence. Nuns of the convent are tasked with her basic care, while parish priest Father Joseph Steiger (Stevens) is charged with keeping a written record of whatever occurs during her stay. All of them assume that Emma's true problem is psychiatric. They see little reason to keep her in restraints as recommended by Father Theophilus Riesinger (Pacino), the visiting Capuchin friar who'll perform 'sacred rites' of exorcism. That turns out to be a big mistake. Emma herself may be a harmless victim, but whatever's got hold of her is crafty, malicious and violent. It's soon terrorizing the novices, in addition to targeting skeptic Steiger and young Sister Rose (Ashley Greene) as weak links in the circle of faith. Enough havoc is wrought that the Mother Superior (Patricia Heaton) insists Emma be moved to the institution's basement. Yet wherever its permanent residents go, and however firmly secured their troubled guest is, these servants of the church sense a mocking, evil entity running loose. There's nothing here you haven't seen before: Furniture moves around on its own, lights flicker and go out. Emma's battered body shows evidence of cruel internal warfare, while the demon also inflicts grievous harm on others who foolishly get too close. That foul being knows things it shouldn't about our protagonists, imitating voices of dead loved ones to manipulate them. Through it all, Pacino's aged friar remains stoic — he's apparently been through the likes of this before. (The real Riesinger had indeed already attempted to exorcise Schmidt once, in 1912 Wisconsin.) You might expect 85-year-old Pacino to chew scenery in this lurid supernatural context. Instead, he wisely chooses to play his Bavarian-emigre figure as a man who endures outlandish, alarming phenomena by refusing to be ruffled, maintaining a demeanor of gentle authority and humor. The normally expert Stevens appears less assured than usual, as if fearful that he might have gotten himself into some real schlock. He hasn't, but 'The Ritual' sometimes makes you wish he had. It just isn't much fun, even as it lacks the gravitas needed to make a more deeply unsetting impression, as William Friedkin famously managed with 'The Exorcist' 52 years ago. Cowen, who bears passing resemblance to Ashley Bell of 'The Last Exorcism' (that film's costar, Patrick Fabian, plays a senior cleric here), provides a touchingly pathetic presence, whenever she's not a yelling, growling special effect. But neither the afflicted party or its afflicting demon are imbued with much personality by Midell and Enrico Natale's script. There are some creepy and scary moments, yet the whole feels uninspired — this director doesn't seem terribly committed to the mechanics of horror, while the milieu and characters don't come to vivid life in a way that reinforces 'Ritual's' stance as more of a strange-but-supposedly-true docudrama. Once the end credits roll, we're left with the odd sensation of still waiting for some cathartic climax. The Mississippi-shot production's physical modesty is apt enough for story purposes, though you might wish for a smidge more assertive style from Adam Biddle's cinematography and other craft departments. 'The Ritual' merits some appreciation for not being merely another cheesy exploitation of familiar themes. But that doesn't redeem the fact that, in the end, it's a bit of an earnest slog — an exorcism movie more tame than bedeviled. Best of Variety The Best Albums of the Decade
Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- General
- Los Angeles Times
L.A. Affairs: For years, I juggled co-parenting, dating and taking care of a family cat I didn't like
In the chaos of divorce and shared custody with my two little girls, my ex-husband got a cat, and I thought by promoting uniformity between the two homes, I should too. The problem was this: I didn't want a cat. I didn't particularly like cats. My ex did. Although my decision was fueled by single-parent shame, his decision was matter-of-fact. For a decade, we were harried Los Angeles co-parents, entwined by conversations involving camp sign-ups, parent/teacher conferences, pediatrician appointments, dividing spring break weeks and the antidotes of two troublesome felines. My ex's cat, Champ, chronically peed on his couch and spent most of its daylight hours hiding under a chair. My cat, Seuss, behaved like a jailed convict, seeking any opportunity for escape from my apartment. I was continually scaling walls and dragging him, covered in engine grease, out from under a car in the morning after he slipped out the front door left ajar. Each time he ran away, I prayed I wouldn't have to return from my search-and-rescue efforts with a limp body to teach my girls about death. A very small voice in the back of my mind began to secretly hope he'd never return. Across town in Culver City, my ex couldn't get Champ to go outside at all and was considering a hefty dose of anxiety meds for his cat. My pet loyalty waned three years in. I was done scooping the litter, lint-rolling hair from my clothes and booking expensive cat condos when we took holidays. Champ was peeing in the girls' backpacks, and Seuss had started spraying to mark territory. After one 'Exorcist'-like incident, I lost it. I stuffed him in the cat carrier and informed the girls he was going back to the no-kill adoption place where we had a lifetime return policy. He needs more friends, I told them. I texted my ex: 'I'm returning the cat.' 'Then let's adopt him a friend,' my older daughter begged on the ride. Seuss was silent, sensing his fate. Upon arrival at the shelter on the Westside, I sat in the lobby with the cat in the carrier, thinking. I desperately wanted to do good as a parent. I didn't want to be the parent who gave the cat away. 'Have you made your decision, ma'am?' the volunteer asked. 'Give me a minute,' I said, and then I called a friend who was a pet lover. 'I can't do this anymore,' I wailed. 'I bought him for the wrong reasons. I don't need uniformity. I want out.' She talked me down from my hysteria, and somehow, like cat people can, convinced me to honor my commitment. With the cat and kids in the car, I made my somber way home. I texted my ex: 'I couldn't do it.' For five more years, I accepted my pet ownership, especially knowing he was a de facto emotional support animal for my now-16-year-old daughter. Despite her asthma, week upon week, after her return from her dad's, she would wear Seuss like a fur stole around her neck. 'I missed him so much,' she'd say. Her younger sister was nonplussed. She refused to be responsible for cat care. 'It's not my cat,' she said. Men I dated would meet the cat, and I would solemnly explain I wasn't really a cat person. 'Then why do you have a cat?' one guy asked, as Seuss sniffed his pant cuff suspiciously. I prayed he wouldn't spray. I moved to a house in South L.A., the land of feral cats. Thinking Seuss would thrive in a yard, he took to the streets, returning home filthy and ragged. He would eat and then meow to leave. Lying in bed at night, I would hear the thump of the neighborhood cats landing on the roof, their shadows on the fence passing my illuminated windowpane. Then one day, without ceremony, my ex gave his cat away. He got a dog. My daughters didn't give him any flack, and he didn't make room for it. When I suggested I too was reconsidering my commitment to the cat when my daughter went to college, she freaked out. 'You can't! You can give the cat to dad!' I knew that was a ridiculous suggestion. Why would her dad, who just became cat-free, take on my cat? I was annoyed. Why did he get to give the cat away, but I was stuck for life? I realized closing this chapter of cat ownership was going to be more challenging than I thought. Within that year, my life changed. I fell in love, bought a condo and was spending more time at the house of my partner who was allergic to cats. Seuss was often left alone. A pet should live in a home where they're loved and not barely tolerated. I wanted to broach the subject of giving up the cat again. I called my ex and asked him to back me on my decision. Our relationship was now one of the support and friendship that can come from the hard trials of co-parenting, especially raising children in a city where so many parents look like they are doing it better than you. 'You aren't happy,' he said. 'You get to give away the cat.' I called my daughter at college and expressed my intentions to give Seuss away unless she could find him a temporary home until she got an apartment. 'I'm empty-nesting like many parents,' I said, hoping for sympathy. She was furious. It caused a painful rift between us for months. I advocated for the new phase of my mid-life to be pet-free, and she accused me of abandoning 'the family pet.' In my heart, I knew I couldn't do anything until she let go of a family dynamic once created when she was 7. The two cats, the two homes, the two parents. I loved her too much to make a move without her approval. Two months later, on a return from college, she sat with me at the kitchen table and announced: 'You can give the cat away. I care about my relationship with you more.' I exhaled. I was awed by her maturity and grace. I advocated for myself, and she heard my appeal. Drama-free, the cat was returned and readopted. Hopefully he has not run away. The author, a book coach in Los Angeles, wrote the self-help book 'No Longer Denying Sexual Abuse: Making the Choices That Can Change Your Life.' She writes a weekly Substack column called Give Yourself Permission at L.A. Affairs chronicles the search for romantic love in all its glorious expressions in the L.A. area, and we want to hear your true story. We pay $400 for a published essay. Email LAAffairs@ You can find submission guidelines here. You can find past columns here.
Gizmodo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
Could the MCU Recast Kang the Conqueror for a Final Sendoff?
Don't expect Mike Flanagan's Exorcist movie any time soon. The Saw franchise has gotten a behind-the-scenes shakeup. Plus, the Predator's on the hunt in World War II in even more Predator: Killer of Killers footage. Spoilers get! Marvel Cinematic Universe Meanwhile, Jeff Sneider, speaking on The Hot Mic, alleges that Marvel has plans to bring Kang the Conqueror in an attempt to close off the plotlines set up prior to Jonathan Majors' firing, and may potentially even appear at some point in the upcoming Avengers duology to be killed off by Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom. Furthermore, Sneider also claimed that Severance's Tramell Tillman may be being considered for the role. The Masque of Red Death Deadline reports Mikey Madison has replaced Sydney Sweeney in the lead role of A24's upcoming film adaptation of The Masque of Red Death. Saw Deadline also has words that the half of the rights to the Saw franchise previously owned by Twisted Pictures have been acquired by Blumhouse. Although Lionsgate will still retain their side of the rights in the new deal, plans for a new movie have yet to formally be confirmed. Monster High Deadline also reports M3GAN director Gerard Johnstone is attached to direct a theatrical live-action Monster High movie for Mattel, Universal Pictures and Weed Road. Mike Flanagan's The Exorcist In response to a fan on Tumblr (via Bloody-Disgusting), Mike Flanagan confirmed there's 'no way' his Exorcist movie is coming out next March as initially planned. Production hasn't started, we need to finish CARRIE first. No way it's coming out next March. Nothing to worry about though. 28 Years Later Bloody-Disgusting also has four new character posters from 28 Years Later. Predator: Killer of Killers The Predator makes mincemeat of some WWII pilots in the latest clip from Killer of Killers. House On Eden A group of paranormal investigators are 'mysteriously rerouted' to a legitimately haunted house in the trailer for House On Eden, coming to theaters this July 25. Vision Quest According to Variety, Emily Hampshire has been cast as E.D.I.T.H., the artificial intelligence gifted to Peter Parker by Tony Stark in Spider-Man: Far From Home, in the upcoming Vision Quest TV series. Marvel's "Vision" series has cast 'Schitt's Creek' star Emily Hampshire as E.D.I.T.H., the Stark Industries artificial intelligence introduced in 'Spider-Man: Far From Home.' She joins Paul Bettany in the — Variety (@Variety) June 4, 2025 SurrealEstate Finally, Susan and Lomax impersonate nuns in a clip from tonight's new episode of SurrealEstate.
NDTV
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- NDTV
Watch: Woman's Amusing 'Accidental' Snack At Sip-And-Paint Outing Gets Over 70 Million Views
There is a new dining trend gaining popularity that blends creativity with cuisine – welcome to the world of 'sip-and-paint' restaurants. They not only serve delicious food and drinks but also offer guests canvas and paint to unleash their inner artist. From one such venue, a lighthearted video went viral. It captures the joys – and minor mishaps – of the experience. Shared on Instagram by content creator Tori Ratima, the clip shows her painting with one hand while holding a cheese stick in the other. In a moment of confusion, she accidentally dips the cheese stick into pink paint instead of ketchup. After taking a bite and chewing for a few seconds, she realises the mix-up and bursts into laughter. The side note read, "When you did more sip than paint." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tori Ratima (@tori_ratima) The viral video amused the internet and clocked more than 72 million views. A user wrote, "The fact that you took a while to taste the paint and then took another while to look at the paint and figure out that it was paint bro, how much sipping did you do." Another added, "Your tongue-to-brain receptors are off by like 500 business days." Recalling a similar incident, a viewer wrote, "I was removing polish from my nails... had a cold bottle of Sprite next to the polish remover. Guess which bottle I took a swig from?! I could hardly breathe and became the Exorcist not long after." "I once went to dip my brush in my wine glass," shared a user. A person remarked, "Glad they make non-toxic paint now and not lead paint. Lol." Ever had your own sip-and-paint mishap? We would love to hear your story. Share it in the comments section below.
