EXCLUSIVE : WAMG Talks To Writer JEREMY SLATER – ‘The Exorcist’ (TV)

During San Diego Comic-Con, one of the more interesting panels was for the new Fox series ‘The Exorcist,’ written by Jeremy Slater. Audience members were treated to the pilot of the show, as well as the SDCC exclusive trailer below. Premiering September 23rd, the show features two different priests trying to tackle one family’s horrifying case of demonic possession.

Widely regarded as the greatest horror movie ever made, “The Exorcist” broke box office records and terrified audiences around the world. Now, more than four decades after the Academy Award-nominated film, THE EXORCIST returns as a TV series. Directed by Rupert Wyatt (“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”), THE EXORCIST is a propulsive psychological thriller following two very different priests tackling one family’s case of horrifying demonic possession. FATHER TOMAS ORTEGA (Alfonso Herrera, “Sense8,” “The Chosen”) is the new face of the Catholic Church: progressive, ambitious and compassionate. He runs a small but loyal parish in the suburbs of Chicago. He has no idea that his quiet life is about to change forever. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, another priest finds himself locked in a life-and-death struggle with evil. FATHER MARCUS BRENNAN (Ben Daniels, “Flesh and Bone,” “House of Cards”) is a modern-day Templar Knight, an orphan raised since childhood by the Vatican to wage war against its enemies. Father Marcus is everything Father Tomas is not: relentless, abrasive and utterly consumed by his sacred mission. Caught in the middle is the RANCE family, members of Tomas’ parish. On the surface, they’re a normal, suburban family, but all is not as it seems in this household. The patriarch, HENRY RANCE (guest star Alan Ruck, “Spin City,” “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”), is slowly but surely losing his mind. Eldest daughter KATHERINE (Brianne Howey, SCREAM QUEENS) has become a recluse who refuses to leave her room. Her younger sister, CASEY (Hannah Kasulka, “The Fosters”), thinks she’s hearing strange noises coming from inside the walls.  And mother ANGELA (Academy Award and Golden Globe winner Geena Davis, “Commander in Chief,” “Thelma & Louise”) has been plagued by recurring nightmares, each more frightening than the last. Angela believes there is something in the house, a demonic presence, growing stronger by the day. Desperate, she begs Father Tomas for help, unwittingly setting the naïve young priest on a collision course with Father Marcus. Separately, each faces an insurmountable task, but together they become the only hope against an evil force that has been mobilizing for centuries.

1. Exorcism stories have been being told for such a long time, but it was The Exorcist that stands out to everyone because of how intense and frightening it was/is. I read that you said somewhere that you wanted to write it because you didn’t want anyone else to. Why is that, and what was your initial draw to the film/project/subject?

SLATER: When the idea was first pitched to me by my agent, the basic plan was to remake the same story from the novel and the original film. I basically told him, I’m not going to make that show, and no one else should either. Because it’s an impossible task, trying to improve on perfection. My standard line has been: “You’re never going to tell that story better, you’re only going to tell it longer.” So I initially passed on the project, but I wasn’t quite able to shake the idea of doing a serialized show about demonic possession. What would a real case of demonic possession look like in 2016? And the more I thought about it, the more excited I became. Finally I called my agent back and said, listen, you have to get me in the room with the producers, to see if they would even consider taking a different approach to the material. Because the only way to make this work is to tell a brand new story with a brand new cast of characters. Create something that’s true in spirit to the original novel and film, but not necessarily beholden to them. So I sat down with the producers and pitched them a version of the show you see now, and they immediately saw the potential in creating something new and exciting.

2. There are such incredibly elaborate websites and books on the subject of exorcism. What kind of research did you do, and do you have a favorite case or story?

SLATER: We’ve got a pretty extensive library of old grimoires and witch-hunting manuals and religious texts sitting around our writers room, which we page through whenever we’re searching for inspiration. Some of the material is bone-chilling, and some of it is honestly kind of adorable, believe it or not. There’s one grimoire that’s filled with spells and incantations for summoning demons to perform literally hundreds of meaningless tasks for you, like forcing your enemy to dance a jig or ensuring that your goats will be fertile.

The bad news is, I’ve tried a couple. Don’t work.

 In terms of practical research, we spoke at length with a few different Catholic priests, men who claimed to have performed real exorcisms in the past, and some of the stories they told really informed not just the plot mechanics this season, but also how we’re approaching the concept of demons in general. But I can’t say more without getting into spoiler territory!

3. Ok. I’ve seen you play Dread Halls without really jumping. You’re a horror fan. Is there anything that actually scares you?

SLATER: President Trump? I dunno. I’m pretty hard to scare when it comes to horror movies or haunted houses. I mean, I’m petrified of heights and Great White Sharks. Oh, and flying. Oh God, flying scares the living shit out of me. But I’m probably fairly desensitized in terms of entertainment. Too much Carpenter and Cameron and Romero and Cronenberg at a dumb, impressionable age.

4. You’ve got an incredible cast. How was the process of piecing them all together?

SLATER: We approached the casting process saying, you know what, let’s ignore the constant industry desire to land giant “names” and instead just focus on getting the very best actors possible. We probably saw hundreds of actors for some of the main roles. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t familiar with Alfonso or Ben or Hannah or Brianne before we started the process, but we had amazing casting people in Eric Dawson and Jennifer Brooks, and they searched high and low to really discover some tremendous untapped talents. And our actors came in and just blew everyone else out of the water. Each and every one of them is a fucking rock star.

And then there’s Geena Davis, who is justifiably an icon and one of the best actors in this town, period. I sometimes wake up scratching my head and saying, how the hell did we convince Geena Davis to be part of our dumb little show? But she’s here, and she’s even more awesome in person than she is on the screen, which is no small feat. So yeah, we kinda lucked out.

5. How many seasons do you have planned out, since I’m guessing with television they usually expect you to have a few outlines… and as a writer, are you extremely structured, or is your approach to just roll with the punches?

SLATER: So far our writers room has mapped out the first eight episodes of the season, and we’re currently breaking the final two. I’ve got some vague, fuzzy ideas where the show might go in future seasons, but I’m mostly trying to take inspiration from shows like Lost or Battlestar Galactica: if you’ve got good ideas, don’t save them for future seasons. Throw everything you have at the screen and worry about topping it later. If you tell a story that’s propulsive and unpredictable and rewarding, the fans will support you no matter what.

I do know that we’re not going to be an anthology show that reboots its story and its characters every year, because that approach holds no appeal for me. And on the same track, I think that as a storyteller you’ve got a responsibility to the fans to tell a complete story every single season, with a satisfying beginning, middle and end. By the end of this first season, I can promise you that you will see the Rance possession get resolved. Because cliffhangers are bullshit.

6. Do you find there to be a pressure in pleasing The Exorcist fans, or are you perfectly ok with walking your own path? Where do you find the balance?

SLATER: It’s a fine line, because no one out there loves The Exorcist more than I do. And I’ve been feeling that pressure every single day for the last eight months, that desire to create something that gets the fans excited and really does justice to the franchise. But that pressure can also paralyze you if you let it, because it would be very easy to become too beholden to the source material. If you watch the pilot, there are some pretty overt homages in there, and that’s because we knew the fans would be expecting–and probably demanding–some of those iconic moments. But it was important for me to A) try to incorporate those moments in new and interesting ways, and B) to get them out of the way as early in the season as possible. Because at the end of the day, no one’s going to tune in week after week for something that’s just a parade of references. If you’re not putting your own stamp on the material, then why the hell are you bothering in the first place?

7. Since there are so many films now being adapted into series, if there was one area, film you could adapt for television, what would it be and why?

SLATER: Between The Exorcist and The Umbrella Academy, I’ve already got my hands on two dream properties. Why be selfish? I’ve got plenty to keep me busy.

‘The Exorcist’ premieres September 23rd on FOX