OT but Geena Davis not returning to The Exorcist? isn't she the main character?

on some of the FB pages there has recently been a lot of people "hearing" or "reading" about a sequel to the Depp film that ends up being based on misinformation like this.

old articles reposted. out-of-context quotes. for some reason the film is getting chatter on the internet lately.


after 5 years i think we can safely assume the Depp/Burton association with the "franchise" is dead and buried.

interesting on Warrick...

i grew up with her as the frothy but imperious Phoebe Wallingford on AMC. paired opposite of course our own Louis Edmonds.


of course one mustn't forget about Joan Crawford's legendary turn as understudy for her 25 year old daughter on The Secret Storm. 

starting in the 1960s, and lasting well into the 1980s, there was a time honored tradition of casting, shall we say "fading", actresses from Hollywood's "golden age" on soap operas as a series of matriarchs and dowagers.

the characters were generally not really "front burner" in terms of actually driving plot. they were more a decorous "presence" that lent the often low budget productions cache. the pay scale was probably peanuts compared to what they had been earning at their peak in film. but dented egos could be salved by way of special "above the title" billing and lavish wardrobe. in many ways it was a "win win". the program was added prestige. and for the actress it was regular work at a time when film roles had largely dried up and there was not the constant revenue stream of "residuals" there is today with cable, streaming, dvd sales and so forth.

i'm not sure of Joan was officially the "first" in this particular brand of casting. but she was certainly a pioneer and one of the most distinctive.

i rarely get excited about a film release but this looks great. i love the group of AG mysteries they did in the 1970s.

the exteriors of the houses is somewhat different. it was more the interiors.

Burton's vision certainly took things in a campier direction...there are no macrame owls or troll dolls in LOHH...but some early 1970s design elements imposed on the Gothic setting brought DS to mind. and like i said Pamela Franklin's style was very evocative of Vicki in the Burton film (although the hairdo was different).

Burton creates a visual pastiche of multiple sources but i definitely think this film was swirling around somewhere when he was laying out his vision for DS.

last night i watched a movie called 'The Legend of Hell House' filmed in 1973...


it was set at a Gothic style mansion similar to Collinwood. i really think much of the 2012 art direction and set design was at least in part inspired by the look of this film. Burton has to have seen it. the gloomy Gothic setting with touches of early 1970's decor. lamps and other small decorative items seen throughout the house were definitely evoked in Burton's film.

and lead actress Pamela Franklin's overall look definitely inspired the costuming for Vicki in the 2012 film as well. wide collars. capelets. blouses worn under jumper style dresses. some of the outfits were almost identical.

if you watch it you'll see what i mean. it was certainly a source of visual inspiration.