# The Exorcist: A rather lame Pitting of VH1 **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 3, 2005, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-exorcist-a-rather-lame-pitting-of-vh1/329328 "2005-11-03T18:24:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-exorcist-a-rather-lame-pitting-of-vh1/329328/21 "2005-11-03T22:04:10Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > It was my understanding (perhaps incorrect) that while the rite of exorcism is part of the Catholic faith even today, that the church almost never invokes it, and really doesn’t like to admit that it even exists. All true. But not the same as dismissed as woo. They’ve haven’t dismissed it…can’t really. It’s in the Bible. > [@](#): > > It’s like one of those silly archaic laws that states that it’s illegal to put a banana down your trousers after sunset on Wednesdays. Still on the books, but no one cares. It’s a bit more than that. Like I said, it’s in the Bible. Jesus cast out demons. Therefore demon possession happens. Etc. etc. They’re stuck with it. Thought they do seem to have the decency to be embarrassed about it. > [@](#): > > Am I wrong about that? How common are exorcisms today? Before 1971, did the general public even know what the word meant? Good question. As I didn’t even know my name before 1971 I don’t know, but I would think the idea of demon posession was known to plenty of people. Perhaps the official Catholic rite wasn’t much known of. I could be wrong (may well be) but didn’t the story the Exorcism of Emily Rose was based on involve an exorcism that was sactioned by the RCC. For that matter wasn’t that the case for the Exorcist? ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-exorcist-a-rather-lame-pitting-of-vh1/329328/22 "2005-11-03T22:06:30Z")
_sigh_ Threads going to fast for me. Even missed out on talking about spanking. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-exorcist-a-rather-lame-pitting-of-vh1/329328/23 "2005-11-03T22:12:22Z")
VH1 was probably just trying to put some spin on to cater to Halloween scariness. There are no ghosts, but the Travel Channel had Haunted This and Haunted That on for like a week. Just as silly as Exorcist curses and all that. They will try to dig up some angle to appeal to somebody. I have The Holy Power of the Sacred Remote, and I wield it like a Mighty Sword. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-exorcist-a-rather-lame-pitting-of-vh1/329328/24 "2005-11-03T22:18:28Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > Just like Linda Blair! It took me aminute to get that. :eek: Yuo are a sick, sick man and I wish I’d thought of it first. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-exorcist-a-rather-lame-pitting-of-vh1/329328/25 "2005-11-03T22:22:48Z")
> [@Dr. Rieux](#): > > It took me aminute to get that. :eek: > > Yuo are a sick, sick man and I wish I’d thought of it first. 😃 heh. Don’t feel bad, I only got it after reading your post and thinking about it a second. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-exorcist-a-rather-lame-pitting-of-vh1/329328/26 "2005-11-03T22:37:50Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > **Rilchiam** , what show was that? Was it the people in the woods that said ghosts are real, or was it the producers? That is, was it all a goof, or were they serious? I don’t remember the name of the show. As for the quote, it was the host who said it, but to be fair, it was not an exact quote. It was more along the lines of “Well, **something** was out there in the woods…” neglecting to add that it was two grips with an inky. But there are people who are susceptible enough that they’ll take that remark, and the whole show, as proof that The Truth Is Out There. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-exorcist-a-rather-lame-pitting-of-vh1/329328/27 "2005-11-03T22:58:31Z")
> [@Rilchiam](#): > > two grips with an inky. . Is this English? If so, please translate anyway! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-exorcist-a-rather-lame-pitting-of-vh1/329328/28 "2005-11-04T00:01:22Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > …It’s like one of those silly archaic laws that states that it’s illegal to put a banana down your trousers after sunset on Wednesdays. Still on the books, but no one cares… Does this mean I need to change to Thursday mornings or opt for an avocado instead? ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-exorcist-a-rather-lame-pitting-of-vh1/329328/29 "2005-11-04T00:07:28Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Is this English? If so, please translate anyway! 🙂 grip: A member of a film production crew who adjusts sets, lighting, and props and sometimes assists the camera operator. inky: covered with ink. (sorry, I dunno. Maybe a mike?) ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-exorcist-a-rather-lame-pitting-of-vh1/329328/30 "2005-11-04T00:07:33Z")
> [@Dr. Rieux](#): > > It took me aminute to get that. :eek: > > Yuo are a sick, sick man and I wish I’d thought of it first. 😃 I didn’t get it until I read the “sick sick man” comment. :eek: 😛 **Anamika** , I don’t know what an “inky” is, but I assume by grips she means key grips, dolly grips, etc. The electricians. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-exorcist-a-rather-lame-pitting-of-vh1/329328/31 "2005-11-04T01:20:45Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > I also wonder if the movie had any effect on how the church deals with it now. It would be interesting to find out that Linda Blair had some direct or indirect effect on Papal policy. I guess we can only speculate on that. Yes, exorcisms are now performed on [Roller Skates](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079822/) I’m curious: did they interview O’Malley? (He played Father Dyer) ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-exorcist-a-rather-lame-pitting-of-vh1/329328/32 "2005-11-04T01:31:30Z")
> [@betenoir](#): > > For that matter wasn’t that the case for the Exorcist? The case for The Exorcist was actually about a boy, and I think he was a good bit older. When he started writing his story, Blatty contacted the people involved, and they gave him a lot of details. However, they insisted that he not use the boy’s name, and change a few details, so as to keep his identity secret. So Blatty changed the name, the age, the gender, the city, and the decade. I imagine that he filled in a few extra details as well. That’s according to Blatty, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-exorcist-a-rather-lame-pitting-of-vh1/329328/33 "2005-11-04T01:36:25Z")
> [@saoirse](#): > > I’m curious: did they interview O’Malley? > (He played Father Dyer) Yes, they did. What was interesting there was that in the scene where Dyer was giving last rites to Damien, they did take after take on through the night. At around 2:30 AM, O’Malley was getting very tired and wanted to call it a night. Friedkin slapped him hard. O’Malley was so upset he was shaking. That’s when they did the take that made it into the film. Just another example of motivating actors through physical abuse. And O’Malley is a priest, not an actor. I thought that was interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-exorcist-a-rather-lame-pitting-of-vh1/329328/34 "2005-11-04T01:54:19Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > The case for The Exorcist was actually about a boy, and I think he was a good bit older. When he started writing his story, Blatty contacted the people involved, and they gave him a lot of details. However, they insisted that he not use the boy’s name, and change a few details, so as to keep his identity secret. So Blatty changed the name, the age, the gender, the city, and the decade. I imagine that he filled in a few extra details as well. > > That’s according to Blatty, anyway. Interestingly enough, I saw on part of some “Unsolved Mysteries” type show once that there was evidence the boy had been molested by an aunt prior to the events that surrounded his “possession”. The aunt had recently died, and then the boy started acting out. As for the doc, yeah, it’s cheesy and sensational, but what did you expect from VH fucking 1? ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-exorcist-a-rather-lame-pitting-of-vh1/329328/35 "2005-11-04T01:58:25Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > And O’Malley is a priest, not an actor. I thought that was interesting. I’m not sure I’d go that far. I kid, I kid. I had him for theology and AP English. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-exorcist-a-rather-lame-pitting-of-vh1/329328/36 "2005-11-04T02:10:44Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > **Anamika** , I don’t know what an “inky” is, but I assume by grips she means key grips, dolly grips, etc. The electricians. An inky is a small light, 150 watts. Grips, however, are not electricians. Electricians run the power and power cables, and set the lights. Grips are in charge of everything that blocks or diffuses the lights, as well as mechanical stuff like setting pancakes (flat boards) under lights to keep them level, or apple boxes to elevate them. So in this case, the juicers (electricians) would have set up the genny (generator), run the cables out to the woods, and set the inky, while the grips supplied boxes to keep the light from setting the underbrush on fire. The juicers might have run a dimmer switch to increase or decrease the amount of light, or the grips might have been waving flags (squares of light-proof cloth) in front of the light to make it flicker. If the light was supposed to be any color other than white, then the juicers would have placed a gel (colored plastic) in front of the lens. There might have been a 10K in a condor involved at some point, now that I think about it, but let’s not get into that. At any rate, the grips would have been the ones to do the rustling around in the underbrush. Grips are called on to do a lot of non-lighting things when it would be easier to use someone who’s on the spot than to pull a PA (production assistant) away from what they’re doing. Also, the **key** grip is the chief of the grip crew. The **dolly** grip is the guy who pushes the dolly, with the camera, and sometimes the DP (director of photography) on it, as well as setting the track and keeping it level, if a track is used. Everyone else is just **a** grip. (I’m a bit rusty on this, so if **Cartooniverse** or anyone with more immediate knowledge wants to correct any errors, I willl not say them nay.) ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-exorcist-a-rather-lame-pitting-of-vh1/329328/37 "2005-11-04T05:11:02Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > As for the doc, yeah, it’s cheesy and sensational, but what did you expect from VH fucking 1? Not much. Except as as is usual for this thread, I made yet another factual error. It wasn’t VH1. It was E!. Not that it matters, as all of those cable stations are run by the same people. You know, Rupert Murdoch, Bill Gates, Donald Trump, Karl Rove, and Linda Blair. This thread has given me a desire to watch the original Exorcist again, so I rented it. Phrases like “Your mother sucks cock in Hell” are sweet melodies to put me to sleep. Sheesh, what a snooze-fest of a dumb film. It’s hard to believe that it raised any eyebrows back in the early 70s. I guess that’s the result of raising the ante on each succesive horror flick. I’ve become numb to anything shocking. As to spanking **Anaamika** – I’d be afraid of raising welts that spell out “SpaNK Me” ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-exorcist-a-rather-lame-pitting-of-vh1/329328/38 "2005-11-04T05:14:22Z")
E! That’s even worse! Was it one of those “True Hollywood Stories?” Don’t get me wrong, I love watching them, but they’re always the same. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-exorcist-a-rather-lame-pitting-of-vh1/329328/39 "2005-11-04T05:36:11Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > E! That’s even worse! Was it one of those “True Hollywood Stories?” Why don’t you just come clean and tell us you watched it yourself? Sheesh. > [@](#): > > Don’t get me wrong, I love watching them, but they’re always the same. Let me guess: Much like “Behind the Biography”, storm clouds gather just before the 24 minute commercial break. _Figurative_ storm clouds. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-exorcist-a-rather-lame-pitting-of-vh1/329328/40 "2005-11-04T05:49:32Z")
Oh, don’t be upset-I’m just kidding you. I love those shows. The _Growing Pains_ one, with fundy Kirk was great. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-exorcist-a-rather-lame-pitting-of-vh1/329328.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-exorcist-a-rather-lame-pitting-of-vh1/329328.md?page=3)