Exclusives
Warners Gives Exorcism Another Go With Jeff Bridges and ‘The Seventh Son’
Are exorcist films really that popular? The Last Exorcist did well, and so did Warner The Rite, but both failed to even come close to the awesomeness that is The Exorcist. Warner Bros. is ready to give it another go (yet they won’t greenlit Elm Street or Friday the 13th sequels, pfffft).
Bloody Disgusting learned that Jeff Bridges has been cast as Exorcist Master Gregory, aka “The Spook” in The Seventh Son for Warner Bros. Pictures. Just Jared adds that offers are also out to Beastly star Alex Pettyfer and Oscar-nominated actress Jennifer Lawrence, who would portray the role of a suspected witch.
We’ve exclusively confirmed that Sergei Bodrov (Nomad, Mongol, Yakuza Girl) is directing from a screenplay by Max Borenstein.
Alex will star as “Tom Ward”, a young boy training to be an exorcist in the 1700’s and must learn how to exorcise ghosts, contain witches, and bind boggarts. Trouble begins when he’s tricked into releasing the most evil witch in the world.
The Seventh Son was formerly known as The Spook’s Apprentice and is part of Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures’ adaptation of Joseph Delaney’s young adult series “The Last Apprentice.” It is based on the first book in the trilogy “The Wardstone Chronicles.”
Production begins August 1 in South Africa, with Legendary Pictures producing.
Pictured: Jennifer Lawrence
Exclusives
‘The Haunting of Pennhurst’ Exclusive Clip Trains Scare Actors For Historic Haunt in Tribeca Doc
The past and present collide in haunting, poignant ways in the genre documentary The Haunting of Pennhurst, which sees a Halloween haunt serve as a reclamation of true historic horrors.
Ahead of its world premiere at the 25th Tribeca Film Festival, we have an exclusive clip that sees scare actors in training for the Halloween season. The catch? This haunt is opening at the historic Pennhurst State School & Hospital site, a facility that caused immense harm to its disabled patients over decades of its operation.
In the documentary, “For over seventy years, Pennhurst State School & Hospital was called a place of care. What happened inside killed over half its population. It closed in 1987, leaving behind unmarked graves and an unresolved history. Today, on those same grounds, disabled performers – many living with the same conditions that once sent people to Pennhurst – put on their makeup, pull on their costumes, and prepare to scare people for a living.
“Through grit, compassion, and buckets of blood, the eclectic performers of the Pennhurst Asylum haunted attraction are wrestling with a space that is at once a lucrative business and a gravesite.”
The upcoming documentary hails from directing trio Nathan Stenberg, Mike Attie, and Katarina Poljak, who explore their socially-relevant subject through archival footage, first-hand accounts, and an immersive verité.
“Pennhurst has haunted us since we first passed through its dragon-tooth gates; the horrors of the institution echo through the site today. We are so grateful to bring this film to the Tribeca Festival, particularly the Escape from Tribeca section, which feels right for a story where past and present bleed together. We hope audiences leave unnerved and asking the same uncomfortable questions we did,” Attie, Stenberg, and Poljak said in a statement.
Watch the clip below that sees disabled and neurodivergent scare actors learning the ropes of a Halloween haunt, reclaiming the site’s grim history in the process.
Tribeca Screenings:
- Public 1 (Premiere) Screening – Friday, June 5 at 9:15PM at Village East by Angelika
- Public 2 Screening – Sunday, June 7 at 3:15PM at Village East by Angelika
- Public 3 Screening – Tuesday, June 9 at 6:15PM at Village East by Angelika