The Playlist

William Friedkin Talks Losing Perspective, Meeting Devil-Worshipers Shooting 'The Exorcist' & More

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
April 30, 2013 12:27 PM
|
0 Comments

News

There are few cinematic ranconteurs as engaging as William Friedkin. Candid and filled with a career's worth of stories from the perspective of a filmmaker who has seen the industry change from the freewheeling '70s to the belt-tightening, tentpole focus of today, Friedkin's perspective is unique. And with his new memoir “The Friedkin Connection,” he's put down a lifetime of wisdom into one must read volume, but of course, there's always more and the director recently chatted with The New York Times and shared a few more fascinating morsels, reflecting on his own ego, stories from shooting "The French Connection," "The Exorcist" and more.

More:

William Friedkin's Restored 'Sorcerer' Getting A Re-Release, Aiming For The Venice Film Festival

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
March 21, 2013 6:01 PM
|
11 Comments

News

As William Friedkin spent most of last year on the promo circuit for his deliciously raw "Killer Joe," one frequent question he fielded was about the fate of his 1997 flick "Sorcerer." The film has been in mired in some complex legal stuff, but as Friedkin himself told us last year: " I sued Universal and Paramount to determine who owns the rights because they claimed both studios through their legal affairs department claimed they didn't own the rights and I don't know what's happened, I think it has fallen between the cracks. So I'm suing these guys to save the afterlife of the film." And it looks like the tactic worked (though he dropped the suit). Last month, he promised the film would be getting a digital transfer, and now a full blown release is on the way.

More:

Berlin Interview: Nicolas Cage Explains Why 'Wicker Man' Is Misunderstood, His Career Choices & More

By Jessica Kiang
|
February 20, 2013 12:23 PM
|
10 Comments

Festivals

With “The Croods,” an animated family film from DreamWorks (our review here), premiering at the Berlin International Film Festival, lead voice actor Nicolas Cage was in town over the weekend, and we got to speak with him in a small group of journalists. About the experience of working on the film itself (“It’s like ‘Avatar’ meets ‘Yellow Submarine’ with these people who look like Neanderthals” he summed up) he had nothing but good things to say: “I feel like this is the best chance I’ve had to perform in an animated movie.” But he was also frank and forthcoming about other areas of his working life.

More:

Nicolas Cage Says 'I Am Wrath' With William Friedkin Is Not Happening, Reveals Dream Project With Roger Corman

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
February 19, 2013 11:04 AM
|
1 Comment

News

While his decision making process still remains somewhat inscrutable, the undeniably talented Nicolas Cage always defies expectation. Undoubtedly, we're excited for his pairing with David Gordon Green on the thriller "Joe," which the director told us at Sundance was "a slow-burn, dark, heavy movie." And last fall, when he signed up for the awesomely titled "I Am Wrath" with William Friedkin slated to direct, it was another project that showed that the actor was perhaps returning to the kind of material of his early career highlights.

More:

William Friedkin Says 'Sorcerer' Finally Getting Digital Transfer, But Won't Be On Criterion

By Charlie Schmidlin
|
February 12, 2013 10:01 AM
|
2 Comments

News

2012 proved by turns an odd and triumphant year for director William Friedkin, who fashioned Matthew McConaughey's performance in the shockingly good “Killer Joe,” but also was forced into dealing with his troubled past, namely the 1977 suspense drama “Sorcerer.” Legal difficulties and lawsuits surrounding the film have plagued the past 12 months for the filmmaker, but now it appears Friedkin may finally gain some peace with his underseen gem.

More:

William Friedkin To Direct Nicolas Cage In Thriller 'I Am Wrath'

By Oliver Lyttelton
|
September 11, 2012 2:35 PM
|
5 Comments

News

Update 10/01: Deadline confirms this is really, and truly, happening

More:

James Franco Has Sort-Of-Remade William Friedkin's 'Cruising' For An Art Project

By Oliver Lyttelton
|
August 22, 2012 10:25 AM
|
28 Comments

News

Is it just us who find it increasingly hard to get enthused about James Franco's new projects? We appreciate his broad-mindedness; the way he can go from blockbusters like "Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes" to cheap action movies like the Jason Statham vehicle "Homefront" to indies like "About Cherry" to his own experimental directorial efforts like "Sal." But it's partly the sheer volume of the announcements -- with something new coming every few days, seemingly -- and partly how obscure some of them sound, that's given us something close to Franco fatigue.

More:

The Essentials: The 5 Best William Friedkin Films

By The Playlist Staff
|
July 30, 2012 12:00 PM
|
15 Comments

Features

The decent opening weekend for the NC-17 "Killer Joe" should be celebrated for a number of reasons, but perhaps most notably, it marks something of a comeback for director William Friedkin. The helmer was, for a brief period in the 1970s, the most powerful filmmaker in Hollywood, but a series of critical and commercial flops after "The Exorcist" saw his stock drop quickly, and while there were a few quiet gems, the quality of his work tended to be closer to sub-"Basic Instinct" erotic thriller "Jade" (which Friedkin has said is one of his favorite of his films, curiously), or tree-rape horror "The Guardian," than to his breakout films.

More:

Exclusive: William Friedkin Talks Making 'Killer Joe,' The Problem With Exorcism Movies, 'Sorcerer' & Much More

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
July 26, 2012 11:59 AM
|
3 Comments

News

Deep fried, dangerous, obscene, hilarious and hugely entertaining, while not for the faint of heart, William Friedkin's "Killer Joe" proves the director hasn't lost the energetic spirit that put him on the map in the 1970s with films like "The French Connection" and "The Exorcist." And indeed, it might be his most controversial film since that latter pic. The film's violence and nudity might have made some folks at the MPAA squirm, but it was undoubtedly a climatic sequence involving fried chicken that pushed them over the edge.

More:

Exclusive: Emile Hirsch Tries To Stop The Hit In Clip From William Friedkin's 'Killer Joe' Starring Matthew McConaughey

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
July 25, 2012 2:05 PM
|
0 Comments

News

As wickedly funny as it is gleefully depraved, William Friedkin's B-movie sizzler "Killer Joe" is really unlike anything you'll see this year. Hilarious and jaw dropping in equal measure, the movie is a fiercely entertaining good time, and while that NC-17 rating by the MPAA is a bit harsh, it speaks volumes about the film's tone and content that certainly pushes the envelope.

More: