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12:00 AM, 05-MAY-05
Schrader Unveils His Exorcist
Paul Schrader on May 4 unveiled his version of a prequel film to The Exorcist, newly titled Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist, at a press screening in Los Angeles, saying that he wasn't sure it would be released right up until last week. "As little as a few weeks ago, there was talk of destroying the film," Schrader (Auto Focus) was overheard saying before the screening. "But it's too late now. I think the horse is officially out of the barn."

Warner Brothers and Morgan Creek are taking the unprecedented step of releasing Dominion in theaters on May 20 in a few cities. This is the film that was shot in 2003, then shelved after Morgan Creek reportedly decided it wanted a more visceral movie, ordering up a second version from Renny Harlin. That movie, Exorcist: The Beginning, opened in August 2004 and promptly tanked at the box office. It's now on DVD. After Schrader's film garnered a positive response at a Belgian film festival in March, the studio and production company apparently had a change of heart.

"I didn't think I'd ever see this day," Schrader told a small audience of invited journalists on May 4. "It's sort of amazing." Schrader said that Dominion, from a script by William Wisher and Caleb Carr, is pretty much the movie he set out to make, with a "few corners cut" in post-production. "Those things are minor, compared to the fact that the film exists," Schrader added. "I think it is now committed to film history."

Dominion stars Stellan Skarsgard, Gabriel Mann, Clara Bellar and Billy Crawford.