William Friedkin Dies Drector of The Exorcist Said this Before Death

William Friedkin, director of the classic horror film The Exorcist, died on Monday at the age of 87. Friedkin won the Oscar for best director for “French Connection” in 1972, going on to be nominated for the same trophy again two years later for the occult horror “Exorcist,” the genre-defying hit that racked up ten nominations and two statuettes. Friedkin’s first directing credit came in 1965 with the TV movie “The Bold Men,” but it was 1970’s “The Boys in the Band” — still considered ahead of its time in terms of exploring gay themes in cinema — that began a golden age for the filmmaker. Other notable titles in Friedkin’s oeuvre include 1980’s “Cruising,” starring Al Pacino, and “To Live and Die in L.A.” in 1985, with Willem Dafoe. He also directed 2006’s “Bug” with Ashley Judd, Michael Shannon and Harry Connick Jr., and “Rules of Engagement” from 2000, with Tommy Lee Jones and Samuel L. Jackson. Friedkin’s most recent work as a director was 2017’s “The Devil and Father Amort.” He also had one upcoming film yet to be released — “The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial,” starring Kiefer Sutherland, Jason Clarke and Jake Lacy, according to his IMdB page.

2023-08-07T19:57:12+00:00
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