Episode 190 — Chatting With Filmmaker David Kittredge About His Documentary "Boorman and the Devil" — Part 2
Hollywood ObsessedShow Notes
My conversation continues with filmmaker David Kittredge about his extraordinary documentary “BOORMAN AND THE DEVIL” and the troubled, fascinating history behind “Exorcist II: The Heretic.”
David takes me deep behind the scenes of his five-year labor of love, from discovering an incredible treasure trove of John Boorman’s production papers at Indiana University’s Lilly Library to recreating lost moments of the film through animation and motion graphics. He also reveals how the documentary made its way to the Venice Film Festival, why getting it ready for its premiere became a race against the clock, and the extraordinary technical achievements behind “Exorcist II”—including its groundbreaking early use of the Steadicam.
We also talk about David’s unforgettable interviews with Louise Fletcher and Linda Blair, and why revisiting such a painful chapter in their careers produced some of the documentary’s most moving moments. David opens up about Linda’s experience making the film at just 17 years old, the constantly changing screenplay, the infamous “void” ending that was ultimately abandoned, and the many things that went wrong during the production—fueling decades of talk that the movie was somehow cursed.
And then there’s the future! David reveals how filmmaker Mike Flanagan became part of the documentary, shares his enthusiasm for Flanagan’s upcoming “Exorcist” film, and talks about what he hopes to make next. Most importantly, David reflects on the lesson he learned from spending five years obsessed with a movie he simply believed needed to exist: sometimes you have to make the film you desperately want to see and trust that, if you’re passionate enough, audiences will find it. It’s a wonderful, candid conversation about filmmaking, obsession, perseverance, and the enduring legacy of “Exorcist II: The Heretic.”
DAVID KITTREDGE David Kittredge is a director, editor, writer, producer, and all-around cinema geek living and working in Los Angeles, with occasional time spent in New York. He spends way too much time reading about HDR cinematography and post-production workflows, waxing poetic about “Lost Highway”, “Dressed to Kill”, “The Red Shoes”, “Lawrence of Arabia”, and “Exorcist II: The Heretic”—and explaining why Sensurround was actually pretty cool.
In 2025, David’s latest documentary, “Boorman and the Devil”, had its world premiere at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival. The film is now receiving its national theatrical release, in theaters across the United States.
In 2015, David edited “54: The Director’s Cut”, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival. This new and vastly different version of the 1998 film features 44 minutes of footage not seen in the original theatrical release. The project took six months to recut, restore, and reconstruct. David also produced and edited the behind-the-scenes documentary “If You Could Read My Mind”, which appears on the Blu-ray and explores the process of creating the director’s cut.
In 2009, David wrote, directed, and co-edited the award-winning feature film “Pornography: A Thriller”. The film screened at more than 25 film festivals, winning multiple awards before its U.S. theatrical release.
David has also written and directed two award-winning short films that screened at dozens of film festivals: “Fairy Tale” and “Target Audience”, the latter of which was a Teddy Award nominee at the Berlin Film Festival.
Boorman and The Devil Official Website - https://yellowveilpictures.com/boorman-and-the-devil/
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