Ellen Burstyn agreed to star in 'The Exorcist' sequel to fund an actor scholarship program

David Gordon Green's upcoming sequel to 'The Exorcist' got off to a promising start when Ellen Burstyn signed on to reprise her Oscar-nominated role as Chris MacNeil in 2021. The Oscar winner and a Tony had never shown much interest in seeing her character in the film again despite having been approached several times in the past. But this time, everything fell into place. In a new interview with , Burstyn revealed why she finally agreed to do another "Exorcist" film and praised David Gordon Green's approach to the film.

"You know, what happened was that I turned down many versions of 'The Exorcist 2'. I said no every time," Burstyn said. "This time they offered me a whole bunch of money and I still said no. And then they surprised me and they came back and said, 'We doubled the offer.' I said, 'OK, let me think about it.' I thought, 'That's a lot of money. Let me think about it.' The next thought that came to mind was, 'I 'feel like the devil is asking my price.'”

As cynical as he was to consider revisiting an iconic role for cash, Burstyn soon realized she could use this lucrative opportunity to do something good for the world.< /p>
"The next thought that came to mind was, 'My award is a scholarship program for talented students in our master's program at Pace University. This is my price. So I went back and raised their price and ended up getting what I wanted. And I have a scholarship program for young actors."

Burstyn may have taken on the project for financial reasons, but that doesn't mean she isn't happy with the film itself.

“I shot most of the photo,” she said. “The writer-director, David Gordon Green, I really like. I met him and we talked about the script and so on, and I promised him four more days if he needed it. And he edited the film and he wants the four days, so I'm going back in November to shoot four more days. And it will be released in 2024, the 50th anniversary of "The Exorcist," the original."

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Ellen Burstyn agreed to star in 'The Exorcist' sequel to fund an actor scholarship program

David Gordon Green's upcoming sequel to 'The Exorcist' got off to a promising start when Ellen Burstyn signed on to reprise her Oscar-nominated role as Chris MacNeil in 2021. The Oscar winner and a Tony had never shown much interest in seeing her character in the film again despite having been approached several times in the past. But this time, everything fell into place. In a new interview with , Burstyn revealed why she finally agreed to do another "Exorcist" film and praised David Gordon Green's approach to the film.

"You know, what happened was that I turned down many versions of 'The Exorcist 2'. I said no every time," Burstyn said. "This time they offered me a whole bunch of money and I still said no. And then they surprised me and they came back and said, 'We doubled the offer.' I said, 'OK, let me think about it.' I thought, 'That's a lot of money. Let me think about it.' The next thought that came to mind was, 'I 'feel like the devil is asking my price.'”

As cynical as he was to consider revisiting an iconic role for cash, Burstyn soon realized she could use this lucrative opportunity to do something good for the world.< /p>

"The next thought that came to mind was, 'My award is a scholarship program for talented students in our master's program at Pace University. This is my price. So I went back and raised their price and ended up getting what I wanted. And I have a scholarship program for young actors."

Burstyn may have taken on the project for financial reasons, but that doesn't mean she isn't happy with the film itself.

“I shot most of the photo,” she said. “The writer-director, David Gordon Green, I really like. I met him and we talked about the script and so on, and I promised him four more days if he needed it. And he edited the film and he wants the four days, so I'm going back in November to shoot four more days. And it will be released in 2024, the 50th anniversary of "The Exorcist," the original."