Friedkin has called BS on Faber's claims in this interview about contributing to the demon's voice, and appearing in footage which was cut. Maybe not surprising as Faber doesn't paint him in a very good light here, but a pretty interesting interview- fact or fiction? You decide!!
http://www.comingsoon.net/horror/features/798069-interview-actor-ron-faber-remembers-1973s-the-exorcist
Thank you for this very interesting interview. He does seem to confirm the dark side of Friedkin's personality/behavior.
When he says...
What was really interesting was the fact that I didn’t actually have many lines as the demon.
... I'm really not with him on that because I can't identify any actual lines - rational, spoken dialogue - that seem to come from him. He gives McCambridge and one other person credit for lines and grunting sounds (and I've always wanted to know who voiced the actual deep male bass voice for the "Keep away-the sow is mine!" and the "MEEERRRRIIINNN!" scenes) - but I just don't hear Faber's own voice in any of the spoken, intelligible speech.
So to me it's not a question of Faber not having many [intelligible] lines, but rather a question of his not having any [intelligible] lines. Sure, some of his creepy vocalizations could have been blended into the demonic soundtrack, but of course, these would be sounds, not lines of dialogue.
And, if he's correct about other of his scenes being cut, especially the charming interaction between him and McGowran, I would just love to see them one day, if possible.
Anyway, it's a great, entertaining read, and thank you for sharing it.
You're more than welcome :) It's definitely cool to get an interview with a more peripheral cast member who is open to sharing such things. He also mentioned Kitty Winn, it would be great to someday get some of her recollections as she has never participated in any of the documentaries.
It seems as though the whole history of the demon voice and sounds is quite complicated, especially as some of the sound effects are multi-layered. I remember in the Fear of God doc that a sound crew member said they all had a try at the demon voice, so I would say it's just about impossible to distinguish who is exactly in those mixes. Friedkin was using recordings from slaughterhouses and of a real life exorcism at various stages in the mix also.
BTW I always thought the MERRRRRRINNNNN scream sounded like Mercedes McCambridge's voice, altered and amplified. But the sow is mine dialogue definitely sounds like an electronically altered male voice.
As tempting as extra cut footage sounds, Friedkin's response to Faber's interview was pretty emphatic, denying it exists:
the scenes of his he says were cut were Neither written nor photographed...and to claim he deserved credit is an Insult to those who did work on and Create it. There are many lies written about The Exorcist, but this post Is a new low for many other reasons as well.He had nothing at all to do with the demon voice.share
Thanks for the extra info...guess we'll never know for certain, and it's a matter of choosing either Friedkin's or Faber's memories or mis-memories...
share