The Exorcist III and tells Karras to fight the Gemini. Karras regains his free will briefly and orders Kinderman to shoot him. He fires his revolver several times, hitting Karras in the chest, fatally wounding him and stopping the Gemini Killer. Kinderman puts his revolver against Karras' head and fires. William Peter Blatty, who wrote the original "Exorcist" novel and the screenplay for its film adaptation, initially had no desire to write a sequel. However, he eventually came up with a story titled "Legion", featuring Lieutenant Kinderman, a prominent character in the original "Exorcist" novel (though played a minor role in the eventual
The Exorcist (film) "The French Connection". After a standoff with the studio, which initially refused to budge over Rydell, Blatty eventually got his way. Principal photography for "The Exorcist" began on August 21, 1972. The shooting schedule was estimated to run 105 days, but ultimately ran well over 200. Friedkin went to extraordinary lengths manipulating the actors, reminiscent of the old Hollywood directing style, to get the genuine reactions he wanted. Yanked violently around in harnesses, both Blair and Burstyn suffered back injuries and their painful screams were included in the film. Burstyn injured her back after landing on her coccyx when a