Russell Crowe to play Vatican City’s chief exorcist in upcoming horror-thriller 'The Pope's Exorcist'
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The film, based on the real-life character of Father Gabriele Amorth, chief exorcist of the Vatican City, will be directed by Julius Avery and produced by Screen Gems.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, 'A Beautiful Mind' actor Russell Crowe will next be seen in a supernatural horror thriller titled 'The Pope's Exorcist,' in which he will portray the real-life character of Father Gabriele Amorth, the chief exorcist of the Vatican City, who performed over 100,000 exorcisms in his life. Father Amorth has also written two memoirs, titled 'An Exorcist Tells His Story' and 'An Exorcist: More Stories'. His memoirs contain accounts of his experiences of battling demons that possessed people. He passed away in 2016 at the age of 91.
Helmed by Julius Avery, the script of the film is written by Evan Spiliotopoulos and will be produced by Screen Gems, who has acquired the life rights of Father Gabriele Amorth from producer Michael Patrick Kaczmarek and production company, Loyola Productions. Avery is known for his 2018 super-hit horror film, ‘Overlord’.
The rights include access to the two best-selling memoirs of Father Amorth alongside some of his other troves, which host detailed accounts of his acts of exorcism.
In a statement, Avery revealed that working with Crowe on this film was a ‘dream come true’. "It's been a goal of mine to work with Russell. To collaborate with him on the amazing Pope's Exorcist is truly a dream come true," he confessed.
'The Pope's Exorcist’ will go on floors in September in Ireland.
Russell Crowe, who won an Oscar for his 1999 film ‘Gladiator,' has a number of films lined up. The actor recently wrapped up his shoot for the film ‘Kraven the Hunter’ and will be seen portraying the role of Zeus in ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ as well, which is set for release on July 7. Apart from that, Crowe will also play the lead role in Peter Farrelly’s film ‘The Greatest Beer Run Ever’ and will also feature in the movie ‘Poker Face', directed and written by Crowe himself, opposite Liam Hemsworth.