Neeson is gone to the devil

Liam Neeson, about to be seen alongside Harrison Ford in The Widowmaker and in Martin Scorsese's all-star Gangs of New York, is down to play Father Merrin in Exorcist 4:1, the prequel to the original.

"I play Max von Sydow's character from the first Exorcist. Our film will tell how he lost his faith, met the Devil and regained his faith."

The project lost director John Frankenheimer and Neeson is waiting to see who replaces him:

"I'm a real trooper, so I'll stay on board as long as they don't decide to go with Joe Schmo."