she recalled in 1989. Robert Knudson and Chris Newman won The Exorcists first Oscar, for Best Sound, thanking Friedkin, the studio and their crews. Blatty won for Best Adapted Screenplay; the award was presented by Angie Dickinson and Miller, who applauded vigorously as Blatty came out to accept it. In his short speech, Blatty posthumously thanked William Bloom, "who taught me the rudiments and the craft of screenwriting" and Friedkin. He also paid tribute to both his parents, "who came to this country on a cattle boat and whose love and whose courage have brought me to this moment and to this place." The morning after the ceremony, Blatty complained bitterly about the minimal awards the film had received. In commentary published on the front page of The Hollywood Reporter (THR), he said it was a "disgrace" that The Exorcist had not won more awards, that it should have won all it was nominated for. It was, he asserted, "head and shoulders, the finest film made this year and in many other years". "Since I won an award, perhaps it would be considered ungracious," he admitted to THR. "But I'd rather be ungracious than be a hypocrite." He accused veteran director George Cukor of having led a campaign against giving the film any awards, accounting for its meager haul. American Film Institute Lists AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – No. 3 AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains: Regan MacNeil – No. 9 Villain Sequels and prequels The film has gone on to spawn multiple sequels and an overarching media franchise including a television series. Exorcist II: The Heretic A year after The Exorcists release, New York reported that a sequel was planned. But Blatty, still in court with the studio over money owed in addition to the $20 million he had reportedly already received, would not be involved. Friedkin, similarly dissatisfied with his share of the profits, agreed only to produce. Ultimately he, too, had nothing to do with the sequel, nor did any of the original cast who had played major characters beyond Blair and von Sydow. John Boorman, who had turned down the original as "negative and destructive", directed, considering the sequel to be "healthy" in comparison, and Richard Burton played the lead; the film also suffered production problems, particular cast and crew health issues, and was beset by regular script rewrites and personnel changes. On release in 1977,