The Blair Witch Project came out 25 years ago, in 1999. I thought it was wild that Footloose turns 40 this year, but I also turned 40 and therefore, it feels like every day, I’m wishing a high school or college friend a Happy 40th on Facebook. 40 just feels like par for the course at this point. A movie that I saw in theaters in high school turning 25, however, is blowing my mind. Please no one tell me how old the American Pie movies are!
Anyway, since then, there have been two reboots of the Blair Witch franchise, both of which did poorly at the box office and among critics. Lionsgate recently announced that they were partnering with production company Blumhouse to revive the franchise. I have not seen either of the sequels, but the original cast was not a part of those movies at all. And they are not happy about it. On April 20, OG stars Joshua Leonard, Michael Williams, and Rei Hance (formerly Heather Donahue) wrote an open letter to Lionsgate to ask for more compensation for the first film and “meaningful consultation” to make the reboots better. They state that they did not have “proper union or legal representation” when they made the first movie.
“Our film has now been rebooted twice, both times were a disappointment from a fan/box office/critical perspective,” the trio noted in their proposal. “Neither of these films were made with significant creative input from the original team. As the insiders who created the Blair Witch and have been listening to what fans love and want for 25 years, we’re your single greatest, yet thus-far unutilized secret-weapon!”
The group called on Lionsgate to provide them with retroactive and future residual payments “equivalent to the sum that would’ve been allotted through SAG-AFTRA (The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists), had we had proper union or legal representation when the film was made.”
They also asked the studio to approach them with “meaningful consultation on any future Blair Witch reboot, sequel, prequel, toy, game, ride, escape room, etc., in which one could reasonably assume that Heather, Michael and Josh’s names and/or likenesses will be associated for promotional purposes in the public sphere.”
Last but not least, the actors want Lionsgate to launch “a 60K grant” for aspiring filmmakers. The requested sum is the same amount as the budget that the original 1999 horror film acquired, but the trio now want the studio to pay it out yearly “to an unknown/aspiring genre filmmaker to assist in making their first feature film.”
The Blair Witch Project directors Eduardo Sanchez and Dan Myrick, producers Gregg Hale and Robin Cowie, and co-producer Michael Monello also shared a statement.
“While we, the original filmmakers, respect Lionsgate’s right to monetize the intellectual property as it sees fit, we must highlight the significant contributions of the original cast — Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, and Mike Williams,” the statement read. “As the literal faces of what has become a franchise, their likenesses, voices, and real names are inseparably tied to The Blair Witch Project. Their unique contributions not only defined the film’s authenticity but continue to resonate with audiences around the world.”
The statement continued: “We celebrate our film’s legacy, and equally, we believe the actors deserve to be celebrated for their enduring association with the franchise.”
The Blair Witch Project grossed $248 million at the worldwide box office. It spawned two follow-ups: 2000’s poorly reviewed sequel Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, after which the actors sued Artisan Entertainment for using their names and likenesses, and 2016’s Blair Witch, a direct sequel to the original movie.
I’m going to be honest here: I didn’t love The Blair Witch Project as much as a lot of my friends did, but that’s because I wasn’t a fan of the moving camera-style in which it was shot. I felt the same way about Cloverfield nine years later. However, I did and still do appreciate the creativity and independent nature of it. At the time, it never occurred to me that the original actors could have gotten screwed, but as an adult, it does not surprise me. I had no idea that their likenesses were used without their permission for subsequent movies, either, but that also checks. This is just another example of what the WGA and SAG unions were striking for this summer. It’s f–cking gross that the people who already make millions want to screw creators, writers, and actors out of making money off of a project that was successfully directly because of *their* work. I don’t know if the Blair Witch actors will be successful with this attempt, but I hope they are.
Posted on Instagram @michaelceewilliams – too many characters for X. Too many characters in this business We appreciate the outpouring of support!! pic.twitter.com/lqeeq1MoYK
— Michael C. Williams (@MichaelCWilli13) April 23, 2024
Photos via social media