The three stars of “The Blair Witch Project” have released a statement calling on Lionsgate to pay them retroactive residuals and allow them to provide creative input on the studio’s upcoming reboot of the horror classic.
In the statement written by Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard and Michael Williams, the trio calls on Lionsgate to provide retroactive and future residuals for their work on the film, along with “meaningful consultation” on any future “Blair Witch” films or creative projects and an annual $60,000 grant to be given to a filmmaker for their first feature film.
“As the insiders who created the ‘Blair Witch’ and have been listening to what fans love & want for 25 years, we’re your single greatest, yet thus-far unutilized secret-weapon!” the statement reads.
Released in 1999 by Artisan Entertainment — a distributor acquired by Lionsgate in 2003 — “The Blair Witch Project” was produced on a budget of less than $1 million and went on to gross $248 million at the box office, becoming one of the most successful independently produced films ever made. A sequel was produced in 2000 along with a remake in 2016 without the input of the original directors or cast, but both films were critical and commercial flops.
Donahue, Leonard, and Williams, who used their own first names in the movie, star as a trio of college students who head out to the woods of Maryland to create a documentary about a mythical figure known as the Blair Witch. The trio end up missing, and the footage found on the camera they left behind serves as the story of the film.
“Blair Witch Project” directors Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez released their own statement in support of the cast’s requests that was co-signed by producers Gregg Hole, Robin Cowie and Michael Monello.
“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,” their 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.”
As noted in the statement, the cast did not yet have SAG-AFTRA membership when they shot the film, and thus were not eligible for residual payments for their work. The trio asked Lionsgate for residuals “equivalent to the sum that would’ve been allotted through SAG-AFTRA, had we had proper union or legal representation when the film was made.”
The cast also asked to have creative input on any future “Blair Witch” work “in which one could reasonably assume that Heather, Michael & Josh’s names and/or likenesses will be associated for promotional purposes in the public sphere.”
Since Lionsgate announced at CinemaCon that it would release a Blumhouse-produced reboot of “Blair Witch,” Leonard and other creatives have opened up on their experiences with the IP since it became a pop culture sensation. Joshua Leonard noted on Facebook that after the film’s release, Artisan only paid each of the cast members $300,000 — only enough for Mike Williams to pay off his student loans while leaving him stuck in a furniture job — and that the cast had to sue Artisan to win control over their own names after the distributor claimed copyright over the film.
“I’m so proud of our little punk-rock movie, and I LOVE the fans who keep the flames burning. But at this point, it’s 25 years of disrespect from the folks who’ve pocketed the lion’s share (pun intended) of the profits from OUR work, and that feels both icky and classless,” he wrote.
On Sunday, tabletop game designer Will Rogers noted on social media that when he was hired to design a game based on “Blair Witch,” he was required to only use the story from a 2019 video game based on “Blair Witch,” not the original film, in part because of the Artisan lawsuit filed by the cast years prior.
“No Heather, Mike, and Josh. We couldn’t even reference the event of students going into the woods. I’m proud of the world we built but it’s a shame that this franchise full of deep lore always has to start from zero,” Rogers wrote. “I want this franchise to be healthy, scary, and HAPPY. It’s not about ripping Lionsgate, it’s about asking them to do the right thing, so that EVERYONE benefits. Make the crew whole. Put the franchise back in their hands.”
The full statement, first posted on Facebook, can be read below:
OUR ASKS OF LIONSGATE (From Heather, Michael & Josh, stars of The Blair Witch Project):
1. Retroactive + future residual payments to Heather, Michael and Josh for acting services rendered in the original BWP, equivalent to the sum that would’ve been allotted through SAG-AFTRA, had we had proper union or legal representation when the film was made.
2. 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 & Josh’s names and/or likenesses will be associated for promotional purposes in the public sphere.
Note: Our film has now been rebooted twice, both times were a disappointment from a fan/box office/critical perspective. 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 & want for 25 years, we’re your single greatest, yet thus-far unutilized secret-weapon!
3. “The Blair Witch Grant”: A 60k grant (the budget of our original movie), paid out yearly by Lionsgate, to an unknown/aspiring genre filmmaker to assist in making their first feature film. This is a GRANT, not a development fund, hence Lionsgate will not own any of the underlying rights to the project.
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