The original cast members of “The Blair Witch Project” released a public letter asking for back pay and ongoing residuals for the original film, to be consulted on future projects, and more.
Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, and Michael Williams, who starred in the cult classic, released a public letter to Lionsgate films asking for a series of concessions on behalf of the company related to their compensation and involvement in the franchise.
The letter came about 10 days after Lionsgate and horror-movie production company Blumhouse announced they would be reviving “The Blair Witch Project” yet again, to target a new audience.
The reboot is intended to be a “new vision for ‘Blair Witch’ that will reintroduce this horror classic for a new generation,” according to Lionsgate Motion Picture Group chair Adam Fogelson, Variety reported.
On his Facebook page, Leonard posted a blunt set of requests, along with images of the cast from 1999 and April 2024. For the 1999 photo, he labeled it “three starry-eyed young actors.”
The 2024 photo was captioned “three grown-ass adults … greyer, surlier, wiser, and with far fewer f***s to give when it comes to speaking up for their own rights and the rights of other artists who are being been put in similar compromised/extractive positions by a dehumanizing system at this very moment!”
Three specific requests were made in solidarity with the costars, including “retroactive + future residual payments” made to the actors for “acting services rendered” in the original film, equivalent to what would have been allotted through the actors’ union at the time the film was made.
The second request was for “meaningful consultation” on any future “Blair Witch reboot, sequel, prequel, toy, game, ride, escape room, etc.”
“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!”
In 2002, the actors sued Artisan Entertainment for their names and likenesses in the sequel “Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2.”
It is unclear whether or not the actors’ original buyout included allowing their names and likenesses in future projects. However, the actors used their real names in the film, which would lend credence to the idea that perhaps such intellectual property could be legally used for sequels.
Variety reported that the actors each made $300,000 from a buyout from Artisan for their ownership of the film, which went on to gross $248 million worldwide.
Artisan was later bought out by Lionsgate in 2003, thus absorbing the franchise.
In 1999, the film’s co-creator Dan Myrick told the AV Club that then-owner Artisan was able to do whatever it chose with the franchise. When asked if he and co-creator Eduardo Sanchez had “any control over” spin-offs, he promptly said no.
“No. They bought it from us, and they can do whatever the hell they want with it. But I think Artisan trusts our judgement. They feel we are the best people to market the film because we’ve been with it the last couple of years. So they’ve been keeping us in the loop.”
“It’s part of the price you pay at the stage we’re at. We were just happy to sell our movie. You’ve got to be realistic about what creative control you have at the stage we’re at,” Myrick continued. “We can’t be assholes and say, ‘No, you’ve got to market this a certain way, and this is what you’ve got to do before you write the check.’ They’d say, ‘Have a nice day. There are 10 other filmmakers waiting to sell their movie to us.’ It’s part of positioning yourself so you get more leverage as you get a little bit bigger.”
Sanchez and Myrick said in 2024 that while they “respect Lionsgate’s right to monetize the intellectual property as it sees fit,” they believed the “unique contributions” of the cast members defined the film.
“We celebrate our film’s legacy, and equally, we believe the actors deserve to be celebrated for their enduring association with the franchise,” they added.
A spokesperson for Lionsgate had no comment.
“The original film’s stars had no idea the movie would explode like it did, and they managed their contracts accordingly. Can’t blame them,” entertainment writer Christian Toto told Blaze News.
“The bigger problem remains. No one cares about this franchise. We’ve seen two ‘Blair Witch’ follow-ups, and we collectively shrugged at them. The first film was lightning in a bottle. Attempts to resurrect the saga will go as well as the recent ‘Exorcist’ reboot: badly,” he added.
Lionsgate’s first reboot of the franchise in 2016 earned about $45 million worldwide on a $5 million budget, according to Box Office Mojo.
The company also operates a Blair Witch-themed escape room in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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