The original cast of “The Blair Witch Project” has released an open letter asking for unpaid and ongoing balance payments for the original film, as well as consultation regarding future projects.
Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard and Michael Williams, who starred in the cult classic, have released an open letter to Lionsgate Films asking for a series of concessions on behalf of the company regarding their compensation and involvement in the series.
The letter comes about 10 days after Lionsgate and horror film studio Blumhouse announced they would revive “The Blair Witch Project” to target a new audience.
According to Lionsgate Motion Picture Group chairman Adam Fogelson, the reboot is intended to be “a new vision of ‘Blair Witch’ that reintroduces this horror classic to a new generation.” variety report.
about him Facebook On the page, Leonard posted a straightforward request, along with images of the cast in 1999 and April 2024. Of his 1999 photo, Leonard labeled “Three starry-eyed young actors.”
The 2024 photo features a caption that reads: “Three adults…greyer, blunter, wiser, and determined to speak up for their rights and the rights of other artists working today.” That’s a lot less crap,” the caption read. At this very moment, we are being placed in the same violated and exploitative position by a dehumanizing system! ”
Three specific demands were made in solidarity with her co-stars. It also includes “retroactive + prospective balance payments” paid to actors for their “acting services” on the original film, which is equivalent to the amount allocated through the actors union at the time. It is. A movie was made.
The second request was for “meaningful consultation” regarding future “Blair Witch reboots, sequels, prequels, toys, games, vehicles, escape rooms, etc.”
“Our film has now been rebooted twice, and both were disappointing from a fan/box office/critics standpoint. Both of these films received significant creative input from the original team. As the insiders behind the creation and reboot of Blair Witch, we’ve listened to what fans love and want for 25 years, and we’re the only one who can help you. However, it is a secret weapon that has not been utilized until now!
in 2002Actors have sued Artisan Entertainment over their names and likenesses in the sequel “The Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2.”
It is unclear whether the original acquisition of the actors included permission to use their names and likenesses on future projects. However, the actors use their real names in the film, which perhaps lends credence to the idea that such intellectual property could be legally used in the sequel.
Variety reported that the actors earned $300,000 each for buying ownership of the film from Artisan, and its box office gross was $248 million worldwide.
Artisan was then acquired by Lionsgate in 2003, which absorbed the franchise.
In 1999, the film’s co-producer Dan Myrick said: AV club Artisan, the owner at the time, could do whatever he chose with the franchise. When asked if he and co-creator Eduardo Sanchez had “any control” over the spin-off, he quickly answered no.
“No, they bought this movie from us. They can do whatever they want with it. But I think Artisan trusts our judgment. They bought it from us. We feel like they’re the best people to promote this movie because we’ve been involved with it several times in the past.” So they keep us informed. ”
“That’s part of the price you pay at the stage we’re at. We were just happy to sell the movie. If we’re realistic about what kind of creative control we have at the stage we’re at. We have to,” Myrick continued. “We can’t be the idiots who say, ‘No, we need to market this a certain way. This is what we have to do before we write a check.’ Go on with your day. There are 10 other filmmakers waiting to pitch their films to us.’ It’s part of positioning yourself, and as you get a little bit bigger, you can have more influence. ”
Sanchez and Myrick said in 2024 that while they “respect Lionsgate’s right to monetize intellectual property as they see fit,” they believed the cast members’ “unique contributions” defined the film.
“While we celebrate the film’s accomplishments, we believe the actors also deserve to be celebrated for their enduring connection to the franchise,” they added.
A Lionsgate spokesperson had no comment.
“The stars of the original film never expected this movie to be such a huge hit and managed their contracts accordingly. You can’t blame them,” said the entertainment writer. christian toto he told Blaze News.
“There’s a bigger problem remaining. Nobody cares about this series. We’ve seen two Blair Witch sequels and we all just shrugged our shoulders. The first movie “The recent ‘Exorcist’ reboot was also terrible,” he added.
Lionsgate’s first reboot of the series in 2016 grossed approximately $45 million worldwide on a $5 million budget. box office mojo.
The company also operates a Blair Witch-themed escape room in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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