"The Blair Witch Project" is one the most influential horror films ever made. But the stars didn't get rewarded for the movie's success like they should have, and they're finally speaking up about it.
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00:00The Blair Witch Project is one of the most influential horror films ever made,
00:04but the stars didn't get rewarded for the movie's success like they should have,
00:08and they're finally speaking up about it. In 1996, Heather Donoghue, Michael C. Williams,
00:14and Joshua Leonard joined an extremely low-budget indie production that was then titled The Black
00:18Hills Project. The concept was simple, the three leads would be filming footage for a fictional
00:23horror documentary, playing student filmmakers searching for evidence of a local legend known
00:28as the Blair Witch who vanished without a trace in the Maryland woods. Not only were the three
00:33required to sign contracts that would allow filmmakers Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez
00:37to use their real names for their respective characters, but the found footage approach
00:41also meant that Donoghue, Williams, and Leonard had to learn to operate their own cameras and
00:45sound equipment throughout the shoot while improvising the dialogue and most of the plot.
00:50The movie was finally released in 1999, and its massive success surprised just about everyone,
01:03including the three stars who were key to bringing the project to life.
01:06After 25 years of silence, they're finally talking about how they got the short end of the stick in
01:10a Variety interview. For all their efforts in turning The Blair Witch Project into a smash hit,
01:16none of the actors were able to enjoy the experience. The secretive marketing that helped
01:20make the movie such a breakthrough success in the first place also meant Donoghue, Williams,
01:24and Leonard had to stay out of the spotlight. To maintain the illusion that the horrific events of
01:29the story were real, distributor Artisan Entertainment prevented the actors from
01:32doing any sort of publicity prior to the film's theatrical release. Not only were they barred
01:37from even attending the Cannes Film Festival premiere later that year, but they were also
01:41discouraged from doing interviews hyping up their work or even booking acting gigs in other movies.
01:46You must be in a big whirlwind right now. Uh, yeah. Yeah.
01:50This wouldn't have been so bad, according to the actors,
01:53if only they'd received any of the film's $248 million in worldwide profits.
01:58Instead, the actors made ends meet by continuing to work odd jobs, moving furniture,
02:02waiting tables, while they waited for their checks in the mail. When the $100 million
02:07domestic milestone came and went, Artisan merely sent fruit baskets to the stars.
02:12Donoghue recalled,
02:13That was when it became clear that, wow, we were not going to get anything.
02:17We were being cut out of something that we were intimately involved with creating.
02:21If the stars said anything about their plight at the time, they got punished for it.
02:25Donoghue recalled that she made the mistake of being too honest, saying,
02:28I had an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer, where I said something like,
02:32I'm the poorest famous person in America right now. Artisan reached out to tell me I can't say that.
02:38Williams emotionally admitted that he couldn't even pay for his groceries, saying,
02:41Your wife is in the grocery line and she can't pay because a check bounced.
02:45You're in the most successful independent movie of all time,
02:48and you can't take care of your loved ones.
02:50Donoghue also had to deal with misogynist comments directed towards her character.
02:54Leonard said,
02:55Heather's portrayal of a fierce and relentless artist who would not stop
02:58filming wasn't an acceptable archetype at the time. She was fair game to be hated on,
03:03and they were using her real name.
03:05Donoghue added,
03:06It was relentless. Just that feeling of, wow, this is definitely not what I signed up for,
03:11and I have no money to protect myself from the onslaught.
03:14The trio ultimately decided to sue the studio and reached a paltry $300,000 settlement in 2004.
03:21But even that wasn't the end of things.
03:23Lionsgate, which had acquired Artisan, announced the 2016 sequel Blair Witch,
03:28which followed Donoghue's character's younger brother.
03:31I think that might be my sister.
03:33They had the intent of making further use of her name and likeness.
03:37Only Donoghue's insistence that they uphold the terms of the settlement
03:40prevented the studio from using her face and last name.
03:43Lionsgate's recent announcement that it will be rebooting the series
03:46only unearthed fresh wounds for the cast.
03:48Once again, they were given no advance warning that the studio would be implicitly relying
03:52on their names and faces to promote another take on the original film.
03:56Donoghue said,
03:57I actually was looking forward to the 25th anniversary.
04:00It was feeling very sweet for the first time in the whole history of this thing.
04:04And then, boom, comes this announcement.
04:06And it's like, mother******.
04:08This finally prompted them to pen an open letter to Lionsgate
04:11and demand that they consult on any future Blair Witch film,
04:14as well as the residuals they were owed over the decades.
04:17It's unclear what they'll get, if anything.
04:20Donoghue said,
04:21Is there value there in using our names and identities or not?
04:24If there's value, compensate us accordingly.
04:26And if there's no value, then just stop using us.