The Blair Witch Project is primarily known for changing the face of horror 25 years ago and also setting a new standard for the possibilities of independent filmmaking. The movie was a huge success, grossing $250 million worldwide on a very slim $750,000 budget, and went on to launch a media franchise of sequels, comic books, novels, and video games. On the flip side of that success have been stories about the actors in the film not being fairly compensated over the years, despite the success of the film, and the original creators essentially being shut out of future sequel plans. That has continued to be the case for filmmakers Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez, who created the indie film sensation but were not consulted for the upcoming sequel coming from Lionsgate and Blumhouse Productions.
During a chat with Film Stories to promote the upcoming Second Sight Blu-ray boxset for The Blair Witch Project, Myrick and Sanchez were asked about their feelings regarding the franchise they created and Myrick admitted that, “It’s always a little bittersweet.” This then transitioned to discussions about the upcoming Blair Witch sequel being released by Lionsgate and Blumhouse, a project they weren’t asked to direct and weren’t even asked to share any input. As Myrick puts it, “Studios are not your friends.”
“Like Dan said, it is bittersweet. We still love the IP, and we’ve been thinking about it for more than 25 years now. And again, we don’t expect to write or direct these movies. We understand how Hollywood works, and they’re always looking for the shiny new object, the new filmmaker. And there’s a lot of super talented people out there that can make a great Blair Witch movie. To be included again would be nice. Even if they don’t listen to us. Just to pick out brains.”
“And again, like Dan was saying,” continued Myrick, “we have a little bit of a fan base that’s dedicated to the original movie, and it would be good press for them to bring us back in. But, we’ll see what happens.”
The Blair Witch Project Creators Have Been Mainly Excluded Since the First Film
The Blair Witch Project was released by Artisan Entertainment, but the rights transferred to Lionsgate when the latter acquired Artisan in 2003. They didn’t involve the original filmmakers in much of the IP after the first film began with the rushed sequel, Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, which was released in 2000. Neither Myrick nor Sanchez were consulted about the sequel, which went on to receive dismal reviews and was far less financially successful compared to its predecessor.
By the time Blair Witch was released in 2016, Lionsgate held the rights to the franchise, and the duo were only loosely involved with the film, which was directed by Adam Wingard from a screenplay by Simon Barrett.
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This isn’t the only less-than-positive story surrounding The Blair Witch Project. Heather Donahue, Michael Williams, and Joshua Leonard, who portrayed the three missing filmmakers documenting the legend of the Blair Witch and lent their real names and likenesses to the project, have been very vocal about barely being paid, not only for their work on the first movie but also for their likeness and names being used in subsequent sequels. The actors weren’t part of a union in 1999, so they were not given residual compensation when the movie became a worldwide phenomenon.
They were eventually paid $300,000 in 2004, but that was only after they sued Lionsgate for using their names in other Blair Witch-related projects without paying them. This all came to a head when the three performers penned an open letter to Lionsgate back in April and made the argument that they were entitled to residual compensation based on the millions the IP has made since it began in 1999.
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For their part, Myrick and Sanchez, along with other producers on the first film, penned an open letter of support for the three stars, and even though they didn’t comment on the current status of those open letters directly, they did insinuate that talks between the three actors and Lionsgate have been positive since they went public. Sanchez said, “I chatted with Mike [Williams] earlier this week, and they are talking to Blumhouse and Lionsgate in some way, and they are making some progress. They still have no idea what is exactly going to happen, but at least they’re talking, which is great.”
Even though Lionsgate holds the rights and are moving on with their own Blair Witch Project stories, Myrick and Sanchez believe that they have their own ideas about where to take the IP that they think should be explored. Myrick said, “Studios are not your friends. They’re a business, and so we learned a trial by fire in that regard. After that, it’s just the way the business operates. I mean, Lionsgate picked up the rights. They’ve made a couple of attempts at follow-up films that have been moderately successful, but we still hold on to the naive notion that there are other Blair Witch movies to explore that we feel would be valuable. Certainly to the audience, to the fans. Unfortunately, Lionsgate just hasn’t embraced that approach.”
- Release Date
- July 14, 1999
- Cast
- Heather Donahue , Joshua Leonard , Michael C. Williams , Bob Griffith , Jim King , Sandra Sánchez