“The Blair Witch Project”: 25 years after the release of the cult film, the actors are demanding financial compensation

Twenty-five years after its release The Blair Witch Projectthe three actors of the famous horror film demand their share of the pie from the producers.

Actors Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard and Michael C. Williams claimed to have been victims of injustice and “disrespect” for 25 years, and published an open letter on social networks on Saturday addressed to studio Lionsgate demanding financial compensation for them. Their participation in the film, which was released in 1999.

This message comes on the heels of a message on Instagram published by Joshua Leonard a few days ago in which the actor protested against the lack of recognition from the producers of the saga. The Blair Witch Project Towards the three stars for the original movie.

“For 25 years, we have suffered from a lack of respect for the people who got the lion's share [jeu de mots] Profits from our work,” insisted a representative of the original film, highlighting the lack of a class of producers who are now exploiting this franchise.

Unique case

One of the highest grossing films of all time, The Blair Witch Project A unique case in the history of American cinema. Filmed in less than a week on a shoestring budget (about $35,000), this harrowing mockumentary has grossed nearly $250 million at the global box office and spawned two series — in 2000 and 2016 — as well as serving as the inspiration for a video game.

Two weeks ago, Lionsgate announced a new version of… The Blair Witch Project It is currently under development.

The announcement of this new project may be the final straw for the cast of the original film. This is because, despite the huge success of the feature film that became a benchmark for horror cinema, the three actors received only $300,000 each, according to the magazine. diverse.

In their open letter, they demand that Lionsgate provide them with retroactive residual payments that match the amounts they would have been allocated had they been part of the Actors Guild of America at the time of filming, at the end of the film. Years 1990.

They also require studio consultation on all sequel projects, “remakes”, or video games derived from them The Blair Witch Project.

This is not the first time that the actor trio has protested against the film's producers The Blair Witch Project. In 2002, the three actors filed a lawsuit against the studio Artisan Entertainment, accusing them of using their names and likenesses in the second film of the series, released in 2000.