Within the yr The Blair Witch Mission debuted, the film’s filmmakers have been desperately on the lookout for their stars. They handed out “missing person” flyers of the three essential actors on the Sundance Movie Pageant, pleading for these with data to name a neighborhood sheriff. The movie’s web site featured reels of policemen giving interviews about their investigation, whereas the IMDb web page listed the actors as “missing, presumed dead.”
Solely, the actors weren’t useless, or lacking. Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, and Joshua Leonard—who, per their contract, used their actual names within the movie—have been alive, however compelled to put low for months to persuade followers that the movie’s horrors have been actual. It was one of many first situations of viral advertising and marketing for a film, and it was wildly profitable.
Because the movie skyrocketed into fame, Artisan Leisure—which acquired the movie at Sundance for $1.1 million—barred Donohue’s publicist from reserving her interviews. Leonard was chastised for accepting one other unbiased film function. Williams took on a job as a furnishings mover, unable to safe another appearing gigs whereas taking part in useless.
The advertising and marketing scheme was so convincing that when Artisan Leisure surveyed moviegoers, 50% of viewers believed The Blair Witch Mission was actual. The scheme helped the movie turn into a sensation, incomes over $248 million on the worldwide field workplace on a shoestring $35,000 finances, incomes them a Guinness World Document for largest box-office returns.
When the movie broke the $100 million mark, Donahue, Williams, and Leonard believed that, popping out of hiding, they’d lastly get their dues because the actors who filmed, improvised, and introduced the story to life. As a substitute, they acquired a fruit basket, they lately informed Selection.
Again then, the three actors have been of their early 20s—Hollywood outsiders who took jobs on the indie movie for its $500-a-week paycheck. Now, they’re middle-aged, with jobs like high-school steerage counselor and marijuana farmer—and able to sue, or tell-all to Selection, to realize a fraction of the earnings they are saying enterprise executives cheated them out of.
“You can’t take care of your loved ones.”
When the younger actors first signed their contracts, they didn’t suppose a lot of a clause that required them to make use of their actual names for the movie. In spite of everything, the movie was simply one other indie film with a ridiculous premise that permit them accrue on-set expertise, and likewise provided them the miniscule pay of $500 every week (they filmed for eight days).
“I did a lot of work for no pay,” Williams informed Selection. “This said ‘Paid,’ so you’re like, ‘Oh, maybe I can be a professional.’”
One other clause provided them a possibility for revenue that on the time appeared “ridiculous,” in response to Donohue. If the venture internet over $1 million, the actors have been entitled to “a one percent (1%) participation in profits in excess of $1,000,000.”
In fact, the film ended up making rather more than $1 million in earnings. However the 1% was a measly sum, and, for the reason that actors’ actual names have been tied to their characters, they struggled to search out casting administrators who took them significantly. The solid members discovered themselves poor, however well-known: serving catering to their very own brokers, or breaking down in outdated automobiles below enormous billboards with their faces on it.
The end result, for the solid members, was as humiliating because it was ironic. Williams broke down in tears throughout the Selection interview, explaining how laborious it was to elucidate his state of affairs to others.
“I’m embarrassed that I let this happen to me,” Williams stated. “You’ve got to put that stuff away, because you’re a f—-g loser if you can’t. Because everybody’s wondering what happened, and your wife is in the grocery line and she can’t pay because a check bounced. You’re in the most successful independent movie of all time, and you can’t take care of your loved ones.”
On the finish of the summer season of The Blair Witch Mission’s launch, the actors obtained a “performance bump” within the low 5 figures. In the meantime, Lionsgate, which bought Artisan after which Blumhouse, continued taking advantage of their names and likenesses for advertising and marketing, and created new, worthwhile sequels.
Within the mid-2000s, Donohue rallied her two co-stars to sue Artisan, which generated a $300,000 settlement that may be paid to every of them over a number of years. In the meantime, Haxan, the manufacturing firm that created The Blair Witch Mission, earned an estimated “$35 million to $40 million” from the movie, in accordance to The New York Instances.
Final month, the three actors wrote a public letter calling for Liongate to offer them residual funds “equivalent to the sum that would’ve been allotted through SAG-AFTRA, had we had proper union or legal representation when the film was made.” In addition they requested “meaningful consultation” on any additional Blair Witch spinoffs that may make the most of their names or likenesses. In addition they requested an annual $60,000 grant (the quantity of the unique Blair Witch finances) paid out yearly by Lionsgate to unknown filmmakers.
The three’s message to younger actors: “Don’t do what we did.”
“I’m very grateful for what I have now and how fucking hard I fought to get it,” Williams informed Selection.”Nevertheless it nonetheless impacts me. I buried all this. Big firms don’t care that this occurs to younger artists. It’s bullshit. And that’s acquired to alter someway.”