MovieChat Forums > General Discussion > Blair Witch Actors Speak Out

Blair Witch Actors Speak Out

posted 5 months ago by spacecomedy (2043)
8 replies | jump to latest

I can understand the actors being angry about this, especially since everyone made millions except for them. On the other hand, Blair Witch was really lighting in a bottle and everyone involved was fortunate it had the success that it did.
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/blair-witch-project-actors-call-183000661.html

On the eve of the October 2000 release of “Blair Witch 2,” Donahue rallied Williams and Leonard to sue Artisan. Three years later, in February 2004, they arrived at a roughly $300,000 settlement that would be paid to each of them over several years. By comparison, The New York Times reported that year that Haxan and its investors earned “an estimated $35 million to $40 million” from “The Blair Witch Project.”

[–] SemiAnimus (2353) 5 months ago

So those actors performed the entire film impromptu, starred in a movie that made 100 million off of a 35k budget and then got sent fruit baskets from the studio as a thanks?

That's pretty fucked. Even that 300k they won seems like a pittance compared to what it would have been worth to them in the 90's as a lump sum.

[–] BKB (9877) 5 months ago

So, if they're still referencing these original characters in future movies with the Blair Witch Title, then I can understand them getting some compensation out of it, sure.. 🤔

[–] [deleted] 5 months ago

Mark Hamil was offered a choice to be paid scale on Star Wars or to forego that pay and partake in the boxoffice proceeds. He wanted the money upfront.
So, he was paid the actors wage for a movie. The others took the risk and made a fortune. It's about the agreement and not the profits.

[–] sslssg (34211) 5 months ago

I get their point about using their real names though.

[–] [deleted] 5 months ago

Yeah, but that's where a good legal rep comes in. The settlement is low, but reasonable considering the unknowns. I deal with this type of stuff every day and you'd be surprised how much wiggle room can be found by someone with a little more comprehension. I'd suggest they lawyer up again to carve out a better percentage in future sales involving their names.

[–] spacecomedy (2043) 5 months ago

That's an interesting fact about Hamill. Wonder if he really needed the money or just thought the film would be a flop?

[–] Stratego (30494) 5 months ago

I get they're upset, but that's just the contract they signed.

[–] MaximRecoil (4597) 5 months ago

That movie sucked wicked hard. I saw it in the theater when it was new, and the only interesting thing about it was that it was supposedly real. Before the movie was over it became obvious to me that it wasn't real, simply because some of the onscreen stuff depicted situations in which no one would be video taping. On the way home from the theater I argued with my roommate-at-the-time and her sister that the movie was fake as the day is long, and looked like shit to boot (due to being shot on Hi-8, which has about the same picture quality as VHS; not even remotely suitable for the big screen).

Later on the pretense that it was real was officially dropped.