After 25 Years, the Actors from One of the Most Profitable Films in the World Still Earn Almost Nothing

It was in 1999 that LThe Blair Witch Project see the day. A simple synopsis: three young filmmakers want to produce a report on witchcraft, but never return from their hike in the forest. It is only the images found at the scene that allow us to learn more about their disappearance. This feature film quickly became a huge success, both critically and commercially. Its $60,000 budget was repaid thousands of times over, making it one of the highest-grossing films in cinema history. What's more, he popularized the “found footage” genre, influencing many cinematic works that subsequently saw the light of day.

In short, if you appreciate horror cinema, there's a good chance that you've already watched this 1999 feature film. This production is making headlines again, but not for good reasons. Unfortunately, while the work will be the subject of a reboot, the three actors of the original film do not appreciate that their image and their names are still used to promote it.

The Blair Witch Project cast is angry

Joshua Leonard, one of the actors in the 1999 film, expressed his displeasure in several lengthy posts on social media. He stated that he realized, via his friend, that his image as well as his real name were being used to promote this new project. Afterward, he clarified that, despite what the media says, the three actors only earned $300,000, and “not a penny more.” According to him, the success of this film also comes from the performance of the actors. He concludes the situation with the following sentence: “That's 25 years of disrespect”.

Thus, the three actors are demanding a right to review future productions, as well as residual payments. They also want Liogate to create the “Blair Witch grant” with a grant of 60,000 euros to help a young filmmaker each year to develop their first film. Only time will tell if the three actors will get what they want. they wish in the coming weeks.