One of the original stars of 'The Blair Witch Project' is calling out '25 years of disrespect' after Lionsgate and Blumhouse announced a reboot of the hit horror movie.
Joshua Leonard wrote on Instagram that the way he and his collaborators have been treated "feels both icky and classless."with over seven years of experience in the entertainment industry. An award-winning journalist, she's written for Turner Classic Movies,, and more. She's worked at EW for six years covering film, TV, theater, music, and books.
Leonard starred alongside Heather Donahue and Michael C. Williams in the 1999 movie, which purported to follow three student filmmakers shooting a documentary about a local bogeyman in the Black Hills of Burkittsville, Md. Made on a shoestring $60,000 budget,, popularized the found-footage genre, and earned nearly $250 million at the worldwide box office. The film was released by Artisan Entertainment, which was acquired by Lionsgate in 2003.
In his Instagram post, Leonard alleged that he and his costars were paid much less than the $4 million figure claimed by an unnamed "Hollywood insider." In reality, he wrote, "we made … and NEVER saw another dime."Leonard also wrote that after the actors used their real names in the film, "the studio claimed copyright. We had to take them to federal court to win OUR NAMES back.
Looking back on the film becoming unexpected hit, he said, "There were many factors that made BWP a success: timing, marketing, etc. But there was also the FACT that us weirdos got together, with virtually no resources, AND MADE A FILM THAT WORKED! Can we just go on record and say that the film itself is a huge part of why we're still talking about it 25 years later? I'm so proud of our little punk-rock movie, and I LOVE the fans who keep the flames burning.
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