Original Filmmakers Behind 'THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT' Not Too Happy With Lionsgate And Blumhouse
Image: Artisan Entertainment
We announced last week that Lionsgate and Blumhouse were teaming up to bring a new story to THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT franchise, which was announced at CinemaCon to many eager fans. yet, it seems that a select group of folks is not too happy about the announcement. The original filmmakers of the 1999 blockbuster, found footage film, are up in arms over the announcement and are being very vocal about it.
With Lionsgate and Blumhouse relaunching the franchise as part of a multi-film deal between the studios, some of the "Blair Witch Project" alum are speaking out about once again seemingly being locked out of the latest attempt to emulate the success of their 1999 classic.
Created and co-directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez, "The Blair Witch Project" was made on a micro-budget of just $35,000 and went on to make a stunning $248.3 million worldwide, making it one of the biggest financial successes in Hollywood history. It totally makes sense that Lionsgate would try and capitalize on this franchise just based on the numbers alone.
Yet, two sequels and a video game later, the original team besides Ben Rock (the production designer for "The Blair Witch Project") were largely left out of anything having to do with the other films besides a nice “Executive Producer” credits which amount to not much. Rock was just consulted for the sequels and that was basically his involvement.
Rock himself spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the debacle, revealing that no one from the original "Blair Witch Project" team knew about the upcoming film prior to its CinemaCon announcement, and that wasn't all he had to say.
Ben Rock told THR that the announcement of a new "Blair Witch" film is "bittersweet," going on to tell the outlet:
"I do think that what has happened twice now was that the original creators were overlooked, and other people were brought in, all of whom were good. But neither one of the sequels connected with audiences the way they wanted it to connect. And so it might at least be worth talking to some of the original creators."
The "Blair Witch Project" production designer went on to explain that while he appreciates being "too close to something" can often be a drawback when trying to forge a new path for a franchise, he points out that, thus far, bringing in new people "didn't work." Rock also said that, with regards to the 2000 sequel, "They didn't make the hit that they wanted to make," but remained hopeful that he, Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez, and others from the original crew might get a call. Though as he states, so far, "they haven't talked to any of us."
All of which would be bad enough if it was just Rock speaking out. But as THR reports, "Blair Witch Project" co-producer Mike Monello tweeted out his distaste for the latest announcement, tagging Jason Blum, Lionsgate, and Blumhouse, writing:
"Radical idea: You could try putting this project in the hands of the original team that made the first one. You know, the team that actually has an entire franchise plan to reinvent what a Blair Witch movie could be?"
Joshua Leonard, who played a fictionalized version of himself in the 1999 original, evidently learned about the planned Blair Witch revival film after being sent a screenshot of a report on the Lionsgate presentation at CinemaCon. Worse still, the Variety article he was sent featured his own face as the header image, something which Leonard pointed out in an Instagram post.
Image: Artisan Entertainment
In the post, the actor stated that he was "So proud of our little punk-rock movie," but took the studios to task, writing, "At this point, it's 25 years of disrespect from the folks who've pocketed the lion's share (pun intended) of the profits from OUR work, and that feels both icky and classless." The extensive Instagram caption paints a pretty damning picture of the issue, alluding to court cases and financial struggles in the wake of the original film's release.
We’ll see what Lionsgate and Blumhouse do as reaching out to those original creators could vastly help the new Blair Witch franchise. Even Jason Blum admitted during Cinema Con that "I don't think there would have been a 'Paranormal Activity' had there not first been a 'Blair Witch,'" so it seems odd not to want to connect with the people responsible.
We’ll bring you more news as we get it.
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