‘The Blair Witch Project’ Stars Share Public Proposal To Lionsgate Asking For Retroactive Residuals & Consultation On Future Projects

deadline.com:

The stars of The Blair Witch Project are banding together and sharing a public proposal to Lionsgate after the studio partnered with Blumhouse for a reboot.

Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard and Michael Williams shared a statement asking for retroactive and future residual payments, want “meaningful consultation” on any future Blair Witch projects and also want the studio to start a grant for aspiring filmmakers.

The trio is asking for residuals “for acting services rendered in the original BWP, 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.” Donahue, Leonard and Williams want to be consulted “on any future Blair Witch reboot, sequel, prequel, toy, game, ride, escape room, etc… , in which one could reasonably assume that Heather, Michael & Josh’s names and/or likenesses will be associated for promotional purposes in the public sphere.” “Our film has now been rebooted twice, both times were a disappointment from a fan/box office/critical perspective.

Neither of these films were made with significant creative input from the original team,” read the statement shared on Facebook. “As the insiders who created the Blair Witch and have been listening to what fans love & want for 25 years, we’re your single greatest, yet thus-far unutilized secret-weapon!” Lastly, the trio ask for “The Blair Witch Grant” to be created with a 60k prize, like the original film’s budget, which would be awarded “to an unknown/aspiring genre filmmaker to assist in making their first feature film.