- Joined
- Jul 18, 1998
- Messages
- 22,683
- Reaction score
- 47,329
Offline
Do they have a case?
I’m guessing the buyout says no
========================
The stars of The Blair Witch Project have called for more compensation for their work in the original film, as well as “meaningful consultation” on any reboots and sequels, after it was announced that the horror franchise is being revived yet again.
On Saturday, actors Rei Hance (formerly known as Heather Donahue), Joshua Leonard and Michael Williams issued an open letter to Lionsgate, the studio that now owns the Blair Witch franchise.
The letter, published on Leonard’s Facebook page, called for “retroactive and future residual payments” for the three actors for their work in the 1999 film, “equivalent to the sum that would’ve been allotted through [actors’ union] Sag-Aftra”, and say they did not have “proper union or legal representation when the film was made”.
The actors also asked for creative input in the Blair Witch franchise, which to date has spawned two more films, multiple novels, comic books, a video game series and an upcoming revival that Lionsgate announced this month, in collaboration with popular horror studio Blumhouse.
“Our film has now been rebooted twice, both times were a disappointment,” the open letter reads. “As the insiders who created the Blair Witch … we’re your single greatest, yet thus-far unutilized secret-weapon!”
The third and final request in the letter was the development of an annual US$60,000 (A$93,000) grant for “an unknown/aspiring genre filmmaker to assist in making their first feature film”.
The sum of the grant reflects the initial budget of the 1999 film, which went on to make more than $248m at the worldwide box office.……
In an Instagram post following Lionsgate’s announcement of a Blair Witch revival earlier this month, Leonard said he and his fellow two stars were paid $300,000 each for a full buy-out of their ownership over the original film.
“I’m so proud of our little punk-rock movie,” Leonard wrote at the time. “But at this point, it’s 25 years of disrespect from the folks who’ve pocketed the lion’s share … of the profits from our work, and that feels both icky and classless.”……..
I’m guessing the buyout says no
========================
The stars of The Blair Witch Project have called for more compensation for their work in the original film, as well as “meaningful consultation” on any reboots and sequels, after it was announced that the horror franchise is being revived yet again.
On Saturday, actors Rei Hance (formerly known as Heather Donahue), Joshua Leonard and Michael Williams issued an open letter to Lionsgate, the studio that now owns the Blair Witch franchise.
The letter, published on Leonard’s Facebook page, called for “retroactive and future residual payments” for the three actors for their work in the 1999 film, “equivalent to the sum that would’ve been allotted through [actors’ union] Sag-Aftra”, and say they did not have “proper union or legal representation when the film was made”.
The actors also asked for creative input in the Blair Witch franchise, which to date has spawned two more films, multiple novels, comic books, a video game series and an upcoming revival that Lionsgate announced this month, in collaboration with popular horror studio Blumhouse.
“Our film has now been rebooted twice, both times were a disappointment,” the open letter reads. “As the insiders who created the Blair Witch … we’re your single greatest, yet thus-far unutilized secret-weapon!”
The third and final request in the letter was the development of an annual US$60,000 (A$93,000) grant for “an unknown/aspiring genre filmmaker to assist in making their first feature film”.
The sum of the grant reflects the initial budget of the 1999 film, which went on to make more than $248m at the worldwide box office.……
In an Instagram post following Lionsgate’s announcement of a Blair Witch revival earlier this month, Leonard said he and his fellow two stars were paid $300,000 each for a full buy-out of their ownership over the original film.
“I’m so proud of our little punk-rock movie,” Leonard wrote at the time. “But at this point, it’s 25 years of disrespect from the folks who’ve pocketed the lion’s share … of the profits from our work, and that feels both icky and classless.”……..
The Blair Witch Project’s original cast ask for retroactive payments as reboot announced
Actors Rei Hance, Joshua Leonard and Michael Williams – who improvised most of horror film’s dialogue – claim they didn’t have proper union representation in 1999 and seek residuals
www.theguardian.com