Original “Blair Witch” star blasts '25 years of disrespect' after reboot announcement

Joshua Leonard wrote on Instagram that the way he and his collaborators have been treated "feels both icky and classless."

A quarter-century after The Blair Witch Project came out of nowhere to become one of the most successful indie movies of all time, one of the film's stars is expressing "frustration" over the announcement of a reboot and the feelings of "disrespect" it's dredging up.

In an Instagram post Thursday, original Blair Witch star Joshua Leonard said he was caught off guard by the recent CinemaCon news that Lionsgate and Blumhouse are reviving the horror franchise with a new movie. "The WEIRD PART is that I didn't know anything about it until a friend sent me a 'congrats' screenshot yesterday," he wrote. "I've been thinking a lot about this time, after seeing my BWP collaborators recently and sharing memories… sweet AND f---ed-up ones."

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, The Blair Witch Project pioneered viral marketing, 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 [$300,000]… 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. But 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."

Lionsgate declined to comment on Leonard's remarks.

Lionsgate's Adam Fogelson and Blumhouse's Jason Blum announced last week that the companies were partnering on a new Blair Witch movie, which Fogelson said would "reintroduce this horror classic for a new generation."

Blum said he was "very grateful to Adam and the team at Lionsgate for letting us play in their sandbox" and added, "I'm a huge admirer of The Blair Witch Project, which brought the idea of found footage horror to mainstream audiences and became a true cultural phenomenon. I don't think there would have been a Paranormal Activity had there not first been a Blair Witch, so this feels like a truly special opportunity and I'm excited to see where it leads."

The Blair Witch Project previously spawned two follow-up films that failed to recapture the original's magic: 2000's Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 and 2016's Blair Witch. The franchise also includes books, comics, videos games, and an escape room in Las Vegas.

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