25 years ago, Henderson native's 'Blair Witch Project' became a sensation

Gregg Hale and four film school buddies had been working on a movie for nearly two years when they got the break that changed everything.

The Gleaner’s first article about “The Blair Witch Project” appeared Jan. 23, 1999, which said the movie was to premiere that night at the renowned Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Hale, a 1984 graduate of Henderson County High School, was co-producer. He had been making films with home movie cameras since he was a kid.

The movie was shot on a shoestring. In fact, a story posted Dec. 6, 2023, on the website “Dread Central” quoted Hale recounting how two video cameras were bought and the one that was used the least was returned to the store “because we needed that 500 bucks to finish the movie.”

Blair Witch was the first movie to be sold at that year’s Sundance festival. The movie premiered at midnight and about 2:30 a.m. their agent got a call from distributor Artisan Entertainment (now Lionsgate). The message was, “We want to talk tonight.” Two other major distributors were also trying to buy it.

A deal was quickly reached with Artisan for $1.1 million, according to Anna Keizer’s March 8, 2023, blog at wrapbook.com, a website that serves the film industry. She analyzed the movie’s budget and financial return because of its groundbreaking importance.

“First, the film ushered in the still highly popular ‘found footage’ trend in horror. Second, it became one of the earliest case studies on how to effectively use online marketing. And third, it still stands as one of the most highly profitable films of all time when comparing ‘The Blair Witch Project’ budget to its financial return.”

Eduardo Sanchez, who shared writing and directing responsibilities, described his feelings about the sale to Features Editor Donna Stinnett in her column of Feb. 4: “I laid down and felt something I never thought I would feel at that moment. I felt a loss, ‘The Blair Witch Project’ was no longer ours. I was kind of sad that it was no longer in our hands. I laid down and cried like a baby.”

Hale was a little more upbeat but said it hadn’t really sunk in yet. “It’s been so much fun, but in a way it’s kind of scary.”

The other partners were Dan Myrick, who shared writing and directing duties with Sanchez, producer Robin Cowie, and co-producer Mike Monello.In May 1999, according to the April 15 Gleaner, the five young men braced for another media onslaught. They’d received an invitation to show their movie at the world-famous Cannes Film Festival in France. The Gleaner of May 21 carried an Associated Press photo depicting Sanchez and Myrick clowning around at a luncheon for the movie.“The Blair Witch Project” was the only American film to win an award at that year’s Cannes festival; it won the Youth Award.

Donna Stinnett’s column of July 16 noted the film was opening that day in 24 selected markets around the country; a wide opening was expected July 30. “Movie-goers nationwide are in a frenzy to see the film that’s been called the scariest thing to hit the screen since ‘Jaws.’

“But the thing is, you won’t see any blood or violence or special effects. You’ll know there’s something there, though, just like you did as a kid and checked for the monster under your bed.”

The authentic aspect of the film is what makes it so effective. The directors gave their three main actors an outline of the story, equipped them with cameras, and sent them into the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland, for eight days and nights. They did everything they could to scare them to death, like shaking their tent at night and making scary noises. They also kept them on edge by limiting their food and contact with the moviemakers.

The film purports to be a documentary, but it’s almost all fiction.

Stinnett called it “an exercise in improvisational acting that is convincing enough to be given terrific reviews” from various sources. One of the newsgroup reviews said, “This creepy, clever edge-of-your-seat thriller succeeds because it plays on your imagination, your fear of the dark and the unknown and the unseen, as opposed to showing graphic displays of violence and brutality.”

At the beginning of the film, we’re briefly told in white letters on a black screen that three student filmmakers disappear in the woods near Burkittsville in October 1994 and a year later the footage they shot is found. The filmmakers initially maintained the story was real, and even handed out missing persons flyers at Sundance asking for information about the three missing students.

The Gleaner of July 16 carried an Associated Press story about how Burkettsville officials were warning residents to be wary of the expected onslaught of outsiders. Those warnings proved apt. The Burkittsville town sign disappeared, and the gawkers converged as expected.

Sanchez, who grew up in a neighboring county, expressed remorse in a Stinnett story that appeared July 29. “That’s what I feel the worst about,” he said.

A July 29 Gleaner story noted the movie would be opening the next day at Old Orchard Cinemas, as well as two theaters in Evansville. “Originally they talked about having it on 70 or 80 screens on July 30,” Hale said, and then expanding it through the summer to 200 to 300 screens. But the internet marketing and media buzz created so much hype the distributor decided to push it harder.

“The internet was absolutely the first and necessary step to getting us where we are,” Hale said. But “getting into Sundance was the big thing and everything else has been gravy.”

The Gleaner of Aug. 3 noted Blair Witch took second place at the box office in its first weekend of wide release in 1,101 theaters. It grossed $28.5 million, exceeded only by “Runaway Bride” at $34.5 million. Blair Witch had grossed $80 million after it had been in theaters four weeks and $107.3 after five weeks.

Keizer’s blog on wrapbook.com says the movie was the 10th highest grossing movie of 1999. Not bad, considering the initial outlay. Hale said in a recent message that the film was shot for $22,000, although the total cost for the film as it was sold was $150,000.

According to the website the-numbers.com, “The Blair Witch Project” grossed $140.5 million in the United States and $107.7 million internationally, for a grand total of $248.3 million.

100 YEARS AGO

A Carnegie Hero Medal was awarded to Porter C. Gish for his actions May 26, 1921, at the Southland Coal Co.’s No. 3 mine in the East End, according to The Gleaner of Jan. 24 and 25, 1924.

He saved the lives of two dozen coal miners.

The mine tipple was on fire and the cage was making its last trip to the surface. Instead of saving himself, he went back into the mine to warn the men who were still in the mine and unaware of their danger.

“He rounded them up and told them of their danger. When they approached the foot of the shaft it was filled with burning timbers which had dropped to the bottom. Some of the men became panic-stricken, but Gish soon quieted them and led them to a point he knew was close to the workings” of the No. 1 Southland mine.

Together they dug a tunnel to the other mine and were safe on the surface within an hour.

As of December 2022, the Carnegie Hero Medal Commission has awarded 10,340 medals for civilian heroism since it was established in 1904. Gish is the only one from this area, according to the commission’s website. His award included a bronze medal and $1,000 in cash, which he used as the down payment for a house.

75 YEARS AGO

A palm reader by the name of Madame Delores set up shop in a trailer at the North Y and began dispensing advice, according to an advertisement in The Gleaner of Jan. 27, 1949. The price was 50 cents and there were segregated reception rooms.

“She will tell you anything you want to know pertaining to your life. Madame is not classified with Gypsie or others and you’ll find her far superior to any other reader you have consulted.”

50 YEARS AGO

The Henderson Police Department cited the Louisville & Nashville Railroad because a freight train blocked the intersections of Second, Washington and Clay streets for 19 minutes, according to The Gleaner of Jan. 22, 1974.

A city ordinance prohibited blocking intersections for more than five minutes.

“People seem to think we don’t write citations for this but I can assure you that we do,” said Police Chief Homer Browder. He conceded trains frequently blocked intersections for more than five minutes.

“A citation like this usually speeds them up a little.”

The problem on Second Street remained until the overpass opened to traffic Dec. 18, 1981.

Readers of The Gleaner can reach Frank Boyett at YesNews42@yahoo.com.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Looking back on 'The Blair Witch Project' and Henderson native Gregg Hale