is one of the most successful independent films ever made, grossing over $100 million on a $35,000 budget. One of the reasons the movie came with such a low price tag is its conceit: A found footage horror movie shot by the victims of Blair’s witchcraft. The cast, consisting primarily of three young, inexperienced actors hoping to break into the industry—Heather Donahue, Michael C.
Williams, and Joshua Leonard—also shot the picture and captured sound. What they didn’t get was paid. , Donahue, Leonard, and Williams reveal the extent to how much Lionsgate (née Artisan) didn’t want to pay them.
The three actors were in their early 20s when they shot , a movie they thought would go nowhere when they signed a contract with Haxan Films, a production company founded by the film’s writer-directors, Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez, and its producers, Gregg Hale, Robin Cowie, and Michael Monello. Should the film gross more than $1 million, the actors were entitled to 1% of the profits. Williams remembers thinking, “Wouldn’t that be ridiculous?” They didn’t even know the would be an entire movie, not the short film they expected for their acting reels, until a year after production wrapped.
Of course, the ridiculous thing happened: the movie grossed well over $1 million, and the things that didn’t bother them at the start of production began to wear. The fact that the movie used their real names meant Artisan required them to hide from public view during the .
