“I Didn’t Know Anything About It”

With the news dropping this week that Blumhouse and Lionsgate will be teaming up to deliver a reimagining of The Blair Witch Project 25 years after its initial release, reactions online have been mixed thus far. The original film helped usher in the found-footage sub-genre of horror to mainstream audiences, spawning such films as Paranormal Activity, REC, and Cloverfield. One frustrated voice among the online discourse happens to be Joshua Leonard, who starred alongside Heather Donahue and Michael C. Williams in the original film back in 1999.

Leonard took to Instagram to voice his frustration, saying that despite his image being used to promote the announcement of a new Blair Witch movie, he didn’t even know about the project until a friend sent him a screenshot of the news. This only added to his growing frustrations with Lionsgate, whom Leonard says he has been trying to engage with for “over a month” in order to help organize a charity screening of The Blair Witch Project to raise money for artists without healthcare. Check out his comments below.

“GOING PUBLIC w/this and would appreciate the amplification!. So, this is MY face on a press release for a film being made by two major studios – both I’ve worked for, both I respect. The WEIRD PART is that I didn’t know anything about it until a friend sent me a ‘congrats’ screenshot yesterday. My frustration is compounded b/c I’ve been trying to get @lionsgate to engage for over a month about a BWP charity screening I’m putting together for @opositivefest to raise money for artists without healthcare, and NO ONE will get back to me.”

Joshua Leonard Has No Interest in Suing Anybody Over The Blair Witch Project

Leonard would go on to drop facts related to The Blair Witch Project, stating that despite the film’s original distributor (Artisan Entertainment) touting the movie in public as the most profitable independent film ever made, internally they were telling the filmmakers that they were actually losing money due to the extravagant marketing campaign. He also wrote about the now infamous federal court case which saw him and his fellow co-stars fight to get their names back after the studio claimed ownership over them.

Despite his frustrations, Leonard says he isn’t motivated by money, and isn’t interested in suing anybody at this point. He says that his motivations for even posting anything at all in regard to a new Blair Witch movie come from wanting to call out the lack of respect for artists. Responding to one comment on his Instagram post, he says:

“There have been so many lawsuits around this movie! I honestly have no interest in that (at least at this point). Just wanted to call out a lack of human decency and respect for artists… and am grateful the sentiment resonates with others.”

Whether or not the new Blair Witch film from Lionsgate and Blumhouse will be a success remains to be seen, but there’s no denying the impact Joshua Leonard and his fellow band of ragtag filmmakers had on the industry as a whole when they made The Blair Witch Project 25 years ago. You can check out his full Instagram post below.