.png)
Generation In-Between: A Xennial Podcast
Xennial co-hosts Dani and Katie talk about their analog childhoods, digital adulthoods and everything in between. If you love 1980's and 1990's pop culture content, this is the podcast for you!
Generation In-Between: A Xennial Podcast
The Blair Witch Project: A Xennial Rewatch
Are you afraid of witches that live in the woods?
Would you dare to document your own spooky adventure on video?
If you ever watched a fake documentary on the Syfy channel believing it was real -- you might be a Xennial. And we are too.
Join us as we revisit the film that took advantage of the marketing tactics of the time to become forever iconic: The Blair Witch Project.
Leave us a glowing review wherever you listen to podcasts, and connect with Generation In-Between: A Xennial Podcast at all the places below:
Patreon
TikTok
Instagram
Facebook
Email us at generationinbetweenpodcast@gmail.com
Request an episode topic here
Hello and welcome to Generation in Between, a Xennial podcast where we remember, revisit, and sometimes relearn all kinds of things from being 80s kids and 90s teens. Teens. Why do I always say something weird in that era? You are so close to the last one. So close. Okay. Hi everyone. I'm Danny. Hi, I'm Katie, and welcome to a spooky season edition.
SPEAKER_01:Hence the costumes, guys. We do not dress like this every day. This is not my real hair.
SPEAKER_02:If you are just listening, uh, Danny, tell them what your costume is today. So I, for all you Marvel fans out there, I am in a Scarlet Witch costume, which will make sense when we start talking about our episode topic today. And Katie, what are you doing? Yeah, you're very topical. I am not.
SPEAKER_01:I am Taylor Swift in her reputation era. So I've got the like snake costume. If anyone saw the Reputation tour, she wore it um during I think Bad Blood, maybe.
SPEAKER_02:That's someone will correct me. But yeah, that's what this is. I am not a Swifty. Uh-huh. I think she's okay, and I like some of her music. I'm not a hater either, but I don't I try not to hate on anybody in the in any industry because every everybody has a place for something, right? Everybody's got people. But I do like the most Taylor songs from an album I like is from that album. Yeah, Reputation's really good. That's one of my favorites. Um, cool. So, do you want to tell everybody what we are talking about today? I'm so excited. So, first of all, apologies. We did not have an episode last week because I was sick and I'm still fighting a cold. I still have mucus. So, watch out for germs this season, guys. They're nasty. Like, I got a cold and it was the worst. It's never a good time to be sick, but you know how some times are worse than others. Like, I was in the middle of vocal week for Christmas Carol, and it's choral music. Like, you can't fake your way through that. Plus, I was um doing rehearsals for a play read I was in last weekend, and so I needed my voice. I needed it, and I had mucus, I had a sore throat, and it was just terrible, and I was trying to fight through. And when Wednesday came around, I was like, Yeah, no, I can't do three hours of recording. It's just my voice. Uh, so we did a rewind episode of Tales from the Crypt from last year. Uh, we had somebody asked me why we don't have guests anymore. After they heard that one, or just they were like, why don't y'all have guests anymore?
SPEAKER_01:It's mainly tech. I mean, even on that episode, which is such a good episode because of our guest. I'm not even patting myself on the back. Like Ben was just wonderful and it was so interesting and cool and spooky all at the same time. Um, but even on that episode, I could hear like some of the tech issues. Um, I think I think we'll get to a season where maybe in the studio we can have some guests again.
SPEAKER_02:The remote stuff we've never gotten right. So well, also here's the thing it's way easier for us to just do it ourselves. And it's for the dynamic number one, because we've been doing this for two years now, right? I want to say December 7th is the two-year mark. And we finally have like a flow going. Plus, we have we record at a weird time for most people. Yeah. And so, and it's just easier. It takes a lot more legwork. It's just listen, it's just easier. And also, can I I'm gonna say something? I gotta get this off my chest. Uh-oh. Okay, everyone, we love you very much. But listen, please do not come at us with episode suggestions or saying you want to be on our podcast if you've never listened to an episode.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, has that happened? Oh, yeah. Well, they're they're probably not listening now.
SPEAKER_02:Correct. So I'm just like, although I'm gonna make a social clip, because listen, don't tell us what we should have, because my favorite is when somebody's like, oh my god, you should do an episode on labyrinth. And I'm like, Yeah, we did. Or oh, you should have me on to talk about this and that. And I'm like, Oh, cool. What's like what what's your favorite episode or whatever? And like, oh, I don't listen to your podcast. Yeah, like then you're not coming on, right? Right. Sorry, because it's not just topical, it's it's a vibe.
SPEAKER_01:It's a vibe, dude. It's a vibe, brah. You can be the vibe. I mean, all of them we've had so far are listeners, except maybe my husband. What he doesn't listen, I don't think. He watches some of the social clips and then he'll be like, What is that all about? So then I'll have to find it in the episode.
SPEAKER_02:Um, like the mistletoe one.
SPEAKER_01:I know Troy listens to it.
SPEAKER_02:Troy listens, but not to every episode. Yeah, that's fair. He's like, I can't listen to all of them.
SPEAKER_01:Well, and that's why that's why I think it's fun that you can just pick and choose, especially new listeners we get now. I know. They have such a library, I think we're at over 135 episodes on there. A lot of those, not a lot of those, but some of those are Dawson's Creek. But like, if you're just like, oh, I want to listen to Pagers, I want to listen to Lisa Frank, I want to do all spooky all day while I'm decorating my house for Halloween.
SPEAKER_02:Like, I don't know if you have a butt. I mean a lot.
SPEAKER_01:Actually, we probably have eight to ten hours of spooky season.
SPEAKER_02:Well, there you go, you can. Yeah. But also, anyways, so just saying, if you want I it's just easier for us not to have guests. If you're hearing this, then we're not talking about you. And it's just it's just easier for us with research and flow and scheduling. I totally agree. It is sorry a thousand percent. Um, anyway, all right, so all right, so today I am dressed like a Scarlet Witch, but today we're gonna talk about the Blair Witch. The Blair Witch So Pumped project. So we re-watched, and now granted, you had seen this before. I have, yeah. Okay, so we're just gonna talk. I have so much research on this. There is some controversy around this film, um, which I already kind of knew about. But I'm gonna tell you that what the Blair Witch project is about, and then we're gonna talk just for a few minutes, and then I'm gonna go into all my research. Great. Okay. So here's the summary that was on the movie poster with her with Heather's eyes, you know, that famous. Yes. Oh my gosh, I have that in my notes when it got to that scene.
SPEAKER_01:I was like, oh my god, there it is. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Okay, in October of 1994, three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Berkessville, Maryland, while shooting a documentary. A year later, their footage was found. Yes. Okay. Do you remember when this came out? Yes. Okay. This came out in 1999. The summer. Summer of 1999. Yes. So do you remember when it came out and how everybody thought it was real? Yes. Okay. This is why I think this movie is so iconic. Now, you can have people will talk about here or there about if it's a good movie, etc., etc. The reason I love it is because you can never get away with the way it was done now. I agree. This was before social media, it was in the early days of everybody being on the internet, which they took advantage of to their benefit. And I'm going to talk about it. So, for those of y'all who were not old enough during that time or don't remember even on Earth at the time. The they were really smart with the marketing for this because I think I and I go into the timeline of everything. They put out a fake documentary. Did you watch it? Or did you peruse something? I perused that. Okay. It was cool though. They put out a fake documentary on the sci-fi channel a month before the movie came out. Oh, wow. The actors weren't were told not to be out in public and stuff like that. Um, people thought these people, these three kids that were in this movie were really dead or missing. Missing. Because you never know for sure what happens to them. Yeah. And I remember my sister and I, because it was um the summer after my freshman year of college. So I was home, and I remember her and I talking about, and she was living there too, about this, and we were freaked the fuck out. Yeah. And my stepbrother Brandon was like, we were like, oh my God, I can't believe this girl. I remember sitting in their house because they were rooming together at the time, arguing with him that it was real. And we were like, no, and we watched the documentary and we're like, see, and he is like, that is all fake. Like those are actors. He saw through the whole thing. But the general public really thought it was real. So when I went to the movies, oh my gosh, I was terrified. And every time I watch it, I'm like remembering how I felt walking out of that theater thinking it was real.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. I actually wrote down, imagine watching this thing and thinking it's real. I did. Like when I watched it this time, I was like, and I feel like when I saw it, I knew it was fake.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, it was only it was out for I want to say just a little while before, and then the actors came and started doing publicity and interviews and stuff.
SPEAKER_01:So I think by the time I saw it, you already knew. But when I first heard about it, I thought it was real, if that makes sense. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:So when you saw it in the theater, you already knew. Yeah. And see, when I saw it in the theater, I thought it was for sure real. Wow.
SPEAKER_01:That's scary. I right? It's terrifying.
SPEAKER_02:It's terrifying. Um, so okay. I'm trying to think where I want to start with this. So I'm just gonna start at the beginning of my notes. So disclaimer. When I did all my research was last week when I was sick. Oh boy. Were you medicated? Yes. Okay. I was on, and I am very sensitive to any kind of medication. Even DayQuil that's supposed to make you not loopy, makes me loopy. Like I just I don't know what it is. It's just something in my body. So I'm like, I haven't looked at my notes since then, and I was just perusing them before we started. I'm like, I don't remember typing any of this shit. Your cold brain did it. Oh, wait, let's talk about when we watched it. Okay. This time. Okay. So when did you watch this? It was in the middle of the day yesterday. Okay.
SPEAKER_01:So like 11 a.m. Okay. And it's not very long. It's not. No, it's been like 90 minutes. 90 minutes or so.
SPEAKER_02:Um, and I yeah, and I watched it so it was like daylight and okay. I watched it during the day too, because I watched it when I was sick. And it's weird watching it during the day. Were you still scared? Not really. It's not as scary.
SPEAKER_01:The part at the end where they go into like the building. Such a good ending. I got kind of I got pretty scared there, forgetting it was like almost done.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, yeah. And then I was like, oh, it's over. Okay. That ending, we'll talk more about it later, is one of the best endings. I love open ending moments. Like that ending. Yeah. Because it's like that lives for now. There will be spoilers on this episode. Yeah. So yes. If you haven't watched it, go watch it and then listen. Correct. If you don't want to know. If you like spoilers, some people do. And you just want to hear about it, here we are. That ending where he is in the corner. Mm-hmm. The ending's really good.
SPEAKER_01:I forgot how I for I like at that part. I forgot it was almost the end. Does that make sense? Yeah. And then when it ended, I was like, oh yeah. Yeah. I forgot that it ends right here.
SPEAKER_02:So, yeah, that is like one of the best endings. All right. So this, like I said, was made in 1999. Well, made in 98, came out in 99. It was directed by two guys, Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez. And it starred Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, and Joshua Leonard, who played themselves. Yeah, I was gonna say those were their names in the movie. Yes. Okay. Um, I'm gonna I have information and then I have random facts. So feel free to throw in your thoughts about scenes, moves, okay, etc., as we go. So this film was actually in the Guinness Book of World Records for the top budget box office ratio for a mainstream feature film. Because it was so cheap to make and made so much money? Yep. Okay. And that's gonna be a big controversy coming up later, and you'll see why. Um, the film cost sixty thousand dollars to make and made back two hundred and forty-eight million. Jeez, which is a ratio of a dollar spent for every$10,931 made. Oh my god. Yeah. Whoa. That's quite a profit margin. So the the actors actually were the ones filming mostly. They had no training, which a lot of people don't like watching Blair Witch because it's so bumpy. I said that. I said, um, what did I say? Camera work makes me um some word, but I think I oh dizzy. Because he had no idea how to use it. Like they've got it. But I think that's what that's what led to it's often. And you know, you know that scene where they're in the car and they're like looking at it, that was real. Wow. It's like I really don't know how to do it. But the funny thing was, one of the video cameras used, because there were several, um, was bought at Circuit City. And whenever Circuit City was. Oh my god, Circuit City. And after filming was done, the producers returned it and got a refund. Stop. I'm serious.
SPEAKER_01:So that's not even coming out of their spending. That's not part of the success.
SPEAKER_02:But made their budget because they got that money back. Yeah, made their budget go uh even further. Hilarious. And this film, like we were talking about, it made that found footage approach um really popular. It popular it didn't create it, there were lots of other movies that did it, but this is what opened the door for like paranormal activity and movies such as that. Right. Um, there were two sequels made in 2000 and then 2016, but they were flops and they were not good. I remember watching the sequel, it's very disappointing. Really? Because you can't this, it's this was like a once-in-a-lifetime kind of moment. You can't redo it. I agree. Like once the magic was gone, it was done. Yeah. And the way they went about filming it and all the things, you can't redo that. So, anyway, let's talk about this director and how he got the idea. He actually grew up in Florida. Okay. Okay, he grew up around the swamps of Florida, which, if you live here, you know. Um, he said he kept having this idea of a stick figure hanging from a tree, like in the woods, swampy woods. And so Ed Sanchez, who was a friend of his from college at UCF. Hey, UCF. Yep. Go nights. They worked together to write a 35-page treatment about three film students who had into the Maryland woods to make a documentary about a legendary witch. So it was just a treatment. There was no dialogue, there was no like it was just basically the idea of what they were going to be doing. Okay. So they had zero dialogue, they wanted it all improvised. Okay. Um, originally it was supposed to be three guys, but Heather's audition was so great that they cast her and said, Okay, we have to have you in. I think that was smart. Well, I have a couple thoughts about it, but it's maybe not now, it's maybe later. Yeah. And there there has been some things said about that too, about her and the guys and all the things. But so what they did on their audition, they asked actors to improvise and they said, pretend to be at a parole hearing, and you're explaining to me why you should be let out of prison. Okay. What she did was look straight at them and said, I actually probably shouldn't be released. Oh, that's good. And they cast her. I don't know what else she said, but that was the line that got me. That was the line that got her approach is what got her in the door there. Um, and the way they did their audition calls, they placed an open call in backstage, okay, uh, for what was then titled the Black Hills Project, a non-union production, which will matter, um, offering pay, travel, and meals. Pay was not specified. Okay. Just pay. I mean, a dollar could be considered way. Right.
SPEAKER_00:Right.
SPEAKER_02:Um, before the shoot began, the actors um were given a one and a half page deal memo with one clause that seemed unlikely that actually came to bite them in the ass. Should the project net Hackson, which was their production company they they formed, over one million, the actors were entitled to a one percent participation in profits in excess of one million. Okay. But okay, right. That's a lot of money. Right. But also, but they made a lot of money. Right. So what's the problem? And they also agreed for their real names to be used. Well, you'll see. Um because they also did not sign things for other rights. So you'll see. There's a reason why you need to be productive by a union. Right. Just saying. Okay, so the filmmaker said the footage they were gonna shoot would have basically like 10 minutes of a fictional documentary about their character's disappearance um while seeking evidence of the fable fable Blair Witch. Um the their idea for what they were gonna do changed. The actors were told one thing and then it changed to being the focus of the film. It was supposed to be just 10 minutes, and then they were gonna um hold on, shoot, I got lost in my in my notes, in my thoughts. Hold on. Let me see what I wrote here. Okay, sorry guys. The day quill, the day quill came into my paragraph, and I'm like, what am I talking about? Okay, so the actors were focused on pulling off, like, you know, this production that was fully improvised. They had to not only act, but they had to operate the cameras and sound equipment, which they were not trained on at all. And they had to justify why their characters would keep filming as things started to get shitty, right? You remember that in the movie? Yeah, especially Heather's, um, because she was the director in the fake documentary. Um, it wasn't until like a year later, it took them a while to film this and to do the not to film it, to do the editing of this movie because they had a lot of footage. Um, the cast learned that the filmmakers changed course completely and they made their footage into the entire movie. Wow. They thought it was gonna just be like little snippets here and there. Got it. So it was like scripted for the rest of the movie, they thought. I don't know if they knew what they were gonna do. They just said, you're gonna have this or whatever. Okay. Um, so when the Blair Witch project got into Sundance, oh wait, where am I at? Yes, yeah. Um, the actors actually paid for all their travel and all their lodging. I would too if my production company wasn't gonna pay for it. No, no, no. I'm saying they weren't offered, even though this movie was completely about them. Right. They didn't let them know that and they had to pay for their own way to get the which sucks. But um, there is more that sucks that comes on. Um, speaking of filming, it only took them eight days to film all the footage, which is pretty interesting. And it's funny because you think they're in the middle of nowhere, really just steps away with civilization. Okay. So you think, oh god, they're literally, and now they did go wander and stuff, but it didn't take them long to get back to civilization. And the way they did this was kind of cool. They filmed it, um, they had a base camp house set up in Germantown, Maryland, and they operated 24-7 for those eight days. So they had like the other the film crew was in the house, um, all the other stuff. The guy, the first guy that dies, he went back there for a day or so. Oh, okay. Um, it took, oh, I said a year. It took two years of editing. Wow. To make because they wanted to make all the footage they took look real.
SPEAKER_01:Which which is funny that you would have to edit it to be real when it is real.
SPEAKER_02:I know that is funny because it was giving like 1997 home video vibes, which is what they wanted. Right. And I mean, I think it it pulled through. Um, the actors, like I said, were the ones who operated the cameras and sound equipment, and they used GPS. Now, remember, this is late 90s GPS guys. Right. It was like a handheld Garmin, wow, whatever. Um, to what they did, they would they had walkie-talkies and they'd get directed to locations in the woods that were marked with flags or milk crates, and they had notes there and supplies and food. The directors would leave them stuff. Okay. So, um, and they would leave whatever footage they took there and then pick up that stuff, look at their notes, and then go do what they were supposed to do. That's fun. I know. It is fun. I like that. Um, so the notes would say things like, uh, hold on, I gotta get my I'm on Katie's computer, guys. The notes would say things like, Heather, you're absolutely sure that to get out of this mess, you go south, don't take no for an answer. Or it would say like, Josh, somewhere along the way today, you've had it with this bullshit. And that's all they had. They had to just improvise. Now, if you're an actor out there, do you like to improvise? Are you an improv person?
SPEAKER_01:That's a really good question. I don't know.
SPEAKER_02:I I've done improv like as its own thing and enjoyed it, but like if something happens on stage and I have to, I wouldn't say I like it. Okay. Because I feel like I feel like most actors are one of two ways. Most people either enjoy improv improv or actors don't like it. They want a script. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:I think I I think I like both if it if it's within the premise of it. So like if I know it's a scripted show, then I'm gonna learn who's gonna be able to do it. But you don't want to have to improv, but I want to have to improv. Got it. Whereas like if it's improv, then don't give me too much of a script. Like just give me the basics so that it can be what it's gonna be. I think as long as like they don't cross boundaries.
SPEAKER_02:Well, because it's very different acting skill set, which if you're not an actor, it it is a very different skill set, I think, with performing to perform from a script and then to perform improv because improv is not just being able to make things up, right? You have it is literally a skill you have to hone in on. Oh, yeah. And it's mostly about listening to the other person who's in a scene with you. Totally. And I noticed because I've taken several improv classes, and I do enjoy improv, and I don't mind when shit goes awry on stage unless it's a prop falling on me, which happens quite a bit. The thing that you hate actually happens the most. I like a good improv moment on stage that in a scripted time. I think it's fun because I think that's the joy of live theater, but I get why it causes some people anxiety because when you are in a mindset of a scripted performance, to all of a sudden have to flip is weird.
SPEAKER_01:I think for me too, like I really and I know you do too, I work really hard on my characters for scripts. So if I have to improv in the middle of a show, that's that's Katie having to think on her feet, and that throws me off. I have a lot of trouble getting back into character, like in the middle of the case.
SPEAKER_02:Because the tricky part is improving as your character, right? Right. That's what's hard. Yeah, like even if you can like make it look that way, my head is like is then Katie is spinning. Yeah, I mean, it takes a lot of, I feel like it takes a lot of brain power and it takes practice. It's a skill. It definitely takes practice, it takes skill, and sometimes it doesn't go well. Well, and I noticed a few times there's a few things like common errors that people who are new to improv do that I noticed happened as they were filming. Interesting. Like what? Like, for instance, you are never supposed to answer a question with another question, right? Okay, that's one thing. And I noticed I w I should have written it down, but again, day quail, guys.
SPEAKER_01:Maybe you did. You're gonna find it in like a month.
SPEAKER_02:But what is this? I want to say it was Mike, who when Heather was like, Why are you why are you wanna do this? And he said, Well, why do you want to do this? Yeah, and I was like, That's the first thing you're not supposed to do. Yep. Even if you say something like, I don't know, because I just feel like doing it, that's better than flopping it back. Because what you're doing is your partner is giving you something and you're not accepting it. Right. And that's like I can't remember the analogy that my first improv teacher told me, but it's like you're being given a gift by your senior partner and it's your job to give them one back. Agree. But if you ask them a question, or if you say, Why? Why? Or like if they're like, Okay, we're going on vacation to the Antarctic, whatever. Plantain, well, I was gonna say plantain. That's that's that's that is a fruit. The Antarctic region? Was I gonna say uh frontier? Maybe. No, were you gonna say plain? No, I don't know. I said plantain. But if I said if, okay, for instance, if we're in an improvement and I said we're gonna go on a vacation to the Antarctic plantain, you would say something. I would. I'd be like, oh, that sounds so great. I'm gonna pack my sunscreen. Right. And the worst thing, or be like, well, that sounds delicious. I'm gonna, you know, yeah, the worst thing would be for you to say why. Or there's not plantain. Well, that's the other part, yeah, is that you can't deny what's making it another rule, right? So they did do that a f a few times, and I did notice that, but anyway, okay. But maybe that makes it more realistic. I don't know. Um, they had okay, so now also I hated Mike. Were we supposed to hate Mike? He was so annoying. Uh you were supposed to feel some kind of way about all of them. I don't think it mattered what. I didn't feel as strongly about the other two. Um, yeah, so anyway, they had a lot of freedom, and which that's a lot something about improv that makes people who are used to scripted acting nervous. They don't like the freedom because when you're script when you're scripted, you're being told what to do. Sure. And even if your director gives you a lot of freedom, you're still tied to the script. Absolutely. And some directors don't want you to veer from it at all, and some give you a little more freedom, you know, with your movement or whatever. Right. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01:But yeah, they were it's the same as like, well, like with writing, like the creative stuff I do for myself, I can't do in a space where I'm being given directions. Yeah. And if I want to succeed at both, you kind of have to flip the skill set. Right. And not everybody in writing even can do both.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, yeah. Can be like a hire me to write stuff writer and a creative writer. And same with acting, not improv's not for everyone. Although I would argue you should try it before you know. Oh, I think so. I think even if you don't like it, it makes you a better performer to at least take a few classes. I agree. Um, you don't have to keep doing it. Like some people do it as a hobby. Yeah, you know. So, anyway, um, so they had a lot of freedom. Um, the directors only intervened if they felt like they needed to tone things down. Okay. Like if they were getting too much, too extra. That's the only time they would intervene. Some of the fake fighting was genuine. Oh my gosh. So, um, you know, as would happen. Um, the directors and crew did pull like gags on them, like pranks that they did not tell them about ahead of time in order to get genuine fear reactions from them. For instance, like um the shaking of the tent. Do you remember that scene? They didn't know that was gonna happen. So their fear was genuine. The children's voices that you hear, yeah, that also was something that they just threw in there. So they told them, like, we're gonna throw stuff at you that you're not gonna know's coming. So some of their fear is genuine fear. Wow. Yeah. Okay. So they got that on camera. Um, here's a random fact. Speaking of the sounds of children. Um, those sounds are the sounds of kids who live across the street from Eduardo Sanchez's mom. Aw. All right. Uh, they recorded them playing outside, reading, and just talking like gibberish kid talk, you know. And um, the production team set up three boom boxes with that audio playing outside the tent during the scene. And Michael C. Williams said that was the most terrifying moment for him during filming. Oh, yeah. Because they didn't know it was coming and they could hear it all around. Right.
SPEAKER_01:It's not just like from one direction, like now we would say someone was playing it from their phone. Right. But it's not even from like one speaker. It sounds like you're surrounded by these creepy children noises. Kids are creepy, creepy kids. Um, in the middle of the night when you can't see them and all you can do is hear them.
SPEAKER_02:That's really no meow fine. Creepy kid stuff is no reb. Here's another random fact, too. Um, the sign that I like I said, I have random stuff thrown in here. Like it's just in her notes, it's like all caps. I know random facts. That's literally what it says. I don't know, guys. We don't know. It's organized chaos. That's what it is. The sign scene for Birkitsville at the beginning of the movie has been stolen three times, probably more since the time of whatever report I read. Um, and one of those times was when the movie opened at the theater in the local theater. People, it's a real sign. Birkitsville is a real place.
SPEAKER_01:That's what I was about to say. So is that a real place?
SPEAKER_02:Birkettsville is. Birkitsville, Maryland is a real place, and that sign was real, and it's keeps getting stolen. Okay. Why not? Halloween pranksters. You know. Um, okay, speaking of the tent, although Heather Mike and what's his name? Josh, they had to pitch and take down the tent they slept in. They didn't have to carry it from location to location. So it wasn't really in their backpacks, it was other stuff. But they did have to put it up and take it down themselves. So when you see them filming that and they look kind of silly and clueless, that's valid. Okay. Um, but the the crew carried it for them other places. I just thought that was interesting because I was like, ugh, but if they had to sleep in the tent, I'm out. Nah. Nope. No.
SPEAKER_01:Did they have to sleep overnight out there?
SPEAKER_02:Uh-huh. Ooh. Yeah, gross. Gross. Uh, another random fact, excuse me. Uh, the scene where they're sitting around the campfire, like that first night, was probably the most expensive few seconds in the whole film because if you remember, Josh was singing the theme song to Gilligan's Island. So they had to pay for the rights. Oh, wow. Oh, wow. Isn't that funny? That is. And he only sings it for a few seconds. Right. But it's copyright. It's copyright. So that was the most expensive moment in the whole movie. That's hilarious. I thought you were gonna say mean like something to do with the Fire setup or like the safety precautions or something. No, no. Oh my gosh. Gelligan Silent. Okay. Okay. All right. So the Blair Witch, you don't see her. Right. And that's part of the fearful like vibe from for you, I think, is you never see anything scary. Right. Like in action. No. Like you see the bloody thing, and you see the sticks and you see scary images, but you never see spirits, you know. Or something happening. Right. Right. She you were supposed to see the Blair Witch in the movie. Oh. So you're supposed to see her when they're running out of the of the tent, and I'm trying to remember what scene this was, but Heather's screaming, what the fuck is that? What the fuck is that? Yeah. And you know they see something, but you can't see it. Yeah. Um there was supposed the camera was supposed to pan to the left where you were gonna briefly see a woman wearing a white gown way off in the distance. So you're supposed to just briefly see her, but whoever was filming forgot to do that. So the scene, they just didn't reshoot it because they figured, well, whatever. Like we just totally forgot about the Blair Witch. Yeah. And I don't know, I couldn't figure out if it was one of the guys holding the camera or if it was one of their cameramen. I'm assuming it was probably Josh or Mike. I think that's okay though, because that makes the Blair Witch whatever you think she is in your imagination. Right. Which I think is much more scary. Although, like a jump scare of like a woman wearing white off in the distance would have been scary too. I just think it's funny that it wasn't like editorially they would change their mind. It's like, no, literally, we just forgot. And we didn't know till later and it was too late because like we weren't there anymore. Literally. So we didn't go back. That'd be me. If I was ever filming something, I'd be like, oh whoops. Well, it's not going in, not going in, not going in. Um, but another thing that that film that was scary that you do see is after Josh disappears and um they get that bundle and Heather undoes it, it's bloody, and there's teeth and hair. Oh god, that was so gross. Yeah. Um hold on. I was trying, okay. The scene where she does that, it's hold on. What did I type? Oh my god, y'all. Never again am I gonna do research medicated. Oh, okay. So remember how she didn't open it right away, and then she goes back. So the production designer, his name is Ben Rock. He was watching to see her reaction when she looked inside, but she didn't. She just threw it and didn't look at it. Oh, okay. And he was like, Okay, shit. So he went back to the production team and was like, Y'all, the bitch did not look at it. And they're like, Okay, y'all, you're gonna have to tell her to go back. So they had to tell her, go back, find a way to go back and make it make sense and look in it. Okay, and so that was a genuine thing. Like she was freaked out and didn't open it. Okay, and then they made her go back. The teeth inside were real teeth. What? Yep, they got them from Eduardo Sanchez's dentist. I thought you're gonna say his mom because his mom just keeps popping up. And the hair in there was really Josh's hair. It was some clump of his hair. Okay, and they said also some of the teeth were from castings Lisa Dane. Now, I don't know if it was like one of her teeth. I don't know what the fuck that was mean, or she just had teeth laying around. But anyway, those were real teeth in there. Well, can you imagine this guy, Eduardo, going to his dentist being like, Can I have some teeth? Like, like, can I have some teeth?
SPEAKER_01:I'm filming this scary movie. Weird. And like, what if somehow you found out that you also had the same dentist as Eduardo? I know, and then do you like have a claim to your teeth in the movie? Like, are you like, I need some of that money because you used my teeth?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, and it and you know, I always forget how big teeth really are. Yeah, they are big because they go deep down in your gum. You can only see the top little part, but the rest are really big. So she I remember her opening up and I was like, that's a human tooth. All right. Are we sure that this isn't like enormous? Animal of some kind. I mean, we are animals. True, true. Um okay, and then Josh's hair. Okay, okay, that makes sense. She's double checking my number. Double checking, double checking. No, I just was remembering I was like, which person's hair, but Josh's hair. Josh's the long hair. Okay. Um, okay, so the house at the end of the movie. Yes. Let's chat about this house. Here's some real life facts about it. The house used as the Rust and Parr house for the end scenes was the Griggs House. Um, it was located at Pattapapsco Valley State Park, which was 50 miles east of Burgessville, where they did some filming. Um, it was built sometime in the 1800s and then renovated in the early 20th century. The house was abandoned when they found it. It had been vandalized and kind of falling apart for several decades. Um, and after they used it in the Blair Witch, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources announced in 99 the house was going to be taken down because it was a public nuisance and a safety hazard, especially because so many people were going to find it.
SPEAKER_01:Now they're trying to get to it. And it's dangerous.
SPEAKER_02:I mean, it was a hazard and it was like they probably shouldn't have been in there, let alone random people over there. And it's a state park property. So if somebody gets hurt, they're held liable. Um, but guess what happened? Blair Witch fans launched a fundraiser campaign and petitioned to save the house, and the state agreed to grant the Griggs House a reprieve pending further investigation. But guess what? The investigation found it needed to be condemned. Yeah, it was short-lived. I mean, they did get a reprieve and they waited. They investigated it more, and the state did, in fact, take it down, and they didn't tell anybody. They didn't have a public announcement, so they just hurried up and did it in 2000. Yeah. They didn't want the fanfare and then like Blair Witch people laying there. I was gonna say people like protesting inside the costume.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, you know, no, no, no.
SPEAKER_02:So they think that that probably happened because of all the trespassing in the house by ghost hunter teams and thrill seekers and of course souvenir collectors who want a little bit, like a brick.
SPEAKER_01:A brick.
SPEAKER_02:I'm telling you, yes, please, someone bring me a brick. So the inside of the house, you know how you saw graffiti. A lot of that was real, it was already there. Okay, but they did have to repaint some of the walls prior to shooting. The child handprints on the wall, the bloody handprints, were made by two nephews of Eduardo? Uh no, not Eduardo.
unknown:Okay.
SPEAKER_02:Production assistant. Okay. They got their nephews in this abandoned house. That's cute. With red paint. Yeah, red paint. I don't know. I miss them on the line. I think it's kind of fun. Yeah, I mean, I I don't know. I don't would you let your kid go in this creepy ass house and paint their hands for it? I think it was the middle of the day, sure. It's the middle of the day. I mean, I guess it depends where it is in the house. If it's literally walking, well, it was downstairs. Yeah. It was, you know, they saw it right when they were going up the stairs. Isn't that right? I think so. Yeah, I think you're right. Okay, this is just a totally random fact that I found that I thought was funny. The word fuck is used in this movie 154 times. Wow. I mean, it is in there a lot.
SPEAKER_01:I didn't even notice. I did. Because the first time I was like, oh, okay, yeah, I guess they do use that word in here. I just didn't even notice.
SPEAKER_02:I didn't think it was 154 times.
SPEAKER_01:I think it was, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:I mean, it was. I just noticed a fact. But okay. I just didn't notice. I was like, oh okay. But I'm thinking too, though, if you were filming me in a scary situation, I would say fuck way more times than that. Like if if I was going through a haunted house, even though I know it's fictional, like like a commercialized one.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, it's not not a real haunted. A real haunted house is another story. Listen. But a commercialized one where I know it's like scare actors paid, I would still say fuck all the time.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, yeah. So let alone like in a film. Really? Yeah. Seriously. Anyway, I just thought that was funny because I I do drop the F-bomb way too much. And I'm in a show with more kids, so I really have to rein it in. You got this. Thankfully, most of them know me, and they're like, oh, Miss Danny. Sorry, parents. I'm trying so hard. Um, okay, so let's talk about that iconic shot. And any thoughts you have, put them, throw them in an hour. We can go over them. We'll go over them at the end. If we miss any, then I will. So that that iconic shot of her close-up. Oh, yeah. So this is another funny one. It was unintentional. It was not supposed to be filmed the way it was. Really? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. She planned to have her whole face in the frame. Um, but she zoomed in the camera too much and didn't know. Right. But the directors thought that the closeness and like all her tears and her boogies like falling out her nose and um really added to like the realism of the scene. So they kept it.
SPEAKER_01:I mean, it's iconic. Oh, and I think if it was her whole face, like you wouldn't, it wouldn't be the same.
SPEAKER_02:It would not be the same. And because it it transmits the feeling of fear that she's just trying to hurry up and record it, right? And like, and she's crying and she's snotty, she's not wiping her nose because she's so scared and she's freezing. I mean, it's the best. It's really good. And what does she say? I think I wrote it somewhere. Where uh here we are, cold, hungry, and and hunted. Yes. Yes, that is what she said. So hunted. Hunted, oof. Oh, I know. Okay, and also another fact about the house, again, randomly written, Heather and Mike were not told um what they were gonna find in the basement of the house when they got there. So um Mike was just told to run up and down the stairs yelling for Josh before he went to the basement and to keep Heather behind him as far as he could. Okay. That's all they were told. And then when Mike, when Mike um reached the basement, two production assistants grabbed him and said, just stand in the corner. So when Heather got there, they grabbed her, gently put her camera on the floor while gesturing her to stop screaming, and then that was it. That was how they filmed the scene. Okay. Um, however, due to sound problems that we know well, oh yes, they had to film it twice. Oh, I know. That stinks. I know. Um, Heather Donahue said the first time they did it, she was so scared she started hyperventilating and they had to calm her down before they shot it again. Oh, yeah. Which I mean, that is fucking scary. Especially if you're filming and you don't know that they told him to run far ahead of you. Yeah. And you're and she's like, Mike, where are you going? Mike, where are you? Mike, where are you? Like, that's genuine. Yeah. So anyway, well, I don't know. I don't know what edited what is edited that was their first take and what was their second take. Right. Exactly. Because the sound is weird. It is weird because they're running around and it's supposed to be like, but can you imagine how scary that would be? That'd be really scary. Like you just show up and he's in the corner, and they just gently take the camera and put it on the ground and go, like, yeah, stop screaming. Oh my god. No, thank you. Uh, they did actually shoot several endings though. Um, and you can find them on I I think they have them on YouTube. They used to have them on like the DVD, they would have the extra endings. Um, they all happen in the basement. They had two versions of Mike standing in the corner. One, he was facing uh backwards, like you see, and then one he's faced forwards, so you see his face. Yeah. And um, and one he's surrounded by hanging stickman. Ooh, yeah. I kind of like that. I know. One, uh, Mike was dead and hanging from a noose, which I'm glad they did not have that. That's just too much. No, thank you. And then one, they had Mike levitating amongst um branches and the stickman. That would have been cool too. I know. Now I don't know how they would.
SPEAKER_01:But like the way that they were filming it, how would they have done that?
SPEAKER_02:I don't know. But you can see four of those on the DVD or the Blu-ray.
SPEAKER_01:I feel like when that first came out, that was a thing.
SPEAKER_02:I feel like maybe I've seen alternate endings. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But I think the one they picked was way better than all of them. I agree. I think less is more. Didn't remember that that was gonna be the ending because maybe I've seen all of them. Maybe you saw the others. Yeah, but I did like I do like the one they picked. Yeah. I I think I think it's the creepy vibe of what you don't see. Agree. That is because your imagination gets the best of you. Yeah. Yeah. Um, the actors actually, you know, speaking back to improv, they were told to stay in character. So, like, they're not themselves in in Blair Witch. They have their names, but they created their whole character, you know, whatever. So they said stay in character the whole time you're filming. Um, Joshua Leonard said this tensions got high, we got hungry, we got uncomfortable, and we hurt each other's feelings. So we came up with a safe word for whenever we had to break character and remind ourselves this was just a job. You know what their safe word was? Let me think. Um, I don't know. Taco. Okay. But he said they regretted that by about day three because it kept reminding them how hungry they were. Right. Right.
SPEAKER_01:One of my notes is when they're putting the food in the cart and it's like the cinnamon. Oh, yeah. Yeah. And they like zoom in on cinnamon, and I was like, ew, but also spooky. I don't know why. Cinnamon spooky? Yeah, kind of. I don't know. It's it's fall spooky-ish. That's a funny case.
SPEAKER_02:Like, cinnamon's so scary.
SPEAKER_01:You guys don't know. She doesn't have cinnamon. Just I'm gonna just any insult I can throw at cinnamon, I'm going to you know what?
SPEAKER_02:I saw a funny like a pun costume that uh reminded me of cinnamon. This girl had on a bra over her clothes, and she had all these different spices in it, and it said spice for X. Oh, that's funny. That's funny. I love me a pun costume. All right, moving back on. Okay, so let's talk about. Did you look at the fake website I sent you? Yeah. Okay. So six months before the movie came out, which is a long time, or or was it before it came out, before the movie came out at Sundance, um, they had a whole fake website that came out. Wow. And y'all have to remember this was in the late 90s. This was just in the beginning where the general public is starting to be online. Yes. Okay. So not everybody was, and not everybody could be online every day. It costs money every minute you were online, like and even fewer people had the ability to know how to do a website. Yes, exactly. So um they had this whole website. You can still access it. We'll put the link in our show notes. Okay. And um, you can still access, I don't know how they did this, that it's still in its original format. Maybe they just redid it. But um, so many people thought it was real because again, six months before the movie comes out, that's a long time. That um a New York police officer who used to work in Maryland contacted the filmmakers and said he would help them find look into this disappearance. What because of the website, yeah, not because of the movie, right? Yeah. So, of course, they had to tell them, like, oh, it's fake. This is our this is like our marketing plan, et cetera, et cetera. I mean, they created an entire mythology about the Blair Witch. The Blair Witch myth did not exist. They created it, it's not like some lore from anywhere. They made it all up. Um, they had pictures, they had background. You can you can see it, and this is also in their fake documentary. They came up with all this lore, plus they had all this information about the quote unquote disappeared filmmakers. Yeah, they had pictures of Heather and Josh and Mike and all this information about them. Um, and this created this whole scariness before the film even came out. Right. And they so the website was first. Okay, then they had the documentary. Um, a little while after that, the website created so much buzz at the Sundance Film Festival that at the very first screening, there was a line around the block of people waiting to see it. Wow, that is some wild marketing. I know, like wildly good marketing. Um, once it premiered at Sundance, artisan saw like all the hype and they bought it. So Artisan Entertainment bought the movie and the rights to it. Um, so once they bought it at the Sundance, they tried to play into that real life angle as much as they could, which is when they made the fake documentary that was on sci-fi channel. Artisan did? Yes. That makes sense. Um, they told the actors not to be at the film premieres, they were even listed as um presumed dead on IMDB. Or I guess it's like presumed deceased.
SPEAKER_01:What? Yeah. Yeah. Are there a lot of people presumed deceased on IMDb?
SPEAKER_02:I don't know. What? Yeah. And their parents started getting like phone calls of condolences and like cards and stuff because they really thought they people were dead. Even their even their family friends thought they were dead. Oh my gosh. Or presumed dead. Um, a week before the film's relief. Okay, I was trying to remember the timeline. The fake documentary was released a week before the film came out in theaters. Okay. Okay, which is smart because you I remember watching it and then we went and saw it soon after. And you don't have as much time to vet it.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Like the average person couldn't have anyway, because of the resource resources available on the internet, which weren't many. But like a journalist could dig in or something like that.
SPEAKER_02:But if they only have a week, right, they're not gonna figure it all out in time. And and it they labeled it as nonfiction. I don't I don't get that. That's a lie, right? I mean, yeah, yeah. But they labeled it as nonfiction, it was on the sci-fi channel, and granted, guys, this was before streaming. So it was gonna they advertise it was gonna come on on this day at this time, and that was it. That was your chance to watch it, unless you videotaped it or whatever. I can't do we have did we have these like uh like Teams TiVo or whatever then? I don't think we did yet. I don't think so. I think that was early 2000s. I think you're right. Uh so anyway, they it's called The Curse of the Blair Witch. You can find it on YouTube. I sent the link to Katie. Yeah, um you can rent it on Amazon, which I think is what I did. Well, I know.
SPEAKER_01:I actually watched it on YouTube. I actually watched Blair Witch on YouTube too. Oh, you did? Yeah. Look at that. I rented it. I well, it was I had to pay for it.
SPEAKER_02:But normally I pay on Amazon for you.
SPEAKER_01:I don't know. I think because I watched what you sent me on.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, and it was like you're already there. And it like showed me, and I was like, so I thought maybe it was free. So I clicked on it and it was like, no, it's$1.99 or something.
SPEAKER_01:I was like, okay.
unknown:Ah.
SPEAKER_02:So I just watched it on there. Well, there you go, guys. You good job, YouTube, you got me. Way to go. They got two more dollars. You always get Katie with a with a quick convenience of just two dollars, click, got it. You but they got me too, so whatever. All right. The act the actors actually they they didn't here's the thing they didn't like make them stay, but they advised them strongly to lay low for months, months. So people didn't know they were alive and they didn't want them to know they were actors, right? Okay, so financially they were like, well, it'll be worth it because um there's like all this buzz already. It's gonna be so great. But unfortunately, the opposite happened to them. Oh. Well, you gotta think. They were told to lay low for months, so they couldn't work. Right. Okay. They didn't get any a lot of money up front, they did get paid a little bit, so they have to stay in hiding. What are like they're what are they doing? And then they got they got super screwed on um their images being used. I'm just gonna tell you that now. Um, a funny effect of this movie coming out, the 1999-2000 hunting season was um actually suffered really badly due to this film, which for people who love animals are like, yay, but sometimes hunting helps overpopulation as well. Um, the movie was so popular that fans all over the country were hiking into the wilderness to shoot their own documentaries about whatever. So as a result, um, most of the wildlife was scared and didn't come out. And so I got you. Hunters couldn't hunt. It wasn't that hunters were scared and not hunting. Oh, no, no, no. It was because so many people were trying to other people were out there, therefore, animals are scared, therefore, nothing to hunt. Right. Got it. So, I mean, on one hand, if you love animals, you're like, Yay, but then on the other hand, I don't know if that caused an overpopulation problem. I don't know. Who knows? I don't like hunting, I think it's awful and terrible. So that's just my personal opinion. All right, moving on. I like to throw those PSAs in. You're like, and here we go. And just forget I started. Here we go. We're gonna talk about some of the shitty stuff that happened to these actors. I can just imagine. I I've never I've never heard this for sure, so I'm excited to hear. No, it's not good. Okay, it's not good. Okay, so the when the film hit 100 mil at the box office, Artisan, instead of sending the actors some big nice check, they sent them all a fruit basket. What? Yeah, I know. Um, they still when it hit 100 million, the actors still had not received a solitary dollar from Artisan at all. Wow. Yes. Um, but here's the thing they signed no contracts about their rights and all that, except for that one little thing I told you. They were not part of a union, and they were not compensated fairly for their work and the success that really they created mostly by themselves. I mean, they weren't just the actors, they were the crew. I mean, they weren't the entire crew, but you know what I'm saying. They they they filmed and did sound, they were kind of the writers too. Exactly. Um, Heather Donahue told a story in an interview about how her 1984 Toyota broke down on her way to a temp job right underneath a giant billboard advertising the movie. Wow. Yep. And then Michael C. Williams said his wife had a check bounce at the grocery store while the movie was sitting at number one in the box office. That's nuts. I I hate that so much. Yeah, it's really bad. And the actors, I I have more on this in a minute, have a lot of not good feelings about this movie. So I felt kind of shitty that I like watched it again. Right. Because every time we watch it, they're not anyway. And I paid to watch it. I know. So that's just a little bit of that. After Artisan dropped the whole Are They Really Dead, like I don't want to say persona, but vibe they had created. Um the actors started hitting the press circuit, doing interviews, going on things. Their sudden fame kind of made their uh slender bank accounts much more obvious because they're still not getting paid. Now they got paid for appearances and stuff, but that's not that much. No. Um, so Heather said in a quote, I had an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer where I said something like, I am the poorest famous person in America right now. And Artisan reached out to tell me I couldn't say that. Well, because you gotta think, they artisan, they had no binding ties to the actors, they didn't sign a contract with them, right? And they're, you know, I mean, if they were doing the right thing, but this is capitalism and business, and people are not nice. So they did at the end of the summer in '99. I know you're about to say something, but let me say this because it might answer your question. The actors received a modest performance bump, but it was in the low five figures. Ooh. Yeah. Um, casting directors bypassed them as actors because they thought they were themselves in the movie. It was very confusing because they used their own name, but they had created a character. Right. Right. But they thought that was them as a person. Right. So they weren't watching it. Casting directors weren't like, wow, they did a really good acting job. Right. It's like they were just them. Right, exactly. So it kind of hurt them trying to keep pursuing their careers. Right. Plus, they had been on hold for all these months making no money. Jeez. You know, and thinking it like running up credit card debt, thinking, oh, well, hey, I'm gonna get these big checks, I'm gonna be okay. Right. And then it's not happening. Yeah. Um, so when merch was released for the sequel, the following year, they were using the actors' images and not compensating for that. Oof. Um, they didn't have permission, they didn't give them any, you know, royalties, but they were using their faces um in the movie. So on the eve of the um October 2000 release of Blair Witch 2, which by the way wasn't that long after the first one came out, um, Heather rallied up the other two guys to sue Artisan. And um, three years later, it took that long in February 2004, they arrived at a$300,000 settlement that would be paid to each of them over several years, which is really nowhere close to the estimated$35 to$40 million that was earned by Hackson Films just in that year. Wow. Um, Hackson was the production company the directors founded. Right. Just to remind you. Um, their images were also no longer allowed to be used, supposedly. Yeah. They still did. How do you enforce that? Exactly. So you were gonna say something, but I wanted to say that.
SPEAKER_01:I don't remember what it was.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, I'm sorry. Don't worry. No, it's okay. I you might have covered it. That might be why. Um, so that's shitty. And then in then just last year in 2024, Lionsgate, who bought Artisan or acquired them in 2003, so Lionsgate took over for Artisan. This is where it gets even yuckier. They announced they were gonna reboot the Blair Witch project for its 25th anniversary. Um, all three letters, I mean, all three actors were pissed, and they wrote an open letter to them requesting meaningful consultation when they did it, um, and requesting radioactive and residual payments equivalent to the sum that would have been allotted through if they were with a union through Sag or Aftra. Um, had we proper union or legal representation when the film was made. Because think about it, they were broke college kids. Yeah, they're like, oh yeah, let's do this independent film. Okay, cool, whatever. Not thinking. Right, I should probably protect myself in case. So it sucks because part of it's on them. Yes, technically, but like Yes and no. But the directors made their bank, right? They were pocketing all kinds of money and they sure weren't hurting. Yeah, I mean, they ended up selling the whole entire film. Correct. Um, I mean, yeah, it's a good reminder in telling our kids protect yourself and your creation. Get a, no matter what it is.
SPEAKER_01:I mean, even with like my book that I'm doing, I I I this is unusual, but I was signed without an agent because of how I found them through a friend who publishes with them. Yeah. And I had to get representation a different way. I didn't necessarily need an agent because I didn't need someone to help me get published, but I needed someone to help me with like the fine print and stuff. Oh yeah. And it's easy enough to just be like, oh, they seem nice, and I'm just gonna, you know, but it's like that's fine, maybe they are, but but be safe, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Be safe because you do like artists deserve to get paid. Period. Um, anyway, and it then it didn't help their career, it hurt them actually. Um, so okay, speaking of the movies directors, the directors and producers had their own little financial settlement from Artisan. Of course, they made pretty much they declined to comment on the actor statements besides just generic things. So this is the last thing they said in 2024. Um, 25 years later, who would have thought we'd still be talking about the Blair Witch Project, a film made by a group of total Hollywood outsiders. We are hopeful Heather, Josh, and Mike find a satisfying conclusion to their conversations with Lionsgate. For us, this anniversary provides an exciting opportunity to celebrate the movie and legacy with fans. Okay. Yuck. How about pay them? Yeah, instead of we hope they all figured it out independent of us, like make a statement. I know. Be like it's successful in large part because of these three. Exactly. Let's give them what they deserve. Exactly. And so we're gonna talk more about our our feelings on the movie and and like just the movie itself because I want to get all this out of the way before we jump back into the front. So I'm gonna tell you what they're doing now. Okay, all right. So Michael, Mike, Michael C. Williams, he actually left the entertainment world in the late 2000s and he became a high school guidance counselor. But he actually did recently uh come back to acting last year, so he's starting to dabble his feet in the acting world again. Um, but that's what's going on with him. Joshua Leonard, he is the only one that did stay working in the movie world um since Blair Witch as an actor and a filmmaker, despite all the chaos. He still kept working. Okay. Heather has had the more interesting path. Uh oh. So she left acting in 2008. She became a medical marijuana grower. Wow. Which she chronicled in a book she wrote in 2012 called Grow Girl. I love it. Um, she changed her name actually in 2020 to Ray Hant, R-E-I, H A N C E, because she wanted to further distance herself from the Blair Witch project. Okay. Um, I just referenced her by the name that people went by in interviews. So anyway, that's anyway, that is now her. Official legal name. She actually moved to Freedom, Maine and worked in local politics, but she had a little uh kerfuffle. Uh, in April of this year, she was removed from her appointed position on the town's select board. I don't know what that is. Okay. Due to residents saying that she violated the town charter because she um spray painted 25 to 30 orange blazes on trees along a local road that is the subject of a larger um municipal dispute. They said she was using it for her own political statement. Okay. I don't know what she was protesting, something about trees and roads. And so she was doing it out of protest. That's what they were saying. And they were like, you're supposed to not, like, you're using your position. You're like being neutral. She had some other stuff people didn't like, but that's what got her uh removed. Sometimes it's the most mundane things. I'm not saying that like spray painting trees is like fine, don't worry about it, but like it's just like of all the things that could unseat you from a position. But 30 trees, that's a lot on like a big main road, and you're supposed to be, I don't know, whatever. You know, people gonna be people in those old local towns and HOEs wanna be. If that's like their biggest problem, then good for them. I know. Hey. So okay, that was all the yucky. I had to just get out of the way before we go back and we can just talk about them as a tell me your thoughts that we haven't covered. Um wait two kids out of two. Oh, I'll wait until the end. I was gonna ask you your rating, but I'll ask you at the end when we're done.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, yes, okay. Okay, I just said the fashion and the hair are very 1994. Oh my god. I for real. Like so much. Oh, you didn't really touch on it, but like the other people that they interviewed at the beginning, the townspeople, who were they?
SPEAKER_02:They were actors. They were paid. Okay, so they were like paid actors. So I have notes on this. Hold on a second. Okay, yes. Wait a minute. There weren't that many. There were like so I took notes. The lady with the kid. Yeah. Hold on, I have that. Um, the movie used a mix of townspeople and paid actors. Um, the three main actors, they were not told who was who. Okay. Like um, after direct the director kind of planted the actors amongst real-life townspeople to give it a realistic film. Um, I'm trying to see. So I think the lady was an actor. The older lady? The one with the kid. The one with the kid was an actor. And the old man, I think, was an actor. He seemed like an actor to me. Uh of the three. Yeah. I'm sure the older lady was too. So some of them said, some of them were real townspeople that they just told them what was going on. Okay. Which was really, they're all actors pretty much, but some of them were pro professional actors.
SPEAKER_01:Correct. Some of them were probably hired. Yeah. And some of them were just like, hey, if they talk to you, here's what the premise is. Okay. That was my question. Oh, they were talking about how the witch or whatever, or the guy killed it was the guy who killed two kids at a time.
SPEAKER_02:Uh-huh. But then they said seven kids died. Weird, right? Yeah. Well, that he would take them two at a time. And one escaped. Yeah. That's what it was. One got away, which is how they knew. Well, you know what? They talked about that more in the fake documentary. Okay. Okay. One of them escaped and got away and told them what he did. Got it. Okay. That makes sense. Yeah. Um, oh, when they're drinking the scotch in the hotel room. I know. That was, I mean, obviously they were probably. They really did get touched. Yeah. Scotch. Oh, scotch is terrible. So the funny thing is today, too, in that documentary, you know how they had the fake news clips? Yes. So in Curse of the Blair, where it's a fake documentary, those got me because they sound, they seemed so real. Yeah. And I was like, why did I think that was so real? Like, you can't fake an a news clip. Yeah. Like, I was like, you can't say you totally can't. But I remember my sister and I watching it being like, oh my God, see, Brandon, it's on the news. Whatever news this is. But again, that's a product of the time because you can't you couldn't go online and find news. No. Like daily news. Going like online with a certain time the news came on. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Same with your newspaper. Yeah. The newspaper came at a certain time or you could it printed at a certain time of day. And that was that was it till the next one. I know. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:So that's wild. That's wild to think about. Uh they had a reference to deliverance in the hotel room. That was kind of fun.
SPEAKER_01:Uh, the first time you see that Blair Witch like cross wooden thing hanging in the woods. So scary. That was really scary. And then uh, I already said the camera work made me a little dizzy, and then the iconic part with her face and the flashlight. Oh, and then I just said this is kind of my last note on on this is that I said, so kind of at the end, it felt like they were blaming Heather.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, and you were supposed to feel like that. And so that was my thought when you said they added a woman. I'm like, oh, do we need someone to blame it on? So we're gonna add a woman. There is a lot of controversy about that. Is there? Uh-huh. And about how like she's kind of looked negatively upon because she's a woman in charge and she's so committed to her art. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And it made her look kind of bossy and like that reminded me of that Dawson's Creek when there's like the woman making the film and Dawson's being the same way, but they make the woman look all I don't know. So that it didn't really hit me till the end, and I was like, oh, I see. So now we are supposed to walk away and be like, Well, it was all Heather's fault. Right.
SPEAKER_02:Well, and there was supposed to be a romance storyline too, but it didn't didn't follow through. I'm glad there was. I know. I was like, I'm so glad that didn't pan out because uh yeah, and I really didn't I didn't like Mike.
SPEAKER_01:I don't know.
SPEAKER_02:I know we weren't supposed to like, I mean, they did a good job making all of them a little bit unlikable because if anyone was in the position they were, especially as it went on, you you would become unlikable if they did because you would be hungry and tired. Hungry worse. When I'm hangry, oh my god, yeah, and like the like the worst of like human nature. Yeah, the worst of you comes out and dyes. So you're supposed to, you're not supposed to like think they're great or heroic or anything like that. Um, but I I don't know, I really enjoyed it.
SPEAKER_01:Uh, it's it's hard for me to give it a rating now, though, that I know all the yucky stuff because now I feel negative. Well, I think it's okay.
SPEAKER_02:We have to just let the art stand alone. Okay. That's why I was like, I wanted to get that out of the way and then go back and remember. Because I think it's, you know, it sucks because they were treated like crap, they did get some compensation, but a little too late. Right. And not an not what they should have gotten for what they did. I agree with you. Um, but I mean, the movie in itself, I feel like is this cultural touch point in the horror genre, especially. Um, and it is, I mean, there's all these iconic moments, and I think for people who weren't alive then or weren't old enough to understand that you could not do this again. Right. It just that's why the sequel was crappy. The whole air of mystery surrounding it was what made it so interesting. Yeah. I agree with you. Even once you knew it was fake, right? You were like, I can't believe we just thought that was real. You know what I'm saying? Totally. And like the collective public, y'all, like the collective public, because this was during a time, it was the last era of a time where entertainment was kind of in this what do you call it? That word where we um everybody was kind of watching the same things more so. More mainstream, more mainstream, and it was not as many things to watch or ways to watch, or ways, like I said, the documentary came out a week before, the average person in a week wouldn't be able to figure out that it was fake. Right. It'd be hard for a journalist to do at that time, let alone like who have resources and time committed to it.
SPEAKER_00:Right.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. Was anyone ever sued for false advertising or anything like that? Uh uh. I mean, nothing that I really like. I guess it didn't really like hurt anyone. No. Nothing that I found. I I couldn't find anything about that. But I was like, that again, that could never happen today. Right. You would never be able to say something was nonfiction. Mm-hmm. That documentary. Did anybody? I mean, I'm sure people did, but did you in your reading find anything where the three actors were kind of like villainized? Oh, yeah, for sure. Yeah. I mean for pretending to be missing or whatever. Yeah. I mean, they they of course you can think of all kinds of different things people had to say. And then when they were vocal about not getting compensated, people thought they were being shitty too because they were like, oh well, like you didn't sign any rights, you didn't have any protection. Which I hate. I know. I hate, especially for young people. Because they were in college, they were college kids.
SPEAKER_01:Well, and it's like a David and Goliath. Like you're up against this like multi million billion dollar company and like an average person who just had a check bounce at the grocery store.
SPEAKER_02:Like, come on. Well, it's not the same fight. I think as humans, we want to we want to believe in the good of other people. Sure. So as a young person thinking, well, okay, the likelihood of something big happening is not high. But if it is, they'll they'll make sure I'm okay. Of course. You know, I would think that. I am even a natural-born realist erring on the side of pessimists, and I would even think that. Sure. Well, and they did not age and they did sign something. They did, but it it was not what it should have been. Right. But in their minds, correct. They signed it right, right? So but again, without a union either or a lawyer or some sort of sort of representative to kind of back that up. It's nothing. Yeah. I I don't yeah.
SPEAKER_01:I think I might give it a five.
SPEAKER_02:Oh my god, y'all heard it here for me. I think I'm I think I'm gonna give Blair Witch project my first five. Whoa.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. I love it. And I think it's the perfect amount of a moment in time, yeah, plus good acting slash improvisation, plus scary.
SPEAKER_02:And I like that you don't see the witch and you don't see everything, and it's kind of like you're battling it in your brain, and it also moves quickly. Like I think it's just the perfect length, too much longer. It would just be like, okay, we get it. And each scene kind of like moves quickly into the next, and uh the editing was really good. Yeah, I'm gonna give it a five, guys. All right, look at that. I'm gonna get I give it a five, too, which is not surprising, but uh well, yes, I give it a 4.8 because Lost Boys gets my five. But okay, that's fair. That's fair. I I will say I think the scariest part of this whole movie is that what you don't see and it plays on the whole concept of being lost in the dark in the woods, and the boogeyman is after you.
SPEAKER_01:I was thinking that when I was watching that, like it's like even if there was no Blair Witch lore, right, and you're just lost in the woods, and you don't know how to get out, and day goes into day goes into day, like that is terrifying. Terrifying.
SPEAKER_02:Let alone if you think there's a spirit out there or something after you, or you know, like one person in their group is now missing, like what happened to them? And I think it it does a good job playing on the very human things that we could maybe put ourselves in those shoes.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, for real.
SPEAKER_02:Getting lost or something. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Especially at that time, because like you said, no, our GPS wasn't what it is today, cell service wasn't what it was where we could just look stuff up and figure out where we are. But technology was decent, and when they went out in there, they trusted that. They trusted that it would be no problem finding their way back out. Well, they had a map.
SPEAKER_02:Well, yeah, well, until the river, but I told you I hate Mike. What a jerk. Mike, I think you're supposed to like they're losing it. They're cruising because he laughs about kicking the map, right? They're losing it, which is gonna happen. They're tired, they're hungry, they're terrified. You're gonna start losing your mind, and then all this scary shit happens, and then and then one of them disappears, and then they hear him screaming.
SPEAKER_01:Like, yeah, if they did a good job on playing on like the real real stuff that you could be like, I could see that happening, and then the supernatural stuff combining.
SPEAKER_02:And even as a watcher going, Well, are they just hearing things because they haven't had enough to eat and they're tired and they're exhausted and scared? Or like, is there something they're hearing? I know, you know.
SPEAKER_01:So I just thought it was really, really did a good job. I really liked it, and I can't believe I'm gonna say this. I would probably watch it again.
SPEAKER_02:I know, I would probably watch it again, and maybe I will. Now I will say this. So this is the first time you rewatched it since nine like it came out, yeah. Unless it was like on TV in college or something, but yeah. So it's been a while, yeah. So last year, Troy and I rewatched this because I I want to say he he had never seen it. Okay, and so we watched it and it was and we watched it at night with all the lights off, and it was so terrifying. It was still super terrifying. Yeah. This time I watched it in the daytime by myself, and I just it wasn't as scary. It it the effect it was still good, the effect was not there. So I've already watched it, but I'm gonna give it a few years. Okay, because and I do think watching it during the day takes away some of the fun. It does, it really does. I really think a scary movie needs to be in the dark at night.
SPEAKER_01:Totally, it does not have the same uh like and scary movies, and this is coming from me who has been watching them all basically this way. Scary movies aren't the same when you watch by yourself.
SPEAKER_02:They're not. I can watch some films like dramas or even comedies and really enjoy them, just like on my own. But I think a scary movie is meant to be shared. Yeah. Because you feed off the energy of the people you're with or their reactions or jump scares or whatever. And so when you're watching it alone, it's kind of like it's like me, it's like, I don't know, I guess I'm scared. Should I be scared? Because if the person next to you seems scared, then you're more scared, you know. So it it's definitely not the same experience watching it uh without someone. It's not, but I think, oh, I did write. Heather can do some good screams. Oh she's a good screamer, she's a really good screamer. I'm not a great screamer, but I I be screaming on roller coasters. And listen, I can't, I don't I try so hard not to because it's so bad for your voice. Yeah, but I can't help it, and I curse so loud on roller coasters. In fact, people, I went on that stupid velocicoaster. I love velocicoaster, so I'm scared of heights, okay, which makes you think I would hate roller coasters. I like I like them, but you have to go through the fast the high stuff fast. And I've realized I don't like going upside down anymore. Okay, I really if it's one or tw once or twice like on rock and roller coaster at Hollywood Studios, I'm alright with that. But that fucking Velocicoaster, y'all. I promise my family, I was like, I will go on it one time. I'm staying there and I'm like, that is so high. Because it is really high, it's very high. So we're on this Velocicoaster. I don't know who I'm sitting next to. Um well, I think it's seeds four, so I was probably in the middle. Literally, I'm screaming, I fucking hate y'all. I was like, I'm never going on this fucking ride again, like screaming the whole time. The people in front of me, I can hear them laughing because I'm loud. Yeah, I'm screaming, I my back hurt. I was like, that's it. You're dizzying, guys.
SPEAKER_01:So I when I get scared on roller coasters, and my family knows this because they're very embarrassed by it. I just start laughing and I can't stop. Oh, that's great. And so I laugh really loud and maniacally, and then I'll just say random stuff. Oh, see? So we were on, I don't even know what it was. It might have just been Manta or something at SeaWorld. It wasn't like crazy scary or anything, but it was a roller coaster.
SPEAKER_02:And just I'm laughing because once I get started, I can't stop, and then you can't breathe because you're on a roller coaster.
SPEAKER_01:So now I'm like, like, sounds crazy. We get to like the top and it pauses for a second, and I just went, CWR. What? We like keep going and I start laughing again, and we get off, and my kids are like, Why did you scream CWorld? I was like, I don't know.
SPEAKER_02:Well, it's like one of those when you're uh just in the emotions or the feeling of something, and you just say stuff. I think I was trying to break up the laughing so I could breathe. That's hilarious. So I just like screamed the first thing that came to mind. That's so funny. See, curse words come to my mind. That's what happens. And then I just start laughing again. It's it's it's Troy laughs. Troy laughs on roller coasters. He's a laugher, I'm a screamer. My kids could just be like cool as cucumbers. Yeah, just like enjoy it, enjoy they just be chilling. Yeah, they just be chilling, not me. I am no, then they hate sitting next to me because I am so loud and scream the whole time. They hate it. They're like, I'm not sitting with mom. You dad, you ride with mom. They hate it. Oh, that's so good. But anyway, so she was a good screamer, and you gave this a five. I gave it a five. Amazing. Thank you for making my spooky season Blair Witch project. Okay, I love it. I love it. I just I just think again, I've said this like four times, but it was a moment in time. Oh, definitely, that you cannot repeat, and that's what makes it so interesting. So I think if you if you've never seen it, go watch the fake documentary first, okay? Curse of the Blair Witch. Watch that and keep in your brain that the general public was watching this a week before the movie came out. You could look up on IMTB difficultly, because it was internet in the late 90s, and see, like if you were trying to fact check, you would see that they're listed as deceased, presumed deceased or whatever, or maybe it just said deceased, I don't know. You would believe this, and it had their quote unquote family in there. Those were actors, by the way. Um, their best friends and all this stuff. You would think that was real. So watch that first and keep that in your brain, then watch the movie and think all these people went and saw this thinking it was real, thinking this was real. I remember my stepbrother being like, okay, their family would never release like this footage. If they're truly missing, right. And we don't know. It was like they would not, and I was like, well, maybe they want it solved or they want to let people know, which is what the spin they put on it. They also they're grown adults, like if they signed off on it, well their family can't stop it. Right. I mean, that's like I mean, to get more like the Jeffrey Dahmer, like um, even the series that came out, those families of victims are super upset because they weren't even consulted. But again, commercialism, capitalism, well, that's a little other. They don't have to consult them. I know, I don't like that. That's gross because that's real life victim. This is at least fake. Yeah, I mean, this is fake. That is real life, and I don't like that. So I don't like it either. But um, yeah, so watch, go watch the fake documentary, then rewatch it, and let us know if you think it's good or not.
SPEAKER_01:Let us know if you think it's a five. Wow. I don't know why I said that. CWORLED. So gone. C World. I feel at least like get out of here. Oh, you can see, I shouldn't have put that behind my ear. We have wig problems. We do. Oh, we got 99 wig problems, but oh okay. But it's worth it. But it's worth it. We we love it. Um, well, thank you for all that amazing uh research, and we will see you guys uh back here. We got one more spooky season.
SPEAKER_02:And we're gonna talk about Halloween memories. I had an idea and I'm gonna say it right now so we don't forget. Okay. So you got a bunch of pictures, right, from your childhood when you went home. I do. So find some Halloween pictures. Okay. And we're gonna bring those and then that'll that will lead our discussion. Okay, I love it. We're not doing research. We're just gonna talk about our trick-or-treat. Oh, I've got some good ones. I'll write down, even if they're not in the pictures, I've got some I'll write down. Okay. Well, we're just gonna talk about trick-or-treating in the 80s. Okay. And early 90s. Or as I say, some of mine might be early 90s. In early 90s, that's fine. We're just gonna talk about trick-or-treating. So, how it's different, our memories. So bring pictures. Okay. And that's what we're gonna do next time. It's gonna be a good time. I can't wait. I know. All right, good. And um, don't forget, we're bringing costumes for each other.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, I can't. I'm literally next week's one. And because we are off off a week, we are actually we'll we'll get it to you in time for Halloween.
SPEAKER_02:Let's put it that way. Right? Because we're recording early next week. I don't think we I don't think it matters. Doesn't matter because it's and it'll just be memories. That's fine. Because we're talking about memories. Yeah, I think it's fine. Remember Halloween? It was Friday. Okay, I like that. I think that's fine. Okay, keep the spoogie season going even longer. Why not, guys? Why not? Okay, sounds good.
SPEAKER_01:All right, thanks for tuning in, and we will see you next time on Generation in Between. Bye.
Podcasts we love
Check out these other fine podcasts recommended by us, not an algorithm.
You're Wrong About
Sarah Marshall