The Blair Witch Project

Trivia: There are 133 F-words in this movie.

Trivia: The first time they filmed the part with Josh's teeth and flannel in the sticks, the directors had left it outside the tent, not telling Heather. When she got up in the morning, she picked up the bundle of sticks and threw them off to the side without looking at it. They had to contact her and re-shoot it.

Trivia: Became the most profitable film based on return of investment on its theatrical run, excluding marketing costs. The return of investment is an amazing 354,614.29%, as the film had a production budget of $35,000 and grossed $248 million worldwide.

megamii

Trivia: Writers and directors Myrick and Sanchez were catapulted into stardom and prosperity due to the success of The Blair Witch Project. In an interview, the question was raised: exactly how rich were these two men? One responded, 'I'm not allowed to say, but I'm looking at houses for the first time in my life.'

Allister Cooper, 2011

Trivia: After its release in 1999, "The Blair Witch Project" went on to make a fantastic $250 million profit on its lowly $64,000 budget, largely due to the film's realism; audiences were chilled by the possibility that this "found footage" was the real thing. But any cable viewers who followed the Independent Film Channel (IFC) knew very well that "The Blair Witch Project" was a purely scripted work as far back as 1997, when "The Blair Witch Project" writer/director Daniel Myrick previewed a segment of the work-in-progress featuring an 8-minute "pitch" (comprised mainly of voice-overs and edited footage) on IFC's specialty program, "Split Screens." Audience feedback was later gathered through traditional test-screenings.

Charles Austin Miller

Trivia: The characters Heather and Josh, originally had a much more antagonistic relationship during filming, much like Heather and Mike do in the final film. However, most of Heather and Josh's arguments were cut during editing because the directors felt it came across as too mean-spirited to have both men constantly "ganging up" on Heather and arguing with her.

TedStixon

Trivia: When Heather screams "What the f*** is that?", you can't see anything in the darkness. This was unintentional. They had a crewmember wrapped head-to-toe in white, and as Heather ran by, he charged towards her. The theory was that in the dark, the cameras would only just barely see his white clothes, making him look like a spectral figure. But it was so dark the cameras didn't pick him up. The directors decided it was far scarier to not see anything, so they didn't reshoot it.

TedStixon

Trivia: The film was originally meant to be a full-on fake documentary, with the "found footage" only being part of it, and the rest of the film being interviews with family, friends, and authorities. However, the "found footage" was so chilling, the directors decided it would be the entire film. The original "fake documentary" concept was then turned into a tie-in TV special called "Curse of the Blair Witch," which aired around the same time the movie came out.

TedStixon

Trivia: Heather Donahue reportedly snuck a knife to set and would carry it on her because her family was convinced that the movie was secretly a snuff film, and were creeped out at the fact she'd be sharing a tent with two men she barely knew.

TedStixon

Trivia: The scene where all the actors realised they were walking in a circle all day was not in the original script. They were all really angry when they had found out they had walked all day for nothing.

Factual error: Notice at the beginning of the movie when they are loading their stuff, you see a 1997 or above Ford F-150 truck sitting at the house across the street. The movie takes place in 1994.

More mistakes in The Blair Witch Project

Heather Donahue: I just want to apologize to Josh's mom, and Mike's mom, and my mom. I am so sorry! Because it was my fault. I was the one who brought them here. I was the one that said "keep going south." I was the one who said that we were not lost. It was my fault, because it was my project. I am so scared! I don't know what's out there. We are going to die out here! I am so scared!

More quotes from The Blair Witch Project

Question: Why is it that we never see the Blair Witch? Also the cover is very convincing that this is a true story. Is it?

Answer: The Blair Witch does not exist. The reason you didn't see is it is an abstract concept. What you can't see is scarier because you make her up in your own mind. It is a complete hoax of a story. The three actors have been doing many other acting jobs since, especially Heather and Josh.

William Bergquist

More questions & answers from The Blair Witch Project

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