Donahue: [ BREATHING HEAVILY ]
Leonard: OH, MY GOD!
THERE'S REALLY TWO FILMS THAT YOU HAVE TO TALK ABOUT --
THE FILM THAT CAME OUT INTO THE WORLD
AND WAS MASSIVELY SUCCESSFUL AND MADE ALL THIS MONEY
AND HAD LOVERS AND HATERS AND MAGAZINE COVERS.
THE FILM THAT WE MADE
WAS A BUNCH OF SCRAPPY KIDS FROM THE EAST COAST.
WE KIND OF CAME FROM OUT OF LEFT FIELD
WITH PRACTICALLY NO RESOURCES AND A COOL IDEA
AND JUST BROKE DOWN ALL THE WALLS.
Sánchez: SOMETHING THAT WE HAD NEVER EXPECTED.
IT WAS LIKE THE BIGGEST GIFT YOU COULD EVER GET, TIMES 100.
Myrick: IT WAS LIKE THE DREAM. IT WAS A DREAM COME TRUE FOR US.
Sánchez: WE WERE KIND OF LIKE THE POSTER CHILDREN
FOR THE AMERICAN DREAM THROUGH THE LENS OF INDEPENDENT FILM.
Donahue: [ SCREAMING ]
Myrick: YOU KNOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE CREDIT US
WITH KIND OF INVENTING THE FOUND-FOOTAGE GENRE,
AND I DON'T BELIEVE WE DID.
WE CERTAINLY HELPED POPULARIZE IT.
Sánchez: THAT WAS THE ONLY WAY TO TELL THE STORY.
YOU KNOW, IT WAS LIKE, "OKAY.
"THERE'S THIS FOOTAGE THAT'S UNCOVERED.
SO, OKAY, HOW DID THEY SHOOT THE FOOTAGE?"
Hale: I HAD BEEN THROUGH SURVIVAL SCHOOL
WHEN I WAS IN THE ARMY
AND SORT OF CAME UP WITH THE IDEA OF,
"WHY DON'T WE JUST GIVE THE CAMERAS TO THE ACTORS
"AND RUN THEM THROUGH, LIKE, A GIANT FILM OBSTACLE COURSE
"WHERE THE STORY KIND OF TELLS ITSELF
"THROUGH THE THINGS THAT WE PUT THEM THROUGH
AND LET THEM RECORD IT."
Donahue: I WAS REALLY EXCITED ABOUT HOW THEY WERE GONNA DO IT
BECAUSE IT MEANT THAT IT WAS JUST THE THREE OF US ACTORS
PRETTY MUCH MAKING THE MOVIE.
WE KNEW IT WAS GONNA BE IMPROVISED.
WE KNEW THAT WE WOULD KIND OF GET INFORMATION AS WE NEEDED IT
BECAUSE ED AND DAN WANTED US REACTING NATURALLY
TO WHAT WAS ACTUALLY HAPPENING.
Williams: THEY TOLD US UP FRONT, "LOOK, THE FIRST DAY,
"YOU'RE GONNA HAVE A SANDWICH, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE A BANANA,
"YOU'RE GONNA HAVE A DINNER.
"AND EVERY DAY, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE A LITTLE LESS.
"SO BY THE END, YOU'RE NOT GONNA STARVE,
"BUT YOU'RE GONNA BE HUNGRY.
"WE WANT TO MAKE THIS UNCOMFORTABLE FOR YOU.
WE WANT TO MAKE THIS BELIEVABLE."
HELP US!
Donahue: THIS IS NOT THE WAY TO GET OUT OF HERE.
Myrick: IT WAS A DIFFICULT FILM TO EDIT
JUST BECAUSE WHEN YOU LOOK AT ALL THAT FOOTAGE WE SHOT,
ALL THE RAW MATERIAL,
THERE'S A LOT OF GREAT PERFORMANCES IN THERE, YOU KNOW,
WHICH IS A CREDIT TO THE ACTORS,
BUT DOESN'T NECESSARILY ADD TO THE PLOT.
SO, YOU KNOW, AT THE END OF ABOUT A YEAR,
WE HELD OUR OWN TEST SCREENING
AND WHITTLED IT DOWN AND WHITTLED IT DOWN.
Hale: THERE'S ALL THESE MOMENTS OF AMAZEMENT FOR ME
WITH "THE BLAIR WITCH."
Donahue: [ Voice breaking ] I AM SO, SO SORRY.
Hale: BUT THEN, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE'D GET INTO SUNDANCE,
THEN, LIKE, THE REALLY KIND OF "WHAT THE HELL" MOMENTS
START HAPPENING.
Sánchez: IT WAS LIKE A THURSDAY NIGHT, I THINK.
SOMEBODY CALLED FROM SUNDANCE,
AND HE WAS LIKE, "OH, YEAH,
"WE WANT YOU TO PLAY IN THE FESTIVAL,
AND WE WANT YOU TO BE PART OF THE MIDNIGHT SECTION."
I HUNG UP WITHOUT GETTING ANY INFORMATION.
I WAS LIKE, "ALL RIGHT. YEAH. ALL RIGHT.
I'LL CALL BACK," WHATEVER.
AND I WAS LIKE, "WE GOT IN!"
AND IT WAS JUST LIKE THIS CRAZY CELEBRATION.
Myrick: WE STARTED GETTING PHONE CALLS FROM AGENTS.
WE STARTED GETTING PHONE CALLS FROM ATTORNEYS.
WE STARTED GETTING PHONE CALLS LIKE,
"OH, WE HEARD YOU'RE IN SUNDANCE."
Sánchez: THERE WAS A LOT OF INTEREST.
THERE WAS A LOT OF PEOPLE ASKING QUESTIONS.
SO WE JUST KIND OF PUT UP THIS WEBSITE
WITH SOME FACTS ABOUT THE KIDS --
YOU KNOW, THE DISAPPEARANCE AND SOME PHOTOS --
AND KIND OF TREATED IT LIKE A REAL EVENT,
LIKE A REAL DISAPPEARANCE.
THE WEBSITE BECAME VERY POPULAR,
AND BY THE TIME WE WENT TO SUNDANCE,
WE HAD A MAILING LIST OF LIKE 10,000 MEMBERS,
WHICH WAS PRETTY HUGE FOR BACK IN THE DAY.
Hale: SO, I THINK ALL THAT VIBE
KIND OF, LIKE, FED REALLY WELL INTO SUNDANCE.
SO WE KIND OF ROLLED INTO SUNDANCE,
AND THERE WAS ALREADY THIS BUZZ ABOUT THE MOVIE.
Leonard: WE WERE ALL SO EXCITED FOR OUR PREMIERE AT MIDNIGHT.
AND WE COME AROUND THE CORNER FROM THE EGYPTIAN THEATER,
AND THERE'S THIS LONG ALLEY THAT'S THE WAITING AREA,
AND THAT ALLEY WAS COMPLETELY FULL.
THERE WAS HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE.
Sánchez: OUR AGENTS WERE TELLING US
THAT ALL THESE PEOPLE FROM ALL THESE COMPANIES WERE THERE.
PRETTY MUCH EVERYBODY THAT HAD THE ABILITY TO BUY A FILM
WAS AT THAT SCREENING.
AND THE SCREENING WENT REALLY WELL.
Myrick: EVERYBODY WAS TALKING ABOUT THE MOVIE.
EVERYBODY WAS EXCITED.
PEOPLE WERE COMING OUT -- "IS THIS REAL?"
YOU KNOW, SOME WERE ANGRY.
SOME WERE, LIKE, COMPLETELY --
LIKE, THEIR MOUTHS WERE HANGING OPEN.
Sánchez: AND THEN, AROUND 2:00 IN THE MORNING,
WE GOT A CALL,
AND THE ARTISAN PEOPLE WANTED TO TALK TO OUR LAWYERS
AND OUR REPRESENTATIVES.
Hale: AND THEY SAID, "WE WANT TO WANT TO BUY THE MOVIE."
YOU KNOW, "WE WANT TO BUY IT TONIGHT."
Myrick: AND THEN IT WAS CONFIRMED.
WE SOLD, AND NEXT MORNING, EVERYTHING CHANGED.
WE WERE DOING INTERVIEWS.
WE WERE BEING SHUTTLED AROUND AS THE FIRST SALE OF SUNDANCE.
AND BEFORE WE KNEW IT, WE WERE ON MAGAZINES
AND ARTICLES BEING WRITTEN UP.
WE HAD A VARIETY REPORTER
FOLLOWING US AROUND THE ENTIRE WEEK.
ALL KINDS OF CRAZY STUFF JUST HAPPENED.
Donahue: IT WAS THIS JUST CRAZY WHIRLWIND.
AND SO, WE WERE STILL KIND OF INVOLVED WITH IT AT THAT TIME.
THAT WAS BEFORE THEY REALIZED
THAT THEY WOULD HAVE A MUCH EASIER TIME MARKETING IT
IF WE WERE REALLY DEAD.
SO THEY DID THE BEST THEY COULD TO SIMULATE THAT.
WAS BASICALLY THE FIRST VIRAL MARKETING THAT EVER HAPPENED.
Sánchez: ONCE ARTISAN BOUGHT US, THEY TOOK THE WEBSITE DOWN.
THEY REDESIGNED IT, AND THEY PUT IT UP SECTION BY SECTION.
SO THEY KNEW THE POWER OF THAT WEBSITE,
AND I THINK THE WEBSITE WAS, YOU KNOW,
ONE OF THE MOST HIGHLY-TRAFFICKED WEBSITES
OF THAT YEAR.
Williams: THIS WAS SORT OF PRETTY CLOSE
TO THE DAWN OF INTERNET MARKETING FOR MOVIES.
AND YOU GOT THIS FILM THAT'S SHOT ON VIDEO,
SO IT LOOKS LIKE MINE AND YOUR HOME VIDEOS.
NOTHING EVER LOOKED LIKE THAT ON A BIG SCREEN BEFORE, EVER.
SO YOU HAVE ALL THESE ELEMENTS COMING INTO PLAY.
IT KIND OF JUST EXPLODED ALL OVER THE WORLD.
Myrick: WE PLATFORMED AND OPENED AT THE ANGELIKA
AND NUART HERE IN L.A.,
AND THERE WERE LINES AROUND THE BLOCK.
Sánchez: AND THEN, ONCE THAT FIRST WEEKEND CAME IN,
AND WE MADE LIKE $28 MILLION.
Myrick: THE FINAL BOX-OFFICE NUMBER --
I THINK IT WAS $140 OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT DOMESTIC
AND JUST UNDER $250 MILLION WORLDWIDE
AND, I THINK, STILL HOLDS THE RECORD
OF THE MOST-PROFITABLE FILM
RELATIVE TO ITS INITIAL INVESTMENT.
Sánchez: "BLAIR WITCH" IS DEFINITELY RESPONSIBLE
FOR THIS FOUND-FOOTAGE CRAZY.
Hale: RIGHT PLACE AND RIGHT TIME AT THE BEGINNING OF A SUBGENRE
THAT WOULD EVENTUALLY BECOME, I THINK,
A PRETTY ESTABLISHED SUBGENRE OF FILM.
Williams: I GUESS WE DID A GOOD-ENOUGH JOB WITH IT,
AND PEOPLE BIT INTO IT HARD AND BELIEVED IT.
THAT CREATED THIS SORT OF NEW GENRE OF FOUND FOOTAGE.
Sánchez: IT SHOWS THAT THE RIGHT IDEA CAN STILL BE AS BIG
AS ANYTHING HOLLYWOOD HAS TO OFFER.
Williams: THAT WAS THE GREAT THING ABOUT THIS MOVIE.
FILMMAKING HAS BECOME ACCESSIBLE NOW TO EVERYBODY.
AND THAT'S IMPORTANT.
Myrick: AS LONG AS YOU'VE GOT A STRONG CONCEPT
AND IT'S WELL-EXECUTED AND GOOD WRITING,
YOU CAN FIND AN AUDIENCE.
Leonard: AND I'M SO GLAD THAT WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY
TO BE AN EXAMPLE OF HOW THAT COULD ACTUALLY WORK.
WE WERE JUST MAKING THE FILM WE COULD WITH THE RESOURCES WE HAD
AND TRYING TO MAKE IT AS COOL AS POSSIBLE,
AND, YOU KNOW, FOR A MOMENT IN TIME,
MOVED ALL THE WAY TO FRONT OF THE LINE.
Hale: IT WAS AN AWESOME RIDE.
AND, YOU KNOW, IF I END UP BEING A ONE-HIT WONDER, I'LL TAKE IT.
Donahue: IT WAS TRULY INNOVATIVE AT ITS TIME.
IT WAS AN UNDERDOG MOVIE THAT TOOK BIG RISKS WITH A BIG HEART.
AND WHAT'S NOT TO ENJOY ABOUT THAT?