A STAR of an iconic horror movie looks worlds away from his film debut – 25 years on from starring in a movie that had fans ‘vomiting’ in the cinemas.
Michael C. Williams found fame back in 1999 when he was signed up to play one of the leading parts in the terrifying movie.
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The Blair Witch Project had its viewers rattled back in the late 90s thanks to its scary content and unique way of being filmed and produced in order to give off the effect the movie was a real recording from a handheld camera.
Michael played a ‘fictionalised’ version of himself in order to tie-in with the movie’s marketing campaign of the film being about real people who had gone missing or died.
25 years on from the release of the film and Michael looks worlds away from his time on the big-screen.
Once sporting a freshly-shaven look, he now sports a grey-bearded face after ditching his acting career in favour of a more ‘normal’ role.
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For those who have yet to see the horror classic, the movie will be aired in all of its glory on BBC One at 11:50pm.
It comes amid reports that the movie’s distributor is working on a reboot after setting the wheels in motion by securing a deal with horror movie giant Blumhouse Productions.
Michael failed to replicate the success of his time in The Blair Witch Project with other roles and soon switched career’s to become a qualified guidance counsellor in a school in the States.
At the time of the movie’s cinema release in 1999, audiences were left being sick in the cinema as a result of the “motion sickness” gained through watching the movie filmed on handheld cameras.
There were reports of cinemagoers vomiting and collapsing whilst watching the film in Atlanta and Dallas with US cinemas soon forced to place up warning signs for those brave enough to purchase a ticket.
Controversy followed for Michael and his co-stars after the film’s release after they felt they were underpaid for their contributions to the movie after it became a runaway success.
Having initially been made on a tiny $60,000 budget, the film’s total costs went on to become closer to the $250,000 mark after post-production was accounted for.
However, it soon blew that figure out of the water when it raked in a humongous $250 million at the box office – leading it to become one of the most successful independent films of all time.
Michael – along with his two co-stars Heather Donahue and Joshua Lenoard – were each paid $1,000 to both star and record the film on handheld devices.
Forbes went on to estimate that the trio’s total earnings in the aftermath of the film’s release would not have totalled more than $375,000 with most of that money being related to other settlements as opposed to profits of its success.
The publication claims that had the actors been paid in accordance with their original contract agreements, it is likely they would have pocketed the equivalent of $2.5 million for their work.
The magazine further adds that production companies on the film were able to conceal the full earnings thanks to “classic Hollywood accounting”.
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