July 16 will be the 10-year anniversary of a little movie called The Blair Witch Project. Perhaps you've heard of it? The film's spectacular journey from Sundance indie to mainstream phenomenon has become Hollywood legend, so much so that Roger Ebert named Blair Witch one of the 10 most influential films of the 20th century. The movie gave hope to young, broke filmmakers everywhere -- all you needed was the cost of tuition for one year at college, some cheap cameras, and a very, very, very clever idea.
Since Blair Witch made $249 million worldwide on its initial $20,000-$25,000 budget, others have tried to duplicate its unprecedented success, including none other than the film's own two directors, Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez. Still close friends, Dan and Ed went their separate ways after Blair Witch, each taking some time off before making a series of horror or supernatural flicks. Myrick directed Believers, Solstice, and The Objective; Sánchez helmed Altered and Seventh Moon. Haven't heard of those movies? Don't worry -- most of them went straight to DVD. But it can't be easy when your debut picture shatters records and is so convincing that some people, to this day, believe it's an actual documentary. How do you possibly follow that kind of once-in-a-lifetime anomaly?
EW talked to both of the Blair Witch directors individually, as well as the movie's three stars. To find out what has happened to those three young actors post-Blair, check out the new issue of EW, on newsstands July 10. But for now, enjoy this exclusive Q&A with directors Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez, who discuss how they shot the groundbreaking movie, what they make of the subsequent backlash against it, and whether they'd ever want to return to Blair Witch.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: I've heard so many different stories about how you guys went about filming Blair Witch. Could you clarify exactly what it was like shooting the movie?
EDUARDO SANCHEZ: When Dan and I wrote the script, it wasn't really a script. It was more like a glorified outline of all the scenes. We didn't have any dialogue because we knew we wanted to make it completely improv. And then we decided we were going to leave the actors out there and try to remote-control direct them. We developed this system where we would leave notes for them in these little 35mm film canisters, and the notes contained logistical information as far as where to hike, and what time to get to a certain spot that we had already entered into the actors' GPS units. We also provided character notes, like "Heather's driving me crazy" or "You've got to get away from Mike" or "Josh is slowly losing his mind." And then we let them do their own thing. We'd supply them with fresh tapes and batteries, and we would give them food. As they neared the end of the shoot, we started depriving them of food. By the last day, they were basically living off a banana and some juice.
Were the actors upset by the end of production?
SANCHEZ: No, they weren't. We took good care of them. Our producer, Gregg Hale, was in the Army and had Special Forces training, so he led the whole "keeping them safe" part and had escape routes from all of the locations. They had a walkie-talkie with them. If they needed anything, they could just call.
Like a dental appointment that ends with news of not just one, but two cavities, this week's back-to-back announcements from the set of Desperate Housewives -- first, that Andrea Bowen will be reprising her role as Susan's daughter Julie (an Ausiello exclusive!), and second that Maiara Walsh (Carlos' scheming niece Ana) has been promoted to series regular -- were, to say the least, unwelcome! I mean, seriously? Bowen and Walsh's individual line readings are so deeply unconvincing, the ladies risk getting upstaged if there's so much as a house plant in a scene with 'em. And this raises a burning question for me: For a show that's never had a problem casting women of a certain age -- think Kathryn Joosten, Lupe Ontiveros, or the fabulous Harriet Sansom Harris -- how come Desperate Housewives has such a dreadful track record with younger actresses (none worse than Joy Lauren as Bree's beastly daughter Danielle)? Am I the only one who thinks Housewives' casting department should outsource any decisions involving actresses under the age of 30? And while we're on the subject, which young (talented) actresses would you like to see make their way to Wisteria Lane? I'd choose Summer Glau, EW's recent pick as a 2009 SciFi hottie, and maybe even her Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles costar Leven Rambin (love that chick!). Your turn, so please sound off below!
Fashion isn't about personality. It isn't about depth, and it's certainly not about what's under the surface. So in the true spirit of la mode, we've decided to go ahead and judge books by their covers and pick the victors of the upcoming season of Bravo's Lifetime's Project Runway based on their hair, clothes, and general photo-friendly charisma. And the Top 3 are.... THE DARKHORSE: Ra'mon-Lawrence Coleman (top row, third from left) Peeking out from behind his competitors, the 31-year-old Chicago-based designer has a low-key but edgy style that says a lot without screaming for attention. We're guessing he'll start out slow and gradually up his game until he makes it to the top three.
In a recent interview with Harper's Bazaar UK, Mummystar Rachel Weisz tossed off one of those wonderfully under-thought, actressy comments that the blogosphere just loves to gobble up: "[Botox] should be banned for actors, as steroids are for sportsmen."
Of course, her statement flies in the (eerily smooth) face of support from Botox fans like Virginia Madsen (pictured) and Vanessa L. Williams, who have praised the drug for banishing wrinkles without surgery. Inducing facial paralysis might seem like an odd choice for actors who emote for a living, but Hollywood is an industry based on looks. If wrinkles cost you work, why not get rid of them? And we're willing to bet that Weisz, a 38-year-old stunner (pictured), might change her tune to the "What people do with their faces is nobody else's business" refrain some time after she struts past the four-oh mark.
As much as it would be fun to strip away people's Oscars if they test positive for appearance-enhancing drugs, we're not on Team Weisz this time. But what about you, PopWatchers? Should Hollywood ban Botox?
Once upon a time, Peter Jackson was hired by Universal and Fox to oversee Halo, the film version of Microsoft's killer military/sci-fi videogame. Exhausted from shooting the Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong, Jackson opted to executive produce. The man he wanted to direct Halo was Neill Blomkamp, who had nary a feature credit to his name but had shot a stunning short called Alive in Joburg, about aliens living a segregated life in South Africa. Halo eventually fell apart: the stated reason was that the budget had spiraled out of control, but underneath that was the fact that no one wanted to spend ungodly sums of money on a Halo movie that Jackson himself didn't direct. No one wanted to be in the Neill Blomkamp business. Something tells me that District 9 might change some minds.
A feature-length faux-verite exploration of the themes Blomkamp touched on in Alive in Joburg -- segregation, alienation, supression -- District also looks like it kicks its fair share of ass. Flamethrowers, mech suits, snatching missiles right out of the air? Hot damn, I'm in.
What about you? And wouldn't you go see a Halo movie done with the same kind of grit? I know I would.
I knew big round glasses were back, but man, they are eh-heverywhere. I see them on the street (though I'm asking for it, I guess; I live in Brooklyn), I see them on fashion blogs, but now I finally know the strangest place of all: On Alec Baldwin's face in the movie Prelude to a Kiss. (Which was one of the "new movies" that cycled through on Hulu the other day, which is how I wound up watching. It's awful -- stay away.)
What in the world? I don't remember 1992 being that strange at all. Alec Baldwin as neurotic doof was a tough enough pill to swallow, but with these massive specs, it's a whole other level of head-scratching.
But the lovely Baldwin visage is hardly the first face to support such epic frames. The other two that spring to mind....
As someone who actually spent eleven years attending an English boarding school I've never felt the desire or the need to investigate the world of Hogwarts. But I have always been impressed by Emma Watson whenever she does the rounds promoting Harry Potter and the Magical Bowl of Crusty Porridge, or whichever of the HP movies happens to be coming out at the time.
Watson was once again on charmingly-if-mildly-pugnacious form last night talking to David Letterman. When Dave quizzed the actress about her plans to study liberal arts in America and asked her exactly what "liberal arts" involved, Watson responded, "Do you live in the States? Shouldn't you be telling me this?" (Letterman's response: "The kid just gunned me!") Watson also kept her cool when Dave produced a photograph of her "wardrobe malfunction" at the recent, rain-soaked UK premiere of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ("At least I'm wearing underwear") and admirably coped with the fact that Letterman appears to know even less about the Potter movies than I.
Check out the clip below and tell us what you think.
It's not quite the Sticky Note Experiment, but this student-made ad for HP is mesmerizing:
Beyond the coolness factor, I totally agree with Gizmodo: The truly amazing thing here is that Matt and Tom got that many printers to work for that long. What?! There's nary a PC load letter in sight? Well done, sirs!
We are now on Day Three of our intense, wide-ranging discussion about world peaceglobal climate change awards honoring achievement in prime-time television programming, and the topic turns to an area that always gets me crazy passionate: Supporting Actors and Actresses (Comedy Division). Maybe it's because they don't typically make $1 million an episode, or because they often play second-fiddles to their bold-faced costars in their shows' promotional campaigns, or maybe I just like wacky sidekicks. Whatever the reason, my initial brainstorm about which folks I'm rooting for in these categories quickly reached the double digits. But assuming Vanessa (L Yeah) Williams is going to get hers for her ingenious portrayal of Wilhelmina Slayyyytaaah on Ugly Betty, I forced myself to whittle my list down to the four underdogs who'll be getting the slow clap/good vibes treatment from me come the morning of July 16, when Emmy nods are announced:
Keir Gilchrist, United States of Tara: Gilchrist's awkward, gay, film buff son of Toni Collette's titular character was the main reason I stuck with Tara past its first few episodes, and got rewarded with a series that's now on my permanent DVR schedule. I thank him by rooting for his Emmy nod that's probably never going to happen.
Michael Urie, Ugly Betty: Urie's bitchy, gay, fashion buff assistant to Mode magazine's most fearsome editrix proved to be more than just a quip-spewing lapdog/attack dog this season. Watching Marc strive for love and a better career proved alternately hilarious and heartbreaking, and proved Urie is every bit as valuable to the Ugly Betty cast as the more heralded Williams and America Ferrera.
Ana Ortiz, Ugly Betty: Speaking of Betty's long list of MVPs, I've got to hand it to Ortiz. Sure, she showed her dramatic chops when Ignacio's health woes surfaced, but more importantly, even her most throwaway lines and facial expressions leave me howling with laughter. Hilda FTMFW!
Hamish Linklater, The New Adventures of Old Christine: It's not easy stealing a scene from Julia Loius-Dreyfus, but Linklater is the stealth weapon in the fully loaded arsenal of this underappreciated CBS sitcom.
Okay, so those are my longshot picks for Emmy nominations for Supporting Actors and Actresses in a Comedy (we'll get to their dramatic counterparts tomorrow), but who are you rooting for? Remember, if your faves don't get any Emmy love, they could still score themselves an EWwy nod, so make sure to argue passionately on their behalves! Ready, set, discuss!
It's not your imagination: Everyone on reality shows says "I'm not here to make friends." (At some time or another, many also claim to "step up," and I predict the continued popularity of "throw [someone] under the bus.") Anywho:
