History Trivia / TheBlairWitchProject

* AbilityOverAppearance: The story was originally intended to be three male filmmakers lost in the woods. However, Sanchez and Myrick were so impressed with Heather's audition for the role they decided to cast her as the lead filmmaker with two male assistants.

* NoBudget: Made for a meager $60,000, not that [[JustifiedTrope a story like this would require much more]]. The cameras used were even returned to the Circuit City where they were purchased once shooting wrapped (this despite the fact that one of the lenses popped out during filming). It also has the highest profit-to-budget ratio for an independent movie since the original ''Film/MadMax1''.

* TouristBump: To the chagrin of Burkittsville, Maryland, the city of less than 200 people who was soon overran by tourists (doesn't help many filming locations were elsewhere in the state), with their habit of stealing the welcome sign leading them to put one very different from the one in the movie. It even led to [[https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/arts_and_entertainment/movies/burkittsville-prepares-for-new-blair-witch-film/article_2cc61c06-5f65-532f-af4a-a825fbe01343.html pre-emptive actions]] before the 2016 film's release.

** The stuff shot in the motel room ran for ninety minutes, complete with the men reading poetry to each other and some drunken arguing.

* TheWikiRule: [[https://blairwitch.fandom.com/wiki/Main_Page Blair Witch Wiki]] and another [[https://blair-witch.fandom.com/wiki/Blair_Witch_Wikia Blair Witch Wiki]].

** In the footage that was shot, it was actually Josh and Heather who argued the most, rather than Heather and Mike -- as in the finished film. Most of the arguments with Josh were cut down, to avoid the UnfortunateImplications of both men ganging up on Heather.

* BreakupBreakout: Joshua Leonard is the only one in the cast to have a successful career as a character actor in a lot of movies, including ''Film/IfIStay'', ''Film/{{Unsane}}'' and ''Film/6Years''.

* BreakupBreakout: Joshua Leonard is the only one in the cast to have a successful career as a character actor in a lot of movies, including ''Film/IfIStay'', ''Film/Unsane'' and ''Film/6Years''.

** The actors were screened for their improvisational ability, and given a 35-page outline of the movie. All dialogue was improvised, and the actors were only given very vague directions on what to do for any given scene. For the Burkittsville segment, the three principal actors were told that a small number of fellow actors had been planted among the town's citizens, and they were given the objective of trying to identify and interview them all within a time limit through investigating around the town. For the part of the film that took part in the woods, the director rationed the actors' food, giving them just enough to make sure they could make the trek through the forest without any health risks, but also so little that they grew irritable and short-tempered, in essense making them as hungry as their characters. For the night scenes, the actors were not told when strange noises would be made, or when the tent would be attacked. It all makes for some great acting.

* IAmNotLeonardNimoy: Heather Donahue regretted using her real name in the film, as that made it harder for her to find roles afterwards. She eventually retired from acting altogether.

* OrphanedReference: What was Heather talking about with trying to recall a Bible quote Mary Brown mentioned? Allegedly even the filmmakers couldn't figure it out, hence never providing an answer, though fans have speculated on what said reference was.

* ThrowItIn:

** Josh was originally scripted to be attracted to Heather, though she would be oblivious to this. It was dropped out of fear of seeming too cliche.

* IAmNotLeonardNimoy: Heather Donaghue regretted using her real name in the film, as that made it harder for her to find roles afterwards. She eventually retired from acting altogether.

* SleeperHit: This film was in the Guinness Book of World Records for "Top Budget: Box Office Ratio" (for a mainstream feature film). The film cost $60,000 to make and made back $248 million, a ratio of $1 spent for every $10,931 made.

* ActorInspiredElement: Heather Donahue wrote her own character's monologues for the initial scenes in the documentary.

** The actors were screened for their improvisational ability, and given a 35-page outline of the movie. All dialogue was improvised, and the actors were only given very vague directions on what to do for any given scene. For the part of the film that took part in the woods, the director rationed the actor's food, giving them just enough to make sure they could make the trek through the forest without any health risks, but also so little that they grew irritable and short-tempered, in essense making them as hungry as their characters. For the night scenes, the actors were not told when strange noises would be made, or when the tent would be attacked. It all makes for some great acting.

** The actors were screened for their improvisational ability, and given a 35-page outline of the movie. All dialogue was improvised. The directors began rationing the actors' food to make them as hungry as their characters. They were not told when strange noises would be made, or when the tent would be attacked. Makes for some great acting.

* ThrowItIn: The child trying to stop her mother telling the story about the Blair Witch wasn't scripted.

** In the footage that was shot, it was actually Josh and Heather who argued the most, rather than Heather and Mike - as in the finished film. Most of the arguments with Josh were cut down, to avoid the UnfortunateImplications of both men ganging up on Heather.

* DuelingWorks: The other big horror film of 1999 was the remake of ''Film/TheHaunting1999'', a big-budget, by-the-numbers Hollywood horror film and a remake of a well-regarded classic to boot. ''Blair Witch'' wound up running circles around it, being a critical smash, making it's budget back several ''thousand'' times over and influencing an entire new genre while ''Haunting'' barely broke even, was laughed out of theaters by critics (most of whom compared it unfavorably to this film) and quickly faded into obscurity.

* ViralMarketing: Including a [[https://www.blairwitch.com/project/main.html decently designed website]] that's still up as of June 2019, as well as a documentary for the [[Creator/{{Syfy}} Sci-Fi Channel]] titled ''Curse of the Blair Witch'' that detailed the lore. The three actors were briefly listed as 'Missing, Presumed Dead' on Website/IMDb, and Heather Donahue's mother received numerous sympathy cards from strangers who thought her daughter had actually gone missing.

* RealLifeRelative: The waitress who asks about Blair High School is played by Sandra Sánchez, the sister of the co-director Eduardo Sánchez.

** The Blair Witch was apparently supposed to be seen in the film. As the group is fleeing through the woods, Heather screams "What the fuck is that?! ''What the fuck is that''?!" after apparently seeing something the camera never picks up on. The camera operator was supposed to pan to the left were the audience would briefly see a [[WomanInWhite woman wearing a white gown]] in the distance. However, the operator forgot to pan to the left and the scene was never reshot. In this case, it was [[NothingIsScarier definitely for the better.]]