Ménage Á Pop is a three times a week intimate discussion between two people and a piece of pop culture.
In the earlier days of the internet, my friend found some footage that horrified me. A trio of 20-somethings went missing in the woods leaving only a backpack of video tapes behind. These tapes documented the days up to their disappearance replete with supernatural overtones and uneasy imagery. But the biggest reveal was yet to come as, eventually, my friend uncovered the horrifying truth. It was all made up. And somehow he neglected to tell me. That friend was paranormal researcher Chris Balzano, and today he reveals his reasoning behind maintaining the digital verite of 1999’s THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT.
You can listen to CHRIS BALZANO on his podcast TRIPPING ON LEGENDS as well as read his paranormal works including GHOST OF THE BRIDGEWATER TRIANGLE and HAUNTED OBJECTS: STORIES OF GHOSTS ON YOUR SHELF available at your local bookstore via INDIEBOUND.org. Follow him on TWITTER @SpookyBalzano.
Read Chris’s thoughts on bizarre paranormal moments from some of your favorite TV shows with THE FIVE MOST MISPLACED BUT BRILLIANT GHOSTS ON TELEVISION.
POP NOTES
Following a world premiere at the 1999 Sundance Festival, THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT had it’s initial release on Wednesday July 14th, 1999 before expanding to a wider audience on Friday July 30th, 1999.
While the narrative of the film has the disappearance occur in 1994, the film was actually shot over the course of eight days in October 1997.
According to a casting flier, the film was originally entitled THE BLACK HILL PROJECT. Co-director Eduardo Sanchez soon changed the title to THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT after Blair High, the school his older sister had attended.
The film’s cast (Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard and Michael C. Williams) spent the 8 day shoot stranded in the woods. They would film for a 24 hour period and then, via GPS trackers, locate a drop off point for their footage and pick up the next round of film.
The actors had a bare outline of the story but were unaware toward how the events would unfold. Most of the horror elements were set in motion by the film’s producers hiding in camouflage throughout the forest.
During one particular stormy night, the cast abandoned their camp site to seek shelter in a stranger’s home.
Even before the film had a distributor, directors Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez began an internet campaign claiming the trio was still missing. This continued through its premiere at Sundance where the actors were forbidden from being seen in conjunction with the movie.
All the main footage in the film was shot in character by the three main cast members. This footage was then further degraded in post-production to match its amateur intention as well as lost footage quality.
Tune back on Wednesday when Chris bears his bandanna with the 1988 concert film GUNS N ROSES LIVE AT THE RITZ.
This episode of MÉNAGE Á POP was recorded by CAST, an online audio platform that lets you create and record a multi-guest podcast straight from your web-browser. It was then mastered by AUPHONIC, a web-based post-production service. Check out both sights for trial and subscription information.
MUSIC FEATURED IN TODAY’S EPISODE:
“Three Ways To Do That” (opening theme) composed and performed by The Madeline Prior. All rights reserved with Not A Holograms podcasts.
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Try to understand the present while living in the past with Tim’s weekly podcast 20TH CENTURY POP! at www.nahpods.com/20popcast
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