Weston, an affluent suburb on the western outskirts of Boston.
It was a Sunday morning.
The group that had flown into Boston the previous day arrived punctually at an estate in the wealthy neighborhood five minutes before nine. Lois Kane was the first to step out of the car and immediately noticed an Eastern European woman wearing frameless glasses and a casual home outfit approaching, accompanied by two maids who also bore clear Eastern European features.
Despite being able to roughly estimate that the woman was likely not young, Lois Kane felt a slight unease in the face of her flawless appearance, which seemed to defy the passage of time, and her serene, gentle demeanor. This unease even carried a hint of inexplicable inferiority and a sense of familiarity.
However, Lois soon noticed that the woman also seemed somewhat embarrassed in their presence. Her voice was soft, carrying a slight British accent as she greeted them, "Everyone, please follow me."
The woman didn't introduce herself, and Lois and the others felt it inappropriate to initiate further conversation.
Being observant, Lois quickly noticed faint red marks around the woman's slender neck, which was wrapped in a high-neck sweater. Her face also bore a certain flush that could easily lead to suggestive thoughts. Delving deeper, Lois roughly understood why the woman might feel embarrassed.
Lois couldn't pinpoint the woman's exact age, but she was at least in her thirties, while their boss was only 29.
A woman of such intellectual grace and elegance being the lover of a man much younger than herself, and now being seen by outsiders, would naturally feel a bit awkward.
It must be said that Lois had indeed guessed Maria's thoughts correctly.
Except for the age, which she hadn't quite nailed.
Moreover, this wasn't even the estate where Maria and her children lived. It was Olica's residence. Compared to the other women around Simon, as the mother of five children, coupled with her personality and the age gap with a certain young man, she had always been a shy, passive recipient in his presence.
Last night, she had been half-coaxed, half-tricked into coming over and, for the first time, spent a wild night with Olica and a certain young man. Even though these guests couldn't possibly know what had happened last night, facing outsiders now, Maria still felt embarrassed.
Fortunately, this wasn't her own residence. Otherwise, Maria would have firmly refused.
After all, not only were her three boys and two little ones at home, but her daughter had also returned from MIT for the weekend to visit her.
However, a certain mischievous young man had probably considered all this, which was why he had chosen this location. This, in turn, made Maria feel a strange sense of gratitude. She knew it wasn't entirely normal, but at least he hadn't embarrassed her in front of her children. That was... not too bad.
With these thoughts, Maria led the guests into the villa, through the hall, and to an office at the far west end of the first floor. She knocked on the door, received a response, and then pushed it open.
Inside was a very spacious office, with floor-to-ceiling windows on the south side, making it exceptionally bright.
The current temperature in Boston was quite low, but the room was as warm as spring.
Simon had been sitting on a sofa near the windows, legs crossed, flipping through some documents while listening to A-girl's report. Seeing everyone enter, he stood up.
There were two men and four women in the group.
Aside from Lois Kane, there was Hollywood's golden producer Jerry Bruckheimer, Paul Greengrass, the designated director for The Blair Witch Project and Public Enemies, Annika Sutter, the screenwriter for The Blair Witch Project, and finally, two young women who not only knew Simon but whom Simon had also known in the past.
The first was from Canada, a former Hollywood sweetheart who had just turned 20, Rachel McAdams.
The second, with her little fangs visible when she smiled, made Simon almost blurt out, "Hello, Root! How's Shaw been lately?" She was the lead actress from a TV show Simon had once loved, Person of Interest, the 22-year-old Amy Acker.
These were two of the three female leads Lois had recently selected for The Blair Witch Project.
Of course, this was partly due to Simon's personal whimsical interference.
Since Root had made an appearance, Simon had hoped to complete the set by adding a "Shaw," thus rounding out the trio of female leads as planned.
Unfortunately, they hadn't found one.
The casting criteria for The Blair Witch Project still followed Paranormal Activity, requiring actors with a performance background but little to no exposure on screen, preferably current students in university theater programs.
Thus, Rachel McAdams and Amy Acker were chosen.
One was a current student in the drama program at York University in Canada, and the other had just graduated from the performance department at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, and had recently moved to Los Angeles to pursue her career. As for the former "Shaw," Sarah Shahi, she clearly didn't fit the bill.
The three planned female leads had already been selected.
The third one wasn't present today, mainly because Simon wasn't interested, and she wasn't signed under Lois. Through family connections, she had already secured representation with another agency. Moreover, this girl was also someone Simon had known in the past—Katharine Moennig, Hollywood's famous tomboy, who had gained fame for her role in The L Word and was the cousin of "Oscar queen" Gwyneth Paltrow.
Katharine Moennig was 20 years old and a junior at the New York Academy of Dramatic Arts.
Although Simon wasn't particularly interested in this girl, whose front and back were indistinguishable when her head was covered, her acting skills were more than sufficient, and her image perfectly fit the requirements of The Blair Witch Project, so she naturally made the cut.
Speaking of which, since the film needed a tomboy, Simon had initially thought of Hillary Swank, Hollywood's most underrated Oscar-winning actress, whose acting skills were even better. Unfortunately, after checking, he found that she had already been in the industry for many years. Although she was still doing bit parts, she didn't meet the film's requirement of casting complete newcomers.
After the greetings, Maria personally arranged for coffee and snacks to be served. Everyone sat down on the sofas in the office's reception area, and the discussion began.
Naturally, it was about The Blair Witch Project.
It was a Sunday, not a typical workday, but Simon only had this day to spare, so Lois and the others had to accommodate his schedule, flying in from various parts of the USA to Boston.
No one complained. Both inside and outside Hollywood, countless people longed for a chance to meet Simon Westeros. Given the opportunity, not only would they fly to Boston, but if it were feasible to fly to Mars, few would refuse.
Take Jerry Bruckheimer, for example.
Originally, The Blair Witch Project had nothing to do with him. But seeing an opportunity, Bruckheimer had volunteered to serve as the film's executive producer, asking for nothing in return.
When the proposal reached Simon, he considered it briefly and agreed.
It was a mutually beneficial arrangement.
Jerry Bruckheimer's career had been on a noticeable decline in recent years, and given his stature, he could easily find out that The Blair Witch Project was based on an idea provided by Simon himself. Thus, this was a proactive gesture of goodwill, much like how Brian De Palma and others had supported Simon's debut film, Run Lola Run.
Additionally, since Paul Greengrass, the director of The Blair Witch Project, was also Simon's preferred choice for Public Enemies, Bruckheimer, as the producer of Public Enemies, could take the opportunity to observe and mentor this newcomer, potentially turning him into a future collaborator.
The new version of The Blair Witch Project had its script mostly completed.
Apart from the original framework of a witch-hunting expedition, most of the details were vastly different from the original. This was largely because the original's quality was subpar, and its success was more a result of viral marketing.
This time, the story would follow five college students—two men and three women—as they ventured into the woods based on a local witch legend. What started as a curious adventure would gradually turn eerie, culminating in the appearance of an actual witch and the complete annihilation of the group.
Yes.
Unlike the original, the new The Blair Witch Project would feature an actual witch.
In fact, the original's reliance on psychological fear without ever showing the witch was largely due to the team's limited budget, which couldn't afford such effects.
Simon had initially considered sticking to the psychological fear model but eventually decided against it.
Because this approach had just been used in Paranormal Activity.
Paranormal Activity, which was still in theaters, followed the original's premise of never showing the ghost. If The Blair Witch Project did the same, it might give the audience a sense of déjà vu. Not seeing a ghost once was fine, but not seeing a witch the second time might make viewers feel cheated.
At least, putting himself in the audience's shoes, Simon found it hard to accept two consecutive instances of so-called psychological fear.
There had to be some "progress."
Additionally, the story would be told in a non-linear fashion.
It would open with a news report about the search for five missing college students, followed by the discovery of several iRec digital cameras in the woods by a search team. The footage would then be presented as leaked classified material.
As for the ending, it would still employ a sudden cutoff, similar to Paranormal Activity, when the audience's tension was at its peak.
This was why the search report wasn't placed at the end.
Unlike psychological fear, just like many classic story structures in Hollywood that never go out of style, since Paranormal Activity's structure worked, it would be reused.
Of course, there were differences. In Paranormal Activity, the tension built steadily until the abrupt end. In The Blair Witch Project, the tension would rise and fall before a sudden conclusion, with the witch hunting down the five students one by one, much like in old-school teen horror films. Then, as the last player met their end, the story would abruptly stop.
Unlike old-school teen horror films, which often left one or two survivors, this story would end in complete annihilation.
"We've recently visited several states in the South—Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida—and finally selected a small town called Canadia in southwestern Alabama, near the Mississippi border, along with the nearby forest as our filming location," Paul Greengrass explained, pinning several large photos taken during their recent Southern scouting trip onto a wide whiteboard on the west wall of the office. He continued, "This is a wild area with a mix of pine and oak trees, their branches low and gnarled, creating a naturally twisted and eerie atmosphere that perfectly fits the mood we need for the film. Additionally, deep in the forest, along a small stream, there are several abandoned, dilapidated cabins. Simon, look, these were left by early settlers from the late 19th century. With the passage of time, they've lost all traces of modern civilization. I plan to choose this one as the witch's lair."
At this point, Paul Greengrass, without waiting for Simon to ask, added, "I know the script specifies that the witch will appear but won't be found. So, this is just a former lair. We'll decorate it with some witchy elements, but the witch won't actually live here."
Simon looked at the photos on the whiteboard, which Paul had clearly taken from carefully chosen angles, and nodded in satisfaction. Compared to the original The Blair Witch Project's uninspiring wilderness, these photos immediately immersed the viewer in the right atmosphere.
This was the difference between professionalism and amateurism.
However, Simon quickly thought of a question: "How does the iRec footage look?"
The photos were clearly taken with a professional camera. Switching to the iRec, an amateur digital camcorder, might produce completely different results.
Paul Greengrass was prepared for this. He pulled an iRec from his bag, handed it to A-girl, and continued, "The iRec footage is also quite good. But Simon, I've checked with Think Different, and they have higher-resolution prototypes. I was wondering if we could use those instead. The current consumer-grade iRec, frankly, is relatively poor in quality."
Simon shook his head without hesitation. "No."
Paul Greengrass looked disappointed.
Simon thought for a moment and explained, "Paul, you know we've signed a significant promotional agreement with Think Different, a very valuable sponsorship deal. So, we have to use the market-available iRec. At most, we can modify some details like battery life. This is a crucial selling point for the film's promotion. If we claim to be using the market-available iRec but actually use high-end prototypes, even if they're still Think Different products, it could be disastrous if the truth got out."
Paul Greengrass was aware of the sponsorship deal and hadn't held much hope to begin with. Hearing Simon's explanation, he accepted it.
Simon continued, "Moreover, even without the sponsorship, Paul, the essence of a found-footage film is its raw, amateurish quality. If you give the audience something that rivals film quality, or even exceeds consumer-grade digital camera quality by too much, it would break the immersive documentary experience, and the results could be unpredictable."
As he spoke, Simon recalled a found-footage film from his past life, The Dyatlov Pass Incident, directed by Renny Harlin. The story aside, its film-quality visuals, far surpassing typical consumer-grade footage, made it feel less like a documentary and more like a traditional movie, breaking the immersion.
Similarly, the Paranormal Activity series, after its 2007 debut, saw its sequels' visuals improve with the times, but they always maintained the handheld, amateurish feel of a found-footage film.
Some might argue that the victors write history, but when the victors repeatedly prove certain methods effective, it's unwise to go against them.
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