Miramax is suing director Quentin Tarantino for selling never-before-seen scenes from Pulp Fiction as NFTs, claiming they own the rights to the film and any merchandise related to it, and that he is violating his 1993 contract.The studio, which also produced both Kill Bill movies, filed the lawsuit today after their cease and desist order sent to Tarantino’s legal team on November 4 was reportedly ignored.The 58-year-old director announced he was putting seven cut scenes from his 1994 dark comedy starring John Travolta and Uma Thurman for auction on November 2 as Secret NFTs on OpenSea, the world’s largest NFT marketplace.’I’m excited to be presenting these exclusive scenes from “Pulp Fiction” to fans.Secret Network and Secret NFTs provide a whole new world of connecting fans and artists and I’m thrilled to be a part of that,’ Tarantino said in a statement.Miramax is suing director Quentin Tarantino (pictured) for selling never-before-seen scenes from Pulp Fiction as NFTs, claiming they own the rights to the film and any merchandise related to it, and that he is violating his 1993 contract Seven cut scenes from his 1994 dark comedy starring John Travolta and Uma Thurman (pictured) were put up for auction as Secret NFTs on OpenSea ‘Pulp Fiction’ (pictured) celebrated it’s 25th anniversary in 2019 and is often credited by film buffs for introducing indie films into the mainstream The studio, which also produced both Kill Bill movies, filed the lawsuit today after, they said, a cease and desist order sent to Tarantino’s legal team on November 4 was ignored and ‘Tarantino’s plans to sell…Miramax’s intellectual property intensified’ as he continued to post promotional materials for the sale He did not, according to the lawsuit, consult Miramax before doing so, which the company said ‘forced’ them to file the Tuesday lawsuit: ‘Tarantino’s conduct has forced Miramax to bring this lawsuit against a valued collaborator in order to enforce, preserve and protect its contractual and intellectual property rights relating to one of Miramax’s most icon and valuable film properties.’ Miramax attorney Bart Williams accused Tarantino and his team of a ‘deliberate, pre-meditated, short-term money grab’ in a statement: ‘This group chose to recklessly, greedily, and intentionally disregard the agreement that Quentin signed instead of following the clear legal and ethical approach of simply communicating with Miramax about his proposed ideas,’ Williams wrote.This post on the @TarantinoNFTs promotional account, according to Miramax’s attorneys, was posted after the film studio sent the director a cease and desist order on November 4 Among the items that Tarantino intends to sell are ‘seven unseen scenes, also up for auction will be an uncut first handwritten scripts of ‘Pulp Fiction’ and exclusive custom commentary from Tarantino that will ‘reveal secrets about the film and its creator,’ according to a statement The lawsuit will hinge on the question of whether selling NFTs based on excerpts from Tarantino’s original screenplay qualifies as the ‘publication’ of that screenplay, a right that Tarantino retained in his contract, according to his lawyer.
Pictured is a page from the November 16 suit What is a NFT? A Non-Fungible Token (NFT) is a unique digital token encrypted with an artist’s signature and which verifies its ownership and authenticity and is permanently attached to the piece.What do they look like? Most NFTs include some kind digital artwork, such as photos, videos, GIFs, and music.Theoretically, anything digital could be turned into a NFT.Where do you buy them? At the moment, NFTs are most commonly sold in so-called ‘drops’, timed online sales by blockchain-backed marketplaces like Nifty Gateway, Opensea and Rarible.Why would I want to own one? There’s an array of reasons why someone may want to buy a NFT.For some, the reason may be emotional value, because NFTs are seen as collectors items.
For others, they are seen as an investment opportunity similar to cryptocurrencies, because the value could increase.When were NFTs created? Writer and podcaster Andrew Steinwold traced the origins of NFTs back to 2012, with the creation of the Colored Coins cryptocurrency.But NFTs didn’t move into the mainstream until five years later, when the blockchain game CryptoKitties began selling virtual cats in 2017.Williams also said that Tarantino’s NFT sale has interfered with the company’s own plan to get into the NFT market: ‘This one-off effort devalues the NFT rights to “Pulp Fiction,” which Miramax intends to maximize through a strategic, comprehensive approach.’ An NFT is a unique digital token encrypted with an artist’s signature, which verifies its ownership and authenticity, and is permanently attached to the piece.It allows ‘original’ versions of popular online content – like viral memes and tweets – to be sold as if they were physical pieces of art.Secret NFTs enable NFTs to contain both public and private metadata, and give the choice to the owner between publicly displaying ownership – or keeping it secret.In the case of the Pulp Fiction NFTs, which Tarantino planned to sell in December, only the buyer would be permitted to view the exclusive material.
Among the items that Tarantino intends to sell are seven unseen scenes, an uncut first handwritten script of “Pulp Fiction” and exclusive custom commentary from Tarantino that will ‘reveal secrets about the film and its creator,’ according to a statement .The lawsuit will hinge on the question of whether selling NFTs based on excerpts from Tarantino’s original screenplay qualifies as the ‘publication’ of that screenplay, a right that Tarantino retained in his contract, according to his lawyer.The movie studio argues in their lawsuit that, because NFTs are a one-time sale, selling them is not the same as publishing a film’s screenplay.
Miramax argues that NFTs are a one-time sale, and are not equivalent to publication of a screenplay, and that therefore Miramax owns the NFT rights.’The fact that Tarantino kept Miramax out of the loop is particularly problematic because he granted and assigned nearly all of his rights to Pulp Fiction (and all its elements in all stages of development and production) to Miramax in 1993, including the rights necessary for the “secrets from Pulp Fiction” that he intends to sell,’ reads the suit.’Pulp Fiction’ celebrated it’s 25th anniversary in 2019 and is often credited by film buffs for introducing indie films into the mainstream.The film earned over $200 million worldwide and earned Tarantino an Academy Award for Best Screenplay..
