Pulp Friction
Miramax sues Quentin Tarantino to block 'Pulp Fiction' NFT sales
The director recently announced a series of “secret” script pages and audio commentary for sale.
On the one hand, Quentin Tarantino seems like the kind of person to have zero interest in the NFT marketplace, given his longtime professed love of analog filmmaking and in-person movie theater experiences. On the other hand, his diehard dorm room fan base seems like exactly the kind of people who would pay hand-over-fist for exclusive Tarantino NFT content.
We can only assume the influential, award-winning director is well aware of this fact, given his recent announcement of the Tarantino NFT collection, which includes “previously unknown secrets of a specific iconic scene from Pulp Fiction” in the form of handwritten screenplay snippets and audio commentary from Tarantino himself. Of course, this is all contingent on a new lawsuit from Miramax contending Tarantino is in no way legally permitted to sell Pulp Fiction digital content without the company’s permission.
Interesting consequences amidst eye rolls — Despite the inane subject matter and the fact that the “Ezekiel 25:17” monologue is now stuck in our heads, Miramax and Tarantino’s little legal spat actually brings up some interesting questions regarding digital ownership rights. A lawyer for Tarantino responded to Miramax’s cease-and-desist by arguing that the director still holds reserved rights to any and all of the script’s print publications. Miramax, somewhat unsurprisingly, takes umbrage with classifying NFTs as such.
"The proposed sale of a few original script pages or scenes as an NFT is a one-time transaction, which does not constitute publication, and in any event does not fall within the intended meaning of 'print publication' or 'screenplay publication,'" reads the suit. It later stipulates, "The right to sell NFTs of such excerpts of any version of the screenplay to Pulp Fiction is owned and controlled by Miramax.”
A lot of potential crypto on the line — It’s easy to see why both parties would want NFT sales rights for something like this. Regardless of one’s opinion on them, NFTs remain extremely buzzworthy, and therefore potentially very lucrative. According to the Tarantino NFT site, those with crypto to burn are welcome to fill out an interest form for the auction, which includes the question, “How much are you willing to bid?” The first option is listed as “> 300ETH.” At the time of this writing, 300ETH roughly comes out to $1.25 million...
