Quentin Tarantino's 'Pulp Fiction' NFTs Will Be Auctioned Off Despite The Lawsuit
For anyone looking to own a piece of Pulp Fiction, Quentin Tarantino’s NFTs will officially be up for auction despite a pending lawsuit filed by film studio Miramax.
The director originally unveiled his plans to auction off the digital artwork in November at NFT NYC, a week-long crypto-art convention held in New York. In the announcement, Tarantino explained he’s transforming seven scenes from the hit movie into 'secret' non-fungible tokens.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are digital assets that can be traded on the blockchain. They can include anything from art, music, GIFs, and even memes. Once they become NFTs, however, they’re considered a unique digital asset that belongs solely to the owner, making the NFT rare and authentic, hence increasing its monetary value.
Since Tarantino’s NFTs have been pitched as secret, it means the content will only be viewable by the buyer. It’s promised each NFT will reveal “secrets about the film and its creator,” Artnet reports, and they’re based on Tarantino’s original handwritten script.
During the November announcement, Tarantino declined to give a specific date the Pulp Fiction NFTs would be available to purchase, though he said it would likely happen in a about a month.
At the time, Tarantino said he was first introduced to the idea of NFTs through Eli Roth but didn’t fully understand it at first. “[But] the more I started to think about it […] the more I started to think, ‘This is a neat idea,” he explained.
However, shortly after the announcement, Miramax, the studio that produced and financed the 1994 film launched a lawsuit against Tarantino. Miramax accused the director of copyright infringement, breach of contract, trademark infringement, and unfair competition since they still own the rights to the movie.
According to Variety, Miramax’s legal team sent Tarantino a cease-and-desist in hopes of stopping the auction, adding that it conflicts with the studio’s plans to launch their own Pulp Fiction NFTs.
Since the NFTs are based on the movie’s script, the studio argues this qualifies as a 'publication' of the original screenplay. However, Tarantino was quick to respond through his lawyers, who have publicly stated the director retains the rights to publish the screenplay vis a vis the contract he originally signed with Miramax.
Despite the fact that the lawsuit is ongoing, Tarantino is moving forward with plans to auction off the NFTs – and a date has finally been confirmed. Barron’s reports the NFTs will be auctioned off in seven sales starting on January 17th.
So far, pre-sale estimates of the NFTs have not been released, so it’s unclear how much Tarantino expects to earn from the sales. Registration for the opens on January 10th.
Sources: Artnet, Variety, Barron’s,
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