Miramax Chooses Violence on Quentin Tarantino By Suing Him Over 'Pulp Fiction' NFTs
This whole NFT thing is really getting out of hand.
On Tuesday, Miramax filed a lawsuit against famed director Quentin Tarantino, after he announced the sale of some exclusive NFTs based on the screenplay for the 1994 cult classic Pulp Fiction.
The NFTs - short for non-fungible tokens, essentially digital pieces of art that you can have proof that you own - are apparently excerpts from the original handwritten script for the movie, accompanied by commentary from Tarantino himself.
Miramax claims in the court documents blocking the suit that Tarantino violated his contract with them by not first contacting them to get an okay on the sale. They say that this auction now interferes with their own plans to sell Pulp Fiction NFTs, "which Miramax intends to maximize through a strategic, comprehensive approach." Comparatively, the company called the plan Tarantino beat them to the punch with a "deliberate, pre-meditated, short-term money grab."
It's hard to understand the differences between the two strategies, and while Miramax claimed that in doing this Tarantino was "recklessly, greedily, and intentionally" disregarding the agreement he signed when he gave Miramax the rights to the film.
Tarantino, however, retained the right to publish his screenplay in that agreement, so his team argues that this NFT sale is not a breach of contract. Miramax has argued back that making a one-time sale of an NFT does not constitute publishing the script...even if the NFT is OF the script.
It will be interesting to see this case play out, as the results will likely set a precedent for what creators are and are not allowed to do with works owned by studios in regards to the sale of NFTs moving forward. It's like watching the most complex game of trading cards ever.
