Something surprising – and cool – is going on in the New Digital World today: A rising wave of crypto/NFT projects that take on Hollywood and the studio system that’s now co-opted by Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX ), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN ), and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL ). For the first time I can remember, Hollywood and the “FAANG” filmmakers are both vulnerable to disruption. So, let’s dive into what’s happening on the blockchain – which projects have the most star-power – and, most importantly: Can they actually win ? New Series Owned By Fans
“Most of the successful people in Hollywood are failures as human beings” is how, I’m told, Marlon Brando once summed things up. But today, the quote is usually trotted out in contrast to Hollywood nice guys like Tom Hanks and Bryan Cranston.
However, even Tom Hanks isn’t often the box-office draw that he was in the 2000s – let alone the ‘90s. His most recent hits are mostly “Toy Story” or “The Da Vinci Code” movies.
I’d argue this is because we’re primed to expect a lot of reboots, remakes, and franchise sequels. We’re not going to get out of the theater for less than $25… What we see there is probably not going to blow our hair back…
And it’s not really about us! Movies are all safe choices for studios – especially internationally. Even before I had to worry about someone coughing COVID-19 on me, I hardly went, and ticket sales were already on a downtrend in 2019: Even when one of your favorite stars or directors does make something exciting – it’s probably on a streaming channel, instead! But then, if it doesn’t pay off as a nice bullet point for the next quarterly earnings call, it’ll quickly disappear.
This is the world StoryDAO is launching into. Founders call it “a radical experiment in…building an open Hollywood production platform” on Ethereum ( ETH-USD ).
“Just like the internet changed funding models to subscription and streaming changed viewing habits, the new paradigm shift is available to us now,” StoryDAO says. Instead of giving your money away as a subscription, you can buy an NFT that conveys community ownership:
You own a piece of the NFT franchise, and you profit if it’s successful. Either way, at least you have a say in the direction of the franchise! Creators can keep making content that its audience wants to watch , and maybe people won’t just quit next month. (Looking at you, Hulu, Disney+ and Paramount+ .) StoryDAO May Be “Radical” – But It’s Not Alone
Celebrities are looking to this model for their next big projects, too. Seth Green, the actor and animated-series producer, has been buying Bored Apes… And plans to turn this one into the star of his own show, “White Horse Tavern,” as a bartender character called Fred Simian. You can watch the trailer here : a live-action show with your animated NFTs worked in.
This was always supposed to be the bull case for famous NFTs, like Bored Apes: Not just profile pictures for rich people – but characters in a franchise that we can invest in and own via NFTs. “Disney on the blockchain,” so to speak.
Mila Kunis is also getting into this game. The actress/producer is helping develop “The Gimmicks” – basically, “South Park” with professional wrestlers – where you can buy an NFT on Solana ( SOL-USD ) and help drive the plot of the show.
So is Rob McElhenney of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” This week, he began recruiting 100 creators to join him at Adim, a project where creators get a (non-transferrable) Ethereum NFT as a share of the IP – and royalties – for their content.
As McElhenney envisions it, Adim is not unlike how he and his friends created “It’s Always Sunny” … But instead of just a camcorder, they’ve got NFTs – for true ownership: Come do something weird with us at https://t.co/MRdpnHxudU @Adimverse pic.twitter.com/etfMoRuzrl — Rob McElhenney (@RMcElhenney) June 7, 2022 “Adim is building for the next evolution of these groups—communities of creators, writers, artists, designers, developers, fans, and friends working together to create and own a new generation of content,” according to McElhenney’s press release. So, Can This Be…Successful?
Well, crypto/NFTs are just a new framework for an enduring truth:
“What other asset is digital, has value, and is the largest export of the United States ? The film business,” as our own Charlie Shrem told Decrypt in May: Bitcoin pioneer @CharlieShrem took to @Festival_Cannes to launch crypto […]
source Crypto Takes On Hollywood and the Broken Studio System
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