Miramax Sues Quentin Tarantino Over Planned ‘Pulp Fiction’ NFTs
The studio also said in its suit that consumers could be confused into believing that Miramax was associated with Mr. Tarantino’s sale of the NFTs, which could interfere with the company’s own plans to sell NFTs from its library.
“Miramax will defend all of its rights in regard to its library, including rights relating to NFTs, and will not allow Quentin’s representatives to deceive others into believing they have the authority to make similar deals in violation of the rights agreements they signed,” Bart H. Williams, a lawyer representing Miramax in the suit, said.
The company is seeking a jury trial and unspecified monetary damages.
“Pulp Fiction,” perhaps more than any other Tarantino film, has developed a cult following among fans, who have created memes, videos and costumes based on scenes and characters. Directed and written by Mr. Tarantino, the movie, which starred John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson and Uma Thurman, followed two mob hit-men, a boxer, a gangster and his wife as their lives intersected.
Mr. Tarantino won an Academy Award for screenplay writing for the film, and it received several other Oscar nominations, including for best picture, best director and for acting by Mr. Travolta, Mr. Jackson and Ms. Thurman. The movie grossed more than $213 million worldwide, according to the studio.
Mr. Tarantino’s foray into the wealthy and sometimes eccentric world of NFTs comes as a variety of celebrities and athletes have embraced the tokens. The market for them has exploded this year, and owners of popular videos and memes have been cashing in, selling their rights to digital art, ephemera and media.
In February, Nyan Cat, an animated flying cat with a Pop-Tart torso that leaves a rainbow trail, sold for about $580,000. In April, “Disaster Girl,” a meme from a photo of a child smirking at the camera as a house burns in her neighborhood, sold in an NFT auction for $500,000. And in May, the original 2007 video “Charlie Bit My Finger,” in which an infant bites the finger of his older brother, sold as an NFT for $760,999. The family who created it said it would remove the original from YouTube.
