A couple weeks ago, it was announced that Kevin Smith is teaming up with Secret Network’s Legendao to release his horror anthology film KillRoy Was Here as an NFT. Now Deadline reports that actor Matthew Lillard (Scream) and writer/director Bill Whirity (Broke) have started an NFT-based production company called Midnite Movie Club. They’re calling this the world’s first “Decentralized Movie Studio”, as they want to “give the power back to the audience by letting them decide what films the company produces”. Buying the NFTs will give people a say in what the company does or doesn’t make. But they have already confirmed that their first project is a “high concept vampire movie” called Let Them Die, which will start filming this summer.
Midnite Movie Club’s focus is “specifically in the genre space, i.e. Horror, Sci-Fi, Action/Adventure, and Fantasy.” So a vampire movie seems like a good way to get things started. Unfortunately, no information was given on the project beyond the fact that it’s a vampire movie called Let Them Die.
Midnite Movie Club is set up as a DAO or Decentralized Autonomous Organization, which means the community make decisions together. This is capable due to blockchain technology, the voting will be fair and transparent.
Lillard and Whirity released the following statement:
NFTs, blockchain and Web3 are the future of the internet. In the coming years, this technology will revolutionize many aspects of our daily lives and the film industry is no exception. Most people think of NFTs as just the artwork, but it is the underlying technology behind them that makes the Midnite Movie Club possible. The MMC is a private community, like a country club or a gym, and your NFT acts as your membership card. It is your key to the kingdom, so to speak, and it is how you cast your vote and help the filmmakers develop their films. Using this system, viewers will be able to both vote on which films get greenlit as well as on creative decisions the filmmakers offer up to the community throughout production. A few examples of things you will vote on are: deciding which actors we will make offers to first, picking costumes, props, or creature designs, choosing our movie poster design, and more. In addition to choosing what movies the company will produce, the community will also be given exclusive access to special features like viewing audition tapes, set photos and videos, concept art and storyboard, and participating in Live AMAs and live tours from the sets.”
As I have said, I have zero interest in any of this NFT stuff, but announcements of things like KillRoy Was Here and Midnite Movie Club are forcing me to pay attention to it.
What do you think of NFTs and this Midnight Movie Club project? Let us know by leaving a comment below.