Miramax is suing director Quentin Tarantino over the release of non-fungible (NFTs) based on his film, Pulp Fiction. Tarantino offered them at a recent convention in New York.
“I’m excited to be presenting these exclusive scenes from Pulp Fiction to fans,” Tarantino expressed in a press conference on November 2.
His plan is to auction off the non-fungible tokens, which consist of excerpts from Tarantino’s original handwritten script for the film, along with some of his own commentary. The NFTs are confidential, meaning sharing its content is strictly prohibited.
According to the lawsuit, Tarantino allegedly pursued his plan without consulting Miramax beforehand—technically, they own all the rights to the 1994 film. Miramax’s attorneys have attempted to contact Tarantino, sending a cease-and-desist letter to prevent the sale, but that hasn’t stopped him and his team from moving forward.
Miramax’s attorney Bart Williams accused Tarantino’s team of a “deliberate, pre-meditated, short-term money grab,” Variety reports.
“This group chose to recklessly, greedily, and intentionally disregard the agreement that Quentin signed instead of following the clear legal and ethical approach of simply communicating with Miramax about his proposed ideas,” Williams said. “This one-off effort devalues the NFT rights to ‘Pulp Fiction,’ which Miramax intends to maximize through a strategic, comprehensive approach.”
According to the suit, Tarantino’s lawyer told Miramax that he still has the rights to allegedly publish his screenplay in Miramax’s contracts, and that he is exercising that right through the NFT sale.
Miramax argues that NFT’s are considered a one-time sale, and Tarantino is not entitled to the publication of the screenplay, as Miramax still owns all the NFTs rights.
Tarantino’s representative has refused to comment.