Kevin Smith is selling his upcoming horror anthology film Killroy Was Here as a non-fungible token (NFT). Smith is best known for his multimedia View Askewniverse, including films such as Clerks and Dogma, and numerous other television series, comic books, and a video game. Most View Askewniverse works feature the stoner buddies Jay and Silent Bob, portrayed by Smith and collaborator Jason Mewes, respectively. Killroy Was Here depicts a series of interconnected stories featuring a cannibalistic serial killer whose mutated long nose calls to mind the military graffiti character Kilroy.
NFTs are a form of cryptocurrency used to represent digital assets. Unlike fungible (tradeable) cryptocurrencies such as the well-known bitcoin, NFTs represent an original piece of art or collectible item. As they represent different objects with vastly differing values, they cannot be replaced or traded. Though others can still download or view a video or image, an NFT is a piece of distinct digital code that represents the true original.
Per Deadline, Smith will sell Killroy Was Here as one such NFT. Smith cited his excitement as an independent artist, calling NFTs "a new platform through which to tell a story." The writer/director will not obtain theatrical rights to the film, so whoever purchases the NFT will have total control over distribution. The owner will be able to decide whether to make money from the movie or "simply own a film that nobody ever sees but them." Fully committing to the cryptocurrency market, Smith has also created his own boutique, Jay and Silent Bob's Crypto Studio, at crypto.jayandsilentbob.com. Smith and Mewes will sell View Askewniverse collectibles and curated art in a marketplace built around commemorative "Smokin' Tokens" featuring character art. Read his full quote below:
As an indie artist, I’m always looking for a new platform through which to tell a story, and Crypto has the potential to provide that, while also intersecting with our almost 25 years of experience selling real-world collectibles online and at the brick-and-mortar Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash. Back in 1994, we took Clerks up to Sundance and sold it. Selling Killroy as an NFT feels very similar: whoever buys it could choose to monetize it traditionally, or simply own a film that nobody ever sees but them. We’re not trying to raise financing by selling NFT’s for a Killroy movie; the completed Killroy movie IS the NFT. And If this works, we suddenly have a new stage on which I and other, better artists than me can tell our stories.
Smith is not the first to sell a film as an NFT. Screen Rant exclusively reported that the indie film Lotawana, directed by Emmy Award-winner Trevor Hawkins, is currently being sold on OpenSea.io. The rights and world premiere are broken down into shares, and purchasers become co-owners of the film alongside Hawkins and his collaborators. Smith's NFT venture does mark an exceptionally high profile case, however. The decision to potentially lock the film away by selling distribution rights away is unprecedented, and the fate of Smith's marketplace could send ripples across the indie scene.
As entrepreneurial creators find ways to commodify their work, a debate has sprung up regarding the environmental impact of NFTs. They are stored via a digital ledger called a blockchain in which each subsequent block contains all of the data of the previous one. The unique cryptographic hash of an NFT is repeated endlessly down the chain. The amount of energy required to maintain the process is monumental, and so those concerned about the environmental impact have pushed back against the concept.
Fans wary of the contribution to global warming and those excited at the prospect of the new frontier alike must admit that Smith is on the cutting edge here. Killroy Was Here has the potential to make history in terms of distribution, and no one but Smith seems as qualified to pursue that end. As Smith blazes a trail, it remains to be seen whether he's ahead of the game or buying into a fad.
Source: Deadline
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