Could NFTs Finance Your Next Project?

The future is encoded with crypto, so what does that mean for filmmakers and Hollywood? 

The spectacle of NFTs is slowly revolutionizing how feature films will find funding and distribution. Everyday consumers can become film financiers by simply purchasing a profit share in a film through “pre-sale NFTs.” 

Moviecoin.com, a crypto start-up, is leading the pack by partially financing the boxing biopic, Prizefighter, starring Russell Crowe and Ray Winstone. The lead developer of Moviecoin, James Hickey, told Express.co.uk that the groundbreaking inclusion of NFTs in the filmmaker process is “really to show that power can be returned to the artists and subsequently moved away from multiple intermediaries in a supply chain.” 

Hickey continues promoting the inclusion of NFTs in Hollywood by saying, “By tokenizing movie pre-production and selling NFTs representative of future rights we truly believe the whole industry will be turned on its head or at the least forced to give people a better deal.”

The company plans to help fund low-budget films to see how the process of NFTs sales would affect a film production process. By taking a low risk with smaller budget films, the company can test the waters before diving fully into the big-budget machine of Hollywood. 

One film Moviecoin has set to be 100 percent financed through presale NFTs is Mark O’Connor’s Oui Cannes. You can check out the presale NFTs for the film on the Opensea platform. 

O’Connor also spoke to Express.co.uk, saying, “NFT pre-sales for the film won’t only change the model of financing, it will change the way films are made and the types of films that get made.” 

Many filmmakers are not able to finance a film themselves, unless they are Francis Ford Coppola, and need the support of a studio to help finance their projects. The promise of NFTs financing films means that the creators who are often working under executive’s decisions are allowed to have full creative freedom, making the movie they want. 

O’Connor says, “Blockchain moviemaking frees up the artists and can break down the impenetrable walls of Hollywood, opening up the industry to more diverse storytelling.” 

So what do these presale NFTs look like? 

Right now, they are digital certificates, stored forever on the blockchain, that state the owner of a piece of artwork, film property, memorabilia, and more. In the case of pre-sale NFTs purchased on Moviecoin, the ability to receive a profit share of the film years after it has been released is one of the bonuses of aiding the film’s finances. 

O’Connor believes that NFTs could also be a new way of distribution for independent films. Those who purchase a pre-sale NFT to finance low-budget films could view the film once it is ready for distribution, allowing NFTs to act as a new way to stream films at home. 

The possibilities of NFTs only seem to be growing, changing how artists will think about financing films in the future. If Moviecoin can successfully finance low-budget films, then the industry could be looking at major changes in how it does business with filmmakers. Could filmmakers finally be in charge of their big-budget vision? We will have to wait and see. 

What do you think of pre-sale NFTs financing films? Could it work, or will it have disastrous consequences? Let us know in the comments below!