pulp fiction
Pulp Fiction.

Miramax

  • Miramax is suing Quentin Tarantino over his plans to sell “Pulp Fiction” NFTs.
  • Miramax, which produced the film, said Tarantino has limited rights to the movie. 
  • Tarantino announced plans on Nov. 2 to sell seven secret NFTs of never-before-seen clips from the film.

Miramax is suing Quentin Tarantino over his recently announced plans to sell seven NFTs of the highly acclaimed film “Pulp Fiction.” 

According to a lawsuit filed in the US District Court of Central California, Miramax, which produced the 1994 movie, is suing Tarantino for a breach of contract and copyright and trademark infringement. The Wall Street Journal was the first to report the news. 

Tarantino, who directed the movie, was “eager to cash in on the non-fungible token boom,” Miramax said in the lawsuit. In a Nov. 2 announcement, Tarantino said he would be auctioning seven so-called “secret” NFTs of never-before-seen clips on the OpenSea marketplace.

In response, Miramax sent a cease-and-desist letter to the acclaimed movie director, saying it reserved nearly all of the rights to the move, the lawsuit said. In response, Tarantino said his reserved rights were sufficient in allowing him to produce the digital assets, according to the suit. 

“The fact that Tarantino kept Miramax out of the loop is particularly problematic because he granted and assigned nearly all of his rights to Pulp Fiction (and all its elements in all stages of development and production) to Miramax in 1993, including the rights necessary for the ‘secrets from Pulp Fiction’ that he intends to sell,” the lawsuit said.

Insider could not immediately reach Tarantino for comment. Variety reported that his representative declined to comment to the outlet. 

The market for NFTs, digital art tied to the blockchain, has exploded this year, with nearly $11 billion in sales in the third-quarter alone. 

Celebrities, athletes, and artists alike have joined the craze, creating and minting their own NFTs to sell on marketplaces like OpenSea in exchange for cryptocurrency.