Film and television are hitting the blockchain as Hollywood steps into the metaverse.
Acclaimed actor David Bianchi, known for his roles in Netflix’s “True Story’’ and Peacock TV’s “Resident Alien,” is one of the early Hollywood actors to bring acting and filmmaking into Web3.
The NFT film pioneer released the first award-winning spoken word Spinema™ Film NFT “I Can’t Breathe,” donating 100% proceeds to the George Floyd Memorial Foundation, his series “The Modern Day Minstrel” sold out on SuperRare and was showcased on billboards around Tokyo, and David became one of the first curated artists ever to display NFTs at the LA Art Show in 2021.
The filmmaker also brought Hollywood to the metaverse by premiering his Spinema™ NFT “Break The Bars” in Decentraland. Bianchi’s film was the first to hold a red carpet premiere in the Metaverse, and had over 1,800 attendees.
The actor doesn’t think the Metaverse is the future of Hollywood, but he believes it is a part. “Think about Netflix for example. It’s not the future of Hollywood, but it’s part of the future of Hollywood,” shares Bianchi. “It’s part of the present of Hollywood. There’s suddenly this model where [audiences] are going to Netflix first and not going to the theaters at all.”
With the Metaverse still in early stages of development and technology, mass adoption in Hollywood may take some time. With only a particular niche of people able to attend an event in the Metaverse at any given time, tapping into those audiences makes the most sense for smaller or independent Hollywood projects right now.
But Bianchi predicts that the Metaverse may become a piece of a film’s rollout. “Maybe it’s a combination of a theatrical release, television release, streaming release and metaversal release.”
But what the Metaverse offers that the Web2 platforms do not is digital ownership and marketplace access. “Let’s not get it twisted,” urges the NFT filmmaker. “Metaverses are marketplaces and they just operate on their own currencies.”
“When I go into Decentraland, I can buy a wearable and an Augmented Reality movie poster as a collectible that might give me access to an AMA with an actor. I can buy virtual movie tickets that will give me access to this movie premiere and red carpet experience where I can have a creative photograph in front of the step-and-repeat with all the crazy wearables that I spent money on to help me stand out.
I can now proliferate that on Twitter, pop that up in my Discords, use that to showcase where I was, or I can mint a POAP (Proof of Attendance Protocol) which will verify unequivocally that I was there. That’s also a collectible.”
“With a metaversal Hollywood, there are things audiences can’t get in the physical space and will only have access to in the Metaverse.”
Bianchi believes as the entertainment industry and the Metaverse evolves, there will be films that will be produced just for the Metaverse as Hollywood makes its foray into Web3.
To watch David’s full interview on The Blockchain Hustler, click the video below.
Like our recently interviewed guest Bassy Bob, David Bianchi is also a prominent member of Future Shape 360 (FS360) — who delivered a keynote speech on movies in Web3 at the recent event in Denver.
