Can You Decentralize Hollywood via NFTs?

Gm and welcome to a new issue of Thndr Frens - the newsletter at the nexus of NFTs, entertainment, comics and animation put together by @casey_lau.

Welcome new subs - lots of people in the entertainment biz have been signing up for this newsletter which is great as this is who I made this for to help navigate what is happening in the future that is coming.

The Disney NFT Equation

A lot of the things I have been researching in the space have been vocalized on a podcast. This episode of Overpriced JPEGS by Carly Reilly was very insightful to me and think it really breaks down the NFT opportunity for IP creators with lots of great Disney references by guest Jon Rogers the former head of franchise for Disney. How does something like Cars or Pirates of the Caribbean make the transition to the Metaverse?

The current three models for NFT IP:

1. Wild West: you own the IP via an NFT. Go forth.

2. Bored Apes: brand is defined but you can sign your own deal.

3. VeeFriends: investing in the creator and you’re along for the ride.

Which one works the best or will still be around in a few months? Listen here:

🎙 10 - Former Disney Studio Exec Explains Intellectual Property | Overpriced JPEGs with Jon Rogers

And former Disney CEO Bob Iger just said this recently to Kara Swisher:

I do think— NFTs, I think, are real. I was a big trading card fan as a kid— baseball cards. I think the ability to collect things, even if they’re digital— we forget, in our generation, that things don’t have to be physical.

They can be digital, and they have meaning to people. And as long as that meaning can be essentially substantiated in a blockchain, I think you’re going to see an explosion of things being created, traded, collected in NFTs. And the NFT possibilities, they’re extraordinary.

Spotlight on: Deadheads

I just got a Deadheads NFT because I listened to another of Carly’s podcasts - this time with the 2 founders of Deadheads and see them building something great and wanted to be part of it: the first ever animated series that gives character ownership rights to its fan base via NFTs.

It is an animated series, but the trick is if you stake your Deadheads NFT (meaning you won’t try to sell it for 24 months) then they will consider your specific 1:1 character to be in a future episode of the show, if your NFT gets cast you get some of their proprietary tokens called $SHOW. The show is on YouTube now but the idea is that it will go further to Netflix, Amazon and then you retain ownership of the characters as it goes up in popularity.

Check out the show here. Pick one up on Opensea.

Liefeld’s NFT Drop: Success or Failure?

I put a spotlight on Deadpool-creator Rob Liefeld’s NFT comic launch last issue and participated in the 24-hour auction. I went onto Makersplace to bid on the art and with limited publicity it did OK. Nothing spectacular for its significance by the magnitude of the creator’s profile and not sure what their outcome was projected at, but looking at the number of pieces sold it looks like the collection sold for around $60,000. No idea when an actual comic will be released, don’t know much beyond these trading cards. Exciting? Frustrating? Meh?

I am mostly focusing on projects with roadmaps and that have the community element - Discord, Twitter Spaces, etc. - and this one had none of it. Sure, this may be a different type of NFT drop (it was released as editions based on how many people bought them. I got 1 of 47 for one of the characters.) More like a art gallery drop than a PFP project, which is great but I think there is a lot of money left on the table. Still tracking!

News

Valiant Comics is getting into NFTs. I doubt this will be anything super special in pushing the format forward but good for fans of XO-Manowar, Rai, Bloodshot and the gang.

Interesting panel of media execs from WWE, WarnerMedia, Snap and more discussing with Variety how they would integrate NFTs and the Metaverse into entertainment.

Hello Kitty and the Sanrio family are coming into the Metaverse but wow, you need to read this story to get the full idea from Sanrio’s 31-year old CEO that inherited the company title from his 94-year old grandfather!! Yes, that’s the story.

And finally:

Thanks for reading - see you in 2 weeks!

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