A lawyer for Quentin Tarantino has fired back at Miramax over its recent “Pulp Fiction” NFT lawsuit with all the intensity of Samuel L. Jackson’s Jules Winnfield reciting from the book of Ezekiel.
Tarantino’s attorney Bryan Freedman on Wednesday said plainly that “Miramax is wrong” in their lawsuit filed against the director over his plans to release a series of “Pulp Fiction” NFTs.
“Miramax is wrong — plain and simple,” Freedman said in a statement to TheWrap. “Quentin Tarantino’s contract is clear: he has the right to sell NFTs of his hand-written script for Pulp Fiction and this ham-fisted attempt to prevent him from doing so will fail. But Miramax’s callous decision to disclose confidential information about its filmmakers’ contracts and compensation will irreparably tarnish its reputation long after this case is dismissed.”
The line of seven non-fungible tokens (NFTs) was announced by Tarantino and blockchain company Secret Network earlier this month and includes uncut and unreleased scenes from “Pulp Fiction.” But those that buy the NFTs will also receive exclusive access to extras, including commentary from Tarantino and images of the handwritten first draft of the film’s screenplay.
But Miramax, which released “Pulp Fiction” and is planning to release its own NFTs based on its film library, alleges that Tarantino does not hold the rights to release the NFT line and that his team expanded plans for the line after a cease-and-desist letter was sent.
“This group chose to recklessly, greedily, and intentionally disregard the agreement that Quentin signed instead of following the clear legal and ethical approach of simply communicating with Miramax about his proposed ideas,” Miramax’s attorney Bart Williams said in a statement Tuesday. “This one-off effort devalues the NFT rights to ‘Pulp Fiction,’ which Miramax intends to maximize through a strategic, comprehensive approach.”
According to a copy of the Miramax lawsuit obtained by TheWrap, Tarantino’s attorney responded to the cease-and-desist letter by arguing that Tarantino was acting within his “reserved rights” to develop certain products based on “Pulp Fiction.” According to the original contract, this includes “print publication (including, without limitation, screenplay publication, ‘making of’ books, comic books and novelization, in audio and electronic formats as well, as applicable).”
Miramax’s lawyers argue that NFTs are not applicable under Tarantino’s reserved rights do not contain any forward language, while Miramax’s rights concerning “Pulp Fiction” cover “all media now or hereafter known.”
“Miramax will defend all of its rights in regard to its library, including rights relating to NFTs, and will not allow Quentin’s representatives to deceive others into believing they have the authority to make similar deals in violation of the rights agreements they signed,” Williams said.