In the first wave of books chronicling the rise of cryptocurrency, Camila Russo’s infinite machine Stand out. It’s a fast-paced, porous account of the creation of Ethereum, decrypt It has been called a “skillfully woven story that sometimes reads like a thriller”.
It’s not surprising, then, that Hollywood was calling soon—but Rousseau didn’t want to make a movie in the usual way. Instead, he raised money by selling NFT (on Ethereum, of course) and building an engaged Web3 community around the project. Now, with “Alien” director Ridley Scott’s production company Scott Free, the film is headed to the screens.
sat down with russo decrypt at the Cannes Film Festival to discuss the writing of the book and its journey towards the screen.
“I always wanted to write my book in a way that read like fiction; I wanted it to read like a novel,” she said. Despite this, he said, “I never really thought that the book would actually turn into a movie. My agent bought it when the book was just published, but it wasn’t cut back then.” .
That changed when Alejandro Miranda of Versus Entertainment and Francisco Gordillo of crypto hedge fund Avenue Investments got in touch. The pair were working on a documentary about blockchain, but decided to scrap it in favor of pursuing its adaptation. infinite machine, Miranda and Gordillo were “so curious and so passionate about this project,” Russo said, that their pitch won over Hollywood suitors, who “were not very committed to actually making the film.”
Infinity and beyond
From the start, Rousseau was keen to make a film in the spirit of the Ethereum and Web3 ethos. With Versus Entertainment revealing to the writer how the film was funded, he explained, “We started thinking about NFTs a lot from the start.”
“It seems very clear to me,” she said. “This is the first book about the history of ethereum, it will probably be the first on ethereum. It should certainly be funded with ethereum technology and ethereum community; it would not make sense to fund it only in the traditional way. “
With this in mind, they contacted artists from around the world to create NFTs for a collection celebrating Ethereum. “The idea was to get a group of artists who are just starting out in the NFT world who came from emerging countries,” Rousseau said. While many of the artists who benefited from the 2021 NFT boom came from the US and Western Europe, he said that “the places where NFTs really make a life-changing impact for people are in the emerging world. I thought maybe our project Could be a platform for artists who don’t get as much visibility.” To that end, 22.5% of total sales from collections go to the artists themselves.
Alongside the artwork, the Infinite Machine Collection also offers NFT holders the opportunity to be involved in the production of the film; Perks include the chance to be extra as well as invitations to shooting locations and film premieres. “The idea is to turn the filmmaking process on its head and start with the community,” Rousseau said. But more important, she said, “NFT holders are also members of a DAO, and the DAO has an executive producer role in the film itself.” The project’s DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) aims to fund and support other projects as well. “I would love for the ‘Infinite Machines’ project to survive and be my own thing, even without me.”
Web3 and the film industry
Rousseau argues that Web3 has the potential to revolutionize the film industry through DAOs, NFTs, and cryptocurrency investments. “It has an opportunity to open up production to people who might otherwise find it very difficult to get their film financed,” she said. “The funding part of this, going straight to the audience and not relying on third parties, or VCs or anyone else, is very important.”
He said that level of community engagement is also something that has never been tried before in the film industry. “I guess we’re still learning how to best do it; what kind of utility works, doesn’t?”
One challenge will be how future projects can share movie royalties with NFT holders, something that “The Infinite Machine” has not yet attempted due to regulatory concerns.
Another area that is ripe for disruption is film distribution. “Storing the film in a really decentralized way, buying an NFT that could be the medium for the film and the protocol to these distribution platforms – which is still in its early stages,” she said, but it is “super exciting”. Is. He may somehow get away, though, he added; Blockchain scalability, UI and UX all have to be addressed first. “I think there’s still a huge technical gap,” she said. “Storage is an issue; The amount of space you need to store an actual movie in an NFT is hard to do in a decentralized way.”
However, Hollywood should not be complacent by those challenges. “Blockchain is building an additional value layer on top of the Internet; Web3 is here,” she said. “And I think it will start to permeate every industry; Of course, the film is not being dropped. And it is already happening. For me, it doesn’t really matter whether the traditional film industry is ready or not.”
to infinity
Meanwhile, Rousseau has a lot on his plate with his creation of “The Infinite Machine.” With the script still being written, the actual film is “still a few years away,” Russo said. (His prediction: 2024.)
And a lot has happened to Ethereum since the book was published, is this a sequel? “I would love to write another book; I really can’t wait,” she said. “I’m thinking about what it’s going to be about. I just need to delegate, take the time to write it.”
One element of the project that has inevitably sparked speculation: Who will play Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin in the film? When asked by an audience member Rousseau wouldn’t speculate—but appropriately—the community has already expressed its opinion on the matter, admitting: “People are making choices, and Rami Malek as someone who Keep coming which they’ll love. And Timothée Chalamet. And also, people like to say The Rock.”
Hollywood sex symbol Vitalik Buterin? This is a plot twist that no one saw coming.
Want to become a crypto expert? Get the best of Decrypt straight to your inbox.
Receive the biggest crypto news + weekly roundups and more!