Kevin Smith To Sell Rights to Horror Film Killroy Was Here As NFT

Kevin Smith’s next film Killroy Was Here is going to the burgeoning NFT market, with the director set to sell the rights to the film via blockchain. Deadline reports that Smith will auction off the horror anthology as a non-fungible token, with the owner gaining the rights to exhibit, distribute and stream the movie.

“As an indie artist, I’m always looking for a new platform through which to tell a story,” said Smith. “And Crypto has the potential to provide that, while also intersecting with our almost 25 years of experience selling real world collectibles online and at the brick-and-mortar Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash. Back in 1994, we took Clerks up to Sundance and sold it. Selling Killroy as an NFT feels very similar: whoever buys it could choose to monetize it traditionally, or simply own a film that nobody ever sees but them. We’re not trying to raise financing by selling NFT’s for a Killroy movie; the completed Killroy movie IS the NFT. And If this works, we suddenly have a new stage on which I and other, better artists than me can tell our stories.”

Non-traditional monetization is nothing new for Smith, who held an auction for the rights to Red State at Sundance in 2011 only to buy it himself (a move criticized by many as a publicity stunt). Lionsgate ultimately got the rights to that film’s packaged media, while Smith’s SModcast had the theatrical rights. That will not be the case with Killroy Was Here, whose rights will go entirely to the purchaser.

The film stars Azita Ghanizada, Ryan O’Nan, Harley Quinn Smith, Chris Jericho, Jason Mewes, Ralph Garman and Justin Kucsulain. The first trailer was released in July.