Spike Lee is entering the non-fungible tokens game in the most nostalgic way possible.
In a joint venture with The Visible Project, Lee will give fans an opportunity to own frames from his first joint, the 1986 hit film “She’s Gotta Have It.” Lee announced the curated collection of 3,945 NFTs, rendered from the 35mm cut of the film, via a video shared to social media.
“This is about the future,” says Lee in the two-minute clip featuring frames from the film. “NFT is gonna be Mars Blackmon…Mars is still a classic. I want us to take the power of web and NFTs into the arts and let’s get results, so we, the community, are gonna be green lighting content, small films that help change the lives of young filmmakers.”
In addition to frame-by-frame stills of Mars Blackmon, who is played by Lee in the film, art designed by Tre Seals and Adrian Franks will be included in the collection. “This revolutionary collection and initiative will bring a tremendous amount of impact for NFTs within ‘traditional’ entertainment,” said Eliot Greene of Habitat Labs. “We are forging a new kind of marketplace where collectors will own a piece of classic cinema history and have the opportunity to fund and green light real projects.”
Lee will also serve as chairman of The Visible Project, helping to highlight up- and-coming creators have yet to be discovered. “She’s Gotta Have It” has long been a favorite among Lee’s fans, but in 2019 the film became “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” when it was added to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.
In 2017, Lee revamped the film into a series starring actress DeWanda Wise as the main character, Nola.
While still considered new technology, NFTs already have garnered the attention of the public and celebrities hoping to capitalize on the movement before it is oversaturated with digital assets that only few can afford.
