Blockchain Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

K.J. Yossman New York and London-based American-European entertainment fund APX Group has appointed Andy Capper as chief operating officer and head of North American operations.He will oversee strategic and financial coordination of APX’s North America activity as well as business activities across the European divisions.

cryptocurrency markets and a big year for Web3 thievery in general, from NFT kidnappings to hacks taking aim at the crypto exchanges and the “bridge” entities that facilitate sales and trades. Duke University lecturing fellow Lee Reiners has emerged as a vocal doubter of the viability of cryptocurrencies as a meaningful factor for nations and commerce, particularly for the kind of rights-laden contracts struck in the entertainment industry. Reiners, who also hosts “The FinReg Pod” podcast on money and regulatory issues, was blunt in assessing the crypto moment as little more than a tulip-like investment fad in a conversation with Variety Co-Editor-in-Chief Cynthia Littleton.

Blockchains and metaverses. Crypto-currencies and non-fungible tokens.Over the past 12 months, as the world has eased out of pandemic crisis mode, the pop culture-verse and the Wall Street-verse have been rife with discourse and deal-making around a belief in the revolutionary potential of mind-bendingly complicated, internet-enabled new systems of communication, content creation, supply-chain management, legal documentation and banking.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorBlockchain — A distributed, publicly accessible database that functions as a ledger to record digital transactions (such as records of a cryptocurrency transaction). The blockchain provides a way to conduct verifiable, trusted transactions — without the need for a centralized third-party entity.Metaverse — A virtual-reality space in which users can interact within a computer-generated environment with virtual objects, artificial- intelligence elements or other users through virtual avatars.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorFox Corp. operates the only one of the four major U.S.

EXCLUSIVE: Blockchain tech company GoldenArk via its subsidiary GoldenArk Media, and independent film start-up Cherry Blossom Studios enter into $10M partnership deal.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorAfter nearly 12 years at Meta and Facebook, Nick Grudin is leaving the social-media giant. Grudin next month will join NFT digital-collectibles company Dapper Labs as chief business officer.Most recently, Grudin was VP of content and community partnerships at Meta, where he oversaw global partnerships and content across the company’s creator ecosystem, media, entertainment, sports and community initiatives.

EXCLUSIVE: Cryptocurrency pioneer Jeff Garzik has launched NextCypher Productions (NxC), a new independent entertainment company that will focus on using the emerging technology of Web3 (NFTs, crypto, blockchain applications) to empower the sci-fi community to turn fantasy into reality.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorNot everyone is jumping on the NFT bandwagon.Minecraft, the open-world game platform owned by Microsoft, has notified players that “integrations of NFTs with Minecraft are generally not something we will support or allow.”In the July 20 notice, the game’s developer, Mojang, said it has rules in place to ensure that Minecraft “remains a community where everyone has access to the same content. NFTs, however, can create models of scarcity and exclusion that conflict with our guidelines and the spirit of Minecraft.”Nonfungible tokens (NFTs) provide unique identifiers, which are part of a blockchain, that can authenticate the ownership of any form of digital asset (enabling markets for trading or selling those).

EXCLUSIVE: Mila Kunis has partnered with superhero creator Sharad Devarajan of Graphic India to launch Armored Kingdom Media Inc.—a new entertainment franchise spanning a Web3 trading card game, digital comics, animation and film, which will be built on the carbon-neutral, community-driven blockchain, NEAR. To commemorate the launch of the sci-fi/fantasy franchise, a limited-edition Issue #0 comic book NFT will be made available for free, for seven days only, at this link.

Jim Carrey debuted his first NFT artwork on Thursday, a digital painting titled “Sunshower” that features his contemplative voiceover. His foray into the world of blockchain joins a growing list of Hollywood celebrities to become enamored by the vanguard digital data system.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorWWE is hoping to pin down some cash in its first sale of NFTs featuring the wrestling entertainment company’s top stars.WWE, together with Fox Entertainment’s Blockchain Creative Labs, on Friday, June 3, plans to launch its its first NFT (nonfungible token) sale on Moonsault, WWE’s official NFT marketplace. The limited-edition collection will comprise more than 10,000 “NFT Flips,” each featuring a WWE Superstar tied to the Hell in a Cell event, which in the U.S.

Ken Kragen, best known for his work in putting together the massive ‘We are the World’ and ‘Hands Across America’ projects, has a posthumous venture launching today. The goal is to fundraise with NFTs for charities focused on climate, world hunger, cancer and Ukraine.

David Beckham revealed his plans to “put his feet up” following eldest son Brooklyn Beckham’s £3 million wedding this past Saturday to Nicola Peltz.The 46 year old jokingly told followers on Thursday that he would be resting for the time being after watching his son get married as he had another busy weekend ahead of him. In a video posted to his Instagram, David could be seen sitting back in a chair smiling whilst looking down at his phone with his feet raised up as he captioned: “Putting my feet up for the long weekend @digitalbitsorg” – tagging a blockchain for brands at the end.

If there’s one defining trait about Steven Soderbergh, beyond making terrific films, it’s his relentless curiosity and willingness to experiment. An innovator and early adopter of nearly any new technology that has been available to him —he was one of the first major filmmaker to embrace digital filmmaking, and has continued forging ahead with app-focused narratives like “Mosaic,” and backing iPhone-only projects for Quibi—Soderbergh has always shown himself to be a forward-thinker willing to play in any sandbox.

Founder of HYBE – the company behind BTS – Bang Si-Hyuk says that he recognises the concerns of music fans regarding NFTs. He adds that, as yet, the company “haven’t announced anything” super specific in that domain, although that doesn’t mean it won’t.In a new interview with Time Magazine, Bang reflects on the reaction to an announcement by HYBE last year that it planned to launch its own NFT exchange in the future.

Grimes has announced plans to release an “intergalactic children’s metaverse book”. It was only a matter of time.The musician revealed her plans while speaking at blockchain conference the Avalanche Summit in Barcelona, according to Bitcoin.com.

Kingship – the metaverse boyband created by Universal Music’s Web3 label 10:22PM – now have a manager. Who – like the four members of the group – is an NFT.

Andrew Wallenstein President and Chief Media AnalystFox Corp. isn’t exactly the first name that comes to mind when the inescapable subject of Web3 comes up, but Rupert Murdoch’s company is playing more aggressively in this innovative space than any other traditional media firm.The company’s year-old division Blockchain Creative Labs has been experimenting with the disruptive potential of digital ownership for properties as varied as “The Masked Singer,” WWE and, unexpectedly, SXSW.

Starter.xyz, the leading IDO launchpad, incubator and investor network, which has raised over $40 million (£30.5 million) in seed, private and public rounds for over 50 projects across multiple blockchains, is celebrating its first anniversary.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterFox’s animation house Bento Box Entertainment has signed a development deal with former TruTV executives Chris Linn and Marissa Ronca, and their consulting firm Contrast Media.Under the pact, Linn and Ronca will work closely with Bento Box’s development department, advising on creative strategy, packaging and development of animated projects for Fox Entertainment and ad-supported streaming service Tubi, as well as third-party platforms.Additionally, the WarnerMedia alums — Linn the former president of TruTV and Ronca the cable network’s former executive vice president and head of original programming and development — “will offer support” regarding Bento Box’s NFT studio, Blockchain Creative Labs. “Chris and Marissa are fantastic executives whose work we’ve admired for quite some time,” Scott Greenberg, co-founder and CEO of Bento Box Entertainment, said.

Chris Linn, former President of truTV, and Marissa Ronca, who was Head of Original Programming & Development at the WarnerMedia cable network, have struck a development deal with Fox-owned Bento Box Entertainment.

New kids on the blockchain! Best known for playing vampire Alice Cullen in The Twilight Saga franchise, Ashley Greene is taking her talents from Hollywood to the Metaverse. The actress recently launched a new NFT project called Fridgits alongside husband Paul Khoury and a team of female entrepreneurs.

Jeremy Gilbertson Dean Wilson and Joel Zimmerman (better known as the artist deadmau5) are established innovators on the fringe of music and technology. Wilson is Zimmerman’s longtime manager and the pair have been pushing, in lock step, the envelope of music production, performance and the relationship between artist and fan. Zimmerman, a native of Canada, is a creative technologist long driven by his love of gaming to explore all facets of technology in search of groundbreaking new music and elevated fan experiences.

EXCLUSIVE: The Gotham Group has launched an NFT-focused Emerging Technologies department, with the Hollywood management and production company tapping longtime manager Matt Shichtman to run it, while elevating him to partner.

EXCLUSIVE: Kate Bosworth (Superman Returns) is in advanced talks and Ron Perlman (Hellboy) and Lin Shaye (Insidious) are attached to star in action director Renny Harlin’s (Cliffhanger) horror-thriller Carrier, scripted by the 10 Cloverfield Lane writing team Josh Campbell and Matt Stuecken.

Ed Meza @edmezavarThe founder of the blockchain-based film sales platform Cinemarket is launching Cineverse, an ambitious start-up that will make it possible for filmmakers, distributors and producers to market films directly using blockchain and NFT tech.Established by Cinemarket CEO Adrian Lugol and partners Vincent Lopez and Daniel Siegler (pictured), Cineverse will allow users to buy, share, gift, sell and resell films over the platform.The idea for the project came to Lugol during Christmas of 2020, when he wanted to give his young nephew some DVDs of his favorite films. The plan was thwarted when he learned the family no longer owned an old-fashioned DVD player.“I was like, wow, how am I going to give you these movies in a simple way?” Lugol recalls.

Nick Clement Like its Park City counterpart, the Slamdance Film Festival has pivoted to an all-virtual affair this year, but it will now get underway Jan. 27, one week after Sundance, its proudly DIY spirit intact.

Global payments giant Visa has partnered with blockchain technology solutions firm Consensys to develop technology for Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs).

EXCLUSIVE: Peter Bogdanovich, who died January 6 at age 82, had one final creative project that will just got set for release. Weeks before his death, the disruptive filmmaker made LIT Project 2: Flux, which stars Kim Basinger in the first NFT collaboration between a legendary director and Oscar winning actress created specifically for and available only on the Ethereum blockchain. The project has been scheduled for January 25 release on that platform. Bodganovich worked with LIT, a project on the Ethereum blockchain dedicated to pushing the boundaries of NFTs.

After almost two years of downtime which has seen him grow his family and cherish every parenting milestone, Nick Carter’s preparing for the “uprooting” of returning to life on the road with the Backstreet Boys. But while he may be soaking up every moment with wife Lauren Kitt Carter and their three children, his eldest isn’t quite as interested in making the most of Carter’s last months in fulltime daddy mode.

Donald Trump paid a $2 million court-ordered fine after conceding he used his charitable foundation as a personal piggy bank.

Ubisoft‘s NFT program, a French trade union representing Ubisoft Paris has criticised the company’s new move.Earlier this week, the publisher revealed Ubisoft Quartz, which the company is calling the ‘first playable NFTs’ and will debut in Ghost Recon Breakpoint.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film WriterA new blockchain technology company spotlighting creator equity is rolling out its first series of non-fungible tokens — a collection that includes five unreleased tracks from DMX and a photograph of jazz legend Miles Davis.Melanated NFT Gallery, a Black- and female-owned startup in the NFT and metaverse space, is backed by marketing executive and New York Times bestselling author Nea Simone.

Angelique Jackson Slamdance has announced the full film lineup lineup for its 2022 edition, with a feature film competition that boasts 23 premieres, including 13 world premieres, six North American premieres, and four U.S. debuts.The independent film festival, known for its “by filmmakers, for filmmakers” mentality, will showcase a total of 28 features, 79 shorts, and seven episodes during its 28th edition.

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.