Chain Reading Good Article: Jeff Garzik Launches Web3 Production Company

Jeff Garzik, lead developer of the Linux operating system and the Bitcoin Core project, announced the launch of NextCypher Productions on Tuesday.This independent entertainment company aims to make independent sci-fi entertainment using Web3 tools.

“Back in 2010, I was the third most prolific developer of the original blockchain, Bitcoin,” Garzik told Decrypt in an interview.“So I worked directly with Satoshi [Nakamoto] and his No. 2 Gavin [Andresen] — that was my opportunity to get into crypto.”

Garzik is also known for co-founding Bloq, Spacechain and Vesper Finance.

Garzik says NextCypher has brought back his passion for science fiction, which he says led to his love of crypto in the first place.

Garzik says the roots of Web3 can be found in the pages of cyberpunk fiction.The genre includes pioneering games like William Gibson's Neuromancer, Neil Stephenson's Avalanche, and role-playing games like Shadowrun and Cyberpunk.

But unlike Stephenson — who in June announced the launch of his “metaverse” project Lamina1 with another Bitcoin pioneer, Peter Vessenes — Garzik’s vision is in film and television.

While a background primarily in software engineering and cryptocurrency isn't exactly a good fit for a Hollywood career, Garzik says he found people like Mark Altman and Thomas Vitale who already had experience in the type of production he envisioned.

Garzik said, "We hired a mix of producers and showrunners who were not only experienced in general film and television, but who knew how to create something within a budget and schedule."

To get the project off the ground, Garzik told Decrypt that he had invested $1 million himself to fund NextCypher, intending to launch the first TV project, Deathlands (based on Jack Adrian's novel, produced by Altman and Vitale) and Look Glass,Based on Garzik's original concept, launching in 2023.

Looking Glass tells the story of a young woman with amnesia who falls in love with a group of "grid runners" and continues her search for her true identity, in a graphic novel by NextCypher subsidiary Next Cypher Words+ArtThe Form premiered, last month at San Diego Comic-Con.

The character "runner" is a familiar archetype in cyberpunk, from Cyberpunk 2077's Edgerunners to Shadowrun's namesake Shadowrunners.

In addition to Garzik's NextCypher, other sci-fi/cyberpunk-themed works in Web3 are currently in development.In May, Bryan Unkeless, Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, Bryce Anderson, and Blaise Hemingway, co-creators of the Web3 multimedia sci-fi project "Runner," discussed their project with Decrypt.

"While our core story focuses on a few characters, it's a natural extension to think of PFP as a way to really start creating a specific identity in our world," Unkeless said at the time.

Like Unkeless's project, Garzik is looking to leverage Web3 technologies such as non-fungible tokens or NFTs.These unique tokens are associated with digital (and sometimes physical) content, providing proof of ownership.

In addition to NFTs, the project aims to use social media to connect with global audiences, giving backers and fans access to opportunities such as exclusive marketplaces and exclusive previews and experiences, including opportunities to interact with stars and creative teams and gain access to the creative process.

"It's called the alpha pass," Garzik said."You don't have to pay anything. You show up within the time window and ask for a copy."

As Garzik explained, NFTs will be the gateway to the NextCypher Hollywood-plus experience.

"We try to come up with all the fun, amazing, engaging ways that fans want to be involved in the process from literally the idea stage all the way to post-production and streaming on Amazon or Netflixin."

Using NFTs to engage with fans and create buzz is nothing new.Earlier this year, famed indie director Quentin Tarantino launched a series of NFTs based on his iconic film Pulp Fiction, despite a lawsuit from Miramax Films, which owns the film's intellectual property.In May, legendary filmmaker Spike Lee announced the launch of a series of Ethereum NFTs based on his role as Mars Blackmon in "She Must Have It" to help fund young filmmakers and allow NFTsHolders vote on which items to make.

“We still pursue traditional production financing,” Garzik said."NFT income is used for new project development, community events and other fan add-on experiences."

Garzik said the team is still working out which blockchain NFTs will be minted on, but noted the idea is to avoid the high fees currently associated with ethereum.

“We are currently looking for the best accommodation for this,” Garzik said.“So the default answer is to connect Ethereum sidechains like Polygon or Avalanche. We are still negotiating between projects to see where we will land.”