Anthony Hopkins Film 'Zero Contact' To Premiere As NFT

Anthony Hopkins is following up his Academy Award-winning performance in “The Father” with a new feature having its premiere as a non-fungible token.

The New Movie: In the new thriller “Zero Contact,” Hopkins plays a technology genius who has achieved a global cult following among the digitally inclined. However, his final invention has the capacity to annihilate mankind, and his devoted followers are forced to work together in figuring out how to shut down this creation before it wreaks fatal havoc on the planet.

Filmmaker Rick Dugdale shot the film in 2020 throughout the coronavirus pandemic, remotely supervising production in 17 countries. The actors in the film took virtual direction from Dugdale and filmed their scenes within their own homes.

“Once we found the right script allowing us to lean heavily on virtual footage, all of the elements started coming together to produce, direct and shoot the entire movie remotely using unconventional platforms, online technology and even security cameras,” said Dugdale in a press statement.

Dugdale and Hopkins previously collaborated on the 2015 film “Blackway.” The new film, which was originally titled “92,” was produced by Enderby Entertainment. The film does not have a distribution deal for either theatrical, streaming or DVD release.

The Release Strategy: “Zero Contact” is being premiered as an NFT via Vuele, a direct-to-consumer, full-length feature film NFT viewing and distribution platform built by CurrencyWorks CWRK.

According to Cameron Chell, co-head of Vuele and chairman of CurrencyWorks, the winners of the NFT auctions for “Zero Contact” will receive “special editions of the movie” that feature interviews with the cast and filmmakers and footage that will not be available when the film goes into wide release. Chell stated that the NFT version adds a new dimension to the movie lover’s experience with the cinematic experience.

“The fun thing for a movie fan is to be at the premiere of the movie — whether it is the red carpet premiere or the theatrical premiere with advance tickets,” he said. “We view this as way for people to be able to get a premiere of a special edition of this movie, even before it hits the theatrical premieres.

“And, it's focused on those people that want to see the latest content and want to own a piece of something that's unique and scarce,” he added.

“This caters to their collector mentality – kind of little bit how we used to collect DVDs or Blu-rays. We think that there's a market for people who want to own their own unique content and be able to build on their on their digital collections.”

Chell said “Zero Contact” will be the first in a series of new feature films that will premiere as Vuele-based NFTs before going into other release formats. The NFT auction for "Zero Contact" is being planned for September.

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Photo: Screen shot of Anthony Hopkins accepting his Academy Award for "The Father" in April via a video on his Instagram page.