“I Live Here Now” is heading to the big screen. Julie Pacino is set to helm a feature inspired by her NFT photography series of the same title. Deadline reports that Utopia has signed on to produce and distribute the psychological horror pic.
Set to begin production in April 2022, “I Live Here Now” will “follow a young actress, disillusioned with the conflicting demands on her body by Hollywood, who runs away to the Madonna Inn after finding out she’s pregnant. But, as she becomes aware of employees watching her every move, she finds that the hotel itself has an even darker interest in her body than Hollywood.”
Pacino recently dropped “I Live Here Now: Keepers of the Inn,” a second photography NFT project related to the film. “Funds generated from the project will go towards financing the feature,” per the source. “Holders of NFTs from the two projects will have special access to the filmmaking process, including being able to weigh in on creative decisions.”
Pacino is also “launching an initiative to encourage female filmmakers to get into the NFT space, with women only accounting for 5% of total NFT sales to date. Her production company Tiny Apples will back a short film from the winner of its grant.”
“I’m incredibly inspired by the convergence of film, photography, and NFTs and how it will provide access to capital and community for independent filmmakers,” said Pacino. “The NFT space has changed my life by connecting me with an incredible community and enabling me to grow my body of work. I want this project to help pave the way for democratizing film financing and opening more doors for queer and female filmmakers to create and share their art.”
Dani Koenigsberg, VP, Development and Packaging for Utopia, added, “Like Julie, we see film as only one part of the full fan experience. Audiences want to engage in and around content in new ways, whether that’s acquiring merchandise, attending an event or having a personalized experience. Utopia loves working with filmmakers that want to disrupt the status quo while creating something unique and marketable.”
“Technology, like everything, is a double edged sword. On one hand, it enables us like-minded happy folks to connect, and on the other it can be used as a tool by negative forces to team up and attack. Personally, this NFT space has really opened me up to the idea that we are, in fact, moving in a positive direction,” Pacino said in a recent interview. “The outpouring of support and love that I’ve gotten a glimpse of from the people in this community is really encouraging. And it’s contagious, which bodes well for our future. I’m usually a pessimist when it comes to these types of things but I’m starting to see the glass as half-full.”
