The first ever Feature Film NFT. Offering participants the opportunity to be a part of the filmmaking process through the crypto and Blockchain world. Launching on Opensea: https://opensea.io/collection/five-families
NFTs have disrupted the art world, now people are calling for film to step in, we agree. It is the natural progression to this technology. We see so much potential here for artists to make something on their own terms, and to make the films they really want to make. Independent film has been a wild west sector for so long, it can take years to find a home even with a world class script, but bump into the right person at the right bar at Cannes and suddenly your life could change. It shouldn’t be that way, we’re hoping this lends more of an organized ecosystem to the film development process. More of a meritocracy for the best projects to gain traction and build a community of participants who are all rooting for its success.
Five Families, like Whiplash before it, started its life as a short film and a festival favorite. Critics and audiences responded to the timely themes of police corruption, the new generations surpassing the old, the authentic cinematography, carefully underwritten screenplay by Adam Cushman and Barry Primus (The Irishman), David Proval (The Sopranos), Christopher Redman (The Purge) and Laurence Fuller (Road To The Well.) New comer Joe Blute was Nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Award in the film. Unlike many films focused on the mafia this piece relies on the drama, the storytelling and the performances to drive the narrative.
“Five Families finds its drama without the need for hits, beating, and gunplay. For a mafia film, acting is its primary medium… Well worth ten quick minutes of your time.” - Film Threat ****
Adam Cushman’s vision is savagely poetic and nuanced yet is unrelenting with its tension, akin to that of Animal Kingdom or The Irishman.
“A tense and terse little piece, Five Families sits somewhere around a genre I'll call 'upstate noir'. The slightly more than suburban desperation of The Place Beyond The Pines, the rust and regret of Blue Ruin, the tinnitus and tedium of Copland.” - Eye For Film ****
“Adam Cushman wrote an incredibly powerful script blending a poetic literary style with a traditional gangster film aesthetic, he’s taking the best of that nostalgic gritty Seventies cinematic values and updating it for our time. There’s no doubt the themes in this piece regarding our relationship to the police and when lines are crossed is incredibly timely. I loved working with Adam on this and the feature screenplay that he sent me afterwards takes the story to another level entirely. How he managed to the underworld with such poetry is beyond me.” - Laurence Fuller
Laurence Fuller is an actor and screenwriter with lead roles in feature films including Road To The Well, Apostle Peter & The Last Supper and Paint It Red. In the last year Laurence has won 8 awards as a screenwriter for his biopic script about his late father Modern Art, which has now been picked up for development. His first venture into NFTs with the fine art and poetry collaborations at Elysium Verto Collection quickly expanded into his passion for film and he brought together filmmaker Adam Cushman, crypto influencer and trading expert Crypto Tony and Blockchain entrepreneur Louis Messmer. Find him on Twitter @laurencefuller
“When the guys approached me with the idea of making movies through the NFT community, I got excited. No profit margins, development meetings, casting ultimatums, turnaround, or any of the typical bullshit that goes on in the world of traditional movie making, just art generating art in a community of artists and art lovers. I'm thrilled to be connecting with the NFT community in the creation of Five Families. This story is close to my heart and it began as a short film that we made two years ago. Most people who see the short agree there's a larger story here and can see it as a feature film. Five Families isn't a typical gangster picture. It's not based on a true story and it doesn't have anything to do with the real life Five Families on the east coast. Our story is about the last generation of Jewish career criminals, those who are on the fringes of organized crime in Southern California, who were associated with OC, but for the most part labored among the middle class. It deals with themes of family and heredity, darkness and inner violence, as well as history, identity, and the current epidemic of police violence against civilians. It asks who the real criminals are in a time where law and order has been turned upside down.” - Adam Cushman
Adam Cushman is a writer and director whose recent work includes the feature films The Maestro (starring Xander Berkley) and Restraint, and the short crime drama Five Families. He's the founder of Film 14, and his books include Cut and Critically Acclaimed. Find him on Twitter @Film14Trailers
“When Laurence approached me because he recognized a sense of keen appreciation for the innovative new world of NFTs, our initial conversation was only about his projects in the space and to compliment my curated collection of digital art. We quickly realized though that a shared vision existed and the plan was hatched to bring me on as a producer working with Adam and his remarkable vision regarding “Five Families.” For me, nothing could be more motivating than a new innovative approach to filmmaking that gives unlimited power to the creative essence of collaboration. It is a method that resonates with my belief of artist integrity first and foremost and I truly believe we will find a pure form of art through the energy that an entirely community funding film project will produce. I am so confident in Adam’s talents and of the remarkably talented cast in this production there is little doubt in my mind we are about to witness a historic success for independent film and the genesis of a true innovative work of art. Every investor in this project will become intimately tied to it in a way that has never existed before, and this is what our project will encapsulate in essence. Untethered creative expression combined with the power of community spirit and support.” - Louis Messmer
Louis Messmer is the CMO of BME (Blockchain Music Entertainment.) Through two assets MP3 (for musicians) and MP4 (for videographers, creatives of all kinds and influencers) BME uses cutting edge bonding curve technology on the blockchain to revolutionize direct fan to artist funding. With a set of soon to be released social media dapps (decentralized applications) BME will put the power to create back in the hands of the people and not the industry. Louis has also been a curator of gems and minerals for the past several years with his business The Mineral Collective as well as a collector for over two decades, helping source fair trade specimens and geologic oddities for thousands of top clients worldwide. You can learn more at www.mp3finance.com/ and https://mp4.social or find us on Instagram https://twitter.com/LaurenceFuller/status/1379984073347633152?s=20 and Twitter. @mp3finance & @mp4social
Five Families - The First Ever Feature Film NFT launching on Opensea: https://opensea.io/collection/five-families
Tony has been trading Cryptocurrencies for several years, becoming one of the top crypto influencers and loves every minute of it. Find him on Twitter: @CryptoTony_
Five Families - The First Ever Feature Film NFT launching on Opensea: https://opensea.io/collection/five-families
Adam, Laurence, Lou and Tony will be launching the NFT during a live Clubhouse on NFT.Tips this Saturday, April 10th @ 5pm - Q&A panel including cast from the film and Hollywood Legends Barry Primus and David Proval.
