California-based United Talent Agency (UTA) has signed DeadFellaz for representation across the board, according to an exclusive report from The Hollywood Reporter. UTA represents artists, storytellers, entertainers and brands across the entertainment industry.
Deadfellaz, an NFT collection with Reese Witherspoon, Lionel Richie, Steve Aoki, Dillon Francis and Alexis Ohanian as headliners, has signed an exclusive deal with United Talent Agency (UTA) for representation in all areas, including partnerships, merchandising, gaming and live events.
The Deadfellaz project features 10,000 different NFTs of the zombie characters in the collection, similar to other NFT generative art collections such as CryptoPunks and Bored Apes, which include profile photos of the aforementioned characters with a diverse set of traits. NFT Deadfellaz holders, often referred to as “The Horde,” have access to virtual events and new collections, among other perks.
The news is out! We are thrilled to be working with the team at @unitedtalent who deeply understand our vision for the future of Deadfellaz. 🧟♀️💥 https://t.co/dU44OM5QNZ
— Deadfellaz (@Deadfellaz) April 19, 2022
Witherspoon, Aoki and Ohanian are known to be active in the NFT space, having partnered with NFT projects, launched their own NFTs or invested in Web3 projects, in addition to collecting NFTs.
Launched in August last year by anonymous co-creators calling themselves “Betty” and “Psych,” DeadFellaz has become a top project with a total market cap of $38 million and total sales volume of 26.3K ETH ($80 million).
“Very bullish on the future,” tweeted Deadfellaz co-founder “Betty” in announcing the signing of the deal with UTA, which has previously signed partnerships with CryptoPunks, Meebits and Autoglyphs.
Announcing @Deadfellaz is now represented by @unitedtalent – very bullish on the future 🧟♀️💖 https://t.co/xGAdiegtSX
— BETTY (@betty_nft) April 19, 2022
The talent agency will work with DeadFellaz co-creators Betty and Psych to expand the project into other mediums such as brand partnerships, merchandising, gaming and live events.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Lesley Silverman, head of Web3 at UTA, said, “We are excited to support the DeadFellaz project in other mediums such as merchandising, gaming and live events:
“We are very happy to support not only a female-led project, but also one that has been continuously committed to true inclusion and diversity at Web3 since its inception. Betty and Psych are true visionaries and leaders, and we look forward to all the ways we can work with them to bring value to the Deadfellaz community and make the metaverse a more equitable space.”
“It is an honor and a pleasure to work with the UTA team, who deeply understand both the web3 space and our vision for Deadfellaz,” said Betty. “This relationship, combined with our boundary-pushing innovation, paints a very exciting picture for the future of The Horde.”
DeadFellaz is the latest in a series of NFT projects that have entered into representation and media expansion agreements. These include World of Women and Bored Ape Yacht Club, represented by Guy Oseary, and Flower Girls, which has partnered with Dolphin Entertainment.
Reese Witherspoon’s media company, Hello Sunshine, has also partnered with World of Women to expand its universe of NFT characters into entertainment properties including feature films and scripted and unscripted television series.