David Bianchi Has Created A World Were Tech and Cinema Coexist In New Series RZR

David Bianchi has created a world of grim mystery and science fiction in his new series RZR. The show is debuting on Gala Film, which is powered by GALA, a leading Web3 company focused on enhancing the viewer experience. With the world constantly changing and evolving, Bianchi continually challenges himself to create work that is true to himself yet also a clear reflection of the world we live in. He is merging his two passions — technology and cinema — in RZR, the first-ever title to be released exclusively on the blockchain through Gala Film. Makkedah Ramsey from Pop Culture Planet connected with him to discuss the origins of the show and his choice to work with GALA.

Bianchi is an artist who revels in the joy of his work. Although it may not always be easy, it is precisely where he wants to be. He focuses on the greatness of being able to do work he loves, reminding himself of his humble beginnings. “For 15 years, I was a waiter and a bartender, and I wish I had their problems, right?” he told me. “And so now, I have those self-sustaining artist problems, but they're not really problems, they're obstacles.” That's the heart of who he is as a creator. As he works, he pushes himself to appreciate the opportunities he has created for himself and continually creates with passion and hope.

Every body of work tells its own story, but beyond that, it finds its own way to connect with its audience. Stepping into the world of RZR, which has a rough, dark, and gritty exterior, it wasn't the visuals of the dystopian setting that sparked this world but rather the story of Bianchi finding himself as an artist. “During the pandemic, I got heavily involved in NFTs. I had been an independent filmmaker for 20 years and had been working in Hollywood as an actor and filmmaker for 18-19 years. So when the NFT boom hit, I ended up minting one of the first short films as a one-of-one NFT,” he said. “It ended up auctioning hugely successful. Forbes covered the story, I donated all the proceeds to the George Floyd Memorial Foundation, and quickly became a very sought-after socially conscious artist but also a thought leader in blockchain cinema.”

This eventually lead to him meeting the people behind GALA, allowing him to establish himself in blockchain cinema and be asked to be the first partner of GALA Films as they build their new “ecosystem.” The one question that remained was what world did he want to bring to life? Bianchi emphasized creating a world that's true to Web3, focusing on all the ideas he has truly immersed himself in while also creating something that would “appeal to the demographic of tech but also create something that I would want to watch.” Having his two passions be the main focus of this project is the best of both worlds but also creates the challenge of balance because he's clearly appealing to two different audiences simultaneously.

“If you want a Hallmark movie, go fucking call somebody else, don’t call me,” Bianchi said. That’s the spirit of RZR, a gritty and unhinge work that is not packaged up in a neat bow but challenges society and takes viewers on an adventure of their own. Some of the films that inspired his creative vision are Blade Runner, Children of Men, the first Matrix, and Prisoner, which have elements of passion that really stood out to Bianchi and helped him create the world of RZR. There was a clear aesthetic for him while creating that never disappeared, but what really sparked the storyline was Elon Musk's Neuralink technology. It made him start asking questions his main character could explore. The main character Grimm, also known as Razor, who he labels as an anti-hero, is “a bit flawed but he’s a mad scientist, and he creates this device that is like a brain implant but it’s like 10,000 times better than Neuralink. In other words, it allows you to access all data instantaneously, download, transmit, and execute in real time.”

Bringing this character to life required a great understanding of humanity. Grimm’s brain implant is dangerous, not necessarily in his hands, but for the world. “This sort of technology would do very different things in Pope Francis’ mind and would do very different things in Vladimir Putin’s mind,” said Bianchi, which he thought was a valuable storyline to dive deeper into as it questions the morality of humans but also the threat artificial intelligence poses to our society. In the show, his lead character Grimm struggles with this as he realizes something he intended to do good with is also capable of so much evil.

Though the story of Grimm is told through the creative lens of Bianchi, they could not be more different. Bianchi in fact says he wanted to play someone who is “anti-Bianchi.” Bianchi’s energy is light, uplifting, and positive, while Grimm is a lot more low energy, pessimistic, and aggressive. Bringing him to life was all about “discipline.”

“Every time I went to a scene, I had a numeric value that told me how high he was, that told me how tired he was, so that I could create a performance that, when we cut it together, it would be consistent,” he shared. While the storyline has many layers for viewers to interact with, the show is also an immersive experience with mysterious boxes that allow viewers to get more involved in the storyline using extra scenes. It’s a “gamified” experience. Viewers can collect these extra scenes and begin earning crypto through the ecosystem of Gala Films. This is another way to interact with the audience on a Web3 platform. “It's really quite simple. If you just want to go to watch, then just go to watch and it’s not complicated. If you want to get involved with the lore and the immersiveness of what you just asked for, that involves going deeper.”

No show is entirely successful without a great team and Bianchi claims he was able to gather such a great team because of two things: the script and his previous work. He has some cinema favorites on his side as well like Emilio Rivera, Danny Trejo, Mena Survuia, and Richard Cabralia. He received a lot of support from the actors he brought on, trusting in his vision and bringing it to life, which is what created an atmosphere of excitement and exploration.

What about GALA made them the best streaming service to work with on this project? “They are focused on the creator economy, they are interested in giving provenance and power to the creator,” said Bianchi. He was given full creative control on his project, which built a level of trust and ultimately made working with GALA stand out amongst other services. “I’m not going anywhere, if I can continue to create this way with GALA, I will stay with GALA for the rest of my career.”

RZR is an Emmy nominee for the short-form content category and is now streaming on GALA Films.