Jon Jacobs (actor)
Jon Jacobs (born 10 September 1966 in Derbyshire, England) is an English actor, entrepreneur, director, producer, writer, and creator of the avatar Neverdie from the virtual world Entropia Universe that Reuters described as "a legendary adventurer, celebrity, and fabulously wealthy entrepreneur in the online world of Entropia".[5] The Associated Press described Neverdie as an "Internet icon".[6][7][1][8][9][10]
Jon Jacobs | |
---|---|
Born | Derbyshire, UK | 10 September 1966
Occupation | Actor, entrepreneur, director, producer, writer |
Known for | Lucinda's Spell, Hey DJ, Rocktropia Virtual World, Zombie Kong |
Spouse(s) | Cheri London (m. 3 August 2006)[1] |
Partner(s) | Tina Wiseman[2][3][4] ( - February 20, 2005) |
Children | 3 |
Website | neverdie |
As a film actor, director and producer Jacobs is best known for films such as The Girl with the Hungry Eyes,[11] Lucinda's Spell,[12] Charlotte Sometimes, Hey DJ, and RevoLOUtion.[13]
Biography
Jon Jacobs grew up in London. His mother Jackie White was Miss United Kingdom in 1962, his father Adrian Jacobs was an infamous 60s financier. Jon was expelled from the Famous British stage school Sylvia Young's in 1981. In 1986 he made his screen debut in the short film Salette. Jon followed up by directing and acting in Metropolis Apocalypse and Moonlight Resurrection 1987, Metropolis Apocalypse was an official selection in the Semaine de' la critique at the Cannes film Festival 1988. Jon's first lead role in a feature was the critically acclaimed "Welcome Says the Angel" co-starring Rutger Hauer's daughter Ayesha, he also Played the lead in Hungarian Film Week Winner "Johnny Famous" and the audacious Festival hit "Lucinda's Spell".
1992 Jon wrote and Directed The Girl With the Hungry Eyes Exec Produced by Cassian Elwes and in 1995 Jon Jacobs Wrote Directed and Starred in the Micro-budget Feature "The Wooden Gun" a Period Black and White Western
In 2002 Jon created the Iconic "Neverdie" avatar inside the Entropia Universe. In 2005 Jon co-directed and starred as DJ Hound Dog in the Electronic Dance Movie "Hey DJ! Film featuring a line up of many of the worlds top international DJ's.
In 2005, Jacobs mortgaged his home to buy a virtual asteroid for US$100,000, being the most valuable virtual item ever sold at that time.[14] The next day, he got an offer to sell the asteroid for US$200,000, but he refused. The asteroid space resort was named Club Neverdie after its owner's avatar name.[15] In 2010 Jon Jacobs sold the Asteroid Space Resort to various other Entropia Universe participants for a total of US$635,000.[16]
Jacobs' avatar subsequently appeared in The Discovery Channel documentaries Gamer Generation and I, Videogame,[17] it also appeared in the Canal+ documentary La Vraie vie des mondes virtuels. ABC News did a video interview with Jacobs entitled A Portrait of the Avatar.[18] The Los Angeles Times described Jacobs avatar as "the world's first cyber-superstar".[3]
Neverdie was included in the 2008 Guinness Book of Records as well as the 2010 Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition for owning "the most expensive virtual item", namely the Asteroid Space Resort called Club Neverdie. The club is also host to the Massive Multiplayer Online World Championships (MMOWC). Neverdie has appeared on 60 Minutes[19] and numerous other international and U.S. national media and publications.
Other than Club Neverdie, Jacobs also possesses other land areas at the Entropia Universe’s Calypso planet, the most notable being Bank, at starting location Port Atlantis, bought for US$90,000.
The estate of his late father Adrian Jacobs attempted to sue J. K. Rowling and Bloomsbury Inc. for plagiarism of Adrian Jacobs's book Willy the Wizard in the Harry Potter series. However, the case was dismissed after security of costs were not paid to the court.[20][21]
In 2008, Jacobs founded NEVERDIE Studios to create entertainment driven virtual worlds on the Entropia Platform. Planets produced by NEVERDIE Studios have included Rocktropia and Next Island.[22][23]
In 2011, NEVERDIE Studios started working with Universal Pictures; the first title to launch was Hunt The Thing, a film length MMO inspired by both John Carpenter's 1982 version of The Thing and the 2011 prequel.[24][25]
In 2015 NEVERDIE Studios announced the launch of a new virtual King Kong trilogy in collaboration with Universal Licensing and Partnerships, set in the ROCKtropia virtual world and based on the 2005 film King Kong, directed by Peter Jackson. The first title in the trilogy, Zombie King, features the tag line "King Kong is Back! ...From the Dead!"[26][27]
On 27 March 2016 Jon Jacobs became the "First President of Virtual Reality".[28] He proclaimed himself to be a democratic capitalist and pledged to create a billion jobs in virtual reality.
In April 2016 Jon Jacobs revealed his plan to create three million jobs in virtual reality[29] by 2030 through the privatization of teleportation, the primary public transport system in the MMO Entropia Universe.[29]
In 2019 Jacobs acted in the role of Walt Warshaw in the psychological thriller Lost Angelas.[30] Jacobs won the Outstanding Performance Award at Method Fest Independent Film Festival in Beverly Hills alongside Ethan Hawke who tied for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor winner Edward James Olmos.[30][31]
See also
References
- Trevor Aaronson (3 August 2006). "Megabyte Millionaire". Miami New Times. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
- Shavit, Vered (22 July 2012). "Digital Dust: An interview with the gamer Jon "NEVERDIE" Jacobs". digital-era-death-eng.blogspot.com. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
- Stephen Totilo (27 May 2011). "In The Virtual World, His Fiancée Never Died". Kotaku.
- "Memorial Island - Entropia Universe 2015". entropiadirectory.com. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
- Hillis, Scott (21 June 2007). "Real economy thrives in virtual world". Reuters. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
- "Virtual World Serious Money". Asap.ap.org. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
- "About Realityport". Realityport.com. Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
- Club Xanadu. "Club Xanadu". Escapist Magazine. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
- "Virtual club to rock pop culture". BBC News. 2 November 2005. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
- "ABC News". Video.aol.com. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
- "Interview: Jon Jacobs: The Boy with the Hungry Eyes". digitallyOBSESSED!. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
- "'Lucinda's Spell': Wild Time in New Orleans, and It Sure Isn't Mardi Gras". The New York Times. 10 September 1999. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
- Catsoulis, Jeannette (19 May 2006). "RevoLOUtion (2003)". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
- "Gamer buys virtual space station". BBC News. 25 October 2005. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
- Domokos, John (11 January 2008). "Making Money. Jon Jacobs Neverdie". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
- "And the Asteroid Goes To". entropiaplanets.com.
- "Discovery Channel". Yourdiscovery.com. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
- "A Portrait of the Avatar: The Meeting". ABC News. 10 March 2006. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
- "60 minutes – ''My second life'' video". Video.msn.com. 24 June 2007. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
- "Harry Potter plagiarism case dismissed in UK". Reuters. 18 July 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
- "Harry Potter v Willy The Wizard". The Daily Telegraph. UK. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
- Dean Takahashi (11 May 2010). "Rocktropia virtual world for music lovers debuts". Venturebeat.com. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
- Dean Takahashi (8 December 2010). "Next Island launches its time travelers virtual world". Venturebeat.com. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
- "Movie-Based MMOG Hunt The Thing Launches". News.mmosite.com. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
- "NEVERDIE Studios Announces the Launch of Movie-Based MMOG Hunt The Thing". Tentonhammer.com. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
- "Official Site of Zombie Kong". Zomkong.com.
- "Gamers Loot $20,000 From King Kong Inside Entropia Universe 3D Virtual Reality World". PRNewswrie.com. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
- "Jon 'NEVERDIE' Elected President of VR - Promises One Billion Jobs in Virtual Reality - SERIOUS WONDER". SERIOUS WONDER. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
- "President of Virtual Reality Unveils Plans to Create 3 Million Jobs with the Virtual Public Transport IPO". Vrlife.news. 3 May 2016.
- "Method Fest". IMDb. 2019.
- LePire, Bobby (29 March 2019). "Lost Angelas". Film Threat.