Jon Jacobs

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]

For other people named Jon Jacobs, see Jon Jacobs (disambiguation).

Jon Jacobs
Jacobs in 2017
Born (1966-09-10) 10 September 1966
Derbyshire, England, UK
Occupation(s)Actor, entrepreneur, director, producer, writer
Known forLucinda's Spell,
Hey DJ
SpouseCheri London (m. 3 August 2006)[1]
Partner(s)Tina Wiseman[2][3][4]
( – 20 February 2005)
Children3
Websiteneverdie.com

As a film actor, director, and producer, Jacobs is best known for films such as The Girl with the Hungry Eyes,[8] Lucinda's Spell,[9] Charlotte Sometimes, Hey DJ, and RevoLOUtion.[10]

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. Jacobs 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. Jacobs'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.

In 1992 Jacobs wrote and directed The Girl with the Hungry Eyes, which was executive produced by Cassian Elwes. In 1995 Jacobs wrote, directed, and starred in the micro-budget feature The Wooden Gun, a period black and white Western.

In 2002 Jacobs created the Iconic "Neverdie" avatar inside the Entropia Universe.[11] In 2005 he co-directed and starred as DJ Hound Dog in the electronic dance movie Hey DJ!, featuring a lineup of many of the world's 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.[12] Jacobs claims that he received an offer to sell the asteroid for US$200,000 the following day, but he refused. The asteroid space resort was named Club Neverdie after its owner's avatar name.[13] In 2010 Jon Jacobs sold the Asteroid Space Resort to various other Entropia Universe participants for a total of US$635,000.[14]

Jacobs's avatar subsequently appeared in The Discovery Channel documentaries Gamer Generation and I, Videogame,[15] 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.[16] The Los Angeles Times described Jacobs's 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.[17]

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 the security of costs were not paid to the court.[18][19]

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.[20][21]

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.[22][23]

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 tagline "King Kong is Back! ...From the Dead!"[24][25]

On 27 March 2016, Jon Jacobs became the "First President of Virtual Reality".[26] 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[27] by 2030 through the privatization of teleportation, the primary public transport system in the MMO Entropia Universe.[27]

In 2019 Jacobs acted in the role of Walt Warshaw in the psychological thriller Lost Angelas.[28] 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.[28][29]

In 2023 Jon Jacobs won the prestigious "Seymour Cassel Award for Best Actor" at the Oldenburg International Film Festival for his Portrayal of legendary indie film producer Cassian Elwes in Elwes' directorial debut Passenger C[30] [31]

See also

References
  1. Trevor Aaronson (3 August 2006). "Megabyte Millionaire". Miami New Times. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  2. 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.
  3. Stephen Totilo (27 May 2011). "In The Virtual World, His Fiancée Never Died". Kotaku.
  4. "Memorial Island – Entropia Universe 2015". entropiadirectory.com. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  5. Hillis, Scott (21 June 2007). "Real economy thrives in virtual world". Reuters. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  6. "Virtual World Serious Money". Asap.ap.org. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  7. "About Realityport". Realityport.com. Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  8. "Interview: Jon Jacobs: The Boy with the Hungry Eyes". digitallyOBSESSED!. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  9. "'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.
  10. Catsoulis, Jeannette (19 May 2006). "RevoLOUtion (2003)". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  11. Chiang, Oliver. "Meet The Man Who Just Made A Half Million From The Sale Of Virtual Property". Forbes. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  12. "Gamer buys virtual space station". BBC News. 25 October 2005. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  13. Domokos, John (11 January 2008). "Making Money. Jon Jacobs Neverdie". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  14. "And the Asteroid Goes To". entropiaplanets.com.
  15. "Discovery Channel". Yourdiscovery.com. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  16. "A Portrait of the Avatar: The Meeting". ABC News. 10 March 2006. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  17. "60 minutes – My second life video". Video.msn.com. 24 June 2007. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  18. "Harry Potter plagiarism case dismissed in UK". Reuters. 18 July 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  19. "Harry Potter v Willy The Wizard". The Daily Telegraph. UK. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  20. Dean Takahashi (11 May 2010). "Rocktropia virtual world for music lovers debuts". Venturebeat.com. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  21. Dean Takahashi (8 December 2010). "Next Island launches its time travelers virtual world". Venturebeat.com. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  22. "Movie-Based MMOG Hunt The Thing Launches". News.mmosite.com. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  23. "NEVERDIE Studios Announces the Launch of Movie-Based MMOG Hunt The Thing". Tentonhammer.com. 23 September 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  24. "Official Site of Zombie Kong". Zomkong.com.
  25. "Gamers Loot $20,000 From King Kong Inside Entropia Universe 3D Virtual Reality World" (Press release). PRNewswrie.com. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
  26. "Jon 'NEVERDIE' Elected President of VR – Promises One Billion Jobs in Virtual Reality – SERIOUS WONDER". SERIOUS WONDER. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  27. "President of Virtual Reality Unveils Plans to Create 3 Million Jobs with the Virtual Public Transport IPO". Vrlife.news. 3 May 2016.
  28. "Method Fest". IMDb. 2019.
  29. LePire, Bobby (29 March 2019). "Lost Angelas". Film Threat.
  30. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/2023-oldenburg-film-festival-winners-list-1235592439/
  31. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/oldenburg-cassian-elwes-interview-passenger-c-directorial-debut-1235590744/
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