It is based in New York City. Four short years later, the companys first original production, Barry Jenkinss Moonlight, won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Radcliffe (actor, Swiss Army Man): I could see them saying, like: Weve got a reputation now, and have money now. A lot of people in that position would then go, Okay, lets become quite conservative in our choices. And whats lovely is they are choosing to still channel that stuff back into supporting weird, different, ambitious ventures. John Hodges will be leaving A24 to pursue other opportunities, the indie distributor announced Monday. We want to go two thousand screens. More recently, it expanded from being an acquisitions-only distributor to producing home-grown fare as well as branching into TV. Its true that most audiences may not care about who it is thats releasing the movies they see, but an A24 film demands even casual viewers to consider the source. Itd be very unlikely for that to happen. I think he was in Hawaii on his honeymoon or something while it was all going down, so I felt terrible. You could tell that they wanted to be great. The only monsters we ever see in "It Comes at Night" are the ones that live under one roof. Tinder was yelling at us. I Was Like, Fuck Yeah!Barry Jenkins. TV production powerhouse Jax Media is expanding into film and tapped John Hodges, one of the founding partners of A24, as its new head of film. Since the small blast of trade articles that greeted the companys inception, theyve remained unusually quiet. Three were winners. Fenkel: I stare straight ahead. Wed be like, Heavey, just make sure hes alive and you can get him to communicate.. In between, A24 went from being a tiny, disorganized room of eight or so people to being the place where big stars like Robert Pattinson and Scarlett Johansson go to make small, strange movies, and auteurs like Jonathan Glazer and Denis Villeneuve go to make deeply personal films unmolested by studio notes or clueless executives. By surgically inserting each release into the zeitgeist, it has paved a new road for provocative, modestly sized cinema, bridging the gap between microbudget indies and monolithic studio products in much the same way Italys Autostrada A24 connects Rome to Teramo. Everybody wants to be A24. And, I mean, there was one moment in the movie when my character was booed and hissed so vociferously, I felt as though I was in a Roman arena and my life was at stake. You know what? Over the past six years I have been fortunate to work with a diverse group of talented storytellers across film and TV and look forward to continuing those collaborations in my future endeavors.. All the actors had taken the risk. Fenkel: We had a meeting. But I do remember finally looking over, because I didnt know where they were sitting, and I spotted Dan Katz and Dave Fenkel, and, man, the smile on their faces! A24 is not like other entertainment companies. We were planting seeds to grow. A24 is an American independent entertainment company founded on August 20, 2012, by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel, and John Hodges and based in New York City. An A24 project is far more likely to be female-driven than a film released by another company, and it is typically directed by a major filmmaker (Sally Potter, Sofia Coppola, Noah Baumbach) or a filmmaker on the cusp of becoming one (J.C. Chandor, James Ponsoldt). Please, just let those two!. Aizenberg: When I started, we didnt have Spring Breakers yet, but the whole focus of that very first meeting I went to was like, How do we get Spring Breakers? And the interns are running around trying to find a glassblower. Katz: We broke the record that weekend. As one of the founding members of the New York-based company, Hodges played a key role. Villeneuve: If my memorys good, I was amongst their, not their first movies, but they were a young company at the time. Katz, Fenkel and Hodges all got together in 2012 and decided to make their late night yammerings a reality. All Rights Reserved. Ask for forgiveness. I think it just showed that we cared about these movies so much. The company said he will exit to focus on "future opportunities," but did not clarify beyond that statement.. I was like, I think I need to find another job., Aizenberg: They were basically like, Dont release this movie.. Nicolette Aizenberg (distribution executive, A24): It is very cyclical. Distribution: Theatrical, TV, DVD-video, VOD, USA. You walk through that office, and there arent a lot of people that look like theyre from Liberty City, Miami. Gif excerpt from the film Ex Machina via A24 Films. Drinking champagne at nine in the morning. TV production powerhouse Jax Media is expanding into film and tapped John Hodges, one of the founding partners of A24, as its new head of film. We tried to put together a slate in, like, four months, as opposed to just really growing it, building it in the right way. He booked the theaters over the phone. [29][30], "A24 Films" redirects here. Not heyday. Which is vanishingly rare in the film industry. Like, standing ovation, fucking applause in the middle of the movie. I just started talking. Other indie labels, like Megan Ellisons Annapurna Pictures (which co-produced Spring Breakers), tend to go in the other direction, releasing a minuscule handful of movies into the currents of Oscar season in the hopes that the waters will carry them toward a crowd. Igoe: At SXSW, we had Spectacular Now, and Spring Breakers showed there. Or a screenwriter. Fenkel: But it was like, Youre not going to be 20 minutes late for Scott Rudin. So you ran. On the most literal level, an A24 film is budgeted from anywhere between $1 million (Obvious Child) and $20 million (A Most Violent Year). And we put in Oscar statues in his hands. They kept shutting us down. Katz, Fenkel and Hodges prior to A24 worked in film and production, before leaving to eventually co-found the company, Their whole point was, We dont know this world. You were in the A24 offices. I agree with TheWrap's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy and provide my consent to receive marketing communications from them. Contrast that with its embrace of every grimy detail of demented dubstep nightmare Spring Breakers, for which the company went so far as to mount a sincere consider this sh*t awards campaign for James Franco. A24, originally a small independent movie distributor, has quickly transformed into one of the most respected and successful names in cinema production. In the last 18 months alone,along with Room and The End of the Tour,it has pioneered the abortion comedy with Obvious Child, scored a commercial hit with the seductive thriller Ex Machina, released one of the most daring science fiction films this side of 2001 in Under the Skin, and driven the most lucrative documentary in years with Asif Kapadias Amy Winehouse portrait, Amy. Love that movie. When it wasnt us. [16] The company, with cooperation from Bank of America, J.P. Morgan & Co. and SunTrust Banks, also raised its line of credit from $50 million to $125 million a month later to build upon its operations. That was just acting! It was not like being in a cinema. Since then his contributions to growing the company have been invaluable and we cant wait to see what he does next., Added Hodges, I am incredibly proud of the company we created and of the amazing team at A24 that has been integral to its success. Since 1957, GQ has inspired men to look sharper and live smarter with its unparalleled coverage of style, culture, and beyond. Well handle it! And if it works, its them; if it doesnt work, its all your fault anyway. Thats completely nuts. Her film The Invitation" plays on agitation and insecurities between a group of old friends and some suspicious strangers at a lavish dinner party. Talk me through it. Like, no way in hell. So when I saw that, I was like, Okay, those guys, they know what they are doing.. But more independent existed then. I think my sisters still only seen one A24 movie: Spring Breakers. Still, A24 has never enjoyed a box-office breakout hit. YOU'VE REACHED YOUR MONTHLY ARTICLE LIMIT. And I think that really helped the movie. An Industry Arts Company. Hodges. And Under the Skin, from Jonathan Glazer, is one of my favorite movies in the past 15 or 20 years, you know? If its gonna be released the same way by another company, we usually dont go after it. No way., Katz: It was just like, Wait. Katz: By the way, a thousand times out of a thousand, youre wrong. Usually you talk to somebody and they tell you all the reasons they shouldnt make something, and why its so difficult. And integral and critical for the film to rise on its own feet. Its exciting. It was such an out-of-body experience. And then we opened. You get a movie with them and it represents something. I mean, I have no idea what theyre doing, really. Sacco: To engrave the Spring Breakers logo onto the glass-gun bong. At a time when young people are increasingly going to the movies only for blockbuster spectacle, A24 has established itself as the film industrys most forward-thinking company by releasing the kind of midsized, stylish, quality films that seemed on the verge of going extinct, transforming them into a collective theatrical experience, and aiming them squarely at a demographic that would rather watch movies on their phones. Fenkel: We test-screened [Spring Breakers] in downtown Manhattan. I was thrilledwhen the news broke that A24 had acquired the domestic rights, and then gutted to learn that it was part of the DirecTV pact. A vital piece of work far too delicately perverse to have sustained a theatrical run, it was the ideal choice to launch the program. We are thrilled to have someone of Johns pedigree join the Jax Media team and lead our expansion into the film world, Jax Media partners Tony Hernandez, Lilly Burns, John Skidmore, and Brooke Posch said in a joint statement. If you were paying attention, you had to wonder: Who were these strange upstart New Yorkers who were making Hollywood a little bit great again? In 2017,[4] Moonlight won the Academy Award for Best Picture (the first such award for the company), Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor (Mahershala Ali). [9], The company began its distribution of films in 2013. John Hodges is leaving A24, the Oscar-winning indie studio that he co-founded. Nandan: I remember seeing a screener of [The Witch], and yeah, it was like, oh, right, howd that movie not sell for more money? Spring Breakers had a whole Oscar campaign: Consider This Shit.Zoe Beyer. And it was the hair and makeup people. [26], In July 2021, A24 reportedly explored a possible buyout for between $2.5 billion to $3 billion. Rather than carpet-bomb the whole country with prohibitively expensive television ads, A24 partnered with a social marketing agency called theAudience in order to more precisely reach its target demographic. They didnt have a ton of movies, you know? Beyer: I think the operating principle was, Dont ask for permission. It was our first Sundance all together. Fenkel: I was at the Union Square theater, and they couldnt have had enough theaters. And we just hounded him. Franco: All the distributors knew it was great. If after seeing it you have a renewed taste for fright, here are nine other recent horror gems that use their modest scale to their advantage. Katz: I think if you had asked us beforehand, we would have said, you know, La La Lands gonna win. Signed on as producer beginning with the third season. You know what? Trench coat was enough. And, like, within two blocks, I have to stop. And although it describes itself as Midnight Madness, the film didnt start until close to one oclock in the morning. Its DirecTV/A24 release grossed $229,094 and never played on more than 54 screens. Lets go wide! So everyones wrapping up this gift basket that Im supposed to deliver to Megan [Ellison, one of the producers of Spring Breakers, who was on location in Pittsburgh] and say, like, This is why you should go with us. The companys best known movies include Ex Machina, Room, The Witch, Amy and Moonlight, which won the 2016 Academy Award for best picture, best adapted screenplay and best supporting actor for Mahershala Ali. And then its like on the biggest stage, I didnt thank anybody! Since its inception in 2012, A24 has become one of the hottest destinations for indie filmmakers, ushering such edgy films to theaters as The Bling Ring and Spring Breakers. Fenkel: Look at The Witch. Logo by GrandArmy Photos via A24. We saw the red envelope. But I feel that the fact that it was their first filmthere was a lot of idealism around the process. But we liked them. Maybe we werent geniuses with Spring Breakers, but we were the ones who said, Lets put it in theaters, because we could build on that. People liked Spring Breakers. We werent a fully formed company yet. When you can get a distribution company that likes the film for the same reasons that people that made it like the filmIve found that rare. 2023 Variety Media, LLC. Im thrilled to be joining the team at Jax, Hodges said. The second title was Life After Beth, the domestic theatrical haul of which was a paltry $88,273. Brie Larson (actress, Room, The Spectacular Now): A24 has the unique ability to find and champion authentic narratives that cut to the core in a raw and honest way. Franco: I actually did win some awards. Your eyes dont gloss over James Franco as a trap music Jesus. [6] The name "A24" was inspired by the Italian A24 motorway Katz was driving on when he decided to found the company; coincidentally, the motorway is also renowned in Italian film history as the setting of many small Abruzzan towns and rural landscapes employed in the films of neorealist and surrealist masters. Like Under the Skin, Locke, Enemy. A24 went on a spending spree and released 11 movies in their second year of operation. Fenkel: One thing we notice is now people are saying, Oh, good job. Were putting together a gift basket of glass guns and a gift basket with munchies. Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted. The Hollywood Reporter is a part of Penske Media Corporation. [laughs] I mean, I doubt that, because I know the people that work there. John has been a trusted partner who helped conceive A24 and for that we will always be grateful. The company offered no additional details other than to say his vacancy would not lead to any additional changes in management. Pattinson: Theyre definitely the place to be now. This story appears in the summer issue of GQ Style. The world opened itself up. And it satisfied something they werent getting. And I was with a bunch of friends, and we were in the south of Italy, and we were driving into Rome and I kind of had this moment of clarity. Eggers: People always want to do bigger and better the next time, you know? And so anytime you speak with someone whos not a pure accountant, is not a pencil pusher? Theres aesthetic and political values to the people behind the company. Steven Spielberg publicly predicted the implosion of the film industry, which is sort of like God telling you to brace for rain. Katz: It was early in the relationship. The question with any company that lavishes attention and resources upon a modest amount of product is, of course, where does the money come from? Since then, A24's success has been immeasurable, especially for an independent Production company founded the same year The Avengers came out. GQ may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. And with the opening weekend, with the numbers that we did, it became very clear that, yes, this is a viable strategy, to keep this very small, gay, art-house hood-ass filmlike, yeah, were just gonna keep it in theaters. Heavey: He didnt really use a computer. But it was word of mouth. And that question is the birth of fandom. Its first release was A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III in 2013, followed by Spring Breakers later that year. Fenkel: Lenny [Abrahamson, for Room] beats out Ridley Scott! John Heavey (distribution, A24): Especially the first two years, we fell in love with every movie. They had heart to them.Harmony Korine, Sacco: I wouldnt say I got it. Theirs is a potent brand that Ive admired for a long time, and their reputation as innovative partners to talent is second to none.. What are you working on? I dont think that switch in psychology is supposed to happen that dramatically, or that abruptly. Fenkel: Well, of course Selena Gomez in a bikini worked. Dave Franco & Alison Brie Take a Couples Quiz, Heres a First Look at Daniel Lees Burberry, Bubba Wallace and Daniel Suarez Are Shaping NASCAR's Future, Inside Daniel Lee's Burberry Debut, London Fashion Week's Biggest Show. Fellow founding partners Daniel Katz and David Fenkel will continue to oversee the NYC-based indie studio, which has seen great success with Oscar-winning films such as Room, Ex Machina and last years surprise Best Picture winner Moonlight.. Activity. It was crazy. A mile and a half. So we ran there. I liked the fact that they had never made a doc. Take the fate of John Macleans Slow West, one of the years best films, a neo-Western starring Michael Fassbender as a bounty hunter. Katz formerly led the film finance group at Guggenheim Partners, Fenkel was the president, co-founder and partner at Oscilloscope, and Hodges served as Head of Production and Development at Big Beach. Saulnier expertly contains conflict, depth and gore within small confines. The company also announced that they would also finance and develop pilots. On the TV side, Jaxs current projects include the recently released Russian Doll on Netflix, starring Natasha Lyonne; The Other Two, which was just picked up for a second season; and the final season of Broad City for Comedy Central. We get movies. And the only thing we could put it in was a cardboard box with duct tape. Were gonna get there on time. John has been a trusted partner who helped conceive A24 and for that we will always be grateful, noted A24. Some dissatisfied customers later accused the marketing campaign of misrepresenting the movie as a fun adolescent romp. John Hodges is a producer and the founder of A24 alongside David Katz and David Fenkel. Notable guests on the show have included Bo Burnham, Paul Schrader, Sofia Coppola, Alia Shawkat and Martin Scorsese. Daniels like, Okay. There are more glamorous things to be, in Hollywood, than an independent distribution company. And it was like a snowy and rainy day, and there was a ton of traffic. Its such a really fucking well-executed movie. Starring Splits Anya Taylor-Joy, Robert Eggers creates a world devoid of God in this thunderous and bleak religious melodrama. Katz: That was a good learning experience for us. It wasnt just that, for a new distribution company, it seemed to have a level of taste and an instinct for cool that is atypical in Hollywood. Theyre on the tarmac, and were having to find a new jet for them within twenty minutes. A24 was founded on August 20, 2012, by film veterans Daniel Katz, David Fenkel, and John Hodges. "I'm thrilled to be joining the team at Jax,". To revisit this article, select My Account, thenView saved stories. A24, which was founded in 2012, said that no additional changes in management will be made. [11][12], In September 2013, A24 entered a $40 million deal with DirecTV Cinema, where DirecTV Cinema would offer day-and-date releases 30 days prior to a theatrical release by A24; Enemy was the first film to be distributed under the deal. Of the 174 million impressions that the movie made in the weeks leading up to its debut, 49 percent were organic, meaning that you were just as likely to learn about a new Harmony Korine film from your weird aunts personal page as you were from a promoted update in your news feed. We all go nuts for a few minutes, and then were all like, Okay, what do we do?. 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Rowling More Grace and Listen to Her, Britain's $4 Billion Boss: ITV Chief Carolyn McCall Bets It All on Talent, 2023 Music Festivals: How to Buy Tickets to Coachella, Governors Ball, Lollapalooza and More. Sacco: Its sobering and motivating in a different way. Mahershala Ali (actor, Moonlight): I definitely have a lot more opportunity right now than Ive ever had before. Katz: People say, Oh, Barry, why didnt you bring us Moonlight?As if that was the most obvious Best Picture! I dont even look at him. Jeanie Igoe (production, A24): None of us really knew what we were doing. SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE DAILY NEWSLETTER, FIRST TAKE, Sundance, SXSW Comedy 'Never Goin' Back' Sells to A24. For a medium-size film to succeed without a marketing blitz twice the size of its production budget, its not enough for it to be goodit has to have a hook. How do we get Spring Breakers? And then Noah got Spring Breakers. Sofia Coppola (director, The Bling Ring): I really like those guys. Aizenberg: Ex Machina winning for visual effects was the most shocking thing. Hollywood is run by accountants at this point. Ainzenberg: I remember I went and had to meet with Selena Gomezs team to prove that we were real people and we were gonna be legitimate in releasing the film. When it happens again and again, thats very, very intelligent work and planning. These films speak for themselves. The company, improbably, was based in New York, not Los Angeles. There has been speculation for the past six months that the company is for sale. But its present success and continued survival are dependent on a massive deal that seems to directly contradict everything thats made the company so special. Other 2013 theatrical releases included Sally Potter's Ginger & Rosa, Harmony Korine's Spring Breakers, Sofia Coppola's The Bling Ring, and James Ponsoldt's The Spectacular Now. BREAKING: John Hodges, one of the founding members of A24, has announced his departure from the production and distribution studio to focus on future opportunities. Its a film about guilt that forever haunts you and the fear of being watched. The first: Barry Jenkins Moonlight, which chronicles a gay mans coming of age across three stages of his life in war on drugsera Miami. When historians of the future try to pinpoint the precise moment that the film industry crawled out of its deathbed and back onto its feet, theres a good chance theyll land somewhere in March 2013, when a fledgling distribution company called A24 Films transformed a Harmony Korine movie starring a cornrowed James Franco into a genuine cultural event. Fenkel: In LA, every meeting is about the hot air. We tried to get the Union Square movie theaterwe didnt have a theatrical booking yet. The company said he will exit to focus on "future opportunities," but did not clarify beyond that statement. Hodges teamed with Daniel Katz and David Fenkel to launch the company, which is based in New York City. In pretty decent seats, actually. Alex Garland (director, Ex Machina): They make things work that according to standard procedures really shouldnt work. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. Scott didnt say anything. James Franco (actor, Spring Breakers, The Adderall Diaries): This is one of the things theyre great at: taking something small and delicate and giving it the kind of support that other people cant. No additional changes in management will be made, said A24, which will continue to develop and produce a growing slate of content across film and television. Colin Farrell (actor, The Lobster, The Killing of a Sacred Deer): They have such a great eye for these small little films and rich and unique stories that may have not found it to the big screen if it wasnt for them. Here's who: Daniel Katz, David Fenkel, John Hodges and James Schultz. For the company's filmography, see, 20142017: Television and later productions, 2018present: Management changes, partnerships. This monster slowly stalks you when you sleep with the wrong person, and the only way to pass it on is to bed another partner. A24 was founded in 2012 by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel and John Hodges. Were good. Theyre one of the few companies that have shown that indie films can still be viable. Fenkel: [Katz] is a better runner than I am. So whos to say that, you know, A24 wont become Warner Brothers five years from now? The movie was Spring Breakers, it played like a Kesha music video as directed by Terrence Malick on MDMA, and it debuted to the highest per-screen average of any film released that year to date. I remember the thing that got him was like, Listen. Kleiner: They had the movie, I want to say, 22, 23 weeks in theatrical release? Wouldnt call us back. We literally didnt know what to do. The deal excludes films that are already part of the Apple partnership. I am incredibly proud of the company we created and of the amazing team at A24 that has been integral to its success. IP & Literary Intern, Literary & IP Acquisitions at Amazon Studios, Assistant, Physical Production at Lionsgate, Executive Assistant/Production Office Coordinator for iONE Digital (NY), Manager, Scripted Film and Television, Cond Nast Entertainment. They came on strong in the late 90s, really. Gif excerpt from the film The End of the Tour via A24 Films. Its like, oh, this person has no idea what Moonlight is, and it just won Best Picture. The bottom line is that there were 677 new releases in 2013, and that number is only getting bigger. John Hodges is leaving A24, the Oscar-winning indie studio that he co-founded. We had a good history. A24 typically pays a bit more for these movies than it does the ones the it buys itself, andlike most VOD content providersit doesnt make its grosses public. Send us a tip using our annonymous form. But A24, it became clear when I spoke to the companys employees, saw Spring Breakers as a Trojan horse for progressive cinemathe company less concerned about the nine kids who found the film too weird than they were the one kid who went home and rented Gummo. Earlier this year I was drinking in a hotel bar with the head of another distribution company at a film festival. Also Read: Sundance, SXSW Comedy 'Never Goin' Back' Sells to A24, John has been a trusted partner who helped conceive A24 and for that we will always be grateful, the studio said in a statement. They entered into deals with DirecTV Cinema and Amazon Prime in late 2013, with some films distributed through them, and the name was changed to A24 in 2016.[3]. That didnt come with any veto rights or cut rights, Abrahamson told me. In 2023, A24 became the most nominated single studio of that year's awards with 18 total nominations between 6 of its films (Everything Everywhere All at Once (11 nominations, the most nominated film of that year's awards, including Best Picture), The Whale (3 nominations), Aftersun, Causeway, Close, and Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (each with 1 nomination)).[5]. [19], In January 2017, the company acquired the United States and Chinese distribution rights for their first foreign language film, Menashe. How do you know when an ad campaign is working? John. . And Im not saying theyre magicians. Its funny. Trey Edward Schultz's moody, atmospheric thriller plays on our country's present division and how mistrust in others can come back to harm us. A24 was founded in 2012 by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel and John Hodges. It was me! And it was like. But I put no limitations on what theyre capable of. And so anytime you speak with someone whos not a pure accountant, is not a pencil pusher? Sacco: Youre not like, Oh, we got a Best Picture winner! Youre just like, Oh, we got a great movie.. Did Moonlight just win Best Picture?. Thats someone else. Fenkel: And we had a booker at the time, this big old school guy, gentle giant, hes a sweet guy, but kind of a gangster, but levels of, like, cool gangster.
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