And then we drank a huge amount of red wine. Fenkel: We knew we were releasing the movie. In recent years, the recession and the concurrent rise of VOD streaming services have already torpedoed the midbudget movie. And in that moment I was like: Now its time to go do this. Variety is a part of Penske Media Corporation. New York, no one gives a shit. Since 1957, GQ has inspired men to look sharper and live smarter with its unparalleled coverage of style, culture, and beyond. As of 2023[update], the company's films had received a total of 49 Academy Award nominations. This was not a first-look deal, meaning that A24 can continue to produce and acquire films to release outside of the deal, and that it would not affect previous deals that A24 had signed with other companies. All three had grown up admiring the rich world of 90s independent cinema, and they noticed a void where those movies had once been. The second title was Life After Beth, the domestic theatrical haul of which was a paltry $88,273. 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. Mahershala Ali (actor, Moonlight): I definitely have a lot more opportunity right now than Ive ever had before. Katz: Harvey Weinstein called the agent and said, How could you give a Sofia Coppola movie to this new? I can only imagine. Coppola: I was a little nervous about not going with a company that I knew had a track record, but I knew that they were going to really do their best. Jul 2021 - Present1 year 7 months. A24, which was founded in 2012, said that no additional changes in management will be made. It wasnt disrespectful. Harmony Korine (director, Spring Breakers): They have balls. Eddie Guy. But we got A Glimpse Inside the Mind. That kind of audience. (He won the Los Angeles Film Critics Association award for Best Supporting Actor). Fifty-six-year-old guy. Jax Media Taps A24 Co-Founder John Hodges as Head of New Film - Variety They were thinking in a different way, trying something newer and maybe more radical with their approach. I found it so deep in Google Image searches. But A24 has the money to acquire a steady slate of releases, the model to support them, and the chutzpah to make nearly each one into a mini-phenomenon. Company Details: I go, Huh., It Sucks, Man. The photo has been . And I remember hearing she was really upset. Katz, Fenkel, Hodges launch A24 - Variety Sofia Coppola (director, The Bling Ring): I really like those guys. Were passionate. But I put no limitations on what theyre capable of. And I think A24 and companies like that areyou know, people want to go to the cinema. Its super inspiring. (Joy, Annapurnas only 2015 title, arrives in theaters on Christmas Day.). We want to go two thousand screens. And so anytime you speak with someone whos not a pure accountant, is not a pencil pusher? Profile of the independent film distributor A24, the company behind Katz: It was early in the relationship. Like Under the Skin, Locke, Enemy. Sacco: Frances Ha was the first heartbreak. So, how much is Johnny Hodges . A24 took Ex Machina to the 2015 South by Southwest festival and built a Tinder chatbot with the face of Alicia Vikander to help promote the film. Hodges: I started my career at USA Films, which became Focus Features. They just need to know how it feels.. 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. The films were darlingsincluding David Michds The Rover, starring Robert Pattinson; Denis Villeneuves Enemy, starring Jake Gyllenhaal; and Jonathan Glazers Under the Skin, starring Scarlett Johanssonand, by and large, box-office underperformers. Variety and the Flying V logos are trademarks of Variety Media, LLC. We were about to have two movies [Ex Machina and While Were Young] with him. We saw the red envelope. 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. The Bling Ring provoked Emma Watson to cast off the shadow of Hermione Granger and step into the pink Juicy Couture sweatpants of a spoiled teen criminal in contemporary Hollywood. Only Lovers Left Alive drips with style, wisdom and ironic humor as Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton play hip, immortal layabouts. This is a growing company, not a struggling one. Lets do Kevin Smith horror! II was tasked. It Follows takes the horror trope of getting punished for having sex to a new level. Other similarly sized outfits tend to flood the flooded marketplace with a steady barrage of quality independent and foreign fare in a way that can feel indiscriminate: Send the DCPs to Film Forum and let God sort em out. The photo has been replaced. It was me! The company said he will exit to focus on "future opportunities," but did not clarify beyond that statement.. And then you meet Barry and hear Barry talk, and its like, Of course! "I'm thrilled to be joining the team at Jax,". A24 Founding Partner John Hodges to Exit - TheWrap Where its like: Im in. First movies gonna be so exciting! And I remember everyone came back from that test screening. With Hodges leaving, the company behind the Oscar-winning best pictureMoonlight made it clear that no additional changes in management will be made. Ad Choices. The latest is Hereditary, the debut film of Ari Aster that premiered at Sundance and is quickly earning a reputation as one of the scariest movies ever. But more independent existed then. 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. 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. 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. The things about it that didnt were what made me most excited, both for Moonlight and the future of a company thats confident enough in its sense of self to stretch toward something new. [14], In May 2015, A24 announced that it would start a television division and began producing the USA Network series Playing House, as well as working to develop a television series that would later become Comrade Detective, produced by Channing Tatum. No one had a voice. As Korine told Rolling Stone: I want to do the most radical work, but put it out in the most commercial way. A24 just took him up on it. David Fenkel (co-founder, A24): We find movies [for which] our perspective, our system, our people, can act to make it something special. So what is an A24 film? From Distributing to Dominating: The Rise of A24 | FSU Student Union Fenkel: I stare straight ahead. Scott didnt say anything. Its a film about guilt that forever haunts you and the fear of being watched. Theyre on the tarmac, and were having to find a new jet for them within twenty minutes. Kapadia: Theyve won Best Picture. So, um, well done, A24! The outfit is new enough that the same people have been working there from the very beginning, and the consistency of their titles reflects that of their tastes. Katz came from a film finance group, while Fenkel and Hodges both left positions at other independent film companies. John Hodges - Entertainment Executive | Variety.com A mile and a half. So we ran there. I dunno! I mean, it made sense at the time. I Was Like, Fuck Yeah!Barry Jenkins. junio 12, 2022. cottage for sale in timmins on . Katz: There was still, I think, the element ofthey thought we got lucky. Many of the countrys most vital filmmakers, unwilling to accept that their next movie would have to be either shot on an iPhone or connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, have begun to abandon ship. . When your audience does the work for you. Hollywood is run by accountants at this point. We were watching it the whole time. It wasnt going to get lost in the shuffle. 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.. Animated photo illustration by Lisa Larson-Walker. On the most literal level, an A24 film is budgeted from anywhere between $1 million (Obvious Child) and $20 million (A Most Violent Year). 10001 NEW YORK, USA. Fenkel: So hes booking, what, fifteen hundred screens? Logo by GrandArmy Photos via A24. And, like, within two blocks, I have to stop. Agent. I want to be A24, he said. Beth was also the first A24 movie since its inaugural release, the Charlie Sheen-starring A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III, not to receive a fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes. A24 - Wikipedia Sacco: We probably saw 20 versions. Focused on High Net Worth Policy holders where policy coverage exceeds $1 million. Film-distribution companies tend to be important but invisible: They buy finished films, cut trailers, make posters, and put movies into movie theatersor, more often these days, dump them onto VOD, never to be heard from again. You know what? Trench coat was enough. That was the first time it screened for U.S. audiences. It was social media. So whos to say that, you know, A24 wont become Warner Brothers five years from now? The deal, intended to grant A24 the capital it needed to grow and DirecTV some much-needed cultural cachet, stipulated that the two companies would jointly acquire new titles, and that those titles would be eligible to premiere on DirecTVs on-demand platform 30 days prior to a theatrical release. 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. It would cost too much to buy Mississippi Grinda fighting chance in theaters, so the film is making its way into the world through 20 million smaller screens rather than a few dozen large ones, and more viewers will have a chance to appreciate it as the sublime hangout movie that it is. [He won at least six.] We sit in. We spoke with the companys friends, collaborators, and employees to make sense of how A24 became the most interesting, creative, and reliable film company of the 21st century. Sacco: Its sobering and motivating in a different way. The films backers will be made whole, its makers will get another chance at bat, and its distributors will continue to enjoy the financial solvency provided by the DirecTV dealnot to mention the $50 million line of credit the company secured last fall. 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. Hes not gonna be able to do this right now. Our first release. Aizenberg: I remember that Sunday we all got on the phone and were like, Were going over a thousand screens.. (Make a left out of the elevators, and then a right at the cafeteria workers.). But I remember vividly that they had chosen some specific movies, one of which was Under the Skin. 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! Miramax, they were a huge deal, and also Fox Searchlight. When we started, we wanted it to be about the films and filmmakers, not us, Katz told the Hollywood Reporter at the end of 2013, and that culture remains evident in all aspects of their business. Whether thats old white people in the Academy, or people all over the country, or frankly the rest of the world. But I think she saw this, and it hijacked her image and personality, and we didnt ask her. I just started talking. Larson: I couldnt be more grateful for an experience that changed the course of my life and career immeasurably. Since the small blast of trade articles that greeted the companys inception, theyve remained unusually quiet. How do we get Spring Breakers? And then Noah got Spring Breakers. You walk through that office, and there arent a lot of people that look like theyre from Liberty City, Miami. For instance, an actress. Hodges previously served as head of production and development at Big Beach Films and exec produced "Our Idiot Brother" and "Safety Not Guaranteed.". All rights reserved. All Rights Reserved. Beyer: I think the operating principle was, Dont ask for permission. Sacco: I used to think seeing people faint was what happened in movies. Its exciting. 2023 Variety Media, LLC. And the guy asked me, Is there anything we might find suspicious in there? I said, Theres an art piece inside in the shape of a gun. And literally the entire security department was like, What is wrong with you? Long story short, it made it through. I think when movie companies get started, people want to define you immediately. [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. Uncut Gems ($50 million). Whatever lingering reservations I had about the VOD side of A24s business were dismantled by the recent rumblings of a demonically possessed goat: The DirecTV logo may still be lurking toward the bottom of The Witchs teaser poster (which accurately identifies and champions Black Phillip as the movies breakout star), but at some point along the way it was decided that this crowd-pleasing, pants-ruining work of art has the makings of a communal sensation, and A24 pivoted. Daniel Katz, David Fenkel and John Hodges have unveiled New York-based A24 as a distribution, financing and production company with plans to release eight to 10 titles annually. Katz: Yeah! Sacco: It was my first festival ever. Buying and burying not-great movies isnt necessarily a problem if it grows the business without harming the brand. The company may be a lovely acquisition target for a buyer seeking an arthouse pipeline,but A24 is still building itself as a brand one that is synonymous with quality. A24, originally a small independent movie distributor, has quickly transformed into one of the most respected and successful names in cinema production. Robert Pattinson (actor, The Rover, Good Time): Its crazy that there is an article about a distribution company. Theyre making people want to go to the cinema again to see this kind of stuff, rather than staying at home. Everybody was talking a few years ago how cinema had died. Its coveted because six of the past seven winners were nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, and the harrowing, emotional Room looks poised to follow in their footsteps after it opens in October. Focus and Fox Searchlight had become kind of isolated in what they did. 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.. John Heavey (distribution, A24): Especially the first two years, we fell in love with every movie. Gif excerpt from the film Slow West via A24 Films. It was like two hours before, and they were like, Hes not gonna make it. None Of Us Thanked Them. He later left A24 on March 2018 to focus on future opportunities. 2023 Deadline Hollywood, LLC. Talk me through it. Drinking champagne at nine in the morning. I felt bad that David had to be put through that. The Rover found a mentally deficient Robert Pattinson singing Keri Hilsons Pretty Girl Rock in the deserts of post-apocalyptic Australia. But then when we started to screen the film at Sundance and saw the audience reactions, it was clear that there was a much larger audience for this movie than any of us thought. Or a screenwriter. Take its efforts on Spring Breakers, for example. [Sofia] was like, Oh, will you at least partner with Harvey? We were like, No!. I think that was Nicolette, actually: Consider This Shit.. There is no Tinder for Room! No Comments Yet Be the first to comment on John Hodges!
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