[Sofia] was like, Oh, will you at least partner with Harvey? We were like, No!. Sacco: Gun bongs. Fenkel: We test-screened [Spring Breakers] in downtown Manhattan. Karyn Kusama is a rapidly rising female director, and for good reason. From award-winning writing and photography to binge-ready videos to electric live events, GQ meets millions of modern men where they live, creating the moments that create conversations. Please, just let those two!. Signup for Breaking News Alerts & Newsletters. Production Company. A24 has also been nominated and won many Golden Globes, British Academy Film Awards, and Critics' Choice Movie Awards. And then its like on the biggest stage, I didnt thank anybody! And I felt with these guys it was a dialogue. Fenkel: Id love to say from the first cut we knew. Heading into production nearly a decade after the premiere of Jenkins only other feature (the excellent Medicine for Melancholy), the film has been waiting a long time for a company with the confidence required to finance it. Take the fate of John Macleans Slow West, one of the years best films, a neo-Western starring Michael Fassbender as a bounty hunter. I think that was Nicolette, actually: Consider This Shit.. As of 2023[update], the company's films had received a total of 49 Academy Award nominations. He was calling me. So whos to say that, you know, A24 wont become Warner Brothers five years from now? I think we all were kind of a bit shell-shocked. We allowed them to come on set to see what was happening, and they in turn were sharing their release plans and their marketing materials, and we were commenting on that. That shift points to a greater move afoot at A24, as the company begins to develop its own projects from within. The End of the Tour freed Jason Segel from the succubus of network sitcoms by allowing him to inhabit the image of an iconic American writer. Thats very unusual. None Of Us Thanked Them. Jenkins: I dont know if [Moonlight] was a glittering jewel of a project. SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE DAILY NEWSLETTER, FIRST TAKE, Sundance, SXSW Comedy 'Never Goin' Back' Sells to A24. You want to have a grown-up conversation about the best way to get your work to the people who would spend money to see it, Abrahamson concludes. A24 - Crunchbase Company Profile & Funding It is currently unknown if this slate of films will have a theatrical release or be exclusive to Apple's Apple TV+ streaming service. It would be fascinating for just the unnerving dread of an awkward gathering of friends, but Kusama then provides the film a killer twist. 2023 The Hollywood Reporter, LLC. Fenkel: One thing we notice is now people are saying, Oh, good job. You prepare like for your dissertation at Harvard. Please! It was me! Gif excerpt from the film Room via A24 Films. 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. I dont think that switch in psychology is supposed to happen that dramatically, or that abruptly. A24 Films - Production List | Film & Television Industry Alliance This elegant, yet sadistic horror film from Austria resembles Michael Hanekes Funny Games, yet the home invader was under the victims noses all along. Katz: I always had dreams of [starting a company]. [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. Fenkel: I was at the Union Square theater, and they couldnt have had enough theaters. Theirs is a potent brand that Ive admired for a long time, and their reputation as innovative partners to talent is second to none.. Garland: I didnt know what Tinder was until the festival. So that was like their heyday. You look at the underdog story, I think thats not by accident. And while they invited me into their headquarters to get a feel for the place and chat on background with the core team, they stressed that theyd prefer their movies to speak for themselves. John Hodges is a producer and the founder of A24 alongside David Katz and David Fenkel. A24 Co-Founder John Hodges Exits - Variety I go, Huh., It Sucks, Man. John Hodges will be leaving A24 to pursue other opportunities, the indie distributor announced Monday. Thats someone else. 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. Thats not a go-wide movie. These films speak for themselves. A vital piece of work far too delicately perverse to have sustained a theatrical run, it was the ideal choice to launch the program. 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. 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. Kleiner: They had the movie, I want to say, 22, 23 weeks in theatrical release? A24 has an estimated net worth of about $1.89 million. Far left, from left: A24 founders David Fenkel, John Hodges, and Daniel Katz. No one had a voice. We tried to put together a slate in, like, four months, as opposed to just really growing it, building it in the right way. Hollywood is run by accountants at this point. Drinking champagne at nine in the morning. A24 Co-Founder John Hodges Exits - Yahoo And they even never uttered the words, What would it be like in a cheaper state? It was social media. Description. Everybody wants to be A24. People had thought that entire part of the industry had just died. Subsequent DirectTV titles havent fared much better (in fact, most have fared much worse), and it soon became clear that these early acquisitions were the unloved stepchildren of the A24 family. Rather than focusing on acquisitions, as was its early strategy, A24 is now producing its own movies, as well as its own podcast. Were good. But I think she saw this, and it hijacked her image and personality, and we didnt ask her. A24 Founding Partner John Hodges to Exit Daniel Katz and David Fenkel will continue to oversee the NYC-based indie Thom Geier | March 26, 2018 @ 10:08 AM A24 founding partner John Hodges. On a notepad and Post-Its. We werent doing anything like that. But I think in experiences since then, doing mid-budget or relatively low-budget movies, if you try to do a toned-down version of thatIve just seen it not work, again and again and again. A24s television division released The Carmichael Show.. Jon Hodges - Chief Executive Officer/Founder - LinkedIn Katz: That was a good learning experience for us. And A24 was the place that took the risk. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. We still dont. Fenkel: It actually went very well, for what the movie was. And, you know, partly as a filmmaker, youre like, My God! I open the curtains when Im in L.A., and everywhere I see films on billboards. Then he had this very high-tech, nuanced process, which was printing out a spreadsheet, and then when he would book a theater, he would write it down on the spreadsheet, and then when the spreadsheet was full, hed push it over from his desk to my desk. Take its efforts on Spring Breakers, for example. 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. And suddenly its all over, and you think, Of all people, I knew the most about my film, so why was I was on the periphery of its release? But working closely with A24 throughout Rooms pre-release has altered his philosophy on film marketing: I used to think that the publicity process was both morally questionable and smoke and mirrors, that it was one of those invented jobs. When I arrived at A24s office, in an anonymous building so close to the western lip of lower Manhattan that it can practically taste New Jersey, my fears that the company might be growing too fast werent exactly assuaged by learning that within weeks it was moving to an enormous office closer to midtown. Whoa! Because theyd made a curated, awesome, crafted film. All Rights Reserved. Katz: David and I are sitting next to each other. Lets do Kevin Smith horror! We get credit for it even when we have nothing to do with it. But if it is, a monastic degree of focus will be required to recognize which A24 titles might fare better on VOD. And I think A24 and companies like that areyou know, people want to go to the cinema. Kapadia: There were other films that had a lot more money in their campaign and were everywhere. There are more glamorous things to be, in Hollywood, than an independent distribution company. Beginning with hedonistic images of Disney starlets gone wild, the campaign consisted of producing Facebook ads that could also function as contentpeople wanted to share this stuff. Who are A24 - the company behind Uncut Gems, Euphoria and Hereditary? Katz: Harvey Weinstein called the agent and said, How could you give a Sofia Coppola movie to this new? I can only imagine. Lady Bird remains its biggest success, earning $49 million domestically to date. Judging by the fact that the trailer racked up more than 3 million views in its first week online, the crowds are ready with their pitchforks. And then there was another one where hes deep-throating the gun, and we replaced it with a gold statue. Theyre making people want to go to the cinema again to see this kind of stuff, rather than staying at home. Earlier this year I was drinking in a hotel bar with the head of another distribution company at a film festival. Variety is a part of Penske Media Corporation. Or a screenwriter. Fenkel: Lenny [Abrahamson, for Room] beats out Ridley Scott! 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? And weve been so consistent about thanking them. How A24 is Disrupting Hollywood | GQ Fenkel: We had a meeting. John has been a trusted partner who helped conceive A24 and for that we will always be grateful, A24 noted. Agent. I won, I think, L.A. Film Critics and maybe one other. That was 2013. 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. A24 founding partner John Hodges announced that he will be leaving the indie studio that he helped launch nearly six years ago, the company announced Monday. Well handle it! And if it works, its them; if it doesnt work, its all your fault anyway. An A24 film has an affinity for subverting a celebritys established persona. Only Lovers Left Alive drips with style, wisdom and ironic humor as Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton play hip, immortal layabouts. There has been speculation for the past six months that the company is for sale. But the back end was so crazy. A24 Films is a US theatrical distribution and production company founded by Daniel Katz, John Hodges and David Fenkel. Aizenberg: Remember he didnt show up to the premiere? @ After a brief flurry of acquisitions gossip, and Monday's announcement that A24 co-founder John Hodges will exit the company, A24 and/or Apple "insiders" let it be known that Apple wasn't. When the film comes out in early 2016, it will arrive exclusively in theaters, and its trial by fire will be exclusively in theaters. Fenkel: More than 50 percent chance La La Land. 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. John Hodges (co-founder and co-head of TV, . Although A24's actual net worth is not known. Sofia Coppola (director, The Bling Ring): I really like those guys. You know, theyre big-time. Beyer: And respect them and treat them the way they would by any other company. Like Get Out, or Baby Driver. Katz: I think if you had asked us beforehand, we would have said, you know, La La Lands gonna win. [29][30], "A24 Films" redirects here. Whether thats old white people in the Academy, or people all over the country, or frankly the rest of the world. Leave it to Jim Jarmusch to make the coolest vampire movie ever. Jenkins: We shot for five weeks, and they came down during the first week. Aizenberg: Yeah. 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. YOU'VE REACHED YOUR MONTHLY ARTICLE LIMIT. A24, which was founded in 2012, said that no additional changes in management will be made. But then also do things that other companies arent doing. That was tough. in the past 3 years a24 has managed to make from 90 - 110 million at the yearly box office. That Oscar win came within five years of A24s launch, but so did Open Roads win for Spotlight, and now that company is part of the larger entity Global Road. Not heyday. Next year theyll re-team with While Were Young director Noah Baumbach on his brilliant doc about Brian De Palma, distribute one of the best horror films since The Shining, and release the first of the films theyve financed themselves. 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). Its exciting. And they were like the third guy at the company. 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. Hodges: The office literally looked like a pump-and-dump stock operation. It was such an out-of-body experience. They were not the company that they are today. They were thinking in a different way, trying something newer and maybe more radical with their approach. A24 (company) net worth and salary income estimation John Cornelius Hodge (Squatty Roo, Jeep, Rabbit) was born on 25 July, 1907 in Cambridge, MA, is an American saxophonist. A24 Founding Partner John Hodges to Exit - TheWrap As one of the founding members of the New York-based company, Hodges played a key role in putting A24 on the map, culminating with last years best picture winner, Moonlight, just five years after it was launched. Jennifer Kents drama is a psychological heavyweight that examines how parents feed their demons to quell the pain. Information. The first: Barry Jenkins Moonlight, which chronicles a gay mans coming of age across three stages of his life in war on drugsera Miami. Love that movie. When it wasnt us. They had faith that people would continue to show up. Fenkel: And the Spring Breakers trailer dropped the first day of Sundance, and MTVs servers fucked up, because we gave them the exclusive, and they stopped serving the video. II was tasked. Aizenberg: I was at the Q&As at the ArcLight [in Los Angeles], and I remember taking a picture of the screen, and then all of a sudden it was like every screen at the ArcLight: Spring Breakers, Spring Breakers, Spring Breakers. It was like two hours before, and they were like, Hes not gonna make it. Theyre one of the few companies that have shown that indie films can still be viable. And there are studio subdivisions, like Fox Searchlight, that have consistently guided films like 12 Years a Slave and Birdman to Academy Awards and box office success over the past twenty years. Apply Bed Bath and Beyond Coupon and save 25% Off your entire purchase, Target Circle: up to 50% Off with Target promo code, Save 25% on your purchase of Spring Styles with Asos Coupon, Michael Kors Promo Code: sign up for KORSVIP + Get 10% Off on First Order, 2023 Cond Nast. A24 was set up ten years ago by David Fenkel, John Hodges and Daniel Katz, all veterans of New York's independent film business. Jon Hodges CEO at Evergreen North America Industrial Services League City, Texas, United States 2K followers 500+ connections Join to connect Evergreen industrial services and GEM mobile. The best scares always come from unexpected places. A24 Founding Partner John Hodges to Exit - The Hollywood Reporter The photo has been replaced. All rights reserved. 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. [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. 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. They kept shutting us down. Daniel Katz and David Fenkel will continue to oversee the NYC-based indie. And they did. David Fenkel (co-founder, A24): We find movies [for which] our perspective, our system, our people, can act to make it something special. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | TERMS OF USE|SUBSCRIBE|CONTACT. Fenkel: So hes booking, what, fifteen hundred screens? Slate is published by The Slate Group, a Graham Holdings Company. 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. Some dissatisfied customers later accused the marketing campaign of misrepresenting the movie as a fun adolescent romp. In 2021, A24 won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress (Yuh-jung Youn in Minari, who became the first Korean actress to win an Oscar). 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. 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. Hes not gonna be able to do this right now. Our first release. Katz: It was early in the relationship. In 2016, films distributed by A24 won Academy Awards for Best Actress (Brie Larson in Room), Best Documentary Feature (Amy), and Best Visual Effects (Ex Machina). Were passionate. This fall A24 enters the awards race in a serious way for the first time, with two movies: the accessible David Foster Wallace biopic The End of the Tour, and the Brie Larsonstarring literary adaptation Room, which recently won the coveted Peoples Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. And then you meet Barry and hear Barry talk, and its like, Of course! He later left A24 on March 2018 to focus on future opportunities. [18] In June, the company, along with Oscilloscope and distributor Honora, joined BitTorrent Now to distribute the work of their portfolio across the ad-supported service. Katz: People say, Oh, Barry, why didnt you bring us Moonlight?As if that was the most obvious Best Picture! And so with [The Rover], they took that into account, and instead of blowing loads of money, [they did] more targeted marketing and also really sophisticated online campaigns and stuff. The bottom line is that there were 677 new releases in 2013, and that number is only getting bigger. (Blindsided teens, many of whom had been intrigued at the thought of seeing former Disney star Selena Gomez in a more mature performance, assailed the Internet with complaints that they had paid to see the Worst Movie Ever Made.) And we werent thinking about that. We sit in. John Hodges is leaving A24, the Oscar-winning indie studio that he co-founded. 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]. A24 also released 2017s Lady Bird, an acclaimed coming-of-age story from Greta Gerwig, picking up a best picture nod. And we got Best Picture [also for Room]. I dunno! I mean, it made sense at the time. With Hodges leaving, the company behind the Oscar-winning best pictureMoonlight made it clear that no additional changes in management will be made. Beyer: I remember when we had Room, like, six months after Ex Machina or something, Fenkel was like, Whats the Tinder for Room? And I was like, No, no! 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. There was this weird time. Jenkins: I just would never allow myself to believe that something I made could win Best Picture. So it was strange, if you were a moviegoer in 2013, to see the A24 logo pop up again and again before movies as varied and weird as Harmony Korines Spring Breakers and Sofia Coppolas The Bling Ring, James Ponsoldts The Spectacular Now and Roman Coppolas A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III. 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.