The gross guysand hes like, All right. Like Under the Skin, Locke, Enemy. Katz: Tusk, we were like, oh, Kevin Smith! A24s television division released The Carmichael Show.. Were putting together a gift basket of glass guns and a gift basket with munchies. We were planting seeds to grow. Theres music labels I can think of as well. I just Please! That was where I learned what Tinder was. Sure, were talking about an aggressively uncommercial director whose previous feature was called Trash Humpers, but the success of Spring Breakersand how it was achieveddemonstrated that theres still an audience for the kind of challenging and essential medium-budget movies that most in the business left for dead. It was crazy. I felt like there was a huge opportunity to create something where the talented people could be talented. Garland: Under the Skin is exactly the kind of movie that you would not see distributed by a major studio. And I think it is down to companies like A24. (He won the Los Angeles Film Critics Association award for Best Supporting Actor). 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? Hodges previously served as head of production and development at Big Beach Films and exec produced "Our Idiot Brother" and "Safety Not Guaranteed.". [laughs] I mean, I doubt that, because I know the people that work there. 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.. So I think they were hoping, and discovering, that they might be able to do that with The Witch. You could tell that they wanted to be great. 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. a24 john hodges net worth. Fenkel: Lenny [Abrahamson, for Room] beats out Ridley Scott! None Of Us Thanked Them. Put it on screens. We wish Hodges the best of luck with his next endeavor, since the indie landscape has certainly benefited from his contributions. A24 is an American independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. Thats not a go-wide movie. Really? That suits a company whose websites About page consists of nothing beyond an Eadweard Muybridge plate of a cockatoo flapping its wings. Were always cognizant of trying to sell the film by not selling it, said marketing exec Jesse Patrone-Werdiger, speaking to A24s rare faculty for promoting around the product its trying to push, shifting the tectonic plates of culture in the hopes of giving rise to a mountain. Jennifer Kents drama is a psychological heavyweight that examines how parents feed their demons to quell the pain. Worst case, youll get the trench-coat crowd. You know what the trench-coat crowd is? 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. (For context, the Spring Breakers Facebook page has 1.1 million likes, while that for Fox Searchlights Best Picture-winning Birdman has only 289,000.) Its not remarkable that A24 had set such a goalits remarkable that the company is accomplishing it. Still, A24 has never enjoyed a box-office breakout hit. Kleiner: They had the movie, I want to say, 22, 23 weeks in theatrical release? Anything in between is dead in the water. She looked great. As of 2023[update], the company's films had received a total of 49 Academy Award nominations. 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. And I think A24 and companies like that areyou know, people want to go to the cinema. So when I saw that, I was like, Okay, those guys, they know what they are doing.. Robert Pattinson (actor, The Rover, Good Time): Its crazy that there is an article about a distribution company. 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. The news of Hodges exit was abrupt, but one source said the move has been in the works for some time. 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). But I remember vividly that they had chosen some specific movies, one of which was Under the Skin. At the same time, we get a call saying that Selena and Ashley [Benson], their hair and makeup team hadnt gone on the private jet we had got for them, because they didnt think it was big enough or secure enough. That was 2013. The Hollywood Reporter is a part of Penske Media Corporation. Fenkel: Charlie Sheen was in this interesting place where maybe he was on the verge of a comeback, and Im saying that with a straight face. Surely theyve learned by now that theres a ceiling for arthouse films these days. And they even never uttered the words, What would it be like in a cheaper state? Igoe: At SXSW, we had Spectacular Now, and Spring Breakers showed there. I dont even look at him. But if it is, a monastic degree of focus will be required to recognize which A24 titles might fare better on VOD. 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. The Oscar-nominated actor gives us his all-time favorites of film. 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. When your business model is predicated on treating each movie like an event, how do you get bigger without changing who you are? I think Spring Breakers really put them on the map, as far as I could tell. It is based in New York City . And then there was another one where hes deep-throating the gun, and we replaced it with a gold statue. These films speak for themselves. I am incredibly proud of the company we created and of the amazing team at A24 that has been integral to its success. 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). And that question is the birth of fandom. 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. With how bad it tested. 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. . Katz: David and I are sitting next to each other. Take the fate of John Macleans Slow West, one of the years best films, a neo-Western starring Michael Fassbender as a bounty hunter. Right after we did those three films, I dont think we had really purchased a film for the following year. 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. Fenkel: We knew we were releasing the movie. Daniel Katz (co-founder, A24): We used to always talk about Oh, theres gotta be a better way.. I legitimately watched people almost pass out. Maybe even that guy with a two-way radio who keeps you from walking through a movie set. Daniels like, Okay. Hodges, along with Katz and Fenkel, largely shunned the spotlight, giving few interviews even as A24 made a name for itself by releasing edgier, filmmaker-driven fare from directors such as Lenny Abrahamson, Alex Garland, and the Safdie Brothers. I think he would say something now. And, like, within two blocks, I have to stop. Its funny. Eddie Guy. Were gonna get there on time. [17] In April, the company acquired all foreign rights to Swiss Army Man, distributing the film in all territories, and partnering with distributors who previously acquired rights to the film, a first for the company. Theyre on the tarmac, and were having to find a new jet for them within twenty minutes. Beyer: Alicia VikanderI think she read about it, or she saw this photo of her that was being used. Hodges: The office literally looked like a pump-and-dump stock operation. David Fenkel (co-founder, A24): We find movies [for which] our perspective, our system, our people, can act to make it something special. 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. 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. 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. 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. John Hodges will be leaving A24 to pursue other opportunities, the indie distributor announced Monday. 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? Genre hounds stoked by the Sundance hype would surely seek it out, but Eggers extraordinary debutabout a family of early American pilgrims who get banished to the wrong forestwould never be given the opportunity to meaningfully connect with its audience and worm its way into the culture. Prior to A24, all had worked extensively in film and production before leaving their current positions to co-found the company, originally A24 Films, which specialized in film distribution. Fenkel: And we did this, like, illegal Tinder stuff. 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. (Joy, Annapurnas only 2015 title, arrives in theaters on Christmas Day.). They came on strong in the late 90s, really. A24 is an American independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. The best scares always come from unexpected places. That broke the film out., For Room director Lenny Abrahamson, working with A24 on his films campaign has been a dramatic change. A24 FILMS. 2023 Variety Media, LLC. 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. But as A24 initiates the second phase of its existence, a transition that includes financing its own films and branching out into television, the companys exponential growth may find it becoming part of the problem it had once seemed destined to solve. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Her film The Invitation" plays on agitation and insecurities between a group of old friends and some suspicious strangers at a lavish dinner party. In 2012, Fenkel, Hodges, and Katz left their jobsat Oscilloscope, Big Beach, and Guggenheim Partners, respectivelyto start A24. John Hodges will be leaving A24 to pursue other opportunities, the indie distributor announced Monday. Our site's data suggests A24's net worth to be about $1.89 million. 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. Rather than focusing on acquisitions, as was its early strategy, A24 is now producing its own movies, as well as its own podcast. There has been speculation for the past six months that the company is for sale. A24, which was founded in 2012, said that no additional changes in management will be made. For a start, it was founded on the wrong coast - New York, not Los Angeles - by three relatively young arthouse film executives, Daniel Katz, David. That kind of audience. And so anytime you speak with someone whos not a pure accountant, is not a pencil pusher? John has been a trusted partner who helped conceive A24 and for that we will always be grateful, noted A24 in a statement. Katz: People say, Oh, Barry, why didnt you bring us Moonlight?As if that was the most obvious Best Picture! [20], On February 20, 2018, A24 launched a podcast titled The A24 Podcast. And in that moment I was like: Now its time to go do this. Quite often you finish a film, he told me, youve had no contact with the distributor, you hand it to them, you get a quick look at the poster. And then over the course of, like, four months, we bought a lot of movies. In pretty decent seats, actually. It was also that A24 was releasing these films not with a sigh and a shrug, but with panache, style, and humor: bright neon colors, guerrilla marketing tactics, and in the case of James Francos Britney Spears-loving gangster character from Spring Breakers, an actual Oscar campaign. Katz: In LAwhatever just transpired last month, you feel it in LA. The company said he will exit to focus on future opportunities, but did not clarify beyond that statement. 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. But we got A Glimpse Inside the Mind. And it just kept getting better and better and better. 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. Sacco: Gun bongs. [7], Guggenheim Partners provided the seed money for A24 The company was started to share "movies from a distinctive point of view". A24 may not yet inspire the same kind of blind devotion in theatergoers that the Criterion Collection does in home video obsessives, but its the only indie distributor that feasibly could. You prepare like for your dissertation at Harvard. Aizenberg: Remember he didnt show up to the premiere? 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. 10001 NEW YORK, USA. A24s initial funding came via an infusion of capital from Guggenheim Partners, the investment firm at which Katz previously oversaw film financing. They didnt have a ton of movies, you know? Hodges: I started my career at USA Films, which became Focus Features. And that was our communication for booking theaters. David Fenkel and I have had some great conversations about film - the whole A24 team have a great and deep love for cinema. Aizenberg: Yeah. John Hodges is leaving A24, the Oscar-winning indie studio that he co-founded. Or a director. Since then his contributions to growing the company have been invaluable and we cant wait to see what he does next, said A24 in a statement. Some dissatisfied customers later accused the marketing campaign of misrepresenting the movie as a fun adolescent romp. Despite lacking any pre-defined structure, episodes generally contain discussions around recent works of the two guests, allowing for branching discussions to other areas. Although A24's actual net worth is not known. Sacco: And people on planet Earth, you know, they go see movies that they need to want to see or hear about. 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. I think we all were kind of a bit shell-shocked. 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. Its exciting. And I think thats the main thing, Id say. II was tasked. According to Ponsoldt, who recently became the companys first repeat filmmaker: A24 films run the gamut of genre and style, but they all seem to be incredibly specific, personal visions.. The fact that we were able to sign any movies out of that office is absurd. Activity. Lets run there. I Just Raised The Oscar At Them. Fenkel: I just cannot stop. But then also do things that other companies arent doing. We were like, Im pretty sure this is gonna be Star Wars, but maybe Mad Max. Thats what I said to them right before. His net worth has been growing significantly in 2021-2022. They kept shutting us down. It was a perfectly good jet! Zach Baron is GQs staff writer. Katz: We broke the record that weekend. Franco: I remember the South by Southwest festival, the screeningit was like a rock concert. 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. Variety and the Flying V logos are trademarks of Variety Media, LLC. Theres aesthetic and political values to the people behind the company. March 3, 2018. To revisit this article, visit My Profile, thenView saved stories. A24 Apr 2012 - May 20186 years 2 months Head of Production and Development Big Beach Films 2008 - 20124 years Greater New York City Area Development and Production Executive Michaels Goldwyn. But in general distribution is like plumbing: unseen, unnoticed, and notable only when it malfunctions. Which is vanishingly rare in the film industry. Its infamously irreverent official Twitter account, run by an employee named Zoe Beyer, is as likely to tweet about the Spice Girls or trash-talk Tom Cruise as it is to tweet about one of the companys own movies. Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted. Im glad it all worked out. Johansson plays something between an android and alien symbiote who seduces men in order to envelop them in a dark, infinite pool of nothingness. Lets do Kevin Smith horror! GQ Style. 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]. You know more than me.. [15], In January 2016, Sasha Lloyd joined the company to handle all film, television distribution and business development in the international marketplace. When Ex Machina director Alex Garland was asked what he liked about working with A24, he compared the major studios to ocean liners: To change direction it takes them two days to even start to make that turn. Since then his contributions to growing the company have been invaluable and we cant wait to see what he does next., Hodges said in a statement, I am incredibly proud of the company we created and of the amazing team at A24 that has been integral to its success. That didnt come with any veto rights or cut rights, Abrahamson told me. Fenkel: Well, of course Selena Gomez in a bikini worked. Harvey Weinstein (via email): A24 is a great company. John Hodges (co-founder and co-head of TV, . Hodges had run A24 with David Fenkel and Daniel Katz as a ruling troika, albeit one that operated without offices (located in Chelsea, the company was known for its open space and banquette tables). I just trust, you know, Drag City or Merge or SST or Dischord. Heavey: He didnt really use a computer. When it happens again and again, thats very, very intelligent work and planning. John Cornelius Hodge (Squatty Roo, Jeep, Rabbit) was born on 25 July, 1907 in Cambridge, MA, is an American saxophonist. Distribution: Theatrical, TV, DVD-video, VOD, USA. Slate is published by The Slate Group, a Graham Holdings Company. Since then, A24's success has been immeasurable, especially for an independent Production company founded the same year The Avengers came out. Wouldnt call us back. Since 1957, GQ has inspired men to look sharper and live smarter with its unparalleled coverage of style, culture, and beyond. [10] The company's first theatrical release was Roman Coppola's A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III, which had a limited release. Villeneuve: If my memorys good, I was amongst their, not their first movies, but they were a young company at the time. I asked him what he wants his company to be. The company, improbably, was based in New York, not Los Angeles. Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter, 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 year's best picture winner, 'Moonlight.'. The story behind the studio that brought you Moonlight and It Comes At Night, as told by Barry Jenkins, Sofia Coppola, James Franco, Robert Pattinson, and the founders of A24 themselves. Katz came from a film finance group, while Fenkel and Hodges both left positions at other independent film companies. And although it describes itself as Midnight Madness, the film didnt start until close to one oclock in the morning. Katz: Tuesday morning, I remember, we had a little whiskey for him. By subscribing, I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. All the actors had taken the risk. All contents 2023 The Slate Group LLC. And I remember hearing she was really upset. Photo illustration by Lisa Larson-Walker. Hodges has been an integral part of the studio since its inception in 2012. 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. They became better known after picking up the U.S. rights to Ex Machina and Room, and worldwide rights to The Witch, growing substantially since then. The company is behind instant fan favorites like Uncut Gems, Ladybird, The Lighthouse, and Everything Everywhere All at Once. [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. Noah Sacco (head of acquisitions and production, A24): I think some of our biggest movies had no stars in them at the time of releaseEx Machina, Moonlight, The Witch, Room, The Spectacular Now. 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 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. Jenkins: I just would never allow myself to believe that something I made could win Best Picture. The company said he will exit to focus on "future opportunities," but did not clarify beyond that statement. Since the small blast of trade articles that greeted the companys inception, theyve remained unusually quiet. I dont think it was related to her professional career. I woke up one morning to an e-mail from Daniel that was sent at three in the morning: Can you go to Pittsburgh? I come into the office, and there are interns running around like in some crazy factory. It was like being in some kind of arena. Starring Splits Anya Taylor-Joy, Robert Eggers creates a world devoid of God in this thunderous and bleak religious melodrama. Thats very unusual. Get our latest storiesin the feed of your favorite networks. As one of the founding members of the New York-based company, Hodges played a key role. 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. 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.. We still dont. A24 Films is a US theatrical distribution and production company founded by Daniel Katz, John Hodges and David Fenkel. PARK CITY, Utah At the Sundance Film Festival here in January, executives at A24, the upstart movie and television studio, stood in the back of a makeshift theater looking as if . 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. That company and the old Miramax and Fox Searchlight had a real brand and a hold on their audience. Asif Kapadia (director, Amy): I had never heard of A24. Fenkel: Well, it wasnt a heartbreak, because they wouldnt actually call us back. Thus far, A24 hasnt made any of the movies its released, but its made all of them A24 movies. John Hodges (co-founder and co-head of TV, A24): It was one of those conversations where it was always like, How would we do it differently? And it was usually fueled by beer and things scribbled down on napkins and a lot of bravado. I dont mean it that way. In 2013, A24 released their first five films: Sally Potters Ginger & Rosa, Harmony Korines Spring Breakers, Sofia Coppolas The Bling Ring, James Ponsoldts The Spectacular Now, and Roman Coppolas A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III, starring Charlie Sheen. Nathan (Oscar Isaac) and Kyoko (Sonoya Mizuno). Fenkel: It actually went very well, for what the movie was. Hollywood is run by accountants at this point. A24 has an estimated net worth of about $1.89 million. Like Get Out, or Baby Driver. We closed the deal on The Bling Ring on the way to Sundance. And they did. Not like we should have paid more. It was such an out-of-body experience. Franco: I actually did win some awards. 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.. And theyre aiming at them. 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? Released in the wake of Anton Yelchins untimely passing, Jeremy Saulniers Green Room is a grizzly and intense thriller in which a young punk rock band witnesses a murder and fights off a group of Neo Nazis, led by Patrick Stewart no less. And Under the Skin, from Jonathan Glazer, is one of my favorite movies in the past 15 or 20 years, you know? Its first release was A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III in 2013, followed by Spring Breakers later that year. 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. Moonlight we hadnt seen yet. We get credit for it even when we have nothing to do with it. I dont think that switch in psychology is supposed to happen that dramatically, or that abruptly. Take its efforts on Spring Breakers, for example. Fenkel: We may have had to fire a fake intern for that. Were passionate. Garland: I didnt know what Tinder was until the festival. On a notepad and Post-Its. Dont get left behind. [25], On November 13, 2019, A24 entered into a premium cable television broadcast deal with Showtime Networks, covering all film releases through November 1, 2022. Correction, Sept. 30, 2015:This article originally contained a photo of John Hodges, a film producer, rather than John Hodges, co-founder of A24. There was nothing bad-spirited about it. It made me crack up. Said Korine: They saw that marketing was a creative act that could be entertaining in and of itself. Katz: Yeah! Beyer: I think the operating principle was, Dont ask for permission. Katz: There was still, I think, the element ofthey thought we got lucky. 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! Only Lovers Left Alive drips with style, wisdom and ironic humor as Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton play hip, immortal layabouts. Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day. 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.