Fenkel: We had a meeting. No!. So long as A24 continues tooperate independently and make edgy films from newcomers and established veterans alike, Ill be a happy moviegoer. 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. Katz: And we were all like, You know what? By subscribing, I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Starting off moderately in 2013 with A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III, the company's growth started with the release of Spring Breakers later that year. I think I made out with my wife in front of people. I say, Dont go there. Because what happened was, someone ran out with a red envelope. 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: Theres an A24 audience, and sometimes a movie connects with the A24 audience. I was like, I think I need to find another job., Aizenberg: They were basically like, Dont release this movie.. But it was word of mouth. The photo has been . Losing a movieI wanted to jump off a bridge. People want to see movies. Katz: Tuesday morning, I remember, we had a little whiskey for him. Halfway through the campaign, I think it went the other way. As one of the founding members of the New York-based company, Hodges played a key role. We just had to catch up to that idea. Hodges: I started my career at USA Films, which became Focus Features. Fenkel: Well, it wasnt a heartbreak, because they wouldnt actually call us back. Producer: Safety Not Guaranteed. Alex Garland (director, Ex Machina): They make things work that according to standard procedures really shouldnt work. Its first release was A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III in 2013, followed by Spring Breakers later that year. Ravi Nandan (co-head of TV, A24): Paramount Vantage, which had released, like, There Will Be Blood and a bunch of other movies, was [folded into] Paramount. Where its like: Im in. 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. 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. "I'm thrilled to be joining the team at Jax,". Although A24's actual net worth is not known. I dont even look at him. A24 has an estimated net worth of about $1.89 million. I felt like we were all on the same team. Jul 2021 - Present1 year 7 months. The company said he will exit to focus on "future opportunities," but did not clarify beyond that statement. I Just Raised The Oscar At Them. In the last few years, there have been a spate ofindie horror films that have broken into the mainstream. 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. They were thinking in a different way, trying something newer and maybe more radical with their approach. 2023 Deadline Hollywood, LLC. I dont think that switch in psychology is supposed to happen that dramatically, or that abruptly. Theyre super-smart people. It is currently unknown if this slate of films will have a theatrical release or be exclusive to Apple's Apple TV+ streaming service. Like, standing ovation, fucking applause in the middle of the movie. a24 john hodges net worth. 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? 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. Aizenberg: That Oscar-nomination morning, I remember walking into the office that day, and I was like, Please, dear God, just let Amy and Brie get nominated. If I had to guess, Id wager that Hodges was simply ready to move on after reaching the top of the mountain winning Best Picture for Moonlight. So everything had to be explained to me, and by the time it was explained, it was over. 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. And so anytime you speak with someone whos not a pure accountant, is not a pencil pusher? 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. Steven Spielberg publicly predicted the implosion of the film industry, which is sort of like God telling you to brace for rain. 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. Meanwhile, A24 has already been building an ark. And they did. Its a film about guilt that forever haunts you and the fear of being watched. [laughs] I mean, I doubt that, because I know the people that work there. Place Beyond the Pines, wed worked with the producers before. I think Spring Breakers really put them on the map, as far as I could tell. A24 FILMS. 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. [7], Guggenheim Partners provided the seed money for A24 The company was started to share "movies from a distinctive point of view". 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. And you can really see over the past few years, it really, really hasnt at all. Barry Jenkins (director, Moonlight): A24s the kind of company where they say, Yeah, they dont need to know what its about. It was like two hours before, and they were like, Hes not gonna make it. A vital piece of work far too delicately perverse to have sustained a theatrical run, it was the ideal choice to launch the program. It was social media. Jeanie Igoe (production, A24): None of us really knew what we were doing. We saw the red envelope. Theres aesthetic and political values to the people behind the company. Get our latest storiesin the feed of your favorite networks. I liked the fact that they had never made a doc. Fenkel: You dont know how to control yourself. 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. An A24 film has an affinity for subverting a celebritys established persona. Were gonna get there on time. Jenkins: They were like, Look. Stay plugged in to the industry with our free newsletter. The best scares always come from unexpected places. You look at the underdog story, I think thats not by accident. Films distributed by A24 ended up getting nominated for seven Academy Awards that year, including Best Picture (Room), Actress (Brie Larson), Documentary (Amy), and Original Screenplay (Ex Machina). Were putting together a gift basket of glass guns and a gift basket with munchies. That was just acting! It was not like being in a cinema. Were good. All rights reserved. Eggers: In the very beginning, when we went to Sundance initially, I didnt think that this was going to have such a large audience. 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. Johansson plays something between an android and alien symbiote who seduces men in order to envelop them in a dark, infinite pool of nothingness. 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. A mother undergoes reconstructive facial surgery, but her two twin boys dont recognize the woman beneath her bandages. But we liked them. We were like, Im pretty sure this is gonna be Star Wars, but maybe Mad Max. Thats what I said to them right before. 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. 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. With Hodges leaving, the company behind the Oscar-winning best pictureMoonlight made it clear that no additional changes in management will be made. I want to be A24, he said. John has been a trusted partner who helped conceive A24 and for that we will always be grateful, noted A24 in a statement. 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. I am incredibly proud of the company we created and of the amazing team at A24 that has been integral to its success. Katz: People say, Oh, Barry, why didnt you bring us Moonlight?As if that was the most obvious Best Picture! 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. 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]. But what happens when the titles involved in this deal get bettera lot better? And then there was another one where hes deep-throating the gun, and we replaced it with a gold statue. Other companies wanted to do stuff with it. 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. Uncut Gems ($50 million). Eddie Guy. Art and Experience : John Hodges is leaving A24, the Oscar-winning indie studio that he co-founded. Well handle it! And if it works, its them; if it doesnt work, its all your fault anyway. Im glad it all worked out. A24 is not like other entertainment companies. [He won at least six.] Her film The Invitation" plays on agitation and insecurities between a group of old friends and some suspicious strangers at a lavish dinner party. But youre in a tuxedo and everyone around you is older and theyre quiet Jenkins: It sucks, man, because of how it happened, none of us thanked them! How great it was. 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. Were passionate. It was a perfectly good jet! Katz came from a film finance group, while Fenkel and Hodges both left positions at other independent film companies. John Hodges will be leaving A24 to pursue other opportunities, the indie distributor announced Monday. I agree with TheWrap's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy and provide my consent to receive marketing communications from them. 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. we don't have a good idea of their yearly revenue either as the most recent stats were from 2012 estimating around $20 million, but that wasn't putting into account pure profit only the overall gross of all the films released that year. And I felt with these guys it was a dialogue. Franco: I remember the South by Southwest festival, the screeningit was like a rock concert. John Hodges is leaving A24, the Oscar-winning indie studio that he co-founded. 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. A24 will. And then over the course of, like, four months, we bought a lot of movies. A24 is an American independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. 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. 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. 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. I just 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.. Heavey: People were, like, crying. And so anytime you speak with someone whos not a pure accountant, is not a pencil pusher? (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.) Set in 1630s New England, a family is banished from their village and starts to unravel when their baby vanishes. Daniel Radcliffe (actor, Swiss Army Man): Ive had experiences on films in the past where they get bought by somebody who sees something in it that they like, which is nice, but it also happens to be notand is sometimes antithetical towhat the people who made the film wanted it to be. And you could tell that it was in their reach. Jeremy Kleiner (producer, Plan B, Moonlight): It wasnt like, Oh, this is low-hanging fruit, lets grab on to this one. It was a passionate embrace of the movie. But if it is, a monastic degree of focus will be required to recognize which A24 titles might fare better on VOD. 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. 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. You walk through that office, and there arent a lot of people that look like theyre from Liberty City, Miami. 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. Everybody wants to be A24. Beyer: Alicia VikanderI think she read about it, or she saw this photo of her that was being used. 2023 The Hollywood Reporter, LLC. Anything in between is dead in the water. Scarlett Johansson gives the most daring performance of her career in Jonathan Glazers surreal, experimental film.