You prepare like for your dissertation at Harvard. Only Lovers Left Alive drips with style, wisdom and ironic humor as Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton play hip, immortal layabouts. Selena and Ashley had no issue with this. [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. Photo illustration by Lisa Larson-Walker. John Hodges will be leaving A24 to pursue other opportunities, the indie distributor announced Monday. Sacco: Frances Ha was the first heartbreak. Fenkel: I stare straight ahead. And so anytime you speak with someone whos not a pure accountant, is not a pencil pusher? Moonlight we hadnt seen yet. Their whole point was, We dont know this world. You were in the A24 offices. I say, Dont go there. Because what happened was, someone ran out with a red envelope. It was social media. They had faith that people would continue to show up. But then also do things that other companies arent doing. It would be fascinating for just the unnerving dread of an awkward gathering of friends, but Kusama then provides the film a killer twist. I found it so deep in Google Image searches. But I think she saw this, and it hijacked her image and personality, and we didnt ask her. So everything had to be explained to me, and by the time it was explained, it was over. People are like, Oh, I would have green-lit that! Im like, Come on!, Sacco: We had been talking about finding a person to produce for a long time. Thats not a go-wide movie. Scott didnt say anything. But I feel that the fact that it was their first filmthere was a lot of idealism around the process. But what happens when the titles involved in this deal get bettera lot better? Where its like: Im in. It Follows takes the horror trope of getting punished for having sex to a new level. GQ may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. Katz, Fenkel and Hodges prior to A24 worked in film and production, before leaving to eventually co-found the company, 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. Aizenberg: Yeah. 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. Katz: They were kind of comfortable with the Under the Skin release. The company, improbably, was based in New York, not Los Angeles. John Hodges is a producer and the founder of A24 alongside David Katz and David Fenkel. But youre like, Why didnt other people see that? I have no idea. 2023 The Hollywood Reporter, LLC. 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. And we just hounded him. The optimistic way to view this situation is that A24 is getting much better at buying good movies for its DirecTV deal, rather than filler like Barely Lethal. Here's who: Daniel Katz, David Fenkel, John Hodges and James Schultz. Gif excerpt from the film Under the Skin via A24 Films. I kept calling the guy. [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. That didnt come with any veto rights or cut rights, Abrahamson told me. Johnny Hodges Net Worth. Dede Gardner (producer, Plan B, Moonlight): When we and Barry said it was absolutely critical that we shoot in Miami, they said, Of course it is. And you know, many, many others wouldve said, Well, you can get the rebate if you go to Atlanta. But anyone whos read it knows that Liberty Square and that particular light and that particular culture was a character. The next day it was like, Anythings possible.. (Joy, Annapurnas only 2015 title, arrives in theaters on Christmas Day.). Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. 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). 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. I think what theyve understood is theres a sufficient number of people out there who want more challenging or different material. I think when we started [2016], it was another, like, what Id consider a building year. It was, like, every time another person walked out, I was like, Oh, there goes another one!, Sacco: All my friends and family, they kept asking about this new company. We tried to put together a slate in, like, four months, as opposed to just really growing it, building it in the right way. 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. 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. 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. 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 company said he will exit to focus on future opportunities, but did not clarify beyond that statement. This story appears in the summer issue of GQ Style. You look at the underdog story, I think thats not by accident. Were putting together a gift basket of glass guns and a gift basket with munchies. Mr Katz had worked in film financing at Guggenheim Partners, and . Thats completely nuts. Fenkel: In LA, every meeting is about the hot air. All the actors had taken the risk. Thats the chief message of an A24 campaign, really, from elegant design to sharp social media to clever co-branding choices: This is a company that gets it. Signed on as producer beginning with the second season. Theyre one of the few companies that have shown that indie films can still be viable. That was tough. Well handle it! And if it works, its them; if it doesnt work, its all your fault anyway. 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. But if it is, a monastic degree of focus will be required to recognize which A24 titles might fare better on VOD. [He won at least six.] Which is vanishingly rare in the film industry. (Make a left out of the elevators, and then a right at the cafeteria workers.). 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. I think when movie companies get started, people want to define you immediately. 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. First movies gonna be so exciting! And I remember everyone came back from that test screening. And you can really see over the past few years, it really, really hasnt at all. A24 has also been nominated and won many Golden Globes, British Academy Film Awards, and Critics' Choice Movie Awards. Im dying. 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. And they did. This elegant, yet sadistic horror film from Austria resembles Michael Hanekes Funny Games, yet the home invader was under the victims noses all along. The Hollywood Reporter is a part of Penske Media Corporation. A24 Co-Founder John Hodges Exits | Art and Experience Cinema [21][22] Episodes are based around a discussion between two members of the film industry. Katz, Fenkel, Hodges launch A24 - Variety A24 thinks hard about the landscape of distribution, and they think hard about the models, and the models are changing. 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. And they were like the third guy at the company. Most importantly, an A24 film is a happening. 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. In recent years, the recession and the concurrent rise of VOD streaming services have already torpedoed the midbudget movie. When I saw Robert Eggers The Witch at that same festival, I stumbled out of the 9 a.m. press screening convinced that I had just seen a masterpiece. John Heavey (distribution, A24): Especially the first two years, we fell in love with every movie. It was a perfectly good jet! Animated photo illustration by Lisa Larson-Walker. Igoe: That morning was crazy. 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. a24 john hodges net worth That was 2013. And I think that really helped the movie. Please! John Hodges - Entertainment Executive | Variety.com 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. 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! It wasnt going to get lost in the shuffle. A24 was founded in 2012 by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel and John Hodges. 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. Fenkel: That kind of hit. And I think A24 and companies like that areyou know, people want to go to the cinema. A24 Films - Production List | Film & Television Industry Alliance Like Get Out, or Baby Driver. But the back end was so crazy. 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. A24, which was founded in 2012, said that no additional changes in management will be made. Lets go wide! On the most literal level, an A24 film is budgeted from anywhere between $1 million (Obvious Child) and $20 million (A Most Violent Year). We want to hear from you! Uncut Gems ($50 million). Barry Jenkins (director, Moonlight): A24s the kind of company where they say, Yeah, they dont need to know what its about. The fact theyre vampires might just be an excuse for them to wear sunglasses indoors. I am incredibly proud of the company we created and of the amazing team at A24 that has been integral to its success. And, like, within two blocks, I have to stop. Kapadia: Theyve won Best Picture. And on some level, honestly, I was afraid to go out on my own and try to make it work. Saulnier expertly contains conflict, depth and gore within small confines. And then you meet Barry and hear Barry talk, and its like, Of course! A24s initial funding came via an infusion of capital from Guggenheim Partners, the investment firm at which Katz previously oversaw film financing. Login to view all information @ It wasnt disrespectful. Beyer: It was all about this tension between, like, trying to legitimize ourselves as a real company that can handle working with, like, big. When I was explaining to people what I was doing, it felt like a political campaign. 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. In the last few years, there have been a spate ofindie horror films that have broken into the mainstream. 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. (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 so anytime you speak with someone whos not a pure accountant, is not a pencil pusher? Your eyes dont gloss over James Franco as a trap music Jesus. A24 Films is a US theatrical distribution and production company founded by Daniel Katz, John Hodges and David Fenkel. Im glad it all worked out. A24 Net Worth & Earnings (2023) You know what? Trench coat was enough. A24 will. Fenkel: The world kind of shifted in its direction, where the film was for an audience, and then you realize, Whoa, the movie is needed by other people. 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. And they even never uttered the words, What would it be like in a cheaper state? Or a director. In 2012, Fenkel, Hodges, and Katz left their jobsat Oscilloscope, Big Beach, and Guggenheim Partners, respectivelyto start A24. You could tell that they wanted to be great. Denis Villeneuve (director, Enemy): I never saw them as businessmen. Scarlett Johansson gives the most daring performance of her career in Jonathan Glazers surreal, experimental film. See what happens.. 2023 Deadline Hollywood, LLC. Jennifer Kents drama is a psychological heavyweight that examines how parents feed their demons to quell the pain. They dont have the personality of movie executives. 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. That was where I learned what Tinder was. 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. Pattinson: Theyre definitely the place to be now. Franco: I actually did win some awards. Its exciting. Nicolette Aizenberg (distribution executive, A24): It is very cyclical. Dont get left behind. They have a very good understanding of the Zeitgeist. [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. 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. If its gonna be released the same way by another company, we usually dont go after it. This is a growing company, not a struggling one. And Im not saying theyre magicians. Sacco: I used to think seeing people faint was what happened in movies. Correction, Sept. 30, 2015: This article originally contained a photo of John Hodges, a film producer, rather than John Hodges, co-founder of A24. We still dont. Probably the best place to screen-test the movie. Villeneuve: If my memorys good, I was amongst their, not their first movies, but they were a young company at the time. 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. Stay plugged in to the industry with our free newsletter. John Hodges is leaving A24, the Oscar-winning indie studio that he co-founded. 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. Jenkins: I just would never allow myself to believe that something I made could win Best Picture. John Hodges - High Net Worth Field Adjuster - LinkedIn Sacco: We probably saw 20 versions. "I'm thrilled to be joining the team at Jax,". You dont watch something like Spring Breakers or Under the Skin without thinking: Where the hell did that come from? 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. Focused on High Net Worth Policy holders where policy coverage exceeds $1 million. Its DirecTV/A24 release grossed $229,094 and never played on more than 54 screens. An Industry Arts Company. All three had grown up admiring the rich world of 90s independent cinema, and they noticed a void where those movies had once been. Aizenberg: Nine to ten people walked out. I liked the fact that they had never made a doc. 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. Garland: Under the Skin is exactly the kind of movie that you would not see distributed by a major studio. The filmmakers were like, I made a good movie. Usually you talk to somebody and they tell you all the reasons they shouldnt make something, and why its so difficult. The news of Hodges exit was abrupt, but one source said the move has been in the works for some time. Starring Splits Anya Taylor-Joy, Robert Eggers creates a world devoid of God in this thunderous and bleak religious melodrama. Sacco: And people on planet Earth, you know, they go see movies that they need to want to see or hear about. If the companys success continues apace, it might not be long before a profitable mid-budget movie no longer seems like a unicorn, and it might not be much longer until being an A24 film is the only hook a film needs. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. IFC earned a raft of Oscar nominations when it decided to put its muscle behind Boyhood and transform it into a phenomenon, but dumping all of its eggs into one beautifully textured basket helped to underline the paucity of love that most indies receive from their distributors, who ferry them from festivals to home video with all the solemn purpose of Charon taking passengers across the river Styx. I mean, I have no idea what theyre doing, really. Katz: Tuesday morning, I remember, we had a little whiskey for him. Thats very unusual. January, February, we didnt know we had The Lobster. And it was on the A24 [motorway]. [24], On November 15, 2018, A24 and Apple announced that they had entered into a multi-year partnership where A24 will produce a slate of original films for Apple. The company offered no additional details other than to say his vacancy would not lead to any additional changes in management. Johansson plays something between an android and alien symbiote who seduces men in order to envelop them in a dark, infinite pool of nothingness. Hodges: I started my career at USA Films, which became Focus Features. Suddenly, in order to be financially viable, a project has to cost less than $2 million or more than $200 million. 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. I Just Raised The Oscar At Them. A24 - Wikipedia Gif excerpt from the film Room via A24 Films. John Hodges is leaving A24, the Oscar-winning indie studio that he co-founded. So that was like their heyday. And [my producer] kept saying it, and I kept thinking, Okay, at some point Ill figure out what hes talking about. Its such a really fucking well-executed movie. I think he was in Hawaii on his honeymoon or something while it was all going down, so I felt terrible. [19], In January 2017, the company acquired the United States and Chinese distribution rights for their first foreign language film, Menashe. 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. John Hodges is leaving A24, the Oscar-winning indie studio that he co-founded. The company said he will exit to focus on "future opportunities," but did not clarify beyond that statement. The whole thing was really intense. Everybody was talking a few years ago how cinema had died. 2023 THE TRACKING BOARD. Katz: Tusk, we were like, oh, Kevin Smith! 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.