Saulnier expertly contains conflict, depth and gore within small confines. 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. [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. Jul 2021 - Present1 year 7 months. No one in the office is older than 42, including co-founders John Hodges, David Fenkel, and Daniel Katz. [9], The company began its distribution of films in 2013. Theres aesthetic and political values to the people behind the company. Katz: I always had dreams of [starting a company]. Since then, A24's success has been immeasurable, especially for an independent Production company founded the same year The Avengers came out. John Hodges is Head of Film for Jax Media, where he heads Jax's feature film development and production. 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. Selena and Ashley had no issue with this. [27], A24 distributes and produces around 18 to 20 films a year. YOU'VE REACHED YOUR MONTHLY ARTICLE LIMIT. I dont think that switch in psychology is supposed to happen that dramatically, or that abruptly. We wanted to deliver in a meaningful way. We just had to catch up to that idea. John Hodges is leaving A24, the Oscar-winning indie studio that he co-founded. The company also announced that they would also finance and develop pilots. We are thrilled to have someone of Johns pedigree join the Jax Media team and lead our expansion into the film world, Jax Media partners Tony Hernandez, Lilly Burns, John Skidmore, and Brooke Posch said in a joint statement. 2023 Variety Media, LLC. Heavey: He didnt really use a computer. Aizenberg: There was a week in January where we dropped the trailer of Spring Breakers. All Rights Reserved. Sacco: I show up at the airport. I say, Dont go there. Because what happened was, someone ran out with a red envelope. a24 john hodges net worth. I think my sisters still only seen one A24 movie: Spring Breakers. 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.'. Fenkel: Look at The Witch. Here's who: Daniel Katz, David Fenkel, John Hodges and James Schultz. It took us ten minutes to get a block. Theyre just on it. Like, you believe in something, you fall in love with it, and then you work for three months on trying to make it work. A mother undergoes reconstructive facial surgery, but her two twin boys dont recognize the woman beneath her bandages. Did Moonlight just win Best Picture?. When historians of the future try to pinpoint the precise moment that the film industry crawled out of its deathbed and back onto its feet, theres a good chance theyll land somewhere in March 2013, when a fledgling distribution company called A24 Films transformed a Harmony Korine movie starring a cornrowed James Franco into a genuine cultural event. And when youre a loser, you think for a split second, Maybe they got it wrong. The fact theyre vampires might just be an excuse for them to wear sunglasses indoors. 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. Thus far, A24 hasnt made any of the movies its released, but its made all of them A24 movies. Katz: People say, Oh, Barry, why didnt you bring us Moonlight?As if that was the most obvious Best Picture! 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. A24 was founded in 2012 by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel and John Hodges. Beyer: And respect them and treat them the way they would by any other company. Miramax, they were a huge deal, and also Fox Searchlight. Sacco: I used to think seeing people faint was what happened in movies. It Follows takes the horror trope of getting punished for having sex to a new level. The company said he will exit to focus on "future opportunities," but did not clarify beyond that statement. Fenkel: You dont know how to control yourself. [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. You know more than me.. Sacco: To engrave the Spring Breakers logo onto the glass-gun bong. 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. And Im not saying theyre magicians. Sacco: We were on our way to the bathroom. Said Korine: They saw that marketing was a creative act that could be entertaining in and of itself. Sacco: Gun bongs. A24, which was founded in 2012, said that no additional changes in management will be made. New York, no one gives a shit. 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 you could tell that it was in their reach. In the last few years, there have been a spate ofindie horror films that have broken into the mainstream. 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. So everything had to be explained to me, and by the time it was explained, it was over. 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, added Hodges. Katz, Fenkel and Hodges all got together in 2012 and decided to make their late night yammerings a reality. But it was word of mouth. Gif excerpt from the film Ex Machina via A24 Films. And so anytime you speak with someone whos not a pure accountant, is not a pencil pusher? Gif excerpt from the film The End of the Tour via A24 Films. Hodges has been an integral part of the studio since its inception in 2012. 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. Suddenly, in order to be financially viable, a project has to cost less than $2 million or more than $200 million. We tried to get the Union Square movie theaterwe didnt have a theatrical booking yet. In 2016, A24 expanded into original production with Moonlight. It also put out some of its weirder and most singular movies to date: Trey Edward Shultss micro-budget family drama Krisha; Swiss Army Man, in which Daniel Radcliffe plays a corpse; and Yorgos Lanthimoss romantic tragedy, The Lobster. In February, Robert Eggerss The Witch, which A24 bought at Sundance for one million dollars, made $40 million and became the companys highest grossing film to date (Moonlight has since surpassed it). And then its like on the biggest stage, I didnt thank anybody! It specializes in film distribution, and film and television production. 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. First movies gonna be so exciting! And I remember everyone came back from that test screening. [29][30], "A24 Films" redirects here. For Ponsoldts latest, A24s marketing efforts followed the films example of approaching a highbrow topic with a low bar for entry, partnering with Medium.com for a project called Just Words, for which writers, artists, and other intellectual types collectively celebrated the life and work of David Foster Wallace. It would be fascinating for just the unnerving dread of an awkward gathering of friends, but Kusama then provides the film a killer twist. And then there was another one where hes deep-throating the gun, and we replaced it with a gold statue. A24 has an estimated net worth of about $1.89 million. They wanted, like, the Disney, massive one. They had heart to them.Harmony Korine, Sacco: I wouldnt say I got it. [7], Guggenheim Partners provided the seed money for A24 The company was started to share "movies from a distinctive point of view". It was like being in some kind of arena. Jeanie Igoe (production, A24): None of us really knew what we were doing. Fenkel: I just cannot stop. 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Rowling More Grace and Listen to Her, Britain's $4 Billion Boss: ITV Chief Carolyn McCall Bets It All on Talent, 2023 Music Festivals: How to Buy Tickets to Coachella, Governors Ball, Lollapalooza and More. We all go nuts for a few minutes, and then were all like, Okay, what do we do?. Katz: Maybe even greater. Fenkel: One thing we notice is now people are saying, Oh, good job. Maybe even that guy with a two-way radio who keeps you from walking through a movie set. And it was like a snowy and rainy day, and there was a ton of traffic. Mr Katz had worked in film financing at Guggenheim Partners, and . The company has laid the groundwork to evolve from just another upstart distribution label into a multiheaded ministudio capable of developing its own contentand so far theyve done it by releasing movies that tend to earn more cultural cachet than they do money. 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. 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 it was consolidation. So I think they were hoping, and discovering, that they might be able to do that with The Witch. But in a shift from its typical way of doing business, A24 acquired Room based on its script, before shooting had even begun. He later left A24 on March 2018 to focus on future opportunities. I found it so deep in Google Image searches. 10001 NEW YORK, USA. I asked him what he wants his company to be. It was like two hours before, and they were like, Hes not gonna make it. Aizenberg: Remember he didnt show up to the premiere? They had faith that people would continue to show up. Art and Experience : John Hodges is leaving A24, the Oscar-winning indie studio that he co-founded. Fenkel: And they were like, You cant do that! And then, in 08, the bubble burst, and the economic downturn probably had a little bit of impact. Well handle it! And if it works, its them; if it doesnt work, its all your fault anyway. Garland: Under the Skin is exactly the kind of movie that you would not see distributed by a major studio. 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. 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. Harvey Weinstein (via email): A24 is a great company. They had heart to them. Not necessarily, like, to win Best Picture and ten Oscar nominations. 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). No way., Katz: It was just like, Wait. So when I saw that, I was like, Okay, those guys, they know what they are doing.. Gif excerpt from the film Under the Skin via A24 Films. It was a perfectly good jet! [8] In October 2012, Nicolette Aizenberg joined as head of publicity from 42West where she was senior publicity executive. [15], In January 2016, Sasha Lloyd joined the company to handle all film, television distribution and business development in the international marketplace. Katz: And we were all like, You know what? And although it describes itself as Midnight Madness, the film didnt start until close to one oclock in the morning. Signed on as producer beginning with the third season. John Hodges will be leaving A24 to pursue other opportunities, the indie distributor announced Monday. So, how much is Johnny Hodges . 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. The company said he will exit to focus on "future opportunities," but did not clarify beyond that statement.. Nicolette Aizenberg (distribution executive, A24): It is very cyclical. I remember when all the commotion started, I look at David. [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. No!. With Hodges leaving, the. Kapadia: There were other films that had a lot more money in their campaign and were everywhere. I go, Huh., It Sucks, Man. What are you working on? Like, there was one that was like the shotit was [Francos character] Alien with the two girls, and hes holding machine guns or something. SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE DAILY NEWSLETTER, FIRST TAKE, Sundance, SXSW Comedy 'Never Goin' Back' Sells to A24. Hodges had been an integral part of the studio since its inception in 2012, along with co-founders David Fenkel and Daniel Katz. The fact that we were able to sign any movies out of that office is absurd. Thats an achievable budget number for me. You know what I mean? We saw the red envelope. Garland: I would say that if Ex Machina had been distributed by a big studiothis isnt actually a criticism of studios; its actually just a statement of factthe film would not have been remotely as well received or successful as it was. And that takes time. That was the first time it screened for U.S. audiences. Anything in between is dead in the water. 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. Its such a really fucking well-executed movie. 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. If the cost of helping great movies find their theatrical audiences and lure them into theaters is to release other great movies that audiences have to find for themselves, thats probably a price most of us are willing to pay. Hodges teamed with Daniel Katz and David Fenkel to launch the company, which is based in New York City. A24 thinks hard about the landscape of distribution, and they think hard about the models, and the models are changing. Still, A24 has never enjoyed a box-office breakout hit. And it was like. You could tell that they wanted to be great. It was our first Sundance all together. 2023 THE TRACKING BOARD. Eggers: People always want to do bigger and better the next time, you know? Hodges previously served as head of production and development at Big Beach Films and exec produced "Our Idiot Brother" and "Safety Not Guaranteed.". Good A24 films anticipate the zeitgeist, and the best ones galvanize it. A24 went on a spending spree and released 11 movies in their second year of operation. By the end of its opening weekend, it had raked in more money than all of Korines other films combined. Eggers: In the very beginning, when we went to Sundance initially, I didnt think that this was going to have such a large audience. 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.