NathanielLee is a writer for The Hollywood Insider who focuses on writing feature and review articles. He is an aspiring filmmaker who specializes in the horror and surrealist genres as well as indie filmmaking. Nathaniel believes that film is a powerful tool that can be used to stir up and bring valuable change to the world through messages and internal meanings. He also believes in the mantra of the smaller the better and sincerely believes that entertainment with meager budgets has the power to alter society altogether. As a result, his views align with The Hollywood Insider’s mission statements concerning anti-gossip and positive journalism with a focus on improving the world through uplifting others instead of tearing them down. Nathaniel is currently applying to universities where he looks to study film.
Jul 28, 2024
On August 20th, 2012, in the city that never sleeps, a miracle child was born at the hands of Daniel Katz, David Fenkel, and John Hodges. That miracle child was named A24 after the Italian freeway Katz was traveling on when he came to the decision to found a new production company. The rest is history. As of the publication date of this article, A24 has produced films that have been nominated for 25 Academy Awards, including a Best Picture winner in 2016’s ‘Moonlight’ directed by Barry Jenkins. But things did not start out this way.
The first film that A24 distributed was a comedy titled ‘A Glimpse into the Mind of Charles Swan III.’ This film was not a hit among critics with an extremely low 28% on Metacritic and a Rotten Tomatoes score of 16%. The film itself only had a limited release and only made a measly $210,565. This was not the kind of hit that A24 was looking for. Instead, in A24’s first year of existence ‘Spring Breakers’ would be their breakout hit. ‘Spring Breakers’ was a crime drama released in 2012 starring the likes of James Franco, Selena Gomez, and Vanessa Hudgens. The film was a huge hit among critics and the film community as a whole and, for the first time, put A24 on the map. A24 would only move up from there, rising to the highest rung on the film production company ladder, the Academy Awards.
While the 2017 Oscars might be most well known for Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway’s best picture mix-up, it is in the opinion of this writer that the actual winner of that award held much more significance than the simple mistake that came to define that year’s Academy Awards. ‘Moonlight’ was by many means a tiny film that was produced by a likewise small production company, named A24. But A24 has not only seen success at the Academy Awards but also among critics and audiences alike since ‘Spring Breakers’ hit the big screen. Year after year, A24 has produced stunningly original films which have garnered millions of dollars at the global box office. Some of their most recent titles include ‘X,’ ‘The Green Knight,’ ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once,’ and ‘Men’. These films together have earned A24 more than $100 million dollars and acclaim among most of Hollywood’s most prestigious critics. There is no doubt that A24 has become a staple name in the film industry. But the A24 brand stands for more than box office and critical success, it also stands for the creation of meaningful art.
What A24’s brand stands for and represents, and the items that make them stand out from most of the other production and distribution companies in the industry today.
Most, if not all, of the major production companies today have driven themselves farther and farther away from making art and instead closer to making pure entertainment. And while entertainment is crucial to filmmaking it is nowhere near as crucial as the art aspect of filmmaking. Film is an art form, the same as poetry or songwriting, and that needs to be respected when films are created. This is something that A24 understands completely. A24 films are no doubt very entertaining, but they all also share a central part to a truly successful film, that being a clear-cut and important reason to be made. Whether it’s an issue that needs awareness brought to it or a story that needs to be told to millions, this so-called important reason needs to be present for a film to be successful on all fronts and not just at the box office or on Rotten Tomatoes. This reason is present in everything A24 distributes and is the main reason why these films and this company are so important.
Another item that makes A24 stand out in the film industry today is its inclination towards smaller artists. The film industry as a whole runs on the basis of a need to know someone to get something. Connections are everything. Furthermore, these connections are a department where smaller and more independent artists tend to lack some bearing. Most do not know or have access to the big desks in Hollywood and thus cannot secure the funding they need to create the art that they need to make. This is then where A24 steps in. A24 tends to focus more on the passion and spark behind a project than the names behind it. This creates an opportunity for smaller artists to reach the world with their films and tell the stories that they were born to tell. This makes A24 extremely important as they are doing the work that the rest of Hollywood should be but are not doing. A24 is a stand-up and stand out company and is currently setting the correct and proper example for the rest of Hollywood through their representation of smaller artists.
A summary of A24 and the art they create, and a note to the big players in the film industry as a whole in regards to A24 as a production and distribution company.
A24 was founded in 2012 and since then has distributed and produced 112 films to completion. These films span genres, including classic Kung Fu all the way to sincere coming-of-age stories. While these films may cover a variety of topics and messages one thing that they all share is a desire to change the world. A24 may be a small production company but they have grand desires which are reflected in the films they create. No film, even if it underperforms at the box office or with critics, is wasteful. Each has an important goal in my mind, and most have a small group of relatively unknown artists behind it. A24 gives these artists the chance to spread their wings and tell their stories. As a result, A24’s filmography has come to represent many different cultures and beliefs and has exposed the world to many different themes and messages, all of which are extremely important to our society and our world. A24 is about a proper balance between entertainment and art, and it’s time that the film industry thanked them for that.
Click here to read The Hollywood Insider’s CEO Pritan Ambroase’s love letter to Cinema, TV and Media. An excerpt from the love letter: The Hollywood Insider’s CEO/editor-in-chief Pritan Ambroase affirms, “We have the space and time for all your stories, no matter who/what/where you are. Media/Cinema/TV have a responsibility to better the world and The Hollywood Insider will continue to do so. Talent, diversity and authenticity matter in Cinema/TV, media and storytelling. In fact, I reckon that we should announce “talent-diversity-authenticity-storytelling-Cinema-Oscars-Academy-Awards” as synonyms of each other. We show respect to talent and stories regardless of their skin color, race, gender, sexuality, religion, nationality, etc., thus allowing authenticity into this system just by something as simple as accepting and showing respect to the human species’ factual diversity. We become greater just by respecting and appreciating talent in all its shapes, sizes, and forms. Award winners, which includes nominees, must be chosen on the greatness of their talent ALONE.
I am sure I am speaking for a multitude of Cinema lovers all over the world when I speak of the following sentiments that this medium of art has blessed me with. Cinema taught me about our world, at times in English and at times through the beautiful one-inch bar of subtitles. I learned from the stories in the global movies that we are all alike across all borders. Remember that one of the best symbols of many great civilizations and their prosperity has been the art they have left behind. This art can be in the form of paintings, sculptures, architecture, writings, inventions, etc. For our modern society, Cinema happens to be one of them. Cinema is more than just a form of entertainment, it is an integral part of society. I love the world uniting, be it for Cinema, TV, media, art, fashion, sport, etc. Please keep this going full speed.”
NathanielLee is a writer for The Hollywood Insider who focuses on writing feature and review articles. He is an aspiring filmmaker who specializes in the horror and surrealist genres as well as indie filmmaking. Nathaniel believes that film is a powerful tool that can be used to stir up and bring valuable change to the world through messages and internal meanings. He also believes in the mantra of the smaller the better and sincerely believes that entertainment with meager budgets has the power to alter society altogether. As a result, his views align with The Hollywood Insider’s mission statements concerning anti-gossip and positive journalism with a focus on improving the world through uplifting others instead of tearing them down. Nathaniel is currently applying to universities where he looks to study film.
NathanielLee is a writer for The Hollywood Insider who focuses on writing feature and review articles. He is an aspiring filmmaker who specializes in the horror and surrealist genres as well as indie filmmaking. Nathaniel believes that film is a powerful tool that can be used to stir up and bring valuable change to the world through messages and internal meanings. He also believes in the mantra of the smaller the better and sincerely believes that entertainment with meager budgets has the power to alter society altogether. As a result, his views align with The Hollywood Insider’s mission statements concerning anti-gossip and positive journalism with a focus on improving the world through uplifting others instead of tearing them down. Nathaniel is currently applying to universities where he looks to study film.
NathanielLee is a writer for The Hollywood Insider who focuses on writing feature and review articles. He is an aspiring filmmaker who specializes in the horror and surrealist genres as well as indie filmmaking. Nathaniel believes that film is a powerful tool that can be used to stir up and bring valuable change to the world through messages and internal meanings. He also believes in the mantra of the smaller the better and sincerely believes that entertainment with meager budgets has the power to alter society altogether. As a result, his views align with The Hollywood Insider’s mission statements concerning anti-gossip and positive journalism with a focus on improving the world through uplifting others instead of tearing them down. Nathaniel is currently applying to universities where he looks to study film.
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