A24 Will Not Save You
“No one is making original movies anymore.” If those seven words haven’t come out of your own mouth, I’m sure you’ve heard the sentiment expressed from various family members, friends, and random strangers on the internet. I get it. The last several years have been a bleak time for cinema. Of the 51 movies on Variety’s “Most-Anticipated Movies of 2024,” one of them is a remake, six of them are sequels, six are adaptations, and six are biopics. This list, of course, does not include every remake, sequel, and adaptation that releases this year. If you aren’t actively trying to find movies that deviate from the current Hollywood model—even as an avid movie watcher—it can be difficult. At this point in time I can say that the trailers I’ve seen the most this year have been for Deadpool and Wolverine, the third installment of a trilogy and part of Marvel’s larger “universe,” Speak No Evil, an American remake of a Danish film that came out just two years ago, and Joker Folie a Deux, another sequel to a movie that, frankly, should’ve just been a standalone. As someone that enjoys movies and film culture, I understand that even though these are the only movies I’m being shown, it’s not all there is. But most people are not avid moviegoers, which is fine. What isn’t acceptable is that when these people do make the decision to spend their hard-earned money on going to the theater, they aren’t going to put in the work (and it is, unfortunately, work) to find those films with original ideas–that aren’t part of larger IPs. So if you aren’t going to the theater frequently and you aren’t spending hours researching and learning about film, where do you find the original movies? I believe most people think it’s from one place: A24.
Over the last several years, A24 has marked themselves as the place to find original content. The word “A24 movie” has become synonymous with original, quality film in popular lexicon. I’d like to preface by saying that I am an A24 fan. I watch their movies, I buy their merch, my ears perk up whenever I see their little logo on my screen, and I cheer for whatever movie they decide to submit for the Oscars each year, but I also feel that their image is a bit nebulous. The truth is that there is no such thing as an “A24 movie,” because they don’t actually make movies. Their about page, which touts that they’re “the company behind Everything Everywhere All at Once, Talk to Me, Uncut Gems, Midsommar, Lady Bird, Moonlight, HBO’s Euphoria, Netflix’s Beef, & more” would lead you to believe that they have a much larger hand in the creation of these movies and tv shows than they actually do. Now, A24 does do some production work that gives them deciding power in some of the films their name is attached to, but A24 is primarily a distribution company. This means that they acquire movies that are already made, choose which theaters and streaming services they want to collaborate with, and market the film to the public. Rather than constructing an actual film, I believe A24’s genius lies in their ability to choose films that speak to the public. Many of A24’s most beloved works are made by first-time filmmakers or filmmakers very early in their careers: Robert Egger’s The Witch, Danny and Michael Philippou’s Talk to Me, and Ari Aster’s Hereditary just to name a few. Although A24 is an independent studio, they have a large pull, and getting to work with them can mean extraordinary things for young filmmakers. While I’m not the biggest fan of Midsommar, I’m glad that A24 acquired both of Ari Aster’s films and they succeeded so greatly that he could make his dream project: Beau is Afraid.
I believe that when you reward people for making original films, they’ll continue to make original films. Many audiences have found their “safe place” in A24, which has given them a monopoly on so-called “originality,” but what about all of the other independent film studios? This summer, NEON released their most popular film yet, the horror sensation Longlegs, but their catalog—which includes some of my favorites including Sanctuary, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, and La Chimera is so much greater. Or what about Searchlist Pictures, the studio behind Black Swan, sure, but also one of the most interesting director’s working right now—Yorgos Lantimos’—two newest films Poor Things and Kinds of Kindness. And on top of that, last year they released one of the best romantic comedies in recent memory: Rye Lane. These studios do the exact same thing A24 does, but for one reason or another, they have significantly less notoriety.
In the next few months, Luca Guadagnino’s Queer and Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist will be getting a domestic release in the United States. Both of these films premiered at the Venice Film Festival to outstanding reviews. Queer has been touted as an acting masterclass from Daniel Craig, and The Brutalist, though it is Corbet’s debut film, is being called the “New Great American Masterpiece” by Variety. A24 acquired both of them. In the time that we wait for these films to be released though, I implore you to watch some of Guadanino’s amazing filmography, which include Call Me By Your Name, Bones and All, and one of my favorite releases of this year, Challengers. I encourage you to look through the filmographies of all those A24 directors you love and enjoy. Maybe you’ve seen Robert Eggers The Witch and The Lighthouse, but did you know that he has a film coming out with Focus Features this Christmas called Nosferatu? Look into all of the movies that premiered at film festivals in the last few months, not just Venice, but at Cannes, Toronto International Film Festival, and Sundance. Every year an abundance of films are being pre-screened by directors, writers, producers, distributors, and critics, and it feels like getting a free master list of new and exciting films to look forward to. So far this year, I’ve seen and loved many of the films that premiered at Venice and Cannes including The Substance and Kinds of Kindness, but even more movies have been added to my watchlist. These films include All We Imagine as Light, Anora, Megalopolis, The Apprentice, Babygirl, and The Room Next Door. This list includes films that are original, have established and up-and-coming cast and crew, include domestic and international cinema, and have small stories and grand ones, but my favorite part is that the list isn’t representative of the entirety of great cinema that is releasing this year. It’s just the beginning.
I’d like to clarify here that I don’t enjoy the fact that consumers have to work so hard to find well-made content that they actually like. But the fact of the matter is that Hollywood is a machine. A machine that requires billions of dollars to run. We need movies like Deadpool & Wolverine to exist because they keep the industry running because movies like Kinds of Kindness won’t. I see this stage of Hollywood as an ouroboros. They make films continue to make sequels and remakes and biopics because those are the movies that audiences show up for. At the same time, I find it ridiculous to expect audiences to show up for movies that aren’t being given nearly as much advertising and marketing as the blockbusters. I’d like to live in a world where just as many people are seeing The Substance as they are Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, and I’m optimistic that it can happen. Whether or not Hollywood has little faith in their own ability to create a universally enjoyed original film, or in their audiences’ ability to appreciate it I can’t say for sure. But we’ve reached the point where we’re required to be more deliberate in the films we choose to support. The best thing about this whole art form is that there’s always something new to look forward to, even if the only commercial they’re showing on tv is for the live-action-animated lion prequel. So, next time someone tells you that no one makes original movies anymore, I’d like you to give them this recommendation: do a Google search.
Image rights to the original author.
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