After conducting extensive research on coming-of-age comedy films, I’ve noticed that they are often advertised primarily as comedies, which makes sense because comedies appeal to a wide variety of audiences. Coming-of-age is a sub-genre of comedy films, and this is exactly how it will be implemented in my final project. I want my film to make people laugh, but I also really want the entirety of my film to dive into more serious matters and leave a lasting impression on the audience. I also want my film to have an indie-vibe rather than a large-studio vibe. I feel like that sort of look fits the themes of my film better.
I’ve decided to pitch my film to A24. This production and distribution company specializes in indie films and excels at producing the genre I’ve chosen for my final. I am confident they will help me successfully achieve the vision I have in mind for my film. I conducted through research on A24 before making this decision, which can be found here.
Included above is a video I made where I pitch A Lot To Learn to Daniel Katz, one of the CEOs and founders of A24, and his team. In it, I go over a brief summary of my film, why I chose to pitch to A24, and my budget. Soon after submitting my proposal, I received a response (from my teacher HA).
I’ve been thinking about which production and distribution company I want to pitch to. I’m leaning towards A24 because I’ve seen a few of their movies and they have a similar vibe to the one I want my film to have. However, I conducted more research to see if they were the right fit.
About A24
A24 logo
A24 is an independent New York based production and distribution company that was founded in 2012 by by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel, and John Hodges. In its early days, it was only a distribution company. Its first box office hit was Spring Breakers (2013), followed by Ex Machina (2014), Room (2015), and The Witch (2015). More recently they have produced and distributed films such as Moonlight (2016) and Eighth Grade (2018). They began streaming their movies on Amazon Prime Video and DirectTV Cinema in 2013. As one of my sources said,“A24’s business model appears to be trusting bold filmmakers to do their best work, then figuring out how to sell it.” This approach is very unique, since most film businesses focus on what’s going to make the most money rather than artistic value.
A24 award nominations compared to larger companies
Because of this approach and their effective campaigning, A24 distributed films are often considered for awards such as Oscars. Above is a graph I found in one of my sources that compares A24’s Oscar and Film Independent Spirit award nominations to larger production/distribution companies. As you can see, they do pretty well for an indie company. This shows their effectiveness as a company when it comes to marketing a film to critics, which in turn helps their films gain popularity and entices general audiences to watch.
Why A24?
from Never Goin’ Back
A lot of the movies involving A24 have a distinct indie-feel to them that I really like and want my film to have. Bigger studios don’t have this feel, which is why I won’t be using a large production company. They have produced and distributed similar films to my own, such as Lady Bird (2017), Eighth Grade (2018), and Never Goin’ Back (2018). Because of this, I feel like they have enough experience with this genre to effectively produce, distribute, and market this film.
Amazon Prime Video logo
I think the best way to release A Lot To Learn would be via platforming. Lady Bird did this very successfully (see my post “It’s Given To Me, By Me.”) and I think this method has the potential to reach a smililar level of success with my film. If it is successful, it can be released to more theater chains. After a brief theater run, my movie will be available for streaming via Amazon Prime Video, since A24 has a contract with them. Most audiences will be viewing my movie through this platform.
I’ve decided to research a movie similar to mine that has been through the business side of filmmaking in order to generate some ideas for how I want to produce, finance, and distribute my film. I chose Lady Bird (2017), which was written and directed by Greta Gerwig. It was produced by A24,Scott Rudin Productions, and Entertainment 360. It was released on November 3, 2017 and distributed in the US by A24.
Early Stages
Greta Gerwig
The first draft of the script for Lady Bird was 350 pages long and had a totally different name: Mothers and Daughters. Director Greta Gerwig spent several years editing the script down to 200 pages and changing the title. She then askedher manager (Evelyn O’Neill at Management 360) if she would be willing to produce the film. Despite not having any prior producing experience, O’Neill accepted the role. Both of them began meeting with various producers and financers, as well as giving the script to select writers. Through this process, they obtained enough financing to account for a $10 million budget.
Production
Gerwig directing lead actress Saoirse Ronan
While $10 million seems like a lot of money, it wasn’t enough for Gerwig and her crew to shoot on location. They ended up shooting at the outskirts of LA, a single-story home in Van Nuys, and Catholic school in Pasadena. Production on the film began in August 2016 and proceeded mostly on schedule. According to my sources,”Gerwig turned out to be a machine when it came to keeping on track, leaving little room for time-wasting improvisation.”
Exhibition
Gerwig interviewing
Lady Bird used platforming as it’s method of exhibition, premiering at the Telluride Film Festival on September 1, 2017 and at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2017. Like I said earlier, Lady Bird was released to four theaters in New York and Los Angeles on November 3, 2017. The film grossed $364,437 opening weekend, with an average of $91,109 per theater. It was released to more theaters and made a total of $78,928,896 worldwide.
Interesting Facts
Gerwig worked closely with cinematographer Sam Levy in order to build a 110-page shot list that included blocking for every scene.
“Every bit as important as the settings was the soundtrack, and Gerwig toiled to assemble just the right playlist of early 2000s music. “No one in Sacramento knew who The Kinks were,” she says of her hometown’s lack of a counterculture. She leaned on Counting Crows, early career Justin Timberlake and Dave Matthews, whose hit “Crash Into Me” plays throughout the film. Gerwig also constructed an on-set playlist of ’90s and ’00s bangers, including selections from Blues Traveler and Alanis Morissette, that she would play in between shot setups.” (an interview with Gerwig, linked below)
“If these men — because it’s mostly men that have the money to make movies — had daughters or were raised with sisters, they totally understood the movie. They were like: ‘Yup, that’s my wife and my daughter.’ Or ‘That’s my sister and my mom.’ If they [didn’t], they would say, ‘Oh, do women really fight like that? Weird.'” Greta says in an interview.
A Lot To Learn 