An upstart distributor is making indie films exciting again.
Ava was beautiful and enjoyed tentative conversations about life and love. When curious brogrammers ran across her Tinder profile at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival in Austin last year, they swiped right with gusto. “What makes you human?” she would text, before instructing her suitor to click through to her Instagram feed, which included a video hyping Ex Machina, a chic and heady science-fiction thriller directed by Alex Garland, along with convenient details about the movie’s American debut, at the festival later that weekend.
The men had been catfished. Ava was a bot, designed by Ex Machina’s New York - based distributor, A24, using a photo of the film’s lead, Alicia Vikander. The guerrilla campaign, which took just a month to plan, barely dented the film’s marketing budget but garnered global headlines. After an enthusiastic reception in Austin, Ex Machina opened in limited release and ultimately took in more than $25 million domestically—not bad for a $15 million production with no bankable stars.
In an industry where creative courage is increasingly rare, A24 has made this sort of boldness a hallmark. Taking on about 18 to 20 films annually, the four-year-old indie distributor has earned a reputation for putting out unconventional fare that appeals to literate and artistically adventurous people in their twenties and thirties, whom major studios generally ignore, and employing savvy digital marketing and shrewd release strategies to reach them.
This story is from the February 2016 edition of Fast Company.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the February 2016 edition of Fast Company.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
THE NEW RULES OF BUSINESS TRAVEL
In the era of hybrid teams, everyone is a road warrior-not just sales teams and C-suite execs. It's part of why business travel spending is expected to finally reach, and perhaps surpass, pre-pandemic levels by the end of the year, according to Deloitte. But, as with everything, work trips are not what they were in 2019. From airlines to banks, companies are finding new ways to make business travel easier-and even a little fun.
INTELLIGENT IMPACT
BUSINESS LUMINARIES SHARE HOW AI CAN INTERSECT WITH SOCIAL MISSION.
REDDIT'S REVENGE
IN AN ERA OF AI UPHEAVAL. THE CACOPHONOUS SOCIAL HUB EMERGES AS THE HUMAN-DRIVEN INTERNET'S LAST GREAT HOPE.
SO MANY WAYS TO LOSE
In the Ozempic era, Weight-Watchers is remaking itself to be something for everyone meal-plan program and a tele-health prescription service. But have consumers already lost their appetite?
10/10 - THE 10 MOST INNOVATIVE PEOPLE OF THE LAST 10 YEARS
In honor of Fast Company's 10th Innovation Festival in September, we identified 10 industrious leaders whose groundbreaking efforts defined the past decade in business. We spoke to them about their extraordinary achievements in tech, medicine, entertainment, and more. And we explored how the impact of their work has withstood passing fads, various presidential administrations, a pandemic, and many, many quarterly reports.
The Mysterious Reappearance of the Reggie Bar
How a beloved 1970s candy got called back up to the major leagues.
Gabriella Khalil
Gabriella Khalil, creative director, answers our career questionnaire.
The Fast and the Furious
High prices at McDonald's, Taco Bell, and other chains are sparking consumer revolt.
Lost in Truncation
Lost in Truncation Generative AI was supposed to unleash our creativity. Instead, it became our cultural trash compactor. Welcome to the age of summarization.
Campus Radicals
Welcome to UATX, Austin's new well-funded and controversial anti-woke university.
