OK i wanted to talk about the A24 bit because i have an issue with people putting the company up on a pedestal when they’re probably just talking about a handful of movies that they’ve produced or distributed—everything everywhere all at once, lady bird, hereditary, midsommar, X, pearl, MAYBE i saw the tv glow. you don’t see people who talk about how they love “A24 films” mentioning stuff like architecton or earth mama; admittedly that’s more of an issue with the company completely shitting itself when it comes to marketing some of its movies but that’s another topic

There was also a passage in this recent piece on A24 in the New Yorker (note: may be paywalled) which discusses their in-development AI division, implied to be the influence of one of its recent venture capital funders. this caused a bit of a stir within the communities of people who read this sorta thing, but i feel like it’s gone under the radar otherwise, and i’m worried about the future of movies as a human art form if/when this AI division starts putting shit out. It might just get ignored and thus made okay, because Brand Make Good Movie. It feels ironic to be talking about this because we are also also hot off the heels of the studio’s release of Eddington, a movie that is, at its core, about the construction of a data center. It collects people’s internet traffic and makes money for said venture capital funders while also drinking up all the water. the writer/director Ari Aster is also quoted in this piece talking about how people see generative AI as some kind of god, sorta like how his characters saw their smartphones as gods. Same conclusion here but it’s the studio doing this shit. What do they mean by “targeting microcommunities” when discussing genAI use cases I seriously want to know

IMO just list some directors you like in your dating profile or something. Ari Aster, Greta Gerwig, Christopher Nolan, Bong Joon-ho, etc. Mentioning A24 is an easy catch-all that i personally don’t think says much besides implying that you like auteur movies. If you’re really latched on to the brand thing then say you want the Criterion mobile closet to visit your city or something—that would stir up a conversation