Entertainment

‘Moonlight,’ ‘Euphoria’ studio A24 raises $225 million amid Hollywood deal frenzy

Published

3 years ago

March 10, 2022

‘Moonlight,’ ‘Euphoria’ studio A24 raises 5 million amid Hollywood deal frenzy

A24, the impartial studio behind the Oscar-winning “Moonlight” and HBO’s “Euphoria,” has closed an fairness funding of $225 million to fund enlargement plans.

New York-based A24 mentioned Wednesday it will use the capital to develop its manufacturing and distribution enterprise and develop different initiatives.

The funding spherical was led by Stripes, a agency based by New York investor Ken Fox, who could have a seat on A24’s board. The group of latest traders will maintain lower than 10% of A24.

The deal values the corporate at about $2.5 billion, in response to individuals aware of the deal who weren’t approved to remark.

A24 is the most recent leisure firm to boost capital or promote an fairness stake amid a frenzy of deal making within the leisure house, as traders look to purchase into the surging demand for content material on streaming companies.

Reese Witherspoon’s Hi there Sunshine bought a majority stake valuing the “Massive Little Lies” agency at $900 million. LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s SpringHill Co. secured a personal fairness deal putting the corporate’s valuation at $725 million. “Dune” studio Legendary Leisure in January bought a minority stake to Apollo World for $760 million.

Based in 2012, A24 made a reputation for itself by releasing edgy impartial movies similar to “Spring Breakers.” It grew to become identified for critically acclaimed films such because the Safdie brothers’ “Uncut Gems” starring Adam Sandler and Greta Gerwig’s “Woman Hen.” Its queer Black drama “Moonlight,” from Barry Jenkins, gained the Oscar for greatest image in 2017.

Hypothesis has swirled round A24 for years. The corporate had lengthy remained reluctant to tackle outdoors traders, regardless of rumblings that Apple had kicked the tires.

The deal marks the primary fairness elevate for A24 for the reason that preliminary seed funding by Eldridge, which stays a minority stakeholder, the corporate mentioned.

The theatrical field workplace marketplace for indie movies has struggled to recuperate from the COVID-19 pandemic, as extra adult-skewing films head to streaming.

Movie Reviews

Movie Review | Bleakness of Iceland adds to horror tale

Published

5 hours ago

January 5, 2025

Press Room

Movie Review | Bleakness of Iceland adds to horror tale

Despite the so-so storytelling, the work here by Palsson piques your interest as to what the native Icelander will make in the future.

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Originally Published: January 5, 2025 at 3:30 AM PST

Entertainment

Golden Globes 2025: The best red carpet fashion

Published

6 hours ago

January 5, 2025

Press Room

Golden Globes 2025: The best red carpet fashion

Arrivals are underway at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards, and The Times’ photo team is out in force on the red carpet (and beyond). Whether you’re following along live in the lead-up to Sunday’s telecast, hosted by Nikki Glaser, or bookmarking our gallery to peruse over coffee Monday morning, we have the full rundown of the evening’s best fashions below. Happy browsing!

Mindy Kaling.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Tyler James Williams ("Abbott Elementary").

David Zayas and Liza Colon-Zayas ("The Bear").

Movie Reviews

The Girl with the Needle (2024) – Movie Review

Published

13 hours ago

January 5, 2025

Press Room

The Girl with the Needle, 2024.

Directed by Magnus von Horn
Starring Vic Carmen Sonne, Trine Dyrholm, Besir Zeciri, Ari Alexander, Per Thiim Thim, Joachim Fjelstrup, Ava Knox Martin

SYNOPSIS:

Copenhagen 1919: A young worker finds herself unemployed and pregnant. She meets Dagmar, who runs an underground adoption agency. A strong connection grows but her world shatters when she stumbles on the shocking truth behind her work.

A fairytale retelling of one of Denmark’s most shocking crime cases, The Girl with the Needle blends dreamlike expressionism with an earthly realism that conveys emotional intensity at its most raw.

The film traces the terrible experiences of Karoline (a fantastic Vic Carmen Sonne), an unemployed, single, pregnant woman in post-World War One Denmark. Her husband went missing during the war and she has had no word. With her emotional and mental fragility already stretched to the point of breaking, she finds herself without a job. An unhappy tryst with a manipulative and emotionally immature man leaves her pregnant with no support and little hope of improving her situation.

Into this bleak environment steps a beacon of hope in the shape of Dagmar (Trine Dyrholm), a charming woman who organises an underground adoption agency that helps mothers in trouble find foster homes for children who are either unwanted or unable to be taken care of.

Karoline and Dagmar form a strong bond, and the young mother takes on the role as a wet-nurse at the agency. However, all is not what it seems. Beneath her charismatic veneer, Dagmar holds a horrifying secret. When Karoline stumbles upon this secret, her entire world, and that of Copenhagen society as a whole, is completely turned upside down.

Things are complicated even further when a disfigured man claiming to be Karoline’s lost husband shows up on the streets looking for his wife.

This element delves deep into the stylistic inspiration for the look of this gripping and grim tale. The soldier has had half of his face destroyed and has been given a mask to wear that conjures up ideas of opera phantoms and classical villains. As it is, the man is kind and considerate, in stark contrast to the handsome rich young character whom Karoline had a brief dalliance with. The wounded soldier is forced to join a travelling circus as a living exhibit, and Karoline out of sheer desperation takes a needle to herself in a public bathhouse in attempted termination.

It is here that she meets Dagmar and from there, the story becomes even more horrible. Based on a true story and embellished with nightmarish but wholly believable touches, The Girl With the Needle is an immersive and uncomfortable viewing experience. Scenes are artistically framed, and the whole production is touched with morbid curiosity and fear-fueled adrenaline. Both leads are excellent in their respective roles with the fictionalised character of Karoline given personality and furious life by Carmen Sonne.

The backstory of the true character of Dagmar is necessarily kept out of the script, meaning that Dyrholm must subtly bring out the ambiguities and strangeness of her spirit in subtle and skilled ways. She succeeds brilliantly, and thanks to it, the film takes on a haunting and monstrous quality that lingers on long after the credits roll.

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★

Robert W Monk

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