Ours is a very eclectic mix, too,
but we are buying films that are
tailored for the cinematic theatri-
cal experience. We’ve embraced
our position as a top-tier provider
for Hulu while respecting the
traditional theatrical window to
compete with Netflix. That is new.
Our films wind up on stream-
ing. The only difference is that
they’re more valuable when they
get there.Who is your biggest competitor?
More consistently than anybody
else, Netflix has tried to buy the
films we’ve wanted. I’m very
happy to say that they have failed
to secure the films whenever
we’ve sat at the table. They didn’t
get I, Tonya.What’s a strategy you learned dur-
ing your time at Radius that you’ve
found useful at Neon?
We’ve done a few day-and-date
films at Neon. That was exactly
the right launch for Revenge,
which we worked on with
[streaming service] Shudder. Its
theatrical prospects were smaller,
but it deserved to be launched
across the top 25 markets. That’swhat we did, and it did extremely
well. It was very much a Radius
approach to what multiplatform
can be. Snowpiercer launched as a
theatrical release with a com-
pressed window, and then it did
exceptionally well on DVD. But if
I had that film today, I’d release
it wide [theatrically]. I think it
would ultimately be an even big-
ger success.Do you and Bong have an under-
standing or a deal for his next film?
We’ve never had an understand-
ing, and I don’t think any output
deal that you’ve ever had with
anyone is really worth anything
beyond the relationship that you
have. Of course, we would love to
work with him again.How do you feel about U.S. remakes
of foreign-language films?
I’ve always viewed the remake
business as exploitative in a way.
Yes, there’s money to be made
there. I get it, but I firmly believe
that a film like Parasite to be
remade as Parasite the English-
language feature does not make
sense to me at all. Reconfiguring
it as a limited series, that will
actually explore new terri-
tory. That is probably a more
sensible evolution.Were there ever discussions about
Neon being involved with the lim-
ited series?
We had an opportunity, but we’re
not in a position to compete
with HBO.Now that you’re getting into pro-
duction, how much thought have
you put into entering the TV space?
It’s inevitable. We have films and
filmmakers who have pitched
stuff. We have ideas. It will hap-
pen, but it’s not top of mind today.
Film production is definitely
more of the focus.Care to elaborate on the extra
69 cents that made the $17.5 million
sum for Palm Springs the largest
Sundance acquisition ever?
I didn’t come up with it,
but it’s a joke that will
live in infamy. God, I
really, really love it.Interview edited for
length and clarity.It’s good to remind yourself you’re
not immortal or infallible. We’ve
certainly made mistakes, but the
one thing we haven’t done is chase
things that aren’t reflective of
what we want to be involved with.
We’ve never chased a deal or the
bottom line. We’ve chased things
we believe creatively are a reflec-
tion of cinema. What Parasite can
say about us as a label is that we
support filmmakers at an earlier
stage. That’s something we
always hoped we’d be in a position
to do, and now we are. Also, we’ve
always been naive and confident
enough in our own work to sit at
the table with companies that
were decades older than us and
compete for movies like I, Tonya.When you’re competing with
streamers for festival hits, even
with the cash infusion from 30West,
what’s the biggest obstacle facing
an independent?
It’s the most competitive I’ve ever
seen, and a success like [Parasite]
is only going to make it even more
competitive. The good news is
that we’ve been a top-tier buyer
since we opened and had solid
financing from day one. With
[30West’s] Dan Friedkin’s invest-
ment in 2018, that has placed us
at the top of the independents.
Not every film is to be released
in the same manner. The idea
that it’s one-size-fits-all, which
is very much the Netflix model,
I believe is a major flaw in how it
approaches the business.How is Neon’s approach different?
Netflix makes films with various
budgets — it’s a very eclectic mix.second film, that’s a gateway.
It would make us an awesome
home for filmmakers to come and
grow with.How do you avoid ending up like
Open Road, an indie that went out
of business just two years after it
distributed a best picture winner
in Spotlight?A cardboard
cutout of actor
Song Kang
Ho as seen in
the Parasite
poster.
Quinn (right,
with Bong Joon Ho)
has Bong’s name
fashioned to look like
the Neon logo:
“For a long time there
was only one, and
now each office has
their own.”Yet more Parasite
paraphernalia,
“The Scholar’s Rock”
is a replica of
the one in the film:
“It’s five times
heavier. You can’t
move it.”A 2019 Clio
Entertainment
Award honoring
Neon’s Little Monsters
theatrical campaign
sits on the windowsill
in the company’s
office.RÉSUMÉ
CURRENT TITLE
Co-founder and CEO,
Neon
PREVIOUS JOB
Co-founder, Radius-TWC
BIG HIT
Before Parasite’s
$49 million domestic
gross, the Tonya
Harding biopic I, Tonya
ranked as Neon’s top
box office performer at
$30 million domestic.