Jake Johnson on
Self-Reliance 2024
His first solo feature as writer-director, on Hulu. A 'stoner thriller' he pitches as Jacob's Ladder meets Bottle Rocket, years in a desktop folder, born partly out of a Japanese reality show and the pandemic.
The Big Picture · Auction · Interview
The 2024 Movie Auction. Plus: Jake Johnson!
January 16, 2024/ 122 min/ Sean Fennessey · Amanda Dobbins · Chris Ryan
The first auction of 2024: Sean, Amanda, and Chris each spend $1,000 on a five-film slate of movies that aren't out yet. New this year: category triggers (two $100M-domestic hits, one film with two Oscar nods, one 85-Metacritic score, and no more than two sequels across the year), plus a recap of how the 2023 slates actually landed. Then Sean talks to Jake Johnson about his solo directing debut, Self-Reliance.
A sale of 15 lots across 3 paddles, $2,999 at the hammer.
Top lot: Blitz, to Paddle 1, $385.
AI-generated This episode was transcribed and analyzed with AI models. The matches aren't perfect — expect the occasional misheard title or a link to the wrong film.
The paddles who spent what
Paddle 1
Amanda Dobbins
$1,000
5 lots
Paddle 2
Sean Fennessey
$999
5 lots · $1 unspent
Paddle 3
Chris Ryan
$1,000
5 lots
The board this sale, by hammer price
- 01
$385Blitz 2024No.1 Amanda DobbinsSteve McQueen's WWII London film, Saoirse Ronan and Harris Dickinson. Her top lot, the one she'd have cried over losing. The pick she trusts most for Oscars.
- 02
$380Gladiator II 2024No.3 Chris RyanRidley Scott's sequel, Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen. He 'free-soloed' the bidding and got there.
- 03
$375No.2 Sean FennesseyGeorge Miller's Fury Road prequel, Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth. Won in a long bidding war against Chris, who was trying to run up the price.
- 04
$375We Live in Time 2024No.3 Chris RyanJohn Crowley (Brooklyn), Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh. His chance-taking pick, 'the past lives of 2024.'
- 05
$350Twisters 2024No.1 Amanda DobbinsLee Isaac Chung's storm-chaser sequel, Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones. Her big-box-office bet.
- 06
$345Megalopolis 2024No.2 Sean FennesseyCoppola's self-financed passion project, Adam Driver. Grabbed the rest of his budget for it 'as a sign of respect' after nearly taking it for $1.
- 07
$275Hit Man 2024No.2 Sean FennesseyCarried over from 2023 (original $175 plus the $100 surcharge). Richard Linklater and Glen Powell; headed to Netflix.
- 08
$243Dune: Part Two 2024No.3 Chris RyanCarried over from 2023. His one likely box-office-and-Oscars two-fer.
- 09
$150Challengers 2024No.1 Amanda DobbinsLuca Guadagnino's tennis love triangle, Zendaya, Josh O'Connor, Mike Faist. Her most-anticipated film of the year, back in the pool after Sean released it.
- 10
$75MaXXXine 2024No.1 Amanda DobbinsTi West and Mia Goth close out the trilogy, Maxine as an aspiring star in '80s Los Angeles. Nobody else really wanted it.
- 11
$40The Bikeriders 2024No.1 Amanda DobbinsJeff Nichols, Austin Butler; delayed out of 2023. Sean couldn't draft it: he'd already seen it.
- 12
$3Mickey 17 2025No.2 Sean FennesseyBong Joon Ho and Robert Pattinson, then delayed by Warner Bros. Slipped to 2025.
- 13
$1Nosferatu 2024No.2 Sean FennesseyRobert Eggers' vampire reimagining, Bill Skarsgård and Lily-Rose Depp. A dollar and out.
- 14
$1Speak No Evil 2024No.3 Chris RyanJames Watkins' remake of the Danish horror film, James McAvoy and Mackenzie Davis. His 'Black Phone zone' flyer.
- 15
$1No.3 Chris RyanKevin Costner's self-funded Western epic: original, so no sequel penalty. A dollar for the CR faithful.
Titles link to TMDb where a confident match exists. Unlinked entries are too new to be cataloged or aren't films.
Previous sale Last year's 2023 slate
Sean Fennessey
- Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One $355
- Oppenheimer $325
- The Iron Claw $311
- The Creator $300
- The Holdovers $185
- Air $178
- Hit Man $175
- Ferrari $54
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse $23
- The Boy and the Heron $1
Amanda Dobbins
- Priscilla $727
- Killers of the Flower Moon $640
- Barbie $307
- The Zone of Interest $160
- May December $73
- Napoleon $38
- All of Us Strangers $20
- Passages $20
- Blitz $11
- Leave the World Behind $1
Chris Ryan
- Maestro $500
- Quicksand $345
- The Killer $320
- Anyone but You $225
- Dune: Part Two $143
- Nickel Boys $80
- Havoc $22
- Challengers $15
- The Bikeriders —
- Apartment 7A —
Jake Johnson on his directing debut
Jake Johnson on
Win It All 2017
The Joe Swanberg collaboration Sean and Chris last talked to him about at SXSW six years earlier.
Jake Johnson on
Ride the Eagle 2021
The $250K 'backyard indie' with Trent O'Donnell: his model for making a small movie without expecting a hit.
Also mentioned raised along the way
2023's 85+ Metascore films, read on air Past LivesPoor ThingsAnatomy of a FallFallen LeavesAll Dirt Roads Taste of SaltThe DelinquentsMenus-Plaisirs – Les TroisgrosOur BodyOrlando, My Political BiographyRenaissance: A Film by BeyoncéThe Disappearance of Shere Hite
Also in the 2024 conversation The BeekeeperCivil WarDeadpool & WolverineBeetlejuice BeetlejuiceAlien: RomulusInside Out 2Madame WebRebel Moon - Part Two: The ScargiverDen of ThievesDen of Thieves 2: PanteraFoeThe Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
Older films name-checked Mad Max: Fury RoadMad MaxMad Max 2Mad Max Beyond ThunderdomeThe NorthmanWidowsDunkirkEternalsForce MajeureBlackhatExtractionThor: RagnarokTwisterTo Live and Die in L.A.The Onion Field
Raised in the Jake Johnson interview Jacob's LadderBottle RocketOldboyThe Truman ShowDrinking BuddiesThe Pretty OneLet's Be CopsA Star Is Born
Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads
TV New GirlCheersThe SopranosThe Larry Sanders ShowSquid GameManiacJury DutyThe Wonder YearsThe IdolSmall AxePerfect StrangersLimitless with Chris Hemsworth
Podcasts The RewatchablesThe WatchReal Ones with Jon BernthalSports Card NonsenseWe're Here to HelpStick the Landing
Specials George Carlin: I'm Glad I'm Dead
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