Brian Kavanaugh-Jones is leaving Range to join Vancouver-based Oddfellows, a move that reshapes a prominent producing team and comes as Oddfellows signs a new first-look arrangement with Warner Bros. The transition, which will see Kavanaugh-Jones splitting time between Los Angeles, Texas and Vancouver, has immediate implications for project pipelines and studio relationships across indie and studio-backed cinema.
Longstanding collaborators Kavanaugh-Jones and Chris Ferguson have produced dozens of films and TV projects together; their renewed partnership positions Oddfellows to expand its slate at a moment when the company is pairing independent taste-making with major-studio access. Ferguson’s recent credits include the breakout A24 hit Backrooms, which underscored the commercial potential of genre-driven indie films.
What’s changing
Kavanaugh-Jones departs his role as partner and co-president of Film & Production at Range. Fred Berger, his producing partner of more than a decade, will remain at Range and continue to work with Kavanaugh-Jones on select projects even after the move. The formal producing partnership they built—from Automatik into Range—will be altered, but not entirely severed.
Range’s leadership praised Kavanaugh-Jones for his creative contributions, and both companies say collaborations will continue on pending titles. Kavanaugh-Jones will begin transitioning into his new responsibilities at Oddfellows over the coming month.
Key projects and credits
- Recent box-office hits: The Monkey, Longlegs — titles that helped raise the profile of Kavanaugh-Jones and Ferguson as commercial-minded producers of auteur-driven genre films.
- Upcoming titles at Oddfellows: The Young People (directed by Osgood Perkins) and Alex Ullom’s 4×4: The Event; both are in various stages of production.
- Other notable collaborations: La La Land, Loving, and the forthcoming Venice drama Primetime with Robert Pattinson—projects that reflect the pair’s range from prestige awards contenders to mainstream genre fare.
Oddfellows’ recently disclosed first-look deal with Warner Bros. Pictures Group adds strategic heft to the move. For a boutique banner, studio alignment can mean wider theatrical distribution and increased financing flexibility—advantages that matter when competing for talent and festival attention.
Ferguson framed the hiring as the logical deepening of a long relationship, noting Kavanaugh-Jones’ taste and ability to attract creative partners. Kavanaugh-Jones emphasized Oddfellows’ filmmaker-focused approach as a core reason for joining, saying he wanted to remain committed to director-led work while scaling the company’s reach.
Why this matters now
- Studio-first-look agreements are breathing room for small producers to pursue riskier, director-driven projects while securing potential wide releases.
- The move highlights an ongoing trend: independent producers forming strategic ties with larger studios without giving up creative sensibilities.
- For filmmakers, the partnership could mean more opportunities to finance and distribute mid-budget and genre films that have proven box-office potential.
Industry insiders point out that the split also clarifies roles within Range and Oddfellows. Berger will steer Range’s producing slate, while Kavanaugh-Jones will help craft Oddfellows’ next chapter with Ferguson—an arrangement that preserves past collaborations but shifts operational responsibilities.
Kavanaugh-Jones’ background includes a stint in film finance at CAA, launching Automatik and later merging that entity into Range in 2023. He has also been involved in TV production initiatives, including co-founding Station26; Range recently expanded into game publishing, an area where Kavanaugh-Jones offered advisory support.
The practical result for audiences: expect Oddfellows to pursue a mix of festival-driven dramas, commercially oriented genre films and studio-backed releases, backed by a deeper pipeline to Warner Bros. and continued ties to Range and Berger on select titles.
The coming weeks should clarify which projects move under Oddfellows’ banner and how the partnerships will play out at markets and festivals later this year.
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Hello, I’m Declan. I share my film reviews and discoveries with you to enrich your moviegoing experience.