Jon Avnet
Encyclopedia
Jonathan Michael "Jon" Avnet (born November 17, 1949) is an American director, writer and producer.
, the son of Joan Bertha (née Grossman) and Lester Francis Avnet, a corporate executive and electronics distributor. He attended Great Neck North High School
in Great Neck, New York
. Avnet studied at Sarah Lawrence College.
and then took part in the director's program of the American Film Institute
when his student film Confusion's Corner (featuring Richard Gere
, then unknown) got him a fellowship. After he had worked as an associate producer, Avnet started Tisch/Avnet Productions in 1977 with Steve Tisch
. They spent seven years producing many successful films (including Risky Business
in 1983 which turned Tom Cruise
into a star), several issue-oriented made-for-TV movies like The Burning Bed
in 1984 (NBC
), starring Farrah Fawcett
, and the much praised, but short-running series Call to Glory
in 1984-85 (ABC
).
Avnet then wrote (with screenwriter Larry Grusin) and directed the TV-movie Between Two Women in 1986 (ABC) starring Farrah Fawcett
(once again) and Colleen Dewhurst
. Later that year, he began producing in partnership with Jordan Kerner
, the former vice president of the dramatic programming component of ABC. Among their early pictures were Less Than Zero
in 1987, based on the novel by Bret Easton Ellis
and Men Don't Leave
in 1990, starring Jessica Lange
as a widow.
Avnet made his directorial debut in theaters with the surprise hit movie Fried Green Tomatoes
in 1991. Avnet followed up by producing many children-oriented movies for Disney
: the very successful children's sports comedy The Mighty Ducks
in 1992 and its two sequels (in 1994 and 1996) and the 1993 version of The Three Musketeers
as well as the surprise 1997 hit George of the Jungle
. He aimed a little higher with When a Man Loves a Woman
in 1994 starring Meg Ryan
and Andy García
.
Avnet directed the film The War
in 1994 with Elijah Wood
in the lead and Kevin Costner
in a supporting role as his father. On a roll, he followed up with the film Up Close & Personal
in 1996, which was loosely based on the life of the late Jessica Savitch
. It was written by Joan Didion
and John Gregory Dunne
and starred Robert Redford
and Michelle Pfeiffer
. Avnet addressed political issues with his fourth film Red Corner
in 1997, a movie about the Chinese legal system, starring Richard Gere
and Bai Ling
. Because of Gere's presence and support for Tibet
and the Dalai Lama
, they could not film in China, and the settings had to instead be recreated in Southern California
. Avnet, however, did film a few scenes in Beijing and also put in some footage of actual Chinese executions. In 2001, Jon Avnet created the made-for-TV war drama Uprising
(2001) about the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
, starring Leelee Sobieski
and Hank Azaria
. His movie 88 Minutes
was released in the United States theatrically on April 18, 2008, starring Al Pacino
, Alicia Witt
, Leelee Sobieski
, Benjamin McKenzie
, and Deborah Kara Unger
; it was heavily panned by critics. He directed Righteous Kill
with the eagerly anticipated re-teaming [see Heat (1995)] of Al Pacino
and Robert De Niro
as cops on the hunt of a serial killer, which was released on September 12, 2008, again to a mostly-negative critical reception.
He often works with Chris O'Donnell
, Gary Basaraba
, Afton Smith, Raynor Scheine
, Farrah Fawcett
, Leelee Sobieski
and Kathy Bates
.
Also, in 2007, Avnet became a judge on the reality TV
show On the Lot
.
In 2008, Avnet directed the television pilot Bunker Hill, starring Donnie Wahlberg
and Bridget Moynahan
and written by Walon Green
. The pilot was not picked up for a series.
Early life
Avnet was born in BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, the son of Joan Bertha (née Grossman) and Lester Francis Avnet, a corporate executive and electronics distributor. He attended Great Neck North High School
Great Neck North High School
John L. Miller Great Neck North High School or simply "North High," or "North," is a public high school, including grades 9 through 12, in the village of Great Neck, New York, operated by the Great Neck School District...
in Great Neck, New York
Great Neck, New York
The term Great Neck is commonly applied to a peninsula on the North Shore of Long Island, which includes the village of Great Neck, the village of Great Neck Estates, the village of Great Neck Plaza, and others, as well as an area south of the peninsula near Lake Success and the border of Queens...
. Avnet studied at Sarah Lawrence College.
Career
Avnet came into show business by staging Off-Broadway theatrical productions. He later entered the film industry as a reader at United ArtistsUnited Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
and then took part in the director's program of the American Film Institute
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
when his student film Confusion's Corner (featuring Richard Gere
Richard Gere
Richard Tiffany Gere is an American actor. He began acting in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in Looking for Mr. Goodbar, and a starring role in Days of Heaven. He came to prominence in 1980 for his role in the film American Gigolo, which established him as a leading man and a sex symbol...
, then unknown) got him a fellowship. After he had worked as an associate producer, Avnet started Tisch/Avnet Productions in 1977 with Steve Tisch
Steve Tisch
Steven "Steve" Tisch is an American businessman. He is the Chairman and Executive Vice President of the New York Giants, the NFL team co-owned by his family, as well as a film and television producer...
. They spent seven years producing many successful films (including Risky Business
Risky Business
Risky Business is a 1983 American teen comedy-drama film written by Paul Brickman in his directorial debut. It stars Tom Cruise and Rebecca De Mornay. The hit film launched Cruise to stardom.-Plot:...
in 1983 which turned Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and he has won three Golden Globe Awards....
into a star), several issue-oriented made-for-TV movies like The Burning Bed
The Burning Bed
The Burning Bed is a non-fiction book by Faith McNulty about battered Dansville, Michigan, housewife Francine Hughes. It was adapted to a film with screenplay by Rose Leiman Goldemberg. After thirteen years of domestic abuse at the hands of her husband, James Berlin Hughes, she set fire to the...
in 1984 (NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
), starring Farrah Fawcett
Farrah Fawcett
Farrah Fawcett was an American actress and artist. A multiple Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she first appeared as private investigator Jill Munroe in the first season of the television series Charlie's Angels, in 1976...
, and the much praised, but short-running series Call to Glory
Call to Glory
Call to Glory was an American television series that aired 23 episodes during the 1984-1985 TV season on the ABC-TV network. Starring Craig T. Nelson as a USAF pilot, Colonel Raynor Sarnac. In the course of its production run, it drifted away from its original reasonably authentic setting and...
in 1984-85 (ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
).
Avnet then wrote (with screenwriter Larry Grusin) and directed the TV-movie Between Two Women in 1986 (ABC) starring Farrah Fawcett
Farrah Fawcett
Farrah Fawcett was an American actress and artist. A multiple Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she first appeared as private investigator Jill Munroe in the first season of the television series Charlie's Angels, in 1976...
(once again) and Colleen Dewhurst
Colleen Dewhurst
Colleen Rose Dewhurst was a Canadian-American actress known for a while as "the Queen of Off-Broadway." In her autobiography, Dewhurst wrote: "I had moved so quickly from one Off-Broadway production to the next that I was known, at one point, as the 'Queen of Off-Broadway'...
. Later that year, he began producing in partnership with Jordan Kerner
Jordan Kerner
Jordan Kerner is an American film producer, who was born on February 5, 1950 in Los Angeles, California.- Biography :Kerner began his undergraduate studies at the University of Southern California. He subsequently transferred to Stanford University where he graduated in 1972 with distinction and...
, the former vice president of the dramatic programming component of ABC. Among their early pictures were Less Than Zero
Less Than Zero (film)
Less Than Zero is a 1987 American drama film loosely based on Bret Easton Ellis' novel of the same name. The film stars Andrew McCarthy as Clay, a college freshman returning home for Christmas to spend time with his ex-girlfriend Blair and his friend Julian , who is also a drug addict...
in 1987, based on the novel by Bret Easton Ellis
Bret Easton Ellis
Bret Easton Ellis is an American novelist and short story writer. His works have been translated into 27 different languages. He was regarded as one of the so-called literary Brat Pack, which also included Tama Janowitz and Jay McInerney...
and Men Don't Leave
Men Don't Leave
Men Don't Leave is a 1990 comedy-drama film that stars Jessica Lange as a housewife who, after the death of her husband, moves with her two sons to Baltimore. Chris O'Donnell, Joan Cusack, and Kathy Bates also co-star in this film....
in 1990, starring Jessica Lange
Jessica Lange
Jessica Phyllis Lange is an American actress who has worked in film, theatre and television. The recipient of several awards, including two Academy Awards, four Golden Globes and one Emmy, Lange is regarded as one of the première female actors of her generation.Lange was discovered by producer...
as a widow.
Avnet made his directorial debut in theaters with the surprise hit movie Fried Green Tomatoes
Fried Green Tomatoes (film)
Fried Green Tomatoes is a 1991 comedy-drama film based on the novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg. It was released in the UK under the novel's full title. Directed by Jon Avnet and written by Fannie Flagg and Carol Sobieski, it stars Kathy Bates, Jessica Tandy,...
in 1991. Avnet followed up by producing many children-oriented movies for Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
: the very successful children's sports comedy The Mighty Ducks
The Mighty Ducks
The Mighty Ducks is the first film in The Mighty Ducks trilogy, produced by Avnet–Kerner Productions and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures and originally released on October 2, 1992. In the UK and Australia, the film was titled Champions...
in 1992 and its two sequels (in 1994 and 1996) and the 1993 version of The Three Musketeers
The Three Musketeers (1993 film)
The Three Musketeers is a 1993 film from Walt Disney Pictures and Caravan Pictures, directed by Stephen Herek from a screenplay by David Loughery and starring Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland, Chris O'Donnell, Oliver Platt, Tim Curry and Rebecca De Mornay....
as well as the surprise 1997 hit George of the Jungle
George of the Jungle (film)
George of the Jungle is a 1997 live-action, family-oriented, romantic-adventure-comedy film based on the characters from the original cartoon of the same name. The film was produced by Walt Disney Pictures with Mandeville Films and originally released to movie theatres on July 16, 1997...
. He aimed a little higher with When a Man Loves a Woman
When a Man Loves a Woman (film)
When a Man Loves a Woman is a 1994 American romantic drama film written by Al Franken and Ronald Bass, starring Andy García, Meg Ryan, Tina Majorino, Mae Whitman, Ellen Burstyn, Lauren Tom and Philip Seymour Hoffman....
in 1994 starring Meg Ryan
Meg Ryan
Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra , professionally known as Meg Ryan, is an American actress and producer. Raised in Bethel, Connecticut, Ryan began her acting career in 1981 in minor roles, before joining the cast of the CBS soap opera As the World Turns in 1982...
and Andy García
Andy García
Andrés Arturo García Menéndez , professionally known as Andy García, is a Cuban American actor. He became known in the late 1980s and 1990s, having appeared in several successful Hollywood films, including The Godfather: Part III, The Untouchables, Internal Affairs and When a Man Loves a Woman...
.
Avnet directed the film The War
The War (film)
The War is a 1994 drama film directed by Jon Avnet. Starring Elijah Wood, Kevin Costner and Mare Winningham. It is a coming of age tale set in Mississippi in the 1970s...
in 1994 with Elijah Wood
Elijah Wood
Elijah Jordan Wood is an American actor. He made his film debut with a minor part in Back to the Future Part II , then landed a succession of larger roles that made him a critically acclaimed child actor by age 9. He is best known for his high-profile role as Frodo Baggins in Peter Jackson's...
in the lead and Kevin Costner
Kevin Costner
Kevin Michael Costner is an American actor, singer, musician, producer, director, and businessman. He has been nominated for three BAFTA Awards, won two Academy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. Costner's roles include Lt. John J...
in a supporting role as his father. On a roll, he followed up with the film Up Close & Personal
Up Close & Personal
Up Close & Personal is an American romantic drama film directed by Jon Avnet, and starring Robert Redford as a news director and Michelle Pfeiffer as his protegée, with Stockard Channing, Joe Mantegna and Kate Nelligan in supporting roles....
in 1996, which was loosely based on the life of the late Jessica Savitch
Jessica Savitch
Jessica Beth Savitch was an American television broadcaster and news reporter, host of PBS' Frontline and New York weekend anchor of NBC Nightly News during the short-lived Roger Mudd/Tom Brokaw era....
. It was written by Joan Didion
Joan Didion
Joan Didion is an American author best known for her novels and her literary journalism. Her novels and essays explore the disintegration of American morals and cultural chaos, where the overriding theme is individual and social fragmentation...
and John Gregory Dunne
John Gregory Dunne
John Gregory Dunne was an American novelist, screenwriter and literary critic.-Life:He was born in Hartford, Connecticut, and was a younger brother of author Dominick Dunne. He suffered from a severe stutter and took up writing to express himself. Eventually he learned to speak normally by...
and starred Robert Redford
Robert Redford
Charles Robert Redford, Jr. , better known as Robert Redford, is an American actor, film director, producer, businessman, environmentalist, philanthropist, and founder of the Sundance Film Festival. He has received two Oscars: one in 1981 for directing Ordinary People, and one for Lifetime...
and Michelle Pfeiffer
Michelle Pfeiffer
Michelle Marie Pfeiffer is an American actress. She made her film debut in 1980 in The Hollywood Knights, but first garnered mainstream attention with her performance in Brian De Palma's Scarface . Pfeiffer has won numerous awards for her work...
. Avnet addressed political issues with his fourth film Red Corner
Red Corner
Red Corner is a drama film produced in 1997, directed by Jon Avnet and written by Robert King.- Plot :It tells the story of a wealthy American businessman named Jack Moore working in China and attempting to put together a satellite communications deal as part of a joint venture with the Chinese...
in 1997, a movie about the Chinese legal system, starring Richard Gere
Richard Gere
Richard Tiffany Gere is an American actor. He began acting in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in Looking for Mr. Goodbar, and a starring role in Days of Heaven. He came to prominence in 1980 for his role in the film American Gigolo, which established him as a leading man and a sex symbol...
and Bai Ling
Bai Ling
Bai Ling is a Chinese actress known for her work in films such as The Crow, Red Corner and Wild Wild West, and in TV series such as Entourage and Lost. In 2011 she appeared in the fifth season of the VH1 reality television series Celebrity Rehab with Dr...
. Because of Gere's presence and support for Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
and the Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
, they could not film in China, and the settings had to instead be recreated in Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
. Avnet, however, did film a few scenes in Beijing and also put in some footage of actual Chinese executions. In 2001, Jon Avnet created the made-for-TV war drama Uprising
Uprising (film)
Uprising is a 2001 war/drama television movie about the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. The film was directed by Jon Avnet and written by Avnet and Paul Brickman...
(2001) about the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was the Jewish resistance that arose within the Warsaw Ghetto in German occupied Poland during World War II, and which opposed Nazi Germany's effort to transport the remaining ghetto population to Treblinka extermination camp....
, starring Leelee Sobieski
Leelee Sobieski
Liliane Rudabet Gloria Elsveta Sobieski , known professionally as Leelee Sobieski, is an American actress. Sobieski achieved recognition in her mid-teens for her performance in the 1998 film Deep Impact...
and Hank Azaria
Hank Azaria
Henry Albert "Hank" Azaria is an American film, television and stage actor, director, voice actor, and comedian. He is noted for being one of the principal voice actors on the animated television series The Simpsons , on which he performs the voices of Moe Szyslak, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Chief...
. His movie 88 Minutes
88 Minutes
88 Minutes is a 2007 American thriller film directed by Jon Avnet starring Al Pacino, Benjamin McKenzie, Alicia Witt, Leelee Sobieski, Deborah Kara Unger, Amy Brenneman, and Neal McDonough. Filming began in the Vancouver area on October 8, 2005 and wrapped in December 2005...
was released in the United States theatrically on April 18, 2008, starring Al Pacino
Al Pacino
Alfredo James "Al" Pacino is an American film and stage actor and director. He is famous for playing mobsters, including Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy, Tony Montana in Scarface, Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice in Dick Tracy and Carlito Brigante in Carlito's Way, though he has also appeared...
, Alicia Witt
Alicia Witt
Alicia Roanne Witt is an American film, stage, television actress and singer.-Early life:Witt was born in Worcester, Massachusetts. Her mother, Diane , is a junior high school reading teacher, and her father, Robert Witt, is a science teacher and photographer. She has a brother, Ian...
, Leelee Sobieski
Leelee Sobieski
Liliane Rudabet Gloria Elsveta Sobieski , known professionally as Leelee Sobieski, is an American actress. Sobieski achieved recognition in her mid-teens for her performance in the 1998 film Deep Impact...
, Benjamin McKenzie
Benjamin McKenzie
Benjamin McKenzie Schenkkan , better known as Benjamin McKenzie, is an American actor and producer. He is best known for playing Ryan Atwood in the television series The O.C. and for playing Ben Sherman in Southland. He appeared in the films Junebug and 88 Minutes which earned him a Sarasota Film...
, and Deborah Kara Unger
Deborah Kara Unger
Deborah Kara Unger is a Canadian actress. She is known for her roles in the films Crash , The Game , The Hurricane , White Noise , Silent Hill and 88 Minutes...
; it was heavily panned by critics. He directed Righteous Kill
Righteous Kill
Righteous Kill is a 2008 crime thriller film with elements of a buddy cop film directed by Jon Avnet, and starring Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. Righteous Kill also features John Leguizamo, Carla Gugino, Donnie Wahlberg, Brian Dennehy, and Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson...
with the eagerly anticipated re-teaming [see Heat (1995)] of Al Pacino
Al Pacino
Alfredo James "Al" Pacino is an American film and stage actor and director. He is famous for playing mobsters, including Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy, Tony Montana in Scarface, Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice in Dick Tracy and Carlito Brigante in Carlito's Way, though he has also appeared...
and Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director and producer. His first major film roles were in Bang the Drum Slowly and Mean Streets, both in 1973...
as cops on the hunt of a serial killer, which was released on September 12, 2008, again to a mostly-negative critical reception.
He often works with Chris O'Donnell
Chris O'Donnell
Christopher Eugene "Chris" O'Donnell is an American actor. He has played Robin in two Batman films, Batman Forever and Batman & Robin, Charlie Simms in Scent of a Woman, Finn Dandridge in Grey's Anatomy, Peter Garrett in Vertical Limit, and more recently, Jack McAuliffe in The Company. O'Donnell...
, Gary Basaraba
Gary Basaraba
Gary Basaraba is a Canadian actor best known for playing American police officers. He appeared as Sergeant Richard Santoro on Steven Bochco's Brooklyn South and Officer Ray Heckler on Boomtown....
, Afton Smith, Raynor Scheine
Raynor Scheine
Raynor Scheine is an American actor who has appeared in films for three decades dating back to 1979, including My Cousin Vinny and Fried Green Tomatoes. His name is a play on the phrase "rain or shine".-Broadway performances:...
, Farrah Fawcett
Farrah Fawcett
Farrah Fawcett was an American actress and artist. A multiple Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she first appeared as private investigator Jill Munroe in the first season of the television series Charlie's Angels, in 1976...
, Leelee Sobieski
Leelee Sobieski
Liliane Rudabet Gloria Elsveta Sobieski , known professionally as Leelee Sobieski, is an American actress. Sobieski achieved recognition in her mid-teens for her performance in the 1998 film Deep Impact...
and Kathy Bates
Kathy Bates
Kathleen Doyle "Kathy" Bates is an American actress and director.After several small roles in film and television, Bates rose to prominence with her performance in Misery , for which she won both the Academy Award for Best Actress and a Golden Globe...
.
Also, in 2007, Avnet became a judge on the reality TV
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
show On the Lot
On the Lot
On the Lot is a short-lived reality show competition produced by Steven Spielberg and Mark Burnett. The show, which aired on Fox, featured filmmakers competing in weekly elimination competitions, with the ultimate prize of a million dollar development deal at DreamWorks...
.
In 2008, Avnet directed the television pilot Bunker Hill, starring Donnie Wahlberg
Donnie Wahlberg
Donald Edward "Donnie" Wahlberg, Jr. is an American singer, actor and film producer. He is a member of the popular 1980s and 1990s boy band New Kids on the Block. His work background includes music, feature films, and television...
and Bridget Moynahan
Bridget Moynahan
Kathryn Bridget Moynahan , best known as Bridget Moynahan, is an American model and actress. After graduating from Longmeadow High School in 1989, Moynahan pursued a career in modeling. She was signed by a modeling agency, which led her to appear in department store catalogs and the covers of...
and written by Walon Green
Walon Green
Walon Green is an American documentary film director and screenwriter for both TV and films. He is currently the showrunner/executive producer for the USA Network television series, Law & Order: Criminal Intent.-Career:...
. The pilot was not picked up for a series.