Jon Avnet
Currently, Mr. Avnet is a producer on The Seafarer by Connor McPherson. His next venture on Broadway is the Mike Nichols directed Country Girl, starring Morgan Freeman and Frances McDormand. In 2004, Avnet produced and co-financed with Aurelio DeLaurentiis Paramount's Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow starring Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Angelina Jolie. This film was shot entirely on a blue screen stage in London and was comprised of 2200 CGI shots.
In 2002 and 2003, Avnet executive produced with Graham Yost and directed Boomtown on NBC. The series received a Peabody award, an AFI award, a Humanitas Award, and the Television Critics Association Award for best drama and best new drama. In 2001, Avnet directed, co-wrote, with Paul Brickman, and produced the miniseries Uprising for NBC, which won raves from the critics as the first motion picture to deal with the Jewish resistance during the Holocaust, specifically the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. It was shot on location in Poland, Slovakia and Austria. Starring Leelee Sobieski, Hank Azaria, David Schwimmer, Jon Voight, and Donald Sutherland, Uprising was nominated for a Golden Globe and a DGA Award and won the ASC Award for Cinematography and an Emmy. Additionally, he received a Christopher Award for this film, as well as the prestigious Janus Korchak Educational Award.
Prior to Uprising, Avnet directed and produced Red Corner for MGM, starring Richard Gere for which he was honored with the National Board of Review's Human Rights award. He also directed and produced Up Close and Personal for Disney starring Robert Redford and Michelle Pfeiffer. Previously, he directed, produced and co-wrote the highly acclaimed Fried Green Tomatoes for Universal starring Jessica Tandy, Kathy Bates, Mary Louise Parker, and Mary Stuart Masterson. It received multiple Oscar, Golden Globe, and Writers Guild nominations. His first directing outing (which he also co-wrote and produced) was the TV movie Between Two Women, starring Colleen Dewhurst and Farrah Fawcett, which earned Dewhurst an Emmy for her performance.
In 1984, Avnet produced Paul Brickman's film Risky Business, which launched Tom Cruise's career. Avnet also produced Brickman's next film, Men Don't Leave, starring Jessica Lange, Joan Cusack, Arliss Howard, and Chris O'Donnell. In 1985, Avnet produced The Burning Bed, starring Farrah Fawcett, which garnered eight Emmy nominations and remains the highest-rated television movie ever aired on NBC. Along with Jordan Kerner, Avnet produced Less Than Zero, When a Man Loves a Woman, Miami Rhapsody, the Mighty Ducks films and George of the Jungle, to name a few, as well as Mama Flora's Family, based on the Alex Haley novel.
Mr. Avnet attended the University of Pennsylvania and received a BA from Sarah Lawrence College. After working with director Wilford Leach at the La Mama ETC theatre company, he made his first film with a then unknown actor, Richard Gere. On the strength of that film, he received a fellowship in directing at the Conservatory for Advanced Film Studies at the American film Institute
Today, Mr. Avnet is Chairman of the Board of Directors at the American Film Institute where he has been a guiding force for over 20 years. He is also a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the Directors Guild of America, the Writers Guild of America, the Producers Guild of America, and the Screen Actors Guild. In addition, he serves on the Board of Overseers of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Avnet participates as a mentor in the Director's Lab at Sundance and its sister program Emergence in France. He also lectures at numerous universities worldwide and has supported a diverse range of charitable organizations.
Mr. Avnet lives in Topanga Canyon, California, with his wife, artist Barbara Brody. He has three children, Alexandra, who works as an associate producer at CBS in the election unit.; Jacob, who received his master's degree from USC's Peter Stark Graduate Program and has begun his own producing career; and Lily, a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania, who has written a rather hilarious first screenplay.
Jon Avnet Facts
Birth Name | Jonathan Michael Avnet |
Occupation | Producer, Director |
Birthday | November 17, 1949 (74) |
Sign | Scorpio |
Birthplace | Brooklyn, New York, USA |
Selected Filmography
The Life Inside | ||
Things You Can tell Just by Looking at Her | ||
Pilot-Hours 1 and 2 | ||
Red Corner | ||
88 Minutes | ||
Righteous Kill | ||
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