Jon Avnet | |
|---|---|
 Jon Avnet presenting Art Directors Guild award in 2014 | |
| Born | Jonathan Michael Avnet November 17, 1949 Brooklyn, New York City |
| Education | Sarah Lawrence College (BA) American Film Institute (MFA) |
| Occupation(s) | Film director, screenwriter, film producer |
| Known for | co-founder of Avnet–Kerner Productions |
| Spouse | Barbara Brody (m. 1975) |
| Children | 3 |
| Family | Charles Avnet (grandfather) |
Jonathan Michael Avnet (born November 17, 1949) is an American director, writer and producer.
Avnet was born in Brooklyn, the son of Joan Bertha (née Grossman) and Lester Francis Avnet, a corporate executive with Avnet (a Global distributor of IT & electronics) [1] [2] [3] founded by his grandfather, Charles Avnet. He has two siblings, Carole Avnet Rocherolle and Rosalind Avnet Lazarus. [2] He attended Great Neck North High School in Great Neck, New York. [4] He earned a B.A. degree in film and theater arts from Sarah Lawrence College in 1971. [5] He is Jewish. [6]
Jon Avnet partnered with Steve Tisch on his production company before teaming up with McNeil/Allyn Films on motion pictures and television movies. [7]
Avnet directed his first movie, Fried Green Tomatoes , in 1991, followed by The War in 1994, with Elijah Wood in the lead and Kevin Costner in a supporting role as his father. He directed Up Close & Personal in 1996, which was loosely based on the life of 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 be recreated in Southern California. Avnet, however, did film a few scenes in Beijing and also put in some footage of actual Chinese executions. [5] Avnet was also the executive producer of the 2010 movie Black Swan . [8] His production company is Brooklyn Films. [9]
Avnet has been married to the artist Barbara Brody since 1975. [10] They have three children, Alexandra Avnet Costantino, Jacob Avnet, and Lily Avnet. [11] [12]
Film
| Year | Title | Director | Producer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Risky Business | No | Yes |
| 1987 | Less than Zero | No | Yes |
| 1991 | Fried Green Tomatoes | Yes | Yes |
| 1992 | The Mighty Ducks | No | Yes |
| 1994 | The War | Yes | Yes |
| 1996 | Up Close & Personal | Yes | Yes |
| 1997 | Red Corner | Yes | Yes |
| 2000 | Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her | No | Yes |
| 2004 | Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow | No | Yes |
| 2007 | 88 Minutes | Yes | Yes |
| 2008 | Righteous Kill | Yes | No |
| 2017 | Three Christs [a] | Yes | Yes |
| 2020 | Four Good Days | No | Yes |
Television
Richard Tiffany Gere is an American actor. He began appearing in films in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977) and a starring role in Days of Heaven (1978). Gere came to prominence with his role in the film American Gigolo (1980), which established him as a leading man and a sex symbol. Gere's other films include An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), The Cotton Club (1984), No Mercy (1986), Pretty Woman (1990), Sommersby (1993), Intersection (1994), First Knight (1995), Primal Fear (1996), Runaway Bride (1999), Dr. T & the Women (2000), Shall We Dance? (2004), I'm Not There (2007), Arbitrage (2012) and Norman (2016). For portraying Billy Flynn in the musical Chicago (2002), he won a Golden Globe Award.
American Gigolo is a 1980 American neo-noir crime drama film written and directed by Paul Schrader, and starring Richard Gere and Lauren Hutton. It tells the story of a high-priced escort in Los Angeles (Gere) who becomes romantically involved with a prominent politician's wife (Hutton), while simultaneously becoming the prime suspect in a murder case.
Uprising is an American 2001 war drama television film about the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising during the Holocaust. The film was directed by Jon Avnet and written by Avnet and Paul Brickman. It was first aired on the NBC television network over two consecutive nights in November 2001.
John Benjamin Ireland was a Canadian-American actor and film director. Born in Vancouver, British Columbia and raised in New York City, he came to prominence with film audiences for his supporting roles in several high-profile Western films, including My Darling Clementine (1946), Red River (1948), Vengeance Valley (1951), and Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957). He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as Jack Burden in All the King's Men (1949), making him the first British Columbia-born actor to receive an Oscar nomination.
Moon Over Miami is a 1941 American musical comedy film directed by Walter Lang with Betty Grable and Don Ameche in leading roles and co-starring Robert Cummings, Carole Landis, Jack Haley and Charlotte Greenwood. It was adapted from the play by Stephen Powys. This was previously adapted into a 1938 film titled Three Blind Mice directed by William A. Seiter and starring Loretta Young, Joel McCrea and David Niven.
Red Corner is a 1997 American mystery thriller film directed by Jon Avnet, and starring Richard Gere, Bai Ling and Bradley Whitford. Written by Robert King, the film is about an American businessman in China who ends up wrongfully on trial for murder. His only hope of exoneration and freedom is a female defense lawyer from the country. The film received the 1997 National Board of Review Freedom of Expression Award and the NBR Award for Breakthrough Female Performance. Ling also won the San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress.
Avnet, Inc. is a distributor of electronic components headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, named after Charles Avnet, who founded the company in 1921. After its start on Manhattan's Radio Row, the company became incorporated in 1955 and began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in 1961. On May 8, 2018, Avnet changed stock markets to Nasdaq, trading under the same ticker AVT.
Michael Griffith was a 23-year-old black man who was killed on December 20, 1986, in Howard Beach, in Queens, New York City, in a racially motivated attack. Griffith and two other black men were set upon by a group of white youths outside a pizza parlor. Two of the victims, including Griffith, were severely beaten. Griffith fled onto a highway where he was fatally struck by a passing motorist.
Fried Green Tomatoes is a 1991 American comedy-drama film directed by Jon Avnet and based on Fannie Flagg's 1987 novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe. Written by Flagg and Carol Sobieski, and starring Kathy Bates, Jessica Tandy, Mary Stuart Masterson, Mary-Louise Parker and Cicely Tyson, the film tells the story of a middle-aged housewife who, unhappy with her life, befriends an elderly lady in a nursing home and is enthralled by the tales she tells of people she used to know.
Jeff Russo is an American composer, songwriter, guitarist, vocalist and music producer, and one of the two founding members of the rock band Tonic. He is also a founding member of the americana band Low Stars.
I Take This Woman is a 1931 American pre-Code romance film directed by Marion Gering and starring Gary Cooper and Carole Lombard.
Paul Brickman is an American screenwriter and film director. He is best known for writing and directing Risky Business.
Silence of the Heart is a 1984 American made-for-television drama film starring Charlie Sheen, Chad Lowe, Mariette Hartley, Dana Hill, Howard Hesseman and Silvana Gallardo, directed by Richard Michaels and written by Phil Penningroth.
Carole Demas is an American actress, best known for originating the roles of Sandy in the 1971 Broadway musical Grease and the title role in the original 1976 production of The Baker's Wife, for many prime time television roles, hundreds of commercials, and for her role in the long-running children's television show The Magic Garden. The winding path of Carole's career, highlighted in Schirmer, Citadel and Applause Books chronicling the trials and triumphs of Broadway, has taken her from her early days as Miss Vermont in The Miss Universe Contest, to major roles from coast to coast. Her cabaret and concert performances have brought funds and attention to many worthy causes.
Between Two Women is a 1986 Emmy Award-winning television film starring Farrah Fawcett and Colleen Dewhurst in an story about a relationship between a married woman and her mother-in-law. The film was directed and executive produced by Jon Avnet, and written by Avnet and Larry Grusin.
If You Knew Susie is a 1948 American comedy film directed by Gordon Douglas and written by Warren Wilson, Oscar Brodney, Bud Pearson and Lester A. White. The film was produced by, and starred, Eddie Cantor in his final starring role in a feature film. The film also stars Joan Davis, Allyn Joslyn, Charles Dingle and Bobby Driscoll. The film was released on February 7, 1948, by RKO Pictures.
Three Christs, also known as State of Mind, is a 2017 American drama film directed, co-produced, and co-written by Jon Avnet and based on Milton Rokeach's nonfiction book The Three Christs of Ypsilanti. It screened in the Gala Presentations section at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. The film is also known as: Three Christs of Ypsilanti, The Three Christs of Ypsilanti, Three Christs of Santa Monica, and The Three Christs of Santa Monica.
Charles Avnet (1888–1979) was an American businessman who founded electronics parts distributor Avnet.
"The Toll" is the eleventh episode of the fifth season of the American Neo-Western television series Justified. It is the 63rd overall episode of the series and was written by co-executive producer Benjamin Cavell and directed by Jon Avnet. It originally aired on FX on March 25, 2014.
"Fugitive Number One" is the eleventh episode of the sixth season of the American Neo-Western television series Justified. It is the 76th overall episode of the series and was written by executive producer Taylor Elmore and Keith Schreier and directed by Jon Avnet. It originally aired on FX on March 31, 2015.
Have you ever seen the story of the resistance? Have you ever seen a Jew pick up a gun and kill a German in the Holocaust? asked Mr. Avnet, 51, who is Jewish.
Alexandra Lester Avnet, a daughter of Barbara Brody Avnet and Jon Avnet of Topanga, Calif., was married at her parents' home Saturday evening to Thomas John Costantino, the son of Carole Costantino and Salvatore Costantino of Grassmere, Staten Island. Rabbi David Baron officiated.
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