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 |
| 2025 | The Last Rodeo [b] [14] | Yes | 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.
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, often shortened to Sky Captain, is a 2004 science fiction action-adventure film written and directed by Kerry Conran in his directorial debut, and produced by Jon Avnet, Sadie Frost, Jude Law and Marsha Oglesby. It stars Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Angelina Jolie. It is an example of "Ottensian" (pre-WWII) dieselpunk.
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.
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe is a 1987 novel by American author Fannie Flagg. Set in Alabama, it weaves together the past and the present through the blossoming friendship between Evelyn Couch, a middle-aged housewife, and Ninny Threadgoode, an elderly woman who lives in a nursing home. Every week Evelyn visits Ninny, who recounts stories of her youth in Whistle Stop, Alabama, where her sister-in-law, Idgie, and her friend, Ruth, ran a café. These stories, along with Ninny's friendship, enable Evelyn to begin a new, satisfying life while allowing the people and stories of Ninny's youth to live on. The book explores themes of family, aging, lesbianism, and the dehumanizing effects of racism on both black and white people.
Cats & Dogs is a 2001 spy-comedy film directed by Lawrence Guterman and written by John Requa and Glenn Ficarra. It stars Jeff Goldblum, Elizabeth Perkins and Alexander Pollock, with the voices of Tobey Maguire, Alec Baldwin, Sean Hayes, Susan Sarandon, Charlton Heston, Jon Lovitz, Joe Pantoliano and Michael Clarke Duncan.
Primal Fear is a 1996 American legal mystery crime thriller film directed by Gregory Hoblit, based on the 1993 novel of the same name by William Diehl, written by Steve Shagan and Ann Biderman. It stars Richard Gere, Laura Linney, John Mahoney, Alfre Woodard, Frances McDormand and Edward Norton in his film debut. The film follows a Chicago-based defense attorney who believes that his client, an altar boy, is not guilty of murdering a Catholic bishop.
Mykelti Williamson is an American actor best known for his roles in the films Forrest Gump, 12 Angry Men (1997), Con Air, and Ali, and the television shows Boomtown, 24, and Justified. In 2016, he portrayed Gabriel Maxson in Denzel Washington's acclaimed film adaptation of August Wilson's play Fences, reprising his role from the 2010 Broadway revival.
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.
The War is a 1994 American drama film directed by Jon Avnet and starring Elijah Wood, Kevin Costner, and Mare Winningham. It is a coming of age tale set in Mississippi in the 1970s. Despite a weak box-office opening and negative reviews, the film gained praise from critics for Wood’s performance.
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.
Autumn in New York is a 2000 American romantic drama film directed by Joan Chen, written by Allison Burnett, and starring Richard Gere, Winona Ryder, Anthony LaPaglia, Elaine Stritch, Vera Farmiga, and Sherry Stringfield.
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.
Righteous Kill is a 2008 American crime thriller film directed by Jon Avnet and written by Russell Gewirtz. The film stars Robert De Niro and Al Pacino as New York City Police Department detectives on the hunt for a serial killer. It is the third film in which both De Niro and Pacino appear in starring roles, and also stars John Leguizamo, Carla Gugino, Donnie Wahlberg, Brian Dennehy and Curtis Jackson.
Paul Brickman is an American screenwriter and film director. He is best known for writing and directing Risky Business.
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.
Not Wanted is a 1949 American drama film directed by Elmer Clifton and an un-credited Ida Lupino and starring Sally Forrest, Keefe Brasselle and Leo Penn.
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.
"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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