Avnet, Jon 1949–

(Jonathan M. Avnet)

PERSONAL

Full name, Jonathan Michael Avnet; Born November 17, 1949, in Brooklyn, NY; son of Lester Francis (an electronics distributor and corporate executive) and Joan Bertha (maiden name, Grossman) Avnet; married Barbara Brody (a fabric designer), September 19, 1975; children: Alexandra, Jacob, Lily. Education: Attended University of Pennsylvania, 1967–69; Sarah Lawrence College, B.A., 1971; studied at Conservatory for Advanced Film Studies, 1972–73, and American Film Institute. Avocational Interests: Basketball, skiing, sewing.

Addresses: Office—Brooklyn Films, 3815 Hughes Ave., Culver City, CA 90232. Agent—Rand Holston, Creative Artists Agency, 9830 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90212.

Career: Producer, director, and writer. Weintraub/Heller Productions, worked as associate producer; also affiliated with production of Broadway stage shows; United Artists, Los Angeles, reader, 1974; Sequoia Pictures, Los Angeles, director of creative affairs, 1975–77; Tisch/Avnet Productions, founder (with Steve Tisch) and affiliate, 1977–85; Brooklyn Films (also known as Avnet/Kerner Co.), Culver City, CA, co-founder and producer, 1986–; Allied Communications, Inc., president. Los Angeles County Opera, member of board of trustees.

Member: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, American Film Institute (vice chair of board of trustees; vice chair of Center for Advanced Studies; founder of Gary Hendler Minority Workshops), Directors Guild of America, Writers Guild of America, and Producers Caucus.

Awards, Honors: Directing fellow, American Film Institute; Cine Award and Christopher Award, 1981, for No Other Love; Emmy Award nomination, outstanding drama or comedy special (with others), 1985, for The Burning Bed; Golden Reel Award, National Federation of Community Broadcasters, c. 1985, for Call to Glory; Golden Globe Award, 1987, for In Love and War; Annual CableACE Award, National Cable Television Association, outstanding movie or miniseries (with others), 1991, for Heat Wave; Wise Owl Award, Retirement Research Foundation, outstanding television and theatrical film fiction (with others), 1992, for Fried Green Tomatoes; Franklin J. Schaffner Award, American Film Institute, 1995; Freedom of Expression Award (with Richard Gere), National Board of Review, 1997, for The Red Corner; Directors Guild of America Award nomination, outstanding directorial achievement in movies for television, 2002, for Uprising.

CREDITS

Film Producer:

Coast to Coast, Paramount, 1980.

Risky Business, Warner Bros., 1983.

Less than Zero, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1987.

Coproducer, Men Don't Leave, Warner Bros., 1990.

(With Jordan Kerner) Funny about Love (also known as New York Times), Paramount, 1990.

(With Kerner; and director) Fried Green Tomatoes (also known as Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café), Universal, 1991.

(With Kerner) The Mighty Ducks (also known as Champions and The Mighty Ducks Are the Champions), Buena Vista, 1992.

(And director) The War, Universal, 1994.

D2: The Mighty Ducks (also known as The Mighty Ducks 2), Buena Vista, 1994.

When a Man Loves a Woman (also known as To Have and to Hold), Buena Vista, 1994.

(And director) Up Close & Personal (also known as Up Close and Personal: The Jessica Savitch Story), Buena Vista, 1996.

D3: The Mighty Ducks (also known as The Mighty Ducks 3), Buena Vista, 1996.

George of the Jungle, Buena Vista, 1997.

(And director) The Red Corner, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1997.

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Paramount, 2004.

Brave New World (documentary), Paramount, 2004.

Also produced and directed Confusions Circle (student film).

Film Executive Producer:

Deal of the Century, Warner Bros., 1983.

The Three Musketeers, Buena Vista, 1993.

Miami Rhapsody, Buena Vista, 1995.

Inspector Gadget, Buena Vista, 1999.

Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her, United Artists, 2000.

Steal This Movie!, Lions Gate Films, 2000.

Film Associate Producer:

(As Jonathan M. Avnet) It's Showtime (also known as Crazy Animals, Jaws, Paws, Claws, Wonder World of Those Cukoo Animals, and World of Those Cuckoo), 1976.

Checkered Flag or Crash (also known as Crash), Universal, 1977.

Film Appearances:

Himself, Brave New World (documentary), Paramount, 2005.

Television Executive Producer; Series:

Dogs, 1993.

(And director) Boomtown, NBC, 2002–2003.

Television Executive Producer; Movies:

No Other Love, CBS, 1979.

Something So Right, CBS, 1982.

Silence of the Heart, CBS, 1984.

The Burning Bed, NBC, 1984.

In Love and War, NBC, 1987.

Side by Side (also known as Nothing's Impossible), CBS, 1988.

My First Love (also known as One More Time and Second Chance), ABC, 1988.

Do You Know the Muffin Man?, CBS, 1989.

Breaking Point, TNT, 1989.

Heat Wave (also known as Burn, Baby, Burn), TNT, 1990.

Backfield in Motion, ABC, 1991.

The Nightman (also known as The Watchman), NBC, 1992.

For Their Own Good, 1993.

Poodle Springs, HBO, 1998.

My Last Love (also known as To Live For), ABC, 1999.

A House Divided, Showtime, 2000.

Television Producer; Movies:

Homeward Bound, CBS, 1980.

Prime Suspect, CBS, 1982.

Calendar Girl Murders (also known as Insatiable, and Victimized), 1984.

(And director) Between Two Women, ABC, 1986.

Switch, 1993.

Television Executive Producer; Miniseries:

Naomi & Wynonna: Love Can Build a Bridge (also known as Love Can Build a Bridge), 1995.

Mama Flora's Family, CBS, 1998.

Parting the Waters, ABC, 2000.

(And director) Uprising, NBC, 2001.

Television Executive Producer; Pilots:

Executive producer, Call to Glory, ABC, 1984.

Boys & Girls, CBS, 1995.

Honolulu Crew, ABC, 1998.

"The Squeeze," Boomtown, NBC, 2002.

Television Appearances; Episodic:

Himself, "Dreams of Tibet," Frontline, 1997.

Stage Work:

Producer of The Pillowman, Booth Theatre, New York City; associate producer of Monty Python's Spamalot, New York City.

RECORDINGS

Videos:

Moments of Discovery: The Making of "Fried Green Tomatoes," Universal Studios Home Video, 1998.

Breaking Down the Walls: The Road to Recreating the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, Warner Home Video, 2001.

Resistance, Warner Home Video, 2001.

WRITINGS

Screenplays:

(With others) Fried Green Tomatoes (also known as Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café; based on novel by Fanny Flagg), Universal, 1991.

Television Scripts:

Between Two Women (movies), ABC, 1986.

Uprising (miniseries), NBC, 2001.

OTHER SOURCES

Periodicals:

New York Times, February 14, 1992, p. C6.