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Jon Avnet attended the University of Pennsylvania, received a BA from Sarah Lawrence College and was awarded a fellowship to the American Film Institute. Today, Mr. Avnet is Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors at the American Film Institute, where he has been a guiding force for over 20 years (and Chairman for eight years). 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. Most recently he has become a trustee of the DGA-Producers Pension and He
Jon Avnet attended the University of Pennsylvania, received a BA from Sarah Lawrence College and was awarded a fellowship to the American Film Institute. Today, Mr. Avnet is Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors at the American Film Institute, where he has been a guiding force for over 20 years (and Chairman for eight years). 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. Most recently he has become a trustee of the DGA-Producers Pension and Health Plan. He also lectures on film and holocaust studies at numerous universities worldwide and has supported a diverse range of charitable organizations.
Jon Avnet has directed, written, and produced more than 60 motion pictures, television movies, and Broadway plays over the last 30 years, winning most of the major awards: Oscars, Emmys, Tonys, Peabodys, DGA, the Humantis, and the AFI's Franklin Shaffner Medal. Mr. Avnet was the executive producer of Black Swan, starring Natalie Portman (winner of the Oscar for Best Actress) and directed by Darren Aronofsky. Black Swan received five Oscar nominations in total (including Best Picture) as well as multiple nominations and wins from the PGA, WGA, SAG, BAFTA, AFI, and the Golden Globes. It grossed 326 million dollars theatrical worldwide. In June 2013, Mr. Avnet received an honorary doctorate in communications from the American Film Institute.
Mr. Avnet, in conjunction with Rodrigo Garcia (AFI graduate and director, most recently of Albert Nobbs) and Jake Avnet, launched a scripted channel for You Tube on May 14, 2012 entitled WIGS. The first season of WIGS is comprised of 100 five-to-eight minute films, some single episodes and the majority serialized, all executive produced by Mr. Avnet, Mr. Garcia and Jacob Avnet. At Brandcast on May 4, 2012, Eric Schmidt and Robert Kyncl of Google announced major and unprecedented WIGS sponsorship deals with American Express and Unilever. WIGS has received multiple awards nominations including a WGA nomination for Jay Rodan, the screenwriter of Lauren, and a Best Actress award for Troian Bellasario, also for the series Lauren. WIGS began its second cycle of projects in November when YouTube renewed its funded sponsorship. On May 19, Kevin Reilly, chairman of Fox Broadcast Network, announced a strategic partnership with WIGS, the first of its kind, involving WIGS, a purely digital platform, having access to the marketing reach of a network and developing material for both platforms. The development of the third cycle has just begun.
Mr. Avnet has been directing episodes of FX Network's Justified starring Tim Olyphant and Walton Goggins for the last fours years. Justified recently received a Peabody award and Margo Martindale won an Emmy for her performance, as well. He directed and executive-produced Mitch Albom's Have a Little Faith starring Laurence Fishburne, Martin Landau, and Bradley Whitford for ABC. He is preparing to direct A Redbird Christmas, which is based on the novel by Fannie Flagg (the author of Fried Green Tomatoes) with whom he co-wrote the screenplay and which Tom Pollock is producing.
Mr. Avnet directed Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and 50 Cent in Righteous Kill, released in September 2008. He also directed and executive produced The Starter Wife, a six-hour limited series for the USA Network starring Debra Messing, Joe Mantegna, and Judy Davis (won best supporting actress Emmy for her performance.) Based on the novel by Gigi Levangie Grazer, it aired May 2007 as the highest-rated limited cable series that year and received ten Emmy nominations as well as DGA and PGA nominations for Mr. Avnet. It became a series for the USA network in 2008.
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. In 2001, Avnet directed, co-wrote with Paul Brickman, and produced the critically-praised miniseries Uprising for NBC, starring Leelee Sobieski, Hank Azaria, David Schwimmer, Jon Voight, and Donald Sutherland. Prior to that, Avnet directed and produced Red Corner starring Richard Gere, and Up Close and Personal 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, which 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 (with Steve Tisch) Paul Brickman's film Risky Business, which launched Tom Cruise's career. In 1985, Avnet produced (also with Steve Tisch) The Burning Bed, starring Farrah Fawcett, which garnered eight Emmy nominations and was 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.
On Broadway, his plays have received 35 nominations and 12 Tony awards. He produced with Bill Haber the Tony Award winning "Spamalot" and "The History Boys." He also produced "The Pillowman," "Inherit the Wind," starring Christopher Plummer, "The Seafarer" by Connor McPherson, and the Mike Nichols-directed "Country Girl," starring Morgan Freeman and Frances McDormand.
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