Jon Avnet

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Jon Avnet
Born Jonathan Michael Avnet
(1949-11-17) November 17, 1949 (age 63)
Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States
Occupation Film director, screenwriter, film producer
Spouse(s) Barbara Brody[1]

Jonathan Michael Avnet (born November 17, 1949), better known as Jon Avnet, is an American director, writer and producer.

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Early life [edit]

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).[2] He attended Great Neck North High School in Great Neck, New York.[3]

Career [edit]

Avnet directed the film The War in 1994 with Elijah Wood in the lead and Kevin Costner in a supporting role as his father. On a roll, he followed up with the film Up Close & Personal in 1996, which was loosely based on the life of the late 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 instead be recreated in Southern California. Avnet, however, did film a few scenes in Beijing and also put in some footage of actual Chinese executions.[4]

Personal life [edit]

Avnet has been married to the artist Barbara Brody Avnet since 1975.[5]

Filmography [edit]

Film [edit]

Television [edit]

References [edit]

External links [edit]