Avi Lerner
Avi Lerner | |
|---|---|
 Lerner at Toronto International Film Festival premiere of Septembers of Shiraz, 2015 | |
| Born | Avinoam Lerner October 13, 1947 |
| Nationality | Israeli, American |
| Occupation | Film producer |
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Notable work | King of California (2007) Rambo (2008) The Expendables (2010) |
| Spouse | Daphne Lerner |
| Children | Yariv Lerner, Keren Lerner, Marlena Lerner |
Avinoam Lerner (
Life and career
Avi Lerner was born in
Lerner originally worked in movie theaters in Tel Aviv[1]: 66 but later relocated to South Africa,[2] where he produced several films and also owned a chain of movie theaters until relocating once again to Los Angeles in the early 1990s. In 1991, he served as President of the independent production/distribution company, Global Pictures.
Lerner founded two production companies,
Nu Image, now Millennium Films, bought the independent film studio First Look Studios in 2007 and restructured the organization to distribute their specialty films.[2] In 2007, Lerner obtained the rights to the Rambo franchise and rebooted the series in 2008 with Rambo.
Until his success with The Expendables (2010), Lerner's reputation was of a B movie producer.[2] Lerner has complained that Israel is the only country where his work is criticized, and he avoids giving interviews to Israeli reporters.[1]: 65
Lerner describes his approach to the film industry as purely business-oriented: unlike Hollywood's larger film studios, which invest much larger sums of money to cover production expenses but also lose money from time to time, Lerner's team carefully calculates the potential revenue of a given film and tailors the production costs accordingly.[1]: 66
Sexual harassment allegations
In 2017, Lerner was sued by a former employee for
Action stars
The bulk of Lerner's films featured action stars who were at their peak in the 1980s–1990s:
Other features Lerner has had a hand in include: End Game, starring Cuba Gooding Jr. and James Woods; Edison, starring Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, and Justin Timberlake, 16 Blocks, The Black Dahlia, The Wicker Man, and even Werner Herzog's Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, starring Nicolas Cage. He is also listed as a producer in the thriller Trespass.
Filmography
Executive producer
- The Last Winter (1984)
- Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold (1986)
- American Ninja 2: The Confrontation (1987)
- Going Bananas (1987)
- Alien from L.A. (1988)
- Journey to the Center of the Earth (1988)
- Undisputed (2002)
- Wicked Little Things (2006)
- Day of the Dead (2008)
- Train (2008)
- Undisputed 3: Redemption(2010)
- Trust (2010)
- Stone (2010)
- The Mechanic (2011)
- The Son of No One (2011)
- Drive Angry (2011)
- Elephant White (2011)
- Trespass (2011)
- Stolen (2012)
- Playing for Keeps (2012)
- Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013)
- Straight A's (2013)
- Lovelace (2013)
- Spiders (2013)
- Olympus Has Fallen (2013)
- The Big Wedding (2013)
- As I Lay Dying (2013)
- Killing Season (2013)
- Ninja: Shadow of a Tear (2013)
- Homefront (2013)
- The Legend of Hercules (2014)
- Stonehearst Asylum (2014)
- The Humbling (2014)
- Good People (2014)
- Before I Go to Sleep (2014)
- London Has Fallen (2016)
- Criminal (2016)
- Boyka: Undisputed (2017)
- The Hitman's Bodyguard (2017)
- Leatherface (2017)
- Expend4bles (2023)
Producer
- Gor (1987)
- Highwaymen (2004)
- The Black Dahlia (2006)
- The Wicker Man (2006)
- Rambo (2008)
- The Expendables (2010)
- Conan the Barbarian (2011)
- The Paperboy (2012)
- The Expendables 2 (2012)
- The Iceman (2012)
- The Expendables 3 (2014)
- 211 (2018)
- Rambo: Last Blood (2019)
References
- ^ a b c d Frankel, Guy (April 5, 2012). Nofech-Mozes, Miriam (ed.). בלתי מנוצח [Undefeated]. Pnai Plus (in Hebrew) (1181). ניצן בע"מ: 64–70.
לרנר לא אוהב להתראיין, במיוחד לא כאן, בישראל, המדינה שבה גדל והתחיל את הקריירה שלו. הוא מרגיש שכאן תמיד מותחים עליו ביקורת." "לרנר נולד בחיפה ב-1947 (בן 64 כיום), גדל בשדרות הציונות, וב-1966 התגייס לצנחנים, 'ציוני אמיתי, פטריוט', הוא מגדיר את עצמו, ומספר שרצה 'לתת למדינה'. 'אחרי מלחמת ששת הימים, שעבורי היתה מלחמת שלושת הימים, השתתפתי בקרב על רפיח ותוך שלושה ימים הגענו לתעלה'." "'מראשית דרכי, הקטע האהוב והמספק ביותר מבחינתי היה להוריד את התריס הקטן של קופת מוכר הכרטיסים בקולנוע בן יהודה (שבו עבד בצעירותו – ג.פ.), זה היה הסימן שכל הכרטיסים נמכרו'.
- ^ a b c d Galloway, Stephen (July 17, 2011). "Producer Avi Lerner: The Most Unlikely Movie Mogul". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 14, 2012.
- ^ Pedersen, Erik (May 3, 2017). "Millennium Films & Nu Image Hit With Sexual Harassment And Gender-Bias Suit; "All Lies," Avi Lerner Says". Deadline. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
- ^ "Terry Crews Testifies Before Senate On Sexual Assault, Says He Won't Be In 'Expendables 4' After Producer Threatened "Trouble"". June 26, 2016.
- ^ "De Niro, Pacino Team for Indie Movie". IMDb. Archived from the original on May 20, 2007.
External links
- Avi Lerner at IMDb
- Nu Image / Millennium Films Archived 2011-08-09 at the Wayback Machine
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