- Born
- Birth nameAvinoam Lerner
- Height6′ 2″ (1.88 m)
- Avi Lerner is the Chairman and founder of Nu Image, Inc., Millennium Films and all related companies. With more than 350 films to his credit, he is one of the most experienced, prolific and successful independent producers of our time.
Born and raised in Haifa, Israel, Lerner began as manager of Israel's first drive-in cinema. In 1979, Lerner anticipated the explosion of home video rental, which led to his pioneering the largest specialized video distribution company in Israel and becoming a partner in the country's largest theatrical distribution company.
In 1984, he executive produced the remake of King Solomon's Mines. He then sold his Israeli company and relocated to Johannesburg, South Africa, where he founded the Nu Metro Entertainment Group. The company's interests grew to include owned-and-operated theaters, a video distribution division representing top studios and independent companies, and a production arm that made over 60 features distributed worldwide by major studios. Lerner eventually sold Nu Metro to join MGM/United Artists.
In 1992, he moved to Los Angeles and opened Nu Image, Inc., focusing on production and distribution for the home entertainment market. In 1996, he launched Millennium Films, which produces theatrical motion pictures.
Under the Millennium Films label, Lerner has produced such films as Expendables 1, 2, and 3, Rambo IV, Olympus Has Fallen, London Has Fallen, Brooklyn's Finest, and The Mechanic.
- IMDb mini biography by: Millennium Media Official Site Bio
- Children
- RelativesDanny Lerner(Sibling)
- Has a longstanding feud with Steven Seagal going back to the troubled production of Today You Die (2005). When Seagal was approached for a role in the first Expendables film, he declined because of Lerner's involvement despite liking the script and the cast.
- Best known as a producer of low-budget action films.
- Frugal Reputation: He is known for extreme cost-saving measures, once suggesting that an Oscar-winning star like Diane Keaton should drive herself to set in a budget rental car to save money.
- Military Background: Before Hollywood, Lerner was a paratrooper in the Israeli military. He fought in the 1967 Six-Day War, participating in the battle for Rafah, and served as a reservist in the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
- A "Favorite Mistake": While his career is built on profitable action films, he considers the 2001 Holocaust drama The Grey Zone his "favorite mistake"-it was the only film he and his partners made knowing beforehand it would not make any money.
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