View source for John G. Avildsen

==Career==
After starting out as an assistant director on films by [[Arthur Penn]] and [[Otto Preminger]] and acting as director of photography on the 1969 film, ''[[Out of It (1969 film)|Out of It]]'', Avildsen's early low-budget feature ''[[Joe (1970 film)|Joe]]'' (1970) received good notices for star [[Peter Boyle]] and was a big box-office hit grossing nearly $20 million on a $100,000 budget.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hoberman |first=J. |author-link=J. Hoberman |date=July 30, 2000 |title=FILM; Off the Hippies: 'Joe' and the Chaotic Summer of '70 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/07/30/movies/film-off-the-hippies-joe-and-the-chaotic-summer-of-70.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=June 16, 2017 |archive-date=February 17, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170217062736/http://www.nytimes.com/2000/07/30/movies/film-off-the-hippies-joe-and-the-chaotic-summer-of-70.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Avildsen followed this early success with the low-budget 1971 cult classic comedy film ''[[Cry Uncle!]]'' (released in the UK as ''Superdick'' and on video as ''American Oddballs''), a 1971 American film in the [[Troma Entertainment]] library that stars [[Allen Garfield]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Thompson |first=Howard |author-link=Howard Thompson (film critic) |date=August 18, 1971 |title=The Screen:'Cry Uncle' Combines Sex and Whodunit |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/08/18/archives/the-screencry-uncle-combines-sex-and-whodunit.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 16, 2017 |archive-date=June 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625031401/https://www.nytimes.com/1971/08/18/archives/the-screencry-uncle-combines-sex-and-whodunit.html |url-status=live }}</ref> This was followed by ''[[Save the Tiger]]'' (1973), a film nominated for three [[Academy Awards]], winning [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]] for star [[Jack Lemmon]] at the [[55th Academy Awards]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Canby |first=Vincent |author-link=Vincent Canby |date=February 15, 1973 |title=Screen: 'Save the Tiger':Lemmon Battles Middle Age at Tower East The Cast |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/02/15/archives/screen-save-the-tigerlemmon-battles-middle-age-at-tower-east-the.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 16, 2017 |archive-date=June 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200610200912/https://www.nytimes.com/1973/02/15/archives/screen-save-the-tigerlemmon-battles-middle-age-at-tower-east-the.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Avildsen's greatest success came with ''[[Rocky]]'' (1976), which he directed working in conjunction with writer and star [[Sylvester Stallone]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Powell |first1=Larry |last2=Garrett |first2=Tom |date=2013 |title=The Films of John G. Avildsen: Rocky, The Karate Kid and Other Underdogs |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8aNTAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA94 |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]] |page=94 |isbn=978-0-7864-6692-4 |access-date=2021-06-24 |archive-date=2021-06-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624214318/https://books.google.com/books?id=8aNTAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA94 |url-status=live }}</ref> The film was a major critical and commercial success, becoming the [[1976 in film|highest-grossing film of 1976]] and garnering ten Academy Award nominations and winning three, including [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]] and [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]] for Avildsen at the [[49th Academy Awards]].{{sfn|Powell|Garrett|2013|pp=83–84}} He later returned to direct what was then expected to be the series' final installment, ''[[Rocky V]]'' (1990).{{sfn|Powell|Garrett|2013|pp=186–192}}

Avildsen directed the mystery-drama ''[[The Formula (1980 film)|The Formula]]'' (1980), starring [[Marlon Brando]] and [[George C. Scott]],<ref>{{cite news |last=Maslin |first=Janet |author-link=Janet Maslin |date=December 19, 1980 |title='The Formula' for Synthetic Oil |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1980/12/19/archives/the-formula-for-synthetic-oil.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 16, 2017 |archive-date=June 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625010152/https://www.nytimes.com/1980/12/19/archives/the-formula-for-synthetic-oil.html |url-status=live }}</ref> for which he was nominated for [[Razzie Award for Worst Director]] at the [[1st Golden Raspberry Awards]]. Avildsen's other films include ''[[Neighbors (1981 film)|Neighbors]]'' (1981), ''[[For Keeps (film)|For Keeps]]'' (1988), ''[[Lean on Me (film)|Lean on Me]]'' (1989), ''[[The Power of One (film)|The Power of One]]'' (1992), ''[[8 Seconds]]'' (1994),{{sfn|Powell|Garrett|2013|pp=116, 161, 168, 195, 202}} and the first three ''[[The Karate Kid (franchise)|The Karate Kid]]'' films.{{sfn|Powell|Garrett|2013|pp=131, 143, 179}}

Avildsen was the original director for both ''[[Serpico]]'' (1973) and ''[[Saturday Night Fever]]'' (1977), but was fired over disputes with, respectively, producers [[Martin Bregman]] and [[Robert Stigwood]].{{sfn|Powell|Garrett|2013|pp=53, 89–90}}  Although his job directing ''Serpico'' was terminated, Avildsen became long time friends with the film's real life subject [[Frank Serpico]], even sharing a property with him on [[Long Island]], New York during the early 1980s.<ref>{{cite AV media |author=D'Ambrosio, Antonino |year=2017 |title=Frank Serpico |type=Documentary |publisher=Gigrantic Pictures, La Lutta NMC |id=IDFC9497}}</ref> His last film was ''[[Inferno (1999 film)|Inferno]]'' (1999), starring [[Jean-Claude Van Damme]].{{sfn|Powell|Garrett|2013|p=213}}

A documentary on the life, career and films of Avildsen was released in August 2017, approximately two months after his death. ''John G. Avildsen: King of the Underdogs'' (2017), directed and produced by [[Derek Wayne Johnson]],<ref>{{cite news |last=Drown |first=Michelle |date=January 26, 2017 |title=John Avildsen: King of the Underdogs |url=https://www.independent.com/2017/01/26/john-avildsen-king-underdogs/ |work=[[Santa Barbara Independent]] |access-date=June 16, 2017 |archive-date=June 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626194010/https://www.independent.com/2017/01/26/john-avildsen-king-underdogs/ |url-status=live }}</ref> features interviews with Sylvester Stallone, [[Ralph Macchio]], Jean-Claude Van Damme, [[Martin Scorsese]], [[Jerry Weintraub]], and [[Burt Reynolds]], among others.<ref>{{cite news |last=Farber |first=Stephen |date=February 8, 2017 |title='John G. Avildsen: King of the Underdogs': Film Review {{!}} Santa Barbara 2017 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/john-g-avildsen-king-underdogs-review-973174/ |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |access-date=June 16, 2017 |archive-date=September 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230902050048/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/john-g-avildsen-king-underdogs-review-973174/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The documentary is a companion to the book ''The Films of John G. Avildsen: Rocky, The Karate Kid, and other Underdogs'', written by Larry Powell and Tom Garrett.{{sfn|Powell|Garrett|2013|p=}}