Interview

Avnet unafraid of 'Red Corner' controversy

By Scott Foundas
Film Editor

"Red Corner," the new Richard Gere thriller about an American entertainment lawyer on trial for his life in communist China, is the kind of movie likely to ruffle more than its share of political feathers, both domestically and abroad. In fact, so strong is the movie's sense of being trapped in a oppressive state where the native tongue and customs are incomprehensible to you, it's tough to imagine anyone's international sensibilities not being provoked by director Jon Avnet's taut narrative. Avnet, though, isn't really afraid or unsettled by the possibility of controversy. In fact, the director looks distinctly relaxed and content as he enters a Beverly Hills hotel room to talk about his new film and the seemingly impossible task of making it in the first place.
After all, subject matter aside, the mere presence of persona non grata Gere eliminated the possibility of shooting in China before it was even an option. So, without hardly a second thought, Avnet proceeded to enlist legendary production designer (and former Paramount Pictures head) Richard Sylbert to design a 7 1/2-acre replica of suburban Beijing, to be constructed on the vacant lot in California's Playa Del Rey that will soon be home to the Dreamworks SKG studio.
In addition, however, Avnet traveled to China himself and, with the aid of a guerrilla crew, shot footage and still photos of Beijing landmarks that were subsequently incorporated into the seamless visual effects and matte shots that give "Red Corner" its authentic feel, and which draw upon the cutting-edge of heretofore untested special effects technology.
"What I did first is I went to Beijing," Avnet said. "I was not an expert on China and I wasn't an expert on the legal system. I'm still not an expert on China, but I'm pretty knowledgeable about the legal system now. I looked. I figured out what I wanted. I brought Dick (Sylbert) over there; we wandered the streets, we looked at the light and at the people and I said, `This is what I want.' Everybody was very skeptical of my plan, which was the combination of the shooting and the stills. No one had ever taken stills and made them into motion picture sets.
"Then Dick designed what I asked him, for the purposes I needed. Obviously, I needed the interior of the courtroom. So, I had to go to Beijing after reading everything I could read, and meeting with as many experts as I could hire to educate me, and then I met the actual people -- the judges and the lawyers, who put themselves at enormous risk to give me this information, to actually take me into a court and get me the execution footage, get me tapes of bookings and thousands and thousands of details.
"It was actually at that point that I realized this film somehow had grown to something bigger than I had initially imagined, that in some crazy way I was like a messenger for these people. Maybe those tanks that silenced 1.2 billion people in `89 (in) Tiananmen Square were looking for a way to say something."
Avnet has made that rare transition from being one of the most successful independent producers to emerge from Hollywood in the 1980s into a successful directing career that has included "Fried Green Tomatoes," "The War" and "Up Close and Personal." With producing partner Jordan Kerner, he was responsible for overseeing "Risky Business," "Less Than Zero," "Men Don't Leave," and "Miami Rhapsody," among many others while, in an even rarer combination, he has continued to produce such movies as this summer's "George of the Jungle" in conjunction with his busy directing career.
"I always wanted to direct films," Avnet said. "I'm too opinionated and too stubborn -- I've got too many bad qualities in my personality, I don't know how to describe them all, but anybody who's worked with me would do it for you gladly I'm sure -- to work for somebody -- I'd be fired. So I had to become my own boss and I had to be good enough so that the people who were paying for me ultimately were happy. I don't mean to be glib about it. I went to the American Film Institute and I tried to get a job (after graduating) working for these producers. I was going to direct and then they couldn't afford to give me the chance because the budgets were too big. I was so pissed off at them that I felt like Vivien Leigh in `Gone with the Wind' -- `I never want to be poor again!' I never wanted to have my fate in somebody else's hands, because I was so fucking high-strung and egotistical, and I got humbled. I went out on my own and I tried to produce, to get myself in a position where I would have control when I was going to direct. I'm just amazed at how well it worked out.
"(Producing) was an avenue to directing. The reason I continue to do it is because, in particular, I would like to work with more young filmmakers, because I like to see new ideas. I've been in partnership with Jordan for a number of years and he does most of the producing on the other films. He's the one who deserves the credit for `George of the Jungle' and `The Mighty Ducks.' He has really blossomed as a producer and it's in partnership with him that I'm able to do it, but I will continue to do both. I'd especially like to get some of these kids out of film school or wherever they come from and shepherd them along.
"I've become a worse producer since I became a director, because I'm less able to be tough on a director. I find myself having a conflict where I don't want to direct a film through the director, so I'm more generous, but in some ways I'm worse. I'm more of like a father figure, a protector, but as a producer you should get in there and mix it up with the director. I'm just not comfortable on that terrain anymore."