Avi Lerner is an Isreali-born film producer, primarily involved with American action movies. General information Encarta Encyclopedia entry on Israel BBC News Country Profile - Israel and Palestinian Territories Jewish Virtual Library Israel articles, including information on history, economics, and military issues. ... Action movies usually involve a fairly straightforward story of good guys versus bad guys, where most disputes are resolved by using physical force. ...

Lerner, who was born in Haifa originally worked in movie theaters in Tel Aviv, but soon re-located to South Africa, where he produced several films in that country and also owned a chain of movie theaters there until he re-located once again to Los Angeles in the early 1990s. Nickname: Red Haifa Location Haifa Bay from atop Mt. ... Tel-Aviv was founded on empty dunes north of the existing city of Jaffa. ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ...

Lerner founded two production companies, Nu Image and Millennium Films, alongside producers Trevor Short, Danny Dimbort, and Danny Lerner and very often both companies are involved with the films he produces. The companies have a varied output, though the vast majroity is action films. In the case of action films, many of the ones he produces are filmed in Bulgaria, where he owns a studio.

Action Stars

Lerner appeared to have had a relationship with several action stars who were at the height of their fame from the late 1980s-1990s, including Jean-Claude Van Damme, Steven Seagal, Wesley Snipes, Dolph Lundgren, and to a limited degree, Chuck Norris. In the early 2000s, Lerner produced many films starring these men, more often than not being shot on low budgets and being released direct-to-video in hopes of making a quick profit. The movies starring these people are often criticized for being of low-quality, and some fans feel they damage these stars' careers and legacies. The action stars may have felt the same way, as as of 2006, Lundgren is the only one who has not severed ties with Lerner and his companies, although Lerner will temporarily work with Van Damme again, producing Til Death. The 1980s decade refers to the years from 1980 to 1989, inclusive, informally sometimes including the years 1979, 1990 and 1991. ... See also 1990s, the band The 1990s decade refers to the years from 1990 to 1999, inclusive, sometimes informally including popular culture from 2000 and 2001. ... Jean Claude Van Damme (born October 18, 1960), born Jean-Claude Camille Fran ois Van Varenberg, is a Belgian-born action movie actor whos most known for martial arts films. ... Steven Seagal (born April 10, 1951 in Lansing, Michigan) is an American action movie actor, producer, and occasional writer and director. ... Wesley Snipes as Blade Wesley Trent Snipes (born July 31, 1962, in Orlando, Florida) is an American actor, martial artist and producer. ... Dolph Lundgren: 6 ft 5 in, 240 lb. ... Chuck Norris. ... A film that is released direct-to-video (also straight-to-video) is one which has been released to the public on home video formats first rather than first being released in movie theaters. ... 2006 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Information Til Death is the first full-lenght studio album by the American band The Undead, and the first release since a 3 song cassette from 1995. ...

Lerner will soon be working with yet another action star, Sylvester Stallone. According to Lerner's IMDb profile, he will be producing Rambo IV (Stallone starring and directing) and Poe (Stallone directing). Rambo IV is an upcoming film, starring Sylvester Stallone, slated for release in 2007. ... Poe may refer to: People named Poe Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849), a famous American writer Poe (born 1968), the stage name of rock singer-songwriter Ann Danielewski John Poe (fl. ...

Quality

As mentioned above, the quality of Lerner's movies have been called into question. In addition to the direct-to-video action movies, he also produces several "sequels" to theatrical films that feature none of the original cast members and are also released DTV. He has also produced films that were intended to be released theatrically, but whose releases were cancelled and instead premiered on DVD. An example of this is End Game, starring Cuba Gooding Jr. and James Woods, which would've been released to theaters in September 2005, but was pulled, and appeared on DVD in March 2006. Another example is Edison, starring Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, and Justin Timberlake, which saw theatrical release in much of the world but will only be released on DVD in America in July 2006, possibly due to poor test screenings. In chess, the endgame (or end game or ending) refers to the stage of the game when there are few pieces left on the board. ... Cuba Gooding Jr. ... James Woods James Howard Woods (born April 18, 1947) is an Oscar-nominated American actor. ... Edison Force is a 2005 movie written and directed by David J. Burke. ...

In the last couple years, however, Lerner and his companies have made an effort to produce a stronger output of theatrical films with larger budgets. As of September 2006, 2006 has been his most successful year as far as putting out theatrical films in America, being an executive producer on 16 Blocks, The Black Dahlia, and The Wicker Man 16 Blocks is a 2006 film directed by Richard Donner and released by Warner Bros. ... The Black Dahlia is an upcoming 2006 film directed by Brian De Palma. ... The Wicker Man is an American version of the cult 1973 British thriller of the same name. ...

Nonetheless, Lerner seems to have forged a business model of producing mostly low-budget films released straight-to-video, as evidenced by his IMDb filmography.

External links

• IMDb profile
• An article largely critical of Lerner