{"id":32507,"date":"2017-06-17T05:49:24","date_gmt":"2017-06-17T05:49:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=32507"},"modified":"2017-06-17T05:49:24","modified_gmt":"2017-06-17T05:49:24","slug":"john-avildsen-director-of-rocky-and-the-karate-kid-dies-at-81","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/movies\/john-avildsen-director-of-rocky-and-the-karate-kid-dies-at-81.html","title":{"rendered":"John Avildsen, Director of Rocky and The Karate Kid, Dies at 81"},"content":{"rendered":"

John Avildsen, Director of Rocky and The Karate Kid, Dies at 81<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

John G. Avildsen, who as the director of \u201cRocky\u201d and \u201cThe Karate Kid\u201d created pop culture touchstones by telling stories of down-and-out characters finding triumph, died on Friday in Los Angeles. He was 81.<\/span><\/p>\n

Anthony Avildsen, Mr. Avildsen\u2019s son, said the cause of death was pancreatic cancer, according to The Associated Press.<\/span><\/p>\n

Last year, Mr. Avildsen, who had steadily made films for nearly a half century, told The Baltimore Sun that he was initially hesitant about taking on \u201cRocky\u201d \u2014 a story about the rise of Rocky Balboa, a working-class boxer with a big heart from South Philadelphia. But the director was eventually won over by its character study and love story, saying \u201cI was charmed by it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI guess what \u2018Rocky\u2019 did was give a lot of people hope, and there was never a better feeling than doing that,\u201d Mr. Avildsen said after his film earned him the Academy Award for best director in 1977. \u201cAnd I had a lot of people who gave me things. Sylvester Stallone gave me his guts and his heart and his best shot.\u201d Mr. Stallone, who also wrote the film, became a star thanks to the role.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Invention That Shot Rocky Up Those Steps DEC. 16, 2016<\/span>
\nOne of Mr. Avildsen\u2019s earlier films, \u201cSave the Tiger,\u201d a 1973 drama, earned Jack Lemmon the Oscar for best actor. And Mr. Avildsen\u2019s 1982 short documentary \u201cTraveling Hopefully\u201d was nominated for an Academy Award.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Karate Kid,\u201d which had its premiere in 1984, is the story of a teenager who outwits bullies and becomes a karate champion with the help of his martial arts mentor. Like \u201cRocky,\u201d it culminates in an all-out fight scene.<\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, when Mr. Avildsen first read the script for \u201cThe Karate Kid,\u201d he dubbed it \u201cThe KaRocky Kid,\u201d according to The New York Times, because of its similarities to \u201cRocky.\u201d Mr. Avildsen went on to direct the second and third \u201cKarate Kid\u201d movies.<\/span><\/p>\n

The acclaimed 1989 film \u201cLean on Me\u201d was Mr. Avildsen\u2019s first film based on a real person. It was about Joe Clark, a New Jersey high school principal who worked to bring order and educational reform to his school.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy thoughts were, whether they\u2019re real or fictional, you\u2019ve got to keep the people awake in the theater and try to make the characters as dramatic and effective as possible,\u201d he told The New York Times in 1989.<\/span><\/p>\n

But, he said, he wished that movie had been an even bigger hit.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI wish more white people would go see it,\u201d he said. \u201cI think it\u2019s as successful as it is because people find the character an admirable one, and they\u2019re pulling for him. They know that his intentions are correct and what he wants, he wants with great passion.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

John Guilbert Avildsen was born on Dec. 21, 1935, in Oak Park, Ill. He started his ascent in the film industry working with directors like Arthur Penn, on \u201cMickey One\u201d (1965), and Otto Preminger, on \u201cHurry Sundown\u201d (1967).<\/span><\/p>\n

Other films Mr. Avildsen directed included \u201cJoe\u201d (1970), \u201cFor Keeps\u201d (1988) and \u201cRocky V\u201d (1990).<\/span><\/p>\n

The title of a new documentary about Mr. Avildsen tips its hat to his reputation for telling rags-to-riches tales. Highlighting interviews with Mr. Stallone, the director Martin Scorsese and the \u201cKarate Kid\u201d star Ralph Macchio, it\u2019s called: \u201cJohn G. Avildsen: King of the Underdogs.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-\u00a0https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/06\/16\/movies\/john-avildsen-dead-director-rocky-karate-kid.html<\/span><\/p>\n

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