Avi Arad
Arad at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con
Born1948 (age 75–76)
Ramat Gan, Israel
Nationality
  • Israeli
  • American
Occupations
  • Film producer
  • studio executive
Years active1990–present
SpouseJoyce Arad
Children3

Avi Arad (/ˈɑːvi ˈɑːrɑːd/; Hebrew: אבי ארד; born 1948[1]) is an Israeli-American film producer who became the CEO of the company Toy Biz in the 1990s and soon afterward became the chief creative officer of Marvel Entertainment, and the chairman, CEO, and founder of Marvel Studios.[2] Since then, he has produced a wide array of live-action, animated, and television comic book adaptations including Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, the 2018 Academy Award winner for Best Animated Feature.

Early life

Arad was born in 1948 in Ramat Gan, Israel, to a Jewish family. The son of Holocaust survivors from Poland, he grew up reading Superman and Spider-Man comics translated into Hebrew.[3] In 1965, he was conscripted as a soldier into the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). He fought and was wounded in the 1967 Six-Day War, and spent 15 days recuperating. Arad finished his military service in 1968.[3]

In 1970, Arad moved to the United States and enrolled at Hofstra University to study industrial management. He worked as a truck driver and as a Hebrew teacher to put himself through college, and graduated with a BBA in 1972.[3][4]

Career

Marvel Comics

Along with Israeli-American Toy Biz co-owner Isaac Perlmutter, Avi Arad came into conflict with Carl Icahn and Ron Perelman over control of Marvel Comics in the wake of its 1996 bankruptcy. In the end, Arad and Perlmutter came out on top, with Toy Biz taking over Marvel Comics in a complicated deal that included obtaining the rights to Spider-Man and other superheroes that Marvel had sold earlier. He was involved in Marvel's emergence from bankruptcy and the expansion of the company's profile through licensing and movies.

Arad Productions

Logo used since 2007

On May 31, 2006, Arad resigned his various Marvel positions, including his leadership of Marvel Studios, to form his own production company, Arad Productions (also known as Arad Animation), a company that primarily produces Marvel-licensed films separate from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.[2] His first non-Marvel film was 2007's Bratz. Further ventures include manga adaptation Ghost in the Shell; an adaptation of Brandon Mull's best-seller teenage fantasy Fablehaven (which died in production); an adaptation of James Patterson's award-winning teenage novel Maximum Ride; and adaptations of video game properties Uncharted,[5] Infamous,[6] Metal Gear Solid,[7] and The Legend of Zelda.[8]

Production I.G

On August 25, 2010, it was announced that Arad was given a chair with the American branch of animation studio Production I.G in Los Angeles, California.[9]

Filmography

Feature films

Producer

Executive producer

Direct-to-video

Year Title Executive
Producer 		Writer
2006 Ultimate Avengers: The Movie Yes No
Ultimate Avengers 2: Rise of the Panther Yes No
2007 The Invincible Iron Man Yes Story
Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme Yes No

Television

Year Title Executive
Producer 		Creator Notes
1992 King Arthur and the Knights of Justice Yes No
1993–1994 Double Dragon Yes No
1993 The Bots Master Yes No
1994 Iron Man Yes No
Fantastic Four Yes No
1994–1995 Spider-Man Yes No Also story writer of episode "The Alien Costume, Part 1"
1996–1997 The Incredible Hulk Yes No
1996 Generation X Yes No TV pilot
1998 Silver Surfer Yes No
Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Yes No TV movie
1999–2001 Spider-Man Unlimited Yes Developer
1999–2000 The Avengers: United They Stand Yes No
2000–2003 X-Men: Evolution Yes No Also story writer of episode "Strategy X"
2001 Mutant X Yes Yes Also creator
2003 Spider-Man: The New Animated Series Yes No
2006 Blade: The Series Yes No
Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes Yes No Also story writer of episode "Molehattan"
2008 Iron Man: Armored Adventures Yes No
The Spectacular Spider-Man Yes No Episode "Survival of the Fittest"
2009 Wolverine and the X-Men Yes No
2013 Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures Yes Developer
2016–2018 Kong: King of the Apes Yes Developer
2017–2018 Tarzan and Jane Yes Developer
2017–2018 Super Monsters Yes Yes

References

  1. ^ Hoffman, Jordan (June 13, 2012). "Is Spider-Man Jewish?". Times of Israel. Archived from the original on January 14, 2018. Retrieved February 17, 2019. Avi Arad, born in Ramat Gan in 1948, founded and led Marvel Studios and recently produced for that studio the megasmash "The Avengers."
  2. ^ a b "Marvel Announces New Independent Producer Deal with Avi Arad" Archived August 24, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, May 31, 2006 press release, via Ain't It Cool News
  3. ^ a b c Bowles, Scott (May 6, 2003). "Marvel's chief: A force outside, 'a kid inside'". USA Today. Los Angeles: Gannett Co. Inc. Retrieved February 17, 2019. Arad grew up on Superman and Spider-Man comics translated into Hebrew.
  4. ^ "Hofstra University: Frank G. Zarb School of Business – Faces of Success: Avi Arad '72". Archived from the original on May 17, 2008.
  5. ^ Hennig, Amy (June 30, 2009). "Uncharted 2 Live Chat with Naughty Dog". The PlayStation Blog. Sony Computer Entertainment America. Retrieved July 30, 2009. We're really excited about the development of Uncharted: Drake's Fortune as a movie -- we've been working with Arad Productions for the last year-and-a-half or so
  6. ^ Fernandez, Jay A. (July 28, 2009). "Scribe takes on 'inFAMOUS'". The Hollywood Reporter. Nielsen Business Media. Archived from the original on January 9, 2010. Retrieved July 30, 2009. Avi Arad and Ari Arad will produce.
  7. ^ Wales, George (August 30, 2012). "'Metal Gear Solid' movie confirmed". Total Film. Future Publishing Limited. Archived from the original on September 2, 2012. Retrieved August 30, 2012.
  8. ^ Goslin, Austen (November 7, 2023). "Nintendo is making a live-action Legend of Zelda movie with Sony". Polygon.
  9. ^ "Spider-Man Producer Avi Arad Becomes I.G. USA Chair". Anime News Network. Anime News Network. August 25, 2010. Archived from the original on August 27, 2010. Retrieved August 30, 2010.

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