Avi Arad

Avi Arad (/ˈɑːviˈɑːrɑːd/; Hebrew: אבי ארד; born August 1, 1948^[1][2]) is an Israeli-American studio executive and producer of film, television and animation. He became the CEO of Toy Biz in the 1990s, was the chief creative officer of Marvel Entertainment and is the founder, former chairman and former CEO of the latter's successor, Marvel Studios.^[3] He has produced and sometimes written a wide array of live-action, animated, and television comic book adaptations.

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.^[4] 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 months recuperating. Arad finished his military service in 1968.^[5]

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 from Hofstra's Frank G. Zarb School of Business in 1972.^[5][6]

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

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.^[3] His first non-Marvel film was 2007's Bratz. Further ventures include manga adaptation Ghost in the Shell; an adaptation of Brandon Mull's teenage fantasy Fablehaven (which died in production); an adaptation of James Patterson's teenage novel Maximum Ride; and adaptations of video game properties Uncharted,^[7] Infamous,^[8] Metal Gear Solid,^[9] and The Legend of Zelda.^[10]

Production I.G

In August 2010, it was announced that Arad was given a chair with the American branch of animation studio Production I.G in Los Angeles, California.^[11]

Israel–Palestine conflict

A self-described proud former member of the Israeli military, Arad has been a staunch supporter of Israel. In 2024, he denounced Democratic U.S. senator Chuck Schumer for criticizing Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's handling of the Gaza war, and stated his opposition to a ceasefire in Gaza.^[12]

Filmography

Feature films

Direct-to-video

Television

References

1. ^ Hoffman, Jordan (June 13, 2012). "Is Spider-Man Jewish?". Times of Israel. Archived January 14, 2018 at the Wayback Machine. 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. ^ "Avi Arad News & Biography - Empire". Empire Online. Archived June 20, 2022 at the Wayback Machine.
3. ^ "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
4. ^ Bowles, Scott (May 6, 2003). "Marvel's chief: A force outside, 'a kid inside'". USA Today. Los Angeles: Gannett Co. Inc. Archived March 4, 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 17, 2019. Arad grew up on Superman and Spider-Man comics translated into Hebrew.
5. ^ "usatoday30"
6. ^ "Hofstra University: Frank G. Zarb School of Business – Faces of Success: Avi Arad '72". Archived from the original on May 17, 2008.
7. ^ Hennig, Amy (June 30, 2009). "Uncharted 2 Live Chat with Naughty Dog". The PlayStation Blog. Sony Computer Entertainment America. Archived 2009-08-04 at the Wayback Machine. 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
8. ^ Fernandez, Jay A. (July 28, 2009). "Scribe takes on 'inFAMOUS'". The Hollywood Reporter. Nielsen Business Media. Archived January 9, 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 30, 2009. Avi Arad and Ari Arad will produce.
9. ^ Wales, George (August 30, 2012). "'Metal Gear Solid' movie confirmed". Total Film. Future Publishing Limited. Archived September 2, 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 30, 2012.
10. ^ Goslin, Austen (November 7, 2023). "Nintendo is making a live-action Legend of Zelda movie with Sony". Polygon
11. ^ "Spider-Man Producer Avi Arad Becomes I.G. USA Chair". Anime News Network. Anime News Network. August 25, 2010. Archived August 27, 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
12. ^ "Producer Avi Arad Denounces Chuck Schumer's Speech on Israel: 'It's Not Your War'"

External links

• Avi Arad at IMDb