Filmmaker, producer, and screenwriter Jon Avnet originally studied business. While attending the American Film Institute, he won a directing fellowship. He had his first success as a producer though, when he and his partners Steve Tisch and Jordan Kerner began producing films such as Risky Business (1983) and Fried Green Tomatoes (1992), the second unit filming of which he directed. In addition to features, Avnet has also produced television shows, most notably the harrowing Farrah Fawcett vehicle, The Burning Bed (1984). More recently, Avnet directed The War (1994) starring Kevin Costner and Elijah Wood.