The first film he produced starred Robert Downey Jr. and James Spader.
Subsequent projects, such as “Fried Green Tomatoes” and “When a Man Loves a Woman,” garnered a wealth of critical acclaim.
He’s made a name for himself producing family films, such as “The Mighty Ducks,” “George of the Jungle” and “Charlotte’s Web.”
And he lives right down the road in Winston-Salem.
Jordan Kerner has held the position of dean of the UNC School of the Arts since 2007, allowing him to pass on the knowledge he has acquired in his decades-long career to a new generation of filmmakers.
His latest project is a live-action/CGI adaptation of “The Smurfs,” which hits theaters nationwide on July 29.
In the film, the Smurfs are chased out of their village by the villain Gargamel and wind up in New York City. They befriend a young married couple who help them adjust to big city life as they try to find their way home.
Production began in New York in spring 2010, and Kerner brought a few lucky UNCSA students along for the ride.
“We wanted to give them a full view of what it’s like to produce a very large motion picture,” Kerner said.
UNCSA students were able to shadow professionals in their chosen fields on set for two weeks, one of the perks of having a dean who is a working Hollywood producer.
“It opens up many doors of opportunity for us, in addition to helping UNCSA become even more recognized and prominent on the film industry’s radar,” said Josh Dove, a recent UNCSA graduate and producing intern on “The Smurfs.”
Hooked by film
As a producer, Kerner oversees the production of a film from start to finish, from script development and hiring crew to financing and problem solving to juggling shooting schedules, post-production demands and distribution.
He wasn’t always certain film would be his ideal career path.
He started out as a pre-med student at Stanford University. Film had never even crossed his mind until he took an elective film and television course his sophomore year and delved into the world of cinematic storytelling.
He credits his teacher, former CBS News executive Jules Dundes, with igniting his passion for film and exposing him to the power of a story’s message.
“I was fascinated,” Kerner said. “My brain was taken away into an entirely new world.”
Kerner changed his major to film and political science and became lost in films such as “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “Roots,” movies that addressed issues of politics, community and morality without being overly preachy.
After graduating in 1972, Kerner went on to study business and law, skills he said he felt would serve him well as a producer, before working in entertainment full time.
He held positions at CBS and NBC before becoming the head of primetime dramatic programming at ABC.
In 1986, he formed The Avnet/Kerner Company, an independent production company, with his friend, director Jon Avnet.
Their first film together, “Less Than Zero,” starred Robert Downey Jr. and James Spader and revolved around the dangers of drug addiction.
“We made a film where the character that you love the most in the movie is the most self-destructive,” Kerner said. “Rather than just saying, 'drugs are bad,’ we tried to have people become sympathetic to the leading character and get under his skin.”
Developing 'The Smurfs’
Throughout production of the company’s successful roster of films, including “Up Close and Personal” and the three “Mighty Ducks” films, Kerner became an avid fan of “The Smurfs.” He read the comics by Belgian artist Peyo and felt the story could connect with children and adults on the big screen.
“The Smurfs are really about family and the importance of community,” Kerner said. “We wanted to put those kinds of thoughts and feelings Peyo put into his books into the movie.”
Around the time “George of the Jungle” was released in 1997 , Kerner sent a letter to Peyo’s daughter expressing his interest in adapting “The Smurfs” into a film. Peyo died of a heart attack in 1992 , so his family held the rights to the characters and stories.
“They said they weren’t interested,” Kerner said, “so being a good producer, I wrote them every year.”
In 2002 , Kerner sent Peyo’s family a draft of his script for “Charlotte’s Web,” hoping to show them how seriously he took E.B. White’s work. Kerner promised them he would be just as dedicated to Peyo’s work. The family ultimately agreed.
By that time, The Avnet/Kerner Company had split into two companies, The Kerner Entertainment Company and Brooklyn Films.
Kerner wanted to make “The Smurfs” part live action, part animation, but he said Paramount Pictures, where the film was in development, wanted an entirely CGI adaptation. When a new studio head took over Paramount, the project was shelved for five years.
The success of the live action/CGI hybrid “Alvin and the Chipmunks” in 2007 sparked interest in a Smurfs movie. As soon as the studios learned Kerner held the rights, the calls started pouring in.
Kerner found the vision of Sony Pictures Entertainment’s chairman and chief executive officer Michael Lynton and co-chairwoman Amy Pascal was in step with his perspective, and the film went into production.
Earlier that year, Kerner had accepted the position of dean of the School of Filmmaking at UNCSA, drawn by Chancellor John Mauceri’s passion for housing working faculty that could offer students real-world experience. Kerner now lives in Winston-Salem with his wife and three daughters and continues to travel for his producing work.
“It’s too hard for me to keep separate lives,” he said. “I like to be able to educate students in a real-life fashion. When I’m not the dean, I’m the producer.”
Giving hands-on experience
Kerner has been exposing the UNCSA filmmaking students to the production process since he accepted the position of dean. Thanks to Skype, students have been able to observe writer’s meetings in Los Angeles. But “The Smurfs” presented the chance for a more hands-on experience.
Around the time filming began in spring 2010, Kerner announced UNCSA would schedule two-week internship slots on the “Smurfs” set throughout the course of production.
“I literally hounded our internship coordinator every single day to make sure that I was put on the list,” Dove said. “I even withdrew from a class because it wouldn’t let me take time off for the internship.”
The UNCSA students didn’t engage in the standard internship tasks of fetching coffee or making copies. They followed a professional in their discipline — directing, producing, cinematography, editing and production design — and observed how they worked.
As a producing intern, Dove met with studio executives, attended writer’s meetings and interacted with the cast, which includes Neil Patrick Harris, Jayma Mays, Sofia Vergara and Hank Azaria.
“It’s almost surreal to walk onto a Hollywood movie set and feel like you just stepped onto your friend’s UNCSA thesis film,” Dove said. “It was encouraging confirmation that what we learn and put ourselves through at school is dead-on accurate to the real world.”
Kerner is gearing up for the film’s premieres in New York and Brussels.
With about seven active projects after “The Smurfs” and another seven or eight in the early stages of development, Kerner said he hoped to have an abundance of opportunities for future students to complete similar internships.
“They could never get this kind of experience any other way,” Kerner said. “They got an education they could never have dreamed of.”
Contact Alexa Milan at amilan87@gmail.com
