"With the screenplay being taken care of by Norman Wexler, producer Robert Stigwood hired John Guilbert Avildsen (professionally known as John G. Avildsen) to direct the film. Born in 1935 in Oak Park, Illinois, Avildsen's father worked as a mechanic and spent his downtime making movies with his 16mm Bell & Howell Filmo camera. His English mother was an actor from Liverpool who taught Avildsen the importance of paying attention to the audience."
"Working at an ad agency (with Wexler for a time) in the early 1960s, Avildsen made industrial films for clients as diverse as IBM and Jeep, learning to direct and edit his work quickly. This became his "film school" and his first pictures were "nudies" or "sexploitation" with titles like "Turn on to Love" and "Guess What We Learned in School Today." They were cheesy but he gained enough experience to work for Cannon Films and bring his playwright friend for the ride."
Norman Wexler prepared the screenplay and producer Robert Stigwood selected John G. Avildsen to direct Saturday Night Fever. Avildsen was born in 1935 in Oak Park, Illinois; his father made 16mm films and his English mother, an actor, emphasized audience awareness. Avildsen learned filmmaking at an advertising agency in the early 1960s, producing industrial films for clients such as IBM and Jeep, which functioned as practical film school. His early features included nudies and sexploitation titles like Turn on to Love and Guess What We Learned in School Today, which developed his skills and led to work with Cannon Films. Despite a 5'5" stature, Avildsen projected strong confidence and attracted actors such as Jack Lemmon, who sought him for Save the Tiger.
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