An A-list comeback: Renner launches event in Las Vegas
It’s no ordinary day when you talk to an A-list actor about how being run over by a snowplow helped inspire him to host a charity event on the Strip.
But Jeremy Renner is no ordinary person.
The “Avengers” star survived that horrific accident near his Reno home on New Year’s Day 2023 to shuffle priorities in his life and career. Focusing on giving back, Renner is hosting the RennerVation Foundation “Heroes Fore Kids” charity weekend Saturday and Sunday in Las Vegas.
The weekend includes a celebrity golf and poker tournament, and an all-star concert at 6:30 p.m. (doors) Sunday at Brooklyn Bowl. Robin Zander of Cheap Trick, Gavin Rossdale of Bush, Robin Thicke (“Blurred Lines”), Richard Page of Mr. Mister, Rob Base (“It Takes Two) and Skip Martin (formerly of Kool & The Gang) are all scheduled to appear. (Go to rennervationfoundation.org for information about the event and charity.)
The film shot
Outside of his philanthropic endeavors, Renner has made news in Las Vegas as he has been at the forefront of the effort to advance the film industry statewide in Nevada. “The Hurt Locker” actor has represented Northern Nevada interests, while Mark Wahlberg has promoted Southern Nevada as a potential film mecca.
This year, Warner Bros., Discovery and Sony Entertainment with Howard Hughes Corp., have presented plans to develop film and television studio projects in Southern Nevada. An economic study says such a project could create upwards of 16,000 jobs in the region.
Wahlberg and Renner both spoke during the 2023 legislative session to support Senate Bill 496, which would have provided nearly $200 million in film infrastructure tax credits over two decades.
The bill never made it to a vote. But Renner says of the film industry coming to the state, “I think it needs to happen, and will happen.”
“I think it is getting more traction,” Renner continued in a phone chat last week. “I think it will happen all over Nevada, and it’s super exciting.” Asked if he would appear again before the Legislature, the actor said, “I have done that, but I haven’t seen any bill yet. But I’m in huge, huge support of getting the film industry tax credits here to be very competitive. We could have the best entertainment hub in the country, if not the world, for that matter.
“I’m down for it, I’m into it, absolutely.”
The Foundation’s foundation
RennerVation Foundation serves children in foster care and at-risk youth. The organization provides kids a safe haven to grow, with opportunities to develop skills and confidence. More than 100 children have experienced the outdoors in Lake Tahoe, near Renner’s home.
Many of those kids have picked up a musical instrument for the first time.
RennerVation was founded 10 months ago, about a year after Renner’s life-changing, and nearly life-ending, accident in Tahoe. Renner was caught under a snowcat while saving his nephew from being run over by the 14,000-pound piece of equipment. He suffered 38 broken bones and temporarily lost an eye in the accident.
The “Hawkeye” actor told talk-show host Jimmy Fallon five months after the accident that he was conscious the entire time as he fought to breathe.
“It’s like, you see your eye with your other eye because my eyeball was out,” Renner said. “So you have weird things that go through your head like, ‘Well, I guess that’s real, but like I’ll worry about that later,’ ” Renner said. “And I look at my legs. They were all twisted up, and I’ll worry about that later because I’ve got to worry about breathing first, right?”
Renner said the event sharpened his interest in philanthropic work. The foundation is the next step from Renner’s four-episode “RennerVations” series on Disney.
“I don’t know if it’s what comes first, the chicken or the egg, but this was kind of already being cooked up, starting with the ‘RennerVations’ series,” Renner said, referring to the broadcasts that showed him re-imagining purpose-built vehicles. “But the accident propelled me in this direction. I took some moments to kind of figure out where I wanted to go in my life. Doing this for the kids and for the community is really important to me.”
Renner drew inspiration from his immediate family and inner circle to move forward the project. His sister Kym Renner works for Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services. One of his best friends, Shana Rogers, lives in Las Vegas and is ReinnerVation Foundation’s vice-president.
“To be honest with you, why this became a reality is because of the women in my life,” Renner said. “These are all people helping me run the foundation. They’re the ones who put me in front of foster youth from the beginning of this thing.”
Check the ‘cart girl’
Renner says he’s better as a host than a charity-event producer.
“A lot of this is outside my wheelhouse,” the actor said. “I usually don’t partake in this kind of stuff, I’m usually just focused on activities for the kids, right? This is something that’s more of a fundraiser for adults and supporters of the foundation. But I’m just a big kid, myself.”
For instance, Renner is not a golfer. But he’s found a way to participate in the golf tournament.
“I’ll be the cart girl, I guess,” the 53-year-old film star said. “I’ll go around and just entertain people as they golf. We’ll have some fun with it.”
Cool Hang Alert
Blake Lewis, runner-up on the sixth season of “American Idol,” plays Nowhere lounge at Fontainebleau from 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Lewis is an adept vocalist and beatboxer. During his run on “Idol” in 2007, Lewis’s beatbox and scat skills propelled him to the show’s finale, where he lost to Jordin Sparks. Not bad. Go to fontainebleaulasvegas.com for intel.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.