Ivan Reitman

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Ivan Reitman

Reitman at the Avalon Hotel on March 9, 2011 in Beverly Hills, California
Born (1946-10-27) October 27, 1946
Komárno, Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia)
Alma mater McMaster University
Occupation Film director, film producer
Years active 1968–present
Spouse(s) Geneviève Robert (1976–present; 3 children)

Ivan Reitman, OC (born October 27, 1946) is a Czechoslovakian-born Canadian film producer and director, best known for his comedy work, especially in the 1980s and 1990s. He is the owner of The Montecito Picture Company, founded in 2000.

Early life

Reitman was born in Komárno, Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia), the son of Clara and Leslie Reitman. Reitman's parents were Jewish; his mother survived the Auschwitz concentration camp and his father was an underground resistance fighter.[1][2] His family came to Canada as refugees in 1950. Reitman attended Oakwood Collegiate in Toronto and was a member of the Twintone Four singing group.[citation needed]

Reitman attended McMaster University,[3] receiving a Bachelor's of Music in 1969. At McMaster he produced and directed many short films.[4]

Career

Reitman's first producing job was with the then-new station CITY-TV in Toronto. CITY was also the home of the first announcing job of his later friend and collaborator Dan Aykroyd. However, Reitman's tenure at CITY was short and he was fired during his first year by station owner Moses Znaimer.[citation needed]

In Toronto, he produced the stage production Spellbound (1973) which evolved into Broadway production The Magic Show.

Reitman's first commercial film ventures were as producer of two films for director David Cronenberg, Shivers/They Came from Within/The Parasite Murders (1974) and Rabid (1976). His big break came when he produced National Lampoon's Animal House in 1978 and directed Meatballs in 1979. From there, he directed and produced a number of comedies including Stripes (1981), Ghostbusters (1984),[5] Legal Eagles (1986), Twins (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989),[6] Kindergarten Cop (1990), Dave (1993), Junior (1994), Six Days Seven Nights (1998), Evolution (2001), My Super Ex-Girlfriend (2006), and No Strings Attached (2011).

In the early 1990s, Reitman began to direct fewer films, but increased his role as a producer and executive producer through his company, Northern Lights Entertainment.[7] He helped to produce the animated film Heavy Metal (1981), as well as the live-action films Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (1983), Beethoven (1992), Beethoven's 2nd (1993), Space Jam (1996), Private Parts (1997), Road Trip (2000), Old School (2003), EuroTrip (2004) and Trailer Park Boys: The Movie (2006).

Reitman is a founder of the McMaster Film Board at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.[citation needed] In 2007, Reitman was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.[8] Reitman founded The Montecito Picture Company, a film production company located just south of Santa Barbara, founded in 2000.[citation needed]

He next produced the comedy I Love You, Man (2009), starring Paul Rudd and Jason Segel. Also in 2009, he produced the Academy Award-nominated film, Up in the Air, directed by his son Jason Reitman. Later, Reitman had planned to direct the erotic thriller Chloe (2009), but he couldn't attract the cast he wanted; so Reitman decided to only serve as a producer and asked Atom Egoyan to direct the film.[9] Chloe had since enjoyed commercial success and became Egoyan's biggest moneymaker ever.[10]

New York magazine, citing no sources, claimed in March 2007 that Sony Pictures Entertainment wanted to replace Reitman on Ghostbusters III with a younger director, but that Reitman's original contract precluded this.[11] In early 2010, Reitman confirmed he will be directing the film.[12] He was also the producer of Howard Stern's film Private Parts.

He co-produced the biographical Hitchcock, released on November 23, 2012.

Reitman directed the 2014 sports drama Draft Day, starring Kevin Costner.

Personal life

Reitman has been married to Geneviève Robert for over 30 years. Reitman has a son and two daughters. His son, Jason Reitman, is a film director best known for his films Juno, Thank You for Smoking and Up in the Air, for which he won a Golden Globe for his screenplay. His daughter Catherine Reitman is a member of The Groundlings comedy troupe in Los Angeles. His other daughter, Caroline Reitman, is a sophomore at Santa Barbara City College. Reitman's wife is a convert to Judaism.[13]

In 2009, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada "for his contributions as a director and producer, and for his promotion of the Canadian film and television industries".[14]

In April 2011 he received the Mayor's Prize at his native city of Komárno, Slovakia.

Recurring cast members

Actor Meatballs
(1979)		 Stripes
(1981)		 Ghostbusters
(1984)		 Legal Eagles
(1986)		 Twins
(1988)		 Ghostbusters II
(1989)		 Kindergarten Cop
(1990)		 Dave
(1993)		 Junior
(1994)		 Evolution
(2001)		 No Strings Attached
(2011)		 Draft Day
(2014)
Dan Aykroyd NoN NoN NoN
Danny DeVito NoN NoN
Brian Doyle-Murray NoN NoN
Kevin Dunn NoN NoN
Ernie Hudson NoN NoN
Kevin Kline NoN NoN
Frank Langella NoN NoN NoN
David Margulies NoN NoN
Rick Moranis NoN NoN
Bill Murray NoN NoN NoN NoN
Annie Potts NoN NoN
Harold Ramis NoN NoN NoN
Pamela Reed NoN NoN
Arnold Schwarzenegger NoN NoN NoN1 NoN
Sigourney Weaver NoN NoN NoN

1 Schwarzenegger's appearance is a cameo as himself when he was chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.

Filmography

Year Film Director (Executive)
Producer		 Other Notes
1971 Foxy Lady
NoN
 Composer and editor
1973 Cannibal Girls
NoN
NoN
1979 Meatballs
NoN
 Golden Reel Award
1981 Stripes
NoN
NoN
1981 Heavy Metal
NoN
1984 Ghostbusters
NoN
NoN
 Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film
1986 Legal Eagles
NoN
NoN
 Writer
1988 Twins
NoN
NoN
1989 Ghostbusters II
NoN
NoN
1990 Kindergarten Cop
NoN
NoN
1992 Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot
NoN
1993 Dave
NoN
NoN
1994 Junior
NoN
NoN
1996 Space Jam
NoN
1997 Fathers' Day
NoN
NoN
1998 Six Days Seven Nights
NoN
NoN
2000 Road Trip
NoN
2001 Evolution
NoN
NoN
2003 Elephant
NoN
2006 My Super Ex-Girlfriend
NoN
2006 Trailer Park Boys: The Movie
NoN
2007 Disturbia
NoN
2009 Up in the Air
NoN
 Nominated—Academy Award for Best Picture
2011 No Strings Attached
NoN
NoN
2012 Hitchcock
NoN
2014 Draft Day
NoN
 Post-production
TBA Ghostbusters III
Pre-production

References

  1. ↑ "Director Shows His 'Stripes'" Forward.com]
  2. ↑ Ivan Reitman Biography (1946–)
  3. ↑ "McMaster University Alumni". Retrieved 2007-01-10. 
  4. ↑ "McMaster University Alumni Community". 
  5. ↑ "Ghostbusters 3 Director Confirmed!". 
  6. ↑ "Ivan Reitman Verbally Confirms He'll Direct 'Ghostbusters 3'". 
  7. ↑ Britton, Bonnie. "Director of `Junior' has delivered plenty of hits." The Indianapolis Star (November 25, 1994).
  8. ↑ Canada's Walk of Fame: Ivan Reitman
  9. ↑ http://thewriterlylife.blogspot.hk/2010/03/atom-egoyan.html
  10. ↑ Pevere, Geoff (December 7, 2010). "The Digital Revolution: Part 1". The Star. 
  11. ↑ Brodesser-Akner, Claude. "Vulture Exclusive: Columbia Wants a Younger Director for Ghostbusters III, But Ivan Reitman’s Contract Says Otherwise", New York, March 17, 2010.
  12. ↑ Rosenberg, Adam. "EXCLUSIVE: 'Ghostbusters 3' Script Is In, Ivan Reitman Confirms He WILL Direct". 
  13. ↑ "He and his French-Canadian wife, who converted to Judaism, are bringing up their children in the same tradition."
  14. ↑ "Governor General Announces 57 New Appointments to the Order of Canada". Office of the Secretary to the Governor General. December 30, 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-30. 

External links

Films directed by Ivan Reitman
Authority control
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