IVAN REITMAN
Date of Birth: October 27, 1946
Director/producer Ivan Reitman has created many of American cinema's most
successful and best loved feature film comedies. Originally from
Czechoslovakia, Reitman and his family fled to Canada when he was four years
old. He attended McMaster University, where he produced and directed
several television shorts.
After making a couple of television shows including Greed, Reitman
turned to the stage and produced several productions including
Spellbound, the Broadway hit The Magic Show, the off-Broadway
hit The National Lampoon Show, and the Tony-nominated Merlin.
At the age of 23, he helped produce his first feature, The Columbus of Sex. Due to the explicit content, he and Dan Goldberg were arrested
for producing the film. During the trial, the men who went on to form
Northern Lights Entertainment were offered $175,000 by MGM to make a
feature to be called Foxy Ladies. They were the first Canadians
convicted under Canada's decency laws, despite widespread critical acclaim
and support from the arts community. They were fined $300.00 and put on a
year's probation.
Following that experience he began directing such Canadian films as Foxy Lady (1971), Cannibal Girls (1973) and the classic camp film, Meatballs (1979).
Following the success of Meatballs (1979), Reitman followed the film's
star, Bill Murray, back to the States to create two more classic
blockbusters, Stripes (1981) and Ghostbusters (1984).
By 1984 he was honoured as Director of the Year by the National Association
of Theatre Owners, and a year later he received a Special Achievement Award
from the Canadian Genie Awards. In 1994 he was given a "Billion Dollar
Director" salute by Variety magazine (he was third director in history to
receive this honor).
For the next 10 years, Reitman had a stream of successful films that
ranged from extreme blockbusters to just plain successful films. He also
worked with some of the top names in Hollywood, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kevin Klein, Sigourney Weaver, Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Danny DeVito and Harrison Ford.
Through the years he has also produced over 35 films including all his own
films and others like Space Jam, Beethoven (1992), Private Parts (1997),
Road Trip and Killing Me Softly (2002).
A founder of the McMaster Film Board at McMaster University, Reitman remains
close to his family, and has even had his two children, Jason and Catherine,
play roles in a number of his films.
Filmography (director):
Over My Dead Body (2007)
My Super Ex-Girlfriend (2006)
Evolution (2001)
Six Days Seven Nights (1998)
Fathers' Day (1997)
Junior (1994)
Dave (1993)
Kindergarten Cop (1990)
Ghostbusters II (1989)
Twins (1988)
Legal Eagles (1986)
Ghostbusters (1984)
Stripes (1981)
Meatballs (1979)
Cannibal Girls (1973)
Foxy Lady (1971)