Ivan Reitman

Pioneering Comedy filmmaker

Ivan Reitman

Summer Mayhem begins

the original camp comedy

A legacy of of resilience and laughter

Biography

Director-producer Ivan Reitman is well known as a pioneer of modern American comedy, with character-driven films that combined sharp-witted, intelligent writing with slapstick and heartfelt emotion. Over the course of five decades of filmmaking, he made his indelible mark in Hollywood and helped launch the careers of several iconic comedic actors, including John Belushi, Eugene Levy, and Bill Murray.

Reitman was born October 27, 1946 in Komárno, Czechoslovakia, to Jewish parents who survived World War II and the Holocaust. His father was an underground resistance fighter, and his mother was a survivor of Auschwitz, and when Ivan was four years old, they immigrated to Canada, settling in Toronto. Reitman showed an early interest in the arts and film, eventually studying music and theatre at McMaster University, where he began making short films and documentaries.

producing laughs, directing icons

from meatballs to movie history

Reitman’s early film career began with producing and directing low-budget Canadian films as well as Canadian TV and stage productions. His film directing talents gained wider attention with Meatballs (1979), a screwball comedy starring Bill Murray that became the tenth-highest-grossing film of 1979. Stripes (1981), Reitman’s directorial breakthrough, was another successful collaboration with Murray. Reitman also directed and produced Ghostbusters (1984), a cultural phenomenon and one of the most iconic film comedies of all time, blending sci-fi, comedy, and cutting edge special effects. Reitman followed that film with a sequel, Ghostbusters II (1989). Released in the summer of 1989, it set a box office record for the highest opening weekend to date.

a producer of iconic moments

accolades for a lifetime of laughter

Reitman also enjoyed great success as a producer, working on a range of films including National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978), the animated cult classic Heavy Metal (1981), Beethoven (1992), Space Jam (1996), and the Howard Stern biopic Private Parts (1997). Other notable films Reitman directed include Twins (1988), starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito; Kindergarten Cop (1990); Dave (1993), a political-comedy starring Kevin Kline; Junior (1994); Six Days Seven Nights (1998); Evolution (2001); No Strings Attached (2011); and Draft Day (2014), Reitman’s final directorial feature.

Among Reitman’s honors and awards are a Hollywood Walk of Fame Star (1997), Canadian Walk of Fame Star (2001), Officer of the Order of Canada (2009), a Primetime Emmy® nomination for the TV movie The Late Shift (1995), and a Producers Guild Award nomination for Up in the Air (a 2009 film directed by Reitman’s son, Jason).

generation of impact

from ivan to jason ― a legacy in motion

Following in his father’s footsteps, Jason Reitman has become a successful filmmaker in his own right, directing such acclaimed films as Juno (2007), which won an Oscar® for Best Original Screenplay and was nominated for Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Picture; and Up in the Air (which Ivan coproduced, and which was nominated for six Academy Awards®, including Best Director for Jason, and Best Picture). Jason also directed Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021), which Ivan co-produced.

Ivan Reitman passed away in his sleep in 2022 at age 75. With both father and son carving their paths in Hollywood, the Reitman legacy remains, and will continue to endure.

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