Who is Ivan Reitman?
Ivan Reitman OC was a famous Czechoslovak-born Canadian professional film and television director, producer, and screenwriter. He is widely recognized for his comedy work, mostly in the 1980s and 1990s. Reitman was the owner of The Montecito Picture Company, founded in 1998.
Recognizable movies he directed include Meatballs (1979), Stripes (1981), Ghostbusters (1984), Ghostbusters II (1989). As well as Twins (19880, Kindergaten Cop (1990), Dave (1993), and Junior (1994). He also worked as a producer for movies including Animal House (1978), Beethoven (1992), Space Jam (1996), and Private Parts (1997).
Ivan Reitman career
Reitman’s initial producing job was with the then-new station CITY-TV in Toronto. It was also the home of the initial announcing job of his later friend and collaborator Dan Aykroyd. Reitman’s time at CITY was however short-lived and he got fired within his first year by station owner Moses Znaimer.
In Toronto, Ivan produced the stage production Spellbound (1973) which evolved into Broadway production The Magic Show. His first commercial movie ventures were as a producer of two movies for director David Cronenberg, Shivers (1975) and Rabid (1977). He got his breakthrough when he produced National Lampoon’s Animal House in 1978 and directed Meatballs in 1979. Since then, he directed and produced numerous comedies such as Stripes (1981), Ghostbusters (1984), Legal Eagles (1986), Twins (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989). As well as Kindergaten Cop (1990), Dave (1993), Junior (1994), Six Days, Seven Nights (1998), Evolution (2001), My Super Ex-Girlfriend (2006), and No Strings Attached (2011).
Reitman started to direct fewer movies in the early 1990s, however, increased his role as a producer and executive producer via his company, Northern Lights Entertainment. He assisted to produce the animated movie Heavy Metal (1981), and live-action movies Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (1983). As well as Beethoven (1992), Beethoven’s 2nd (1993), Space Jam (1996), Howard Stern’s movie Private Parts (1997), Road Trip (2000), Old School (2003), EuroTrip (2004), and Trailer Park Boys: The Mivie (2006). He then founded The Montecito Picture Company, a movie production company located just south of Santa Barbara in 2000. He was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame in 2007.
2008-2022
Reitman then produced the comedy I Love You, Man (2009), starring Jason Segel and Paul Rudd. He also produced the Academy Award-nominated movie, Up in the Air, directed by his son Jason Reitman in 2009. Reitman later had plans to direct the erotic thriller Chloe (2009), however, he couldn’t attract the cast he wanted. This led to him opting to serve only as a producer asking Atom Egoyan to direct the movie. Since then Chloe has enjoyed commercial success and became Egoyan’s biggest moneymaker ever.
In Reitman’s last decade, he also co-produced the biographical movie Hitchcock, launched on November 23, 2012. He also directed the 2014 sports drama Draft Day, starring Kevin Costner, and worked as executive producer on 2021’s Space Jam: A New Legacy as he had done for the initial movie. News of a new Ghostbusters movie, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, in Mid-January 2019, came through with his son Jason Reitman taking over as co-writer and director. Reitman himself remained as the producer and stood in for Ramis as Egon Spengler using digital makeup. The Movie was launched on November 19, 2021, marking his last movie prior to his demise.
How old is Ivan Reitman?
Ivan Reitman OC was aged 75 by the time of his death in his sleep on February 12, 2022, in Montecito, California, U.S. He was born on October 27, 1946, in Komarno, Czechoslovakia. Ivan shares his birthday with famous people including Lonzo Ball, Missy Lanning, Charlie Lenehan, Austin Tyler Armstrong, Theodore Roosevelt, Samantha Logan, Kelly Osbourne, Canon Ryder, John Cleese, Jason Reitman, among others.
Ivan Reitman Family
Who are Ivan Reitman’s parents?
Ivan Reitman OC was born in Komarno, Czechoslovakia to his parents Klara Raab and Ladislav ”Leslie” Reitman. Both his parents were Jewish, with his father being an underground resistance fighter and his mother surviving the Auschwitz concentration camp. His family moved to Canada as refugees when he was aged four, where he grew up.
Does Ivan Reitman have siblings?
No information is available to the media about Reitman’s siblings. He had not shared any information about any siblings and also kept his family life very private.
Ivan Reitman Education
Reitman joined and studied at Oakwood Collegiate in Toronto, where he was a member of the Twintone Four singing group. He then attended McMaster University, graduating in 1969, with a Bachelor of Music. At college, he directed and produced numerous short movies.
Ivan Reitman Wife
In 1976, Reitman married his sweetheart, Genevieve Robert, who is a convert to Judaism. The couple lived together happily till his demise with three children together, and also has one grandchild.
Ivan Reitman Kids
Reitman and his loving and supportive wife have three children together. They have one son, Jason Reitman, and two daughters Catherine Reitman and Caroline Reitman. He also has one grandchild Josephine Reitman.
Jason is a film director and has directed films such as Juno, Thank You for Smoking, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and Up in the Air. Catherine is the creator, executive producer, writer, and star of the CBS comedy series Workin’ Moms. Caroline on the other hand attended Santa Barbara City College.
Ivan Reitman Height
Reitman died having a well-built and physically fit body, adding up to an impressive height of 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) and weight of 75 kg (165.35 lbs).
Unmade projects
In the early 198s, Tom Mankiewicz wrote a script for a movie titled The Batman, with Reitman attached as the director. Reitman planned to cast Meatballs star Bil Murray as Batman David Niven as Alfred Pennyworth, William Hilden as Commissioner James Gordon, and singer David Bowie as Joker. After the death of Niven and Holden and rewrites of the script, Reitman exited the project and was his place taken by Gremlins director Joe Dante. However, the movie was never made. It was also reported that Ivan was attached to produce, and possibly direct, a Wonder Woman movie in the early 1980s. After three years he passed the project on to writer Jon Cohen and exited for reasons unknown.
2000-2016
Reitman was considered to direct Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in 2000. He was to direct alongside Rob Reiner, Wolfgang Petersen, M. Night Shyamalan, Tim Robbins, Alan Parker, Brad Silberling, Terry Gilliam, and Peter Weir. However, they did not get to direct as the job went to Chris Columbus instead. New York magazine, citing no sources in March 2007, stated that Sony Pictures Entertainment wanted to replace Ivan on Ghostbusters III with a younger director. However, Reitman’s original contract precluded this. It appeared as if he would direct the movie in early 2010, but in September 2014, following the death of Harold Ramis, Paul Feig was officially set to direct a new movie. The film was launched as a reboot of the franchise in 2016.
2017-2022
It was later reported that a sequel of Twins, titled Triplets was in the works in March 2012, Reitman co-producing the movie. In September 2021, Deadline reported that he would both direct and produce the film and that filming was planned to start in January 2022. It was also reported that Ivan had plans to make a sequel to Evolution in 2013, but they never came to fruition. In June 2016, it was announced that he would produce the upcoming animated series Ghostbusters: Ecto Force. He then said that the film had been postponed to focus on an animated Ghostbuster movie in July 2017. He was planned to produce and co-direct it together with Fletcher Moules. However, there has been no update on either project as of September 2021.
Ivan Reitman Net Worth
Czechoslovak-born Canadian film and television director, producer, and screenwriter, Reitman had been active in his career from 1968 to 2022. He has directed and produced numerous films making a big name in the film industry working under big production companies. Ivan started The Montecito Picture Company in 1998 and had gathered an estimated net worth of $100 million at the time of his death in 2022.
