Evolution

Ivan Reitman, as a producer and director, has created many of American cinema’s most successful and best loved feature film comedies and has worked with Hollywood’s acting elite. Reitman has produced such hits as the ground-breaking sensation National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978), which introduced John Belushi to American filmgoers, and the family features Beethoven (1992) and Beethoven’s 2nd (1993). His directing credits include Meatballs (1979), Stripes (1981) and Ghost Busters (1984), films starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis; Dave (1993), which starred Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver, Junior (1994) which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny DeVito and Emma Thompson. Reitman also produced the HBO telefilm The Late Shift (1996) (TV), based on Bill Carter’s non-fiction book about the late-night television wars which received seven Emmy nominations. Other recent producing endeavors include Commandments (1997), starring Aidan Quinn and Courteney Cox, Private Parts (1997), starring Howard Stern, as well as the animation/ live action film Space Jam (1996), starring Michael Jordan and the Looney Tunes characters. With Twins (1988/I), Reitman created an entirely new comedic persona for action hero Arnold Schwarzenegger — and forged a personal and professional relationship that continued with Kindergarten Cop (1990) and Junior (1994). Acclaimed dramatic actors such as Robert Redford, Debra Winger, Sigourney Weaver, and Emma Thompson have also revealed untapped comic talents under Reitman’s direction. In 1984, Reitman was honored as Director of the Year by the National Association of Theater Owners and the next year received a Special Achievement Award at the Canadian Genie awards. In 1979 and again in 1989, for the films Animal House (1978) and Twins (1988/I), Reitman was honored with the People’s Choice Award. In November of 1994, Reitman became the third director honored by Variety magazine in a special Billion Dollar Director issue. Reitman was born in Czechoslovakia and fled with his family to Canada at the age of four. He attended Canada’s McMaster University, where he produced and directed several television shorts. He followed with a live television show, “Super Greed” (1999), with Dan Aykroyd as its announcer. “Spellbound,” which Reitman produced for the live stage, evolved into the Broadway hit “The Magic Show,” starring Doug Henning. He continued producing for the stage with the Off-Broadway hit “The National Lampoon Show,” and returned to Broadway to produce and direct the musical “Merlin,” earning a Tony nomination for directing. Reitman currently heads The Montecito Picture Company, a film and television production company, with partner Tom Pollock. His television credits include the Emmy-nominated children’s show “The Real Ghost Busters” (1986) and the Saturday morning animated series “Beethoven” (1994) for CBS. He is presently working on a new animated children’s show Mummies Alive! The Legend Begins (1998) (V) and has several feature films in development and pre-production under his new deal with DreamWorks. —IMDb