Happy 74th Birthday, Ivan Reitman! Born today in 1946, this Slovakian-born Canadian screenwriter, film and television 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.
As a child, Reitman was raised Jewish. His mother was an inmate at Auschwitz Concentration Camp and his father was an underground resistance fighter against the Nazis.
Reitman attended McMaster University, receiving a Bachelor of Music in 1969. At McMaster, he produced and directed many short films.
Reitman's first commercial film ventures were as producer of two films for David Cronenberg (‘Videodrome’, ‘The Fly’, ‘Dead Ringers’, ‘Naked Lunch’). These were ‘Shivers’ (1975), and ‘Rabid’ (1977).
In 1976, Reitman married actress Geneviève Robert. They would both have three children together who would later go into the film and television business.
In 1977, Reitman and his wife had a son together named Jason. Years later, he would become a screenwriter, film producer, and film director.
In 1981, Reitman and his wife had a daughter together named Catherine.
Years later, she would become an actress, producer, and writer. She would be the star of the CBC's Canadian television sitcom Workin' Moms (2017–present).
In 1983, Reitman was nominated for two Broadway Tony Awards for "Merlin:" as Best Director (Musical) and as one of the co-producers of the Best Musical nominee.
The following year, Reitman directed the film of which he is best known.
This was the 1984 American supernatural comedy/fantasy film 'Ghostbusters'. Reitman also had uncredited roes as Zuul and Slimer.
Based on his own fascination with spirituality, Dan Aykroyd (who co-wrote and played Raymond "Ray" Stantz in the film) conceived 'Ghostbusters' as a project for himself and John Belushi.
The protagonists would travel through time and space to combat a host of demonic and supernatural threats.
Following Belushi's death, and with Aykroyd's concept deemed financially impractical, he was paired with Ramis to rewrite the script to set it in New York City and make it more realistic.
'Ghostbusters' was the first comedy film to employ expensive special effects. However, there was concern about the budget it would require, and little faith in its potential for box office success.
On an approximate $25–30 million budget, filming took place between October 1983 to January 1984, on location in New York City and Los Angeles, and on sets at Burbank Studios, Los Angeles, California.
Competition for special effects studios among various movies in development at the time meant that part of the budget was used to co-found a new studio.
This was under American special effects cinematographer.Richard Edlund. For the film, he had used a combination of practical effects, miniatures, and puppets to deliver the ghoulish visuals.
'Ghostbusters' was released on June 8, 1984, to critical acclaim and became a cultural phenomenon. It was well received for its deft blend of comedy, action, and horror, and Bill Murray's performance (as Peter Venkman) was repeatedly singled out for praise.
The film earned $282.2 million during its initial theatrical run, making it the second-highest-grossing film of that year, and the highest-grossing comedy of all time at that point. Its theme song, "Ghostbusters" by Ray Parker Jr., was also a number-one hit.
It was the number-one film in theaters for seven consecutive weeks and was one of only four films to gross more than $100 million that year.
Further theatrical releases have increased the total gross to approximately $296.4 million, making it the most successful comedy film of the 1980s.
With its effect on popular culture, and a dedicated fan following, the success of 'Ghostbusters' launched a multi-billion dollar multimedia franchise.
This included the popular animated television series The Real Ghostbusters (which itself spawned a media franchise), its sequel series Extreme Ghostbusters, video games, board games, comic books, clothing, music, books, food, toys, collectables, and haunted attractions.
According to Reitman’s audio commentary on ‘Ghostbusters' the proton packs were much heavier than they looked, and some were heavier than others depending on what was demanded of certain scenes.
None of the actors enjoyed wearing them, but according to Reitman, Ramis complained the least (he would not say who complained the most).
In 1988, Reitman and his wife had another daughter named Caroline. Years later, she would become an actress and appear in her father's 1997 American comedy/teen film 'Father's Day', credited as Lost Girl.
The following year, 'Ghostbusters' was followed by a sequel. This was the 1989 American supernatural comedy/fantasy film 'Ghostbusters II'.
In the film, Reitman has a cameo as a pedestrian walking past the Firehouse and crossing the street. Jason has a cameo appearance, credited as Brownstone Boy #2. Catherine also appears in the film, credited as Girl with Puppy.
Unfortunately, 'Ghostbusters II' fared less well financially and critically. Repeated attempts to develop a further sequel had ended following Harold Ramis' (Egon Spengler) death on February 24, 2014.
Then-Columbia Pictures executive David Puttnam was blamed for the lengthy production of 'Ghostbusters II', though Reitman said it was more the fault of the reluctant cast and crew.
Several reviewers criticized 'Ghostbusters II' for too closely emulating the structure and story elements of its predecessor.
Roger Ebert called it a disappointment, saying he reviewed Ghostbusters II in a public screening and heard no laughter during the entire film.
Gene Siskel called it a poor copy that offered nothing new, as though they "were filming the first draft of a script".
Reitman was originally going to direct ‘The Pink Panther' (2006), starring Steve Martin as Inspector Clouseau. However, Reitman chose not to, staying on as producer of the film.
Reitman and Jason are one of only two father/son producing teams to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar (for ‘Up in the Air' (2009). This occurred at the 82nd Academy Awards in early March 2010.
The other is Italian film producer Mario Cecchi Gori and Italian film producer and politician Vittori Cecchi Gori.
This was for the 1994 Italian/French/Belgian comedy romance/drama film 'Il Postino: The Postman’. This occurred at the 66th Academy Awards in late March 1994.
Two years after Ramis' passing, a reboot, being the 2016 American/Australian supernatural comedy/fantasy film 'Ghostbusters' (later marketed as 'Ghostbusters: Answer the Call'), was released.
The film starred Kirsten Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Melissa McCarthy and Leslie Jones. Akroyd had a cameo appearance, credited as Cabbie.
On a budget of $144 million the 2016 'Ghostbusters' grossed $229.1 million at the box office. However, the film was released to mixed reviews and financial failure, with a $70 million loss.
Aykroyd claimed that American actor and filmmaker Paul Feig's ('Bridesmaids') over-spending and refusal to shoot additional scenes directly led to the film's failure, ensuring that the Ghostbusters franchise will not continue.
A second, direct sequel, the 2021 American supernatural comedy-drama fantasy film 'Ghostbusters: Afterlife', is scheduled for release next year on June 11.
It will be directed by Reitman's son Jason. The film is also titled 'Ghostbusters: Legacy or Ghostbusters: From Beyond' in some markets.
The trademarks in Reitman's films included sci-Ff and slapstick Humor. This also included recurring themes of the 'common man' triumphing where professionals/ Reitman frequently casts Bill Murray and often casts Arnold Schwarzenegger.
For his films, Reitman frequently works with Canadian film producer Joe Medjuck and Canadian screenwriter, film producer and film composer Len Blum and Canadian film producer and screenwriter. Daniel Goldberg.
In 2015, the Library of Congress selected 'Ghostbusters' for preservation in the National Film Registry, finding it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
On AFI's 100 Years... 100 Laughs, 'Ghostbusters' ranked in at #28.
Among his credits, Reitman is also known for directing 'Meatballs' (1979), 'Stripes' (1980), 'Twins' (1988), 'Kindergarten Cop' (1990), 'Dave' (1993), 'Junior' (1994), 'Father's Day' (1997), 'Draft Day' (2005), and 'No Strings Attached'(2010).
Reitman has also served as producer for such films as John Landis' ('American Werewolf in London') 'National Lampoon's Animal House' (1978), 'Beethoven' (1992), 'Space Jam' (1996), and 'Private Parts' (1997).
Although he received less personal publicity than his box-office powerhouse contemporaries George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, Reitman had a comparable impact on filmmaking trends of the late 1970s and 1980s.
In fact, what Lucas and Spielberg did for fantasy adventure, Reitman did for big-budget comedies.
Nicknamed Ivanco, Reitman has been active from 1968–present.
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