With “Ghostbusters” and “Ghostbusters II” he created one of the most popular fantasy film series of the 80s and handed over the saga with “Ghostbusters: Legacy” over 30 years later to his son Jason Reitman, who continued his father’s legacy with one of the best Blockbuster 2021 honored.
Our family mourns the unexpected loss of a husband, father, and grandfather who always taught us to seek the magic in life, But as much as the family mourns, one also finds comfort in the fact that the filmmaker has brought joy to countless people around the world. That’s exactly how you should remember him. Jason Reitman said in a statement shared with his sisters Catherine and Caroline.
Who Was Ivan Reitman?
Born on October 27, 1946, in what was then Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia), Reitman immigrated to Canada with his parents shortly after the end of World War II. He studied in Toronto and finally got a foothold in the film business in the mid-1970s, producing dark genre shockers such as ” Parasite Killer ” and ” Rabid ” by David Cronenberg and celebrating with the comedies ” Baby Fat and Meatballs ” and ” I Think I’m Kissing an elk ” finally got his breakthrough as a screenwriter and director.
His possibly greatest cult hit, celebrated by fans around the world to this day, finally followed in 1984: ” Ghostbusters “, which was nominated for two Oscars, is still considered one of the 80s cult films par excellence, and ” Ghostbusters II “, also directed by Reitman, is also a hit still extremely popular after more than 30 years. After the rather mixed reception of Paul Feig’s reboot from 2016, ” Ghostbusters: Legacy ” followed in the previous year then finally a revival celebrated by fans and the trade press alike, which, in the tradition of the two cult classics, offers both funny and touching fantasy entertainment for young and old. Probably the most personal film in Reitman’s career – after all, it was directed by none other than his son Jason Reitman – has also been available for home cinema since last week.
Apart from that, Reitman is of course known for his collaborations with Arnold Schwarzenegger, with whom he made the legendary comedies ” Twins “, ” Kindergarten Cop ” and ” Junior “. In the late 90s and after the turn of the millennium he devoted himself – with one exception (” Evolution “) – mainly to romantic comedies, staging ” Six Days, Seven Nights ” with Harrison Ford and Anne Heche, ” Die Super-Ex ” with Uma Thurman and Luke Wilson, as well as ” Friendship Plus ” with Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher. Reitman last directed the sports drama Draft Day.
Most recently, the filmmaker was working on the Twins sequel Triplets, which would also star comedian Tracey Morgan alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito.