---
name: "Ivan Reitman"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/ivan-reitman"
fi1m_id: "ivan-reitman"
imdb_id: "nm0718645"
tmdb_id: 8858
wikidata_id: "Q380272"
roles: ["Director","Producer"]
born: "27 October 1946"
died: "12 February 2022"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 14
average_fi1m_score: 68
average_as: "director"
average_over: 5
updated: "2026-10-13T04:18:53.245724+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Ivan Reitman

## Identity

Ivan Reitman

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/ivan-reitman
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** ivan-reitman
- **IMDb ID:** nm0718645
- **TMDB ID:** 8858
- **Wikidata ID:** Q380272
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Reitman, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q380272, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0718645/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/8858

Director and producer. Born 27 October 1946 in Komárno, Czechoslovakia [now Slovak Republic]. Died 12 February 2022.

## Details

- **Work:** Director, Producer
- **Born:** 27 October 1946, Komárno, Czechoslovakia [now Slovak Republic]
- **Died:** 12 February 2022
- **Active:** 1981–2024
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 14: 5 directing, 9 producing
- **Frequently works with:** [Bill Murray](https://film.one/person/bill-murray.md), [Dan Aykroyd](https://film.one/person/dan-aykroyd.md), [Harold Ramis](https://film.one/person/harold-ramis.md), [Herschel Weingrod](https://film.one/person/herschel-weingrod.md), [Jason Reitman](https://film.one/person/jason-reitman.md), [Timothy Harris](https://film.one/person/timothy-harris.md), [Arnold Schwarzenegger](https://film.one/person/arnold-schwarzenegger.md), [Carrie Coon](https://film.one/person/carrie-coon.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar nomination
- **Average Fi1m score:** 68, as director, over 5 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 68 (4), 1990s 61 (3), 2000s 66 (3), 2010s 60 (2), 2020s 54 (2)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 68 to 61 across 5 titles
- **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 4 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Comedy 5, Fantasy 2, Action 1
- **Screen time:** 9 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $1,016m across 5 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Reitman, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q380272, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0718645/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/8858

## Streaming the US now

- **Netflix:** [*Ghostbusters*](https://film.one/film/ghostbusters.md) (80), [*Ghostbusters*](https://film.one/film/ghostbusters-2016.md) (64)
- **Apple TV:** [*Up in the Air*](https://film.one/film/up-in-the-air.md) (74), [*Kindergarten Cop*](https://film.one/film/kindergarten-cop.md) (65)
- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Stripes*](https://film.one/film/stripes.md) (70)
- **Tubi:** [*Ghostbusters II*](https://film.one/film/ghostbusters-ii.md) (60)
- **Disney+:** [*Ghostbusters: Afterlife*](https://film.one/film/ghostbusters-afterlife.md) (55)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Ivan Reitman

> At his best, Ivan Reitman made the outlandish funny by treating it as ordinary work. We rate his comedies for their ease with actors, with *Ghostbusters* the place to start despite its occasional impatience to get back to the effects.

In *Ghostbusters* (1984), the men confronted with the supernatural still have a business to run. Reitman gives that practical concern room alongside the ghosts, and the team’s easy conversation is the film’s chief pleasure. Bill Murray’s deadpan makes the arrangement look simpler than it is. We laughed most at those exchanges, because these men sound comfortable with one another even when the work itself is alarming.

*Meatballs* (1979) and *Stripes* (1981) preceded the breakthrough of *Ghostbusters*, with Murray a recurring presence in Reitman’s early successes. Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis were also repeated collaborators, both actors and writers. Reitman spoke of working with writer-actors on set as a further draft of the script. We need to hear a group of people who can plausibly work together before the bigger premise has much chance of persuading us.

*Twins* (1988) turned towards the comic possibilities of Arnold Schwarzenegger, pairing him with Danny DeVito. The pairing fits Reitman’s interest in finding comedy where it was not immediately expected. The later criticism, attached to films such as *Evolution* (2001), was that familiar formulas had replaced the unruliness of the early work. It is a fair caution about comedy so dependent on the particular actors involved. His later career leaned more towards producing, including work with Jason Reitman.

What keeps *Ghostbusters* worth returning to is that Reitman takes its horror seriously enough for the comedy to work. The jokes do not require harmless ghosts, and he is willing to hold back a gag while the supernatural occupies the scene. The effects occasionally hold his attention too long, crowding out the quieter exchanges, and the plotting is slight. Yet the pleasure of listening to this team survives those distractions. Start there, particularly if the prospect of spending an evening with Murray appeals more than the promise of another apparition.

## Biography

Ivan Reitman was a Canadian film director and producer. He was born on 27 October 1946 in Komárno, Czechoslovakia, and died on 12 February 2022 in Montecito, California.

Reitman directed and produced *Ghostbusters* (1984). He also produced *Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire* (2024), which received a posthumous credit. Other films he directed include *Meatballs* (1979), *Stripes* (1981), *Ghostbusters II* (1989), *Twins* (1988), *Kindergarten Cop* (1990), *Dave* (1993) and *Junior* (1994). As producer, his credits include *National Lampoon's Animal House* (1978), *Space Jam* (1996) and *Ghostbusters: Afterlife* (2021). He founded The Montecito Picture Company in 1998 and was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org.*

## On Fi1m (14)

### Directed (5) — the average rests on these

- *Kindergarten Cop* (1990), Fi1m 65, Director, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/kindergarten-cop.md)
- *Ghostbusters II* (1989), Fi1m 60, Producer, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/ghostbusters-ii.md)
- *Twins* (1988), Fi1m 64, Director, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/twins.md)
- *Ghostbusters* (1984), Fi1m 80, Director, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/ghostbusters.md)
- *Stripes* (1981), Fi1m 70, Producer, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/stripes.md)

### Produced (9)

- *Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire* (2024), Fi1m 52, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/ghostbusters-frozen-empire.md)
- *Ghostbusters: Afterlife* (2021), Fi1m 55, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/ghostbusters-afterlife.md)
- *Ghostbusters* (2016), Fi1m 64, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/ghostbusters-2016.md)
- *Hitchcock* (2012), Fi1m 55, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/hitchcock.md)
- *Up in the Air* (2009), Fi1m 74, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/up-in-the-air.md)
- *Old School* (2003), Fi1m 60, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/old-school.md)
- *Road Trip* (2000), Fi1m 64, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/road-trip.md)
- *Beethoven's 2nd* (1993), Fi1m 57, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/beethovens-2nd.md)
- *Beethoven* (1992), Fi1m 60, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/beethoven.md)

## Complete filmography (63)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire* (2024), Producer — Fi1m 52, [page](https://film.one/film/ghostbusters-frozen-empire.md)
- *Ghostbusters: Afterlife* (2021), Producer — Fi1m 55, [page](https://film.one/film/ghostbusters-afterlife.md)
- *Space Jam: A New Legacy* (2021), Executive Producer
- *Godmothered* (2020), Executive Producer
- *A Babysitter's Guide to Monster Hunting* (2020), Producer
- *Father Figures* (2017), Producer
- *Baywatch* (2017), Producer
- *Ghostbusters* (2016), Producer — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/ghostbusters-2016.md)
- *Time Is But a Window: Ghostbusters 2 and Beyond* (2014), Actor
- *Who You Gonna Call?: A Ghostbusters Retrospective* (2014), Actor
- *Draft Day* (2014), Director, Producer
- *Hitchcock* (2012), Producer — Fi1m 55, [page](https://film.one/film/hitchcock.md)
- *No Strings Attached* (2011), Director, Producer
- *Chloe* (2010), Producer
- *Up in the Air* (2009), Producer — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/up-in-the-air.md)
- *Trailer Park Boys: Countdown to Liquor Day* (2009), Executive Producer
- *Post Grad* (2009), Producer
- *I Love You, Man* (2009), Executive Producer
- *The Uninvited* (2009), Executive Producer
- *Disturbia* (2007), Executive Producer
- *Trailer Park Boys: The Movie* (2006), Executive Producer
- *My Super Ex-Girlfriend* (2006), Director
- *EuroTrip* (2004), Executive Producer
- *Old School* (2003), Executive Producer — Fi1m 60, [page](https://film.one/film/old-school.md)
- *Killing Me Softly* (2002), Executive Producer
- *Evolution: The Animated Movie* (2002), Executive Producer
- *Evolution* (2001), Director, Producer
- *Road Trip* (2000), Executive Producer — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/road-trip.md)
- *Six Days Seven Nights* (1998), Producer, Director
- *Mummies Alive!* (1997), series, Producer
- *Fathers' Day* (1997), Producer, Director
- *Private Parts* (1997), Producer
- *Space Jam* (1996), Producer
- *The Late Shift* (1996), Executive Producer
- *Junior* (1994), Producer, Director
- *Beethoven's 2nd* (1993), Executive Producer — Fi1m 57, [page](https://film.one/film/beethovens-2nd.md)
- *Dave* (1993), Director, Producer
- *Beethoven* (1992), Executive Producer — Fi1m 60, [page](https://film.one/film/beethoven.md)
- *Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot* (1992), Producer
- *Kindergarten Cop* (1990), Director, Producer — Fi1m 65, [page](https://film.one/film/kindergarten-cop.md)
- *Ghostbusters II* (1989), as Man Walking Outside Firehouse / Slimer (voice) (uncredited) · Director, Producer — Fi1m 60, [page](https://film.one/film/ghostbusters-ii.md)
- *Twins* (1988), Director, Producer — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/twins.md)
- *Feds!* (1988), Executive Producer
- *Casual Sex?* (1988), Executive Producer
- *Big Shots* (1987), Executive Producer
- *Legal Eagles* (1986), Director, Producer, Story
- *On the Scene with the Ghostbusters* (1984), Actor
- *Ghostbusters* (1984), as Zuul / Slimer (voice) (uncredited) · Director, Producer — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/ghostbusters.md)
- *Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone* (1983), Executive Producer
- *Heavy Metal* (1981), Producer
- *Stripes* (1981), Producer, Director — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/stripes.md)
- *Meatballs* (1979), Director
- *Delta House* (1979), series, Producer
- *Blackout* (1978), Executive Producer
- *Animal House* (1978), Producer
- *Ilsa, the Tigress of Siberia* (1977), Producer
- *Rabid* (1977), Executive Producer, Music Supervisor
- *The House by the Lake* (1976), Producer
- *Shivers* (1975), Producer
- *Cannibal Girls* (1973), Director, Story, Executive Producer
- *Foxy Lady* (1971), Director, Writer, Producer, Editor
- *The Columbus of Sex* (1969), Director of Photography, Producer
- *Orientation* (1968), Director

## Gallery

- ![Ivan Reitman](https://film.one/media/person/11873/gallery-7094cb6a4996.jpg) Ivan Reitman — Directors_Arthur_Hiller_and_Ivan_Reitman_attend_The_Canadian_Film_Centre_cocktail_reception_2011.jpg: Canadian Film Centre from Toronto, Canada
derivative work: Skeezix1000 (talk), CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Ivan_Reitman_2011.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![BEVERLY HILLS, CA - MARCH 09: Director Ivan Reitman, actor Eugene Levy , producer Daniel Goldberg and CFC Founder Norman Jewison attend The Canadian Film Centre (2011)](https://film.one/media/person/11873/gallery-1c1a07e8cf83.jpg) BEVERLY HILLS, CA - MARCH 09: Director Ivan Reitman, actor Eugene Levy , producer Daniel Goldberg and CFC Founder Norman Jewison attend The Canadian Film Centre (2011) — Canadian Film Centre from Toronto, Canada, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/56/CFC_in_L.A._24_%285514597835%29.jpg/1280px-CFC_in_L.A._24_%285514597835%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![BEVERLY HILLS, CA - MARCH 09: Producer Joe Medjuck, director Ivan Reitman, actor Eugene Levy and producer Daniel Goldberg attend The w:Canadian Film Centre cock (2011)](https://film.one/media/person/11873/gallery-1d9ee371d886.jpg) BEVERLY HILLS, CA - MARCH 09: Producer Joe Medjuck, director Ivan Reitman, actor Eugene Levy and producer Daniel Goldberg attend The w:Canadian Film Centre cock (2011) — Canadian Film Centre, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6f/CFC_in_L.A._36.jpg/1280px-CFC_in_L.A._36.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![BEVERLY HILLS, CA - MARCH 09: Director Ivan Reitman, actor Eugene Levy , producer Daniel Goldberg, CFC Founder Norman Jewison, producer Joe Medjuck and Marlie O (2011)](https://film.one/media/person/11873/gallery-aa52d9b0ebb1.jpg) BEVERLY HILLS, CA - MARCH 09: Director Ivan Reitman, actor Eugene Levy , producer Daniel Goldberg, CFC Founder Norman Jewison, producer Joe Medjuck and Marlie O (2011) — Canadian Film Centre from Toronto, Canada, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/CFC_in_L.A._37_%285515192720%29.jpg/1280px-CFC_in_L.A._37_%285515192720%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Ivan Reitman](https://film.one/media/person/11873/gallery-a6173261fd37.jpg) Ivan Reitman — Image via TMDB
- ![Ivan Reitman](https://film.one/media/person/11873/gallery-22ead79ec663.jpg) Ivan Reitman — Image via TMDB
- ![Ivan Reitman, Eugene Levy, Dan Goldberg, Norman Jewison, Joe Medjuck and Marlie Oden at the Avalon Hotel Beverly Hills. To learn more about the Telefilm Canada  (2011)](https://film.one/media/person/11873/gallery-a71a2fe1ea83.jpg) Ivan Reitman, Eugene Levy, Dan Goldberg, Norman Jewison, Joe Medjuck and Marlie Oden at the Avalon Hotel Beverly Hills. To learn more about the Telefilm Canada  (2011) — Canadian Film Centre from Toronto, Canada, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/06/CFC_in_L.A._53_%285515991764%29.jpg/1280px-CFC_in_L.A._53_%285515991764%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Director Ivan Reitman, actor Eugene Levy and producer Daniel Goldberg attend The Canadian Film Centre cocktail reception celebrating the Telefilm Canada Feature (2011)](https://film.one/media/person/11873/gallery-6784284e5527.jpg) Director Ivan Reitman, actor Eugene Levy and producer Daniel Goldberg attend The Canadian Film Centre cocktail reception celebrating the Telefilm Canada Feature (2011) — Canadian Film Centre from Toronto, Canada (Photo by Jesse Grant), CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8a/Director_Ivan_Reitman%2C_actor_Eugene_Levy_and_producer_Daniel_Goldberg_attend_The_Canadian_Film_Centre_cocktail_reception_2011.jpg/1280px-Director_Ivan_Reitman%2C_actor_Eugene_Levy_and_producer_Daniel_Goldberg_attend_The_Canadian_Film_Centre_cocktail_reception_2011.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- 2010: Best Picture (nominated), for *Up in the Air*

### Other awards — 2 won, 1 nominated

- Time Machine Award 2009: Time Machine Award (won)
- Canada's Walk of Fame 2001: Canada's Walk of Fame (won)
- Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical 1983: Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical (nominated)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/ivan-reitman