Obituary: Ivan Reitman, director and producer behind hit movies like Ghostbusters and Animal House
msn.comAnimal House to Ghostbusters. Known for bawdy comedies that caught the spirit of their time, Reitman’s big break came with the raucous, college fraternity send-up National Lampoon’s Animal House, which he produced.
Reitman, who died peacefully in his sleep, directed Bill Murray in his first starring role in the summer camp flick Meatballs, and then again in 1981’s Stripes, but his most significant success came with 1984’s Ghostbusters.
Not only did the comedy starring Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis gross nearly $300m worldwide, it earned two Oscar nominations, spawned a veritable franchise, including spin-offs, television shows and a new film, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, that his son Jason Reitman directed.
Reitman put Arnold Schwarzenegger in his first major comedy, opposite Danny DeVito in Twins. There was such uncertainty around the project that all forfeited their fees for a share of the profits, which would prove to be a lucrative deal when the film earned $216m against an $18m production budget.
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