Jason Reitman

Reitman was born in Montreal, Quebec, the son of Geneviève Robert, an actress sometimes billed as Geneviève Deloir, and Slovak-Jewish film director Ivan Reitman (1946–2022).

Reitman has two younger sisters: Catherine Reitman, an actress, producer and writer, who is three years younger, and Caroline Reitman, a nurse, who is twelve years younger.

Reitman's father was born in Czechoslovakia, to Jewish parents who were Holocaust survivors.

Reitman's paternal grandfather ran a dry cleaner and then a car wash.

His mother is from a Christian background and of French-Canadian descent; she converted to Judaism.

When he was still a child, his family moved to Los Angeles.

His father, Ivan, directed the films Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters II, Stripes and Kindergarten Cop.

Jason R. Reitman (born October 19, 1977) is a Canadian–American filmmaker.

Reitman grew up on set, and has photos of himself as a baby on the set of Animal House in 1978; Bill Murray described Reitman as "a pain in the ass" while filming Ghostbusters, with Dan Aykroyd joking that "he was directing back then".

Such experiences showed him that making movies is "a job that people do, that it's not just this piece of magic that happens".

Jason described his childhood self as "a loser... a movie geek... [and] shy."

In the late 1980s, Reitman began appearing in small acting parts and serving as a production assistant on his father's films.

He spent time in the editing rooms of his father's movies, learning the process.

Reitman graduated from Harvard-Westlake School in 1995; Reitman was a high jumper in high school, coached by Occidental College Hall-of-Famer Phil Sweeney.

Reitman attended Skidmore College and was going to major in pre-med studies before transferring to the University of Southern California (USC) to major in English/Creative Writing.

At USC, he performed with improv group Commedus Interruptus.

Reitman started out making short films during his time at USC.

Throughout his 20s, instead of accepting offers to make commercial feature films, Reitman began making his own short films and directing commercials.

Although he was offered the opportunity to direct Dude, Where's My Car? on two occasions, he declined.

He is best known for directing the films Thank You for Smoking (2005), Juno (2007), Up in the Air (2009), Young Adult (2011) and Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021).

He has received one Grammy Award, one Golden Globe and four Academy Award nominations, two of which are for Best Director.

Reitman is a dual citizen of Canada and the United States.

He is the son of director Ivan Reitman, and known for frequently collaborating with screenwriter Diablo Cody.

Reitman's first feature film, Thank You for Smoking, opened in 2005.

Reitman developed the Christopher Buckley novel into a screenplay and, eventually, a film.

The film was a commercial and critical success.

It grossed over $39 million worldwide by the end of its run, and was nominated for two Golden Globes.

After the success of Thank You for Smoking, Reitman mentioned in an interview that his next film would be adapting another book (a "white collar satire") into a film.

He also mentioned that he had plans to work with Buckley again on an original project.

Although the first of these projects would eventually become Up in the Air, this second project has not come to fruition.

In March 2006, Reitman formed the production company "Hard C Productions" with producing partner Daniel Dubiecki.

The company had an overall deal with Fox Searchlight Pictures, the company that distributed Reitman's first two films.

Reitman described his production company's goal as being to produce "small subversive comedy that is independent but accessible".

Reitman states that he and Dubiecki "want to make unusual films, and anything that turns a genre on its ear".

His second film, Juno, generated great buzz after it premiered at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival and was released in December 2007.

It was Roger Ebert's favorite film of 2007 and received Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Elliot Page's performance as the title character, Diablo Cody's original screenplay, and Reitman himself for Best Director.

Reitman did win other awards for his work on Juno, including Best Director at the 2008 Canadian Comedy Awards.

The film grossed over $140 million at the U.S. box office, making it the largest success of Reitman's career and more successful than any of his father's films since Kindergarten Cop.

Brad Silberling was originally attached to direct the film, but he dropped out over casting differences.

Reitman was in the middle of writing a screenplay when he came on board to direct Juno and, at one point, he expressed intent to finish writing and to direct this screenplay.