Tripwire Pays Tribute To Ivan Reitman

The Passing Of A Comedy Legend

As has been reported by many other news outlets, Ivan Reitman sadly passed away on 12 February this year. The Tripwire team were very sad to hear this news. He was a creative director and producer of many terrific movies. He will most likely be remembered for his role in creating, directing and later supporting the Ghostbusters franchise…

He lived to the age of 75 and is survived by his wife Genevieve and daughters Catherine, a TV actress-writer-producer, Caroline and his son Jason.

Reitman’s career was varied and interesting. He worked with some incredibly talented individuals from many of the Saturday Night Live alumni to the superstars of Hollywood. It was his ability to craft a crowd-pleasing comedy that is why he will be remembered.

He began his directing career back in the 1980s with fondly remembered comedies such as Meatballs, Stripes and he was also the producer on John Landis’ seminal Animal House. Into the 1990s he went on to direct Dave with Kevin Kline and produced much-loved family movies such as Beethoven and Space Jam amongst others.

Yet surely it will always be the Ghostbusters films that he will be forever remembered for and associated with, and I personally hope that he would have had it no other way. That is in no small part thanks to last year’s revival,  Ghostbusters Afterlife, and the work that Reitman’s son Jason, who has gone on to direct, has done. He nurtured and respected the characters that his father so carefully created.

On Twitter Dan Aykroyd described him as “one of the last great creative talents of the BIG SCREEN ERA” and perhaps because of the verve and energy all his efforts provided his fans there may be some truth to that statement. In the age of streaming, we may never see his like again.

His creations and influence will be felt for generations. His Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame speaks volumes in regard to how respected he was within the film industry.

Perhaps Ivan Reitman’s legacy is best remembering by the feelings and the memories he created for us all from the 80’s and that soundtrack from the first Ghostbusters film. He was a wonderfully talented director and producer, and he leaves a sizeable legacy in his wake.

Paul N Neal