Born in Czechoslovakia, producer/director Ivan Reitman was raised in Canada by his concentration camp-survivor parents. After majoring in music at McMasters University, Reitman got his first taste of the line of work that was to bring him fame and fortune when he attended summer classes at the National Film Board. Here he directed his first short subjects, one of which received mainstream distribution. Encouraged by the Film Board to follow his own creative muse, Reitman was irresistibly attracted to "dangerous," cutting-edge material. His first feature-length directorial project, a 1970 adaptation of the notorious sub rosa Victorian sex novel My Secret Life, nearly landed him in jail. He went on to direct, produce, edit, and score the mildly exploitive Foxy Lady (1971), then directed and produced the horror semi-spoof Cannibal Girls (1973); the latter project represented his first cinematic contact with the famed Second City comedy troupe. In between handling the producing chores on several early David Cronenberg movie projects, Reitman produced Doug Henning's 1974 Broadway musical The Magic Show, then renewed his acquaintance with the Second City folk by producing …  » Read more