- published: 03 Sep 2015
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Jason Reitman (born October 19, 1977) is a Canadian/Americanfilm director, screenwriter, and producer, best known for directing the films Thank You for Smoking (2005), Juno (2007), Up in the Air (2009), and Young Adult (2011). As of February 2, 2010, he has received three Academy Award nominations, two of which are for Best Director. Reitman is a dual citizen of Canada and the United States.
Reitman was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the son of Geneviève Robert, an actress sometimes billed as Geneviève Deloir, and comedy director Ivan Reitman. He has two younger sisters, Catherine, an actress, and Caroline. His father is Jewish and was born in Czechoslovakia to Holocaust survivors, and his mother is Christian and of French-Canadian descent. When he was still a child, his family moved to Los Angeles. His father, Ivan, directed the successful films Ghostbusters, Stripes, and Kindergarten Cop. 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. 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 separate occasions, he declined.