Fun Fridays – Director’s Favourite Films – Jason Reitman

Hello Film Doctor friends.

As another week passes, we arrive at another Fun Friday – this time dedicated to the UK release of “Labor Day” and its Director, Jason Reitman (“Up In the Air”, “Juno”, “Young Adult”).

Jason Reitman comes from a family of established cinema careers – his father, Director & Producer Ivan Reitman , has set the bar for successful comedies, including “Ghostbusters” (1984), while his mother is the actress Geneviève Robert.  With quirky, comedic storytelling & ‘dramedies’ in his genes, what could be the films on Jason’t list?

Here are a few:

• “Election” (dir. Alexander Payne, 1999) – “Election inspired my voice as a director more than any other film I’ve ever seen. When I think about the perfect balance between comedy and drama on each of my films, the standard that I hold myself to is Election.” (J. Reitman for Rotten Tomatoes.com, 2009)

• “Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” (dir. Stanley Kubrick, 1964) – “It was my introduction to dark humour. I don’t think I knew what dark comedy was until I saw Dr. Strangelove.” (J. Reitman for Rotten Tomatoes.com, 2009)

• “Harold and Maude” (dir. Hal Ashby, 1971)  – “It’s the cinematic definition of charm. We can all only aspire to find love like Harold and Maude.” (J. Reitman for Rotten Tomatoes.com, 2009)

• “Cloak and Dagger” (dir. Richard Franklin, 1984)
  

• “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” (dir. John Hughes, 1986) – “‘Ferris Bueller’ spoke to me very early on […] He’s a guy that can get away with anything he wants because of his ability to talk.” –  Reitman says you’ll see that in the main characters of his films, “Thank You For Not Smoking,” “Juno,” and “Up in the Air.”

• “Carnal Knowledge” (dir. Mike Nichols, 1971)  – “The most honest movie about the male mind.” (J. Reitman in interview with Thelma Adams, “Young Adult” press conference, 2011)

• “Shampoo” (dir. Hal Ashby, 1975) – “The most honest film about how you can’t get every thing from one person.” (J. Reitman in interview with Thelma Adams, “Young Adult” press conference, 2011)

•  “Taxi Driver” (dir. Martin Scorsese, 1976) – “The most honest movie about romantic obsession and the way sex makes us do crazy things.“ (J. Reitman in interview with Thelma Adams, “Young Adult” press conference, 2011)

• “The Conversation” (dir. Francis Ford Coppola, 1974) –  “The most honest film about dishonesty.” (J. Reitman in interview with Thelma Adams, “Young Adult” press conference, 2011)