Ivan Reitman Directing FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS; GHOSTBUSTERS 3-Not So Fast

Director Ivan Reitman, you’ve been gone too long. Acting as producer for your son, Jason Reitman, and other director’s films doesn’t cut it for me. While you may now be an Oscar-nominated producer for UP IN THE AIR, the last time we saw you in the driver’s seat was for, yikes, 2006’s MY SUPER EX-GIRLFRIEND. This coming from the man who in his heyday brought us such hit comedies as MEATBALLS, STRIPES, and GHOSTBUSTERS thus making Bill Murray a movie star and then you showed us that Arnold Schwarzenegger could be funny in TWINS and JUNIOR. Ok, I thought so.

Needless to say I was happy to hear that Reitman had confirmed he would once again climb into the director’s chair by helming GHOSTBUSTERS 3, until I read in NY Mag’s Vulture blog that Sony/Columbia Pictures reboot pretty much excludes Reitman:

The studio’s strategy is to revitalize the franchise for next year by having the original ‘busters train a dramatically younger crew in Ghostbusters III, while a correspondingly younger director handles things behind the camera. However, Reitman’s old contract, made at the height of his and Ovitz’s powers, still gives him exceptional creative control over the series, including director approval.

As recently as last night, Variety reported that Reitman had plans to direct FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS for Paramount Pictures. Filming is scheduled to begin in May, thus making it very convenient for Columbia what with Reitman being busy with the WHEN HARRY MET SALLY Natalie Portman/Ashton Kutcher comedy. According to Vulture’s exclusive article, “a source close to the project laughed and said, “It’s pretty much what you’d expect from a spec script that was originally entitled FUCKBUDDIES.” Can’t you see that title up on the marquee in movie theaters?

Boy this would work out nicely for Sony if Reitman was busy with the FRIENDS film. However,

Insiders familiar with Reitman’s plans say he thinks the two comedies are not mutually exclusive, and still plans to direct both, raising serious questions about whether Sony will want to proceed with GHOSTBUSTERS III at all.

So while GHOSTBUSTERS 3 is being prepped, Reitman’s FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS is looking at a Jan. 7, 2011 release date.

Courtesy: Vulture. Photo-illustration: Mary-Louise Price. Photos: Kevin Winter/Getty Images, Columbia Pictures