Arnold Schwarzenegger worked closely with Ivan Reitman on many projects.
After a bodybuilding career that dubbed him the greatest of all-time, Arnold Schwarzenegger took his talents to the big screen. This is where he worked with director Ivan Reitman on many projects and the duo got to know each other well. After the passing of Reitman, Schwarzenegger took to Instagram to pay tribute to his former colleague and friend.
Reitman passed away at the age of 75 at his home in Montecito, CA on Saturday. The cause of death has not been specified at the time of the announcement. Reitman found great success directing comedies such as “Animal House” and “Stripes.” He worked with the likes of Bill Murray and John Belushi, along with Schwarzenegger, during his career.
Together, Ivan Reitman and Arnold Schwarzenegger put together “Kindergarten Cop” and “Twins,” which also featured Danny DeVito. On Tuesday, Schwarzenegger shared a heartfelt tribute to the director.
“Ivan Reitman is a legend. In Hollywood, he was bigger than life. He was comedy royalty.
In life, he was a mensch – a wonderful father and husband, a fantastic friend, a great human being. He was kind, he was generous, he was smart as hell, and he was always there for you.
I am devastated, and my thoughts are with the Reitman family.”
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Arnold Schwarzenegger continued by describing how Ivan Reitman took a chance on him from the beginning. Schwarzenegger became a massive figure in bodybuilding and was able to use his impressive physique and charisma to put together a successful movie career.
“If you knew him, Ivan had a way of making himself a part of your story, and he certainly wrote a chunk of mine. I’ll always be grateful that he took a chance on this Austrian action-hero in a comedy during a time when the studios just wanted me to focus on finding new ways to kill bad guys, blow things up, and show off some muscles. I knew I could make it in comedy, but I needed someone else to know it to make it a reality. That’s why Ivan was a great director and friend: he could see something in you that other people didn’t, and he could help you show the rest of the world.”
Schwarzenegger ended his tribute by describing some experiences that the two had while putting together films.
“Making Twins, Junior, and Kindergarten Cop with Ivan was heaven for me. Spending the last few years working with him on Triplets, and once again seeing his passion and genius up close, was a joy. Just last week, I was talking about how excited I was to be on set again with Ivan this fall.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger remains an active voice in bodybuilding and beyond. It is clear the impact that Ivan Reitman made on his career and this led to a great tribute from the former bodybuilding champion.
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