Megan Fox with comic book creator Stan Lee (left), Brandon Routh “Superman Returns” (right) at the Myspace/IGN/Jennifer’s Body party at Comic-Con 2009.
DJ StoneRock (left), Twilight and New Moon stars Ashley Greene (Alice) and Noot Seear (Heidi) (right) at the Myspace/IGN/Jennifer’s Body party at Comic-Con 2009.
Ambiance at the Myspace/IGN/Jennifer’s Body party at Comic-Con 2009.
Ambiance at the Myspace/IGN/Jennifer’s Body party at Comic-Con 2009.
The A List, was also involved with the Myspace/IGN party for “Jennifer’s Body” starring Megan Fox. This “Heathers”-esque film, directed by Karyn Kusama and written by Diable Cody, I am proud to say was produced by two of my buddies, Jason Reitman (Harvard-Westlake ’95, LA native and son of Ivan) and Mason Novick (“Red Eye”, “Juno”, “(500) Days of Summer”).
Jennifer’s Body director Karyn Kusama, writer Diablo Cody, and producers Jason Reitman and Mason Novick at the Myspace/IGN/Jennifer’s Body party at Comic-Con 2009.
If these names sound familiar, that is because this is the same team that brought you indi break-out “Juno”, a film that won them an Oscar nomination for Best Picture and an Independent Spirit award in the same category.
Photo: “Juno” producer Mason Novick, screenwriter Diablo Cody, director Jason Reitman at the premiere of Fox Searchlight’s ‘Juno’ at the Village Theater on December 3, 2007 in Los Angeles, California. Photo from Wireimage.I met Mason when a mutual friend, Jeremy Steckler (Harvard-Westlake class of ’92), a producer at Fox Searchlight, brought him along to my 27th birthday party at “the bar” on Sunset in Hollywood. We hit it off in an instant. I was very touched by Mason’s stories of growing up in the John Hughes suburb of Hyland Park just outside Chicago. In the 80s his neighborhood was often used as a set for John Hughes coming-of-age hits like “The Breakfast Club,” Weird Science,” “Sixteen Candles” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” With all the productions going on around him, he made good use of the opportunity and became a PA on the sets near his house. The positions grew into real jobs and by the time he was 16, he was being paid.Watch an interview with Mason Novick here.
In addition to the Wired Cafe at this year’s Comic Con, Ashlee Margolis‘ company,
The team joined forces again for “Jennifer’s Body” – a film about an irresistible high school “mean girl” who teethes on her male victims. The film also stars “Mean Girl” veteran Amanda Seyfreid who has grown up a bit since her last foray with queen bees like Rachel McAdams and Lindsay Lohan.
Mason Novick and Diablo Cody attend the 2008 Oscars in Hollywood (left). Producers Mason Novick and Russell Smith accept the award for Best Feature for “Juno” onstage during the 2008 Film Independent Spirit Awards held at Santa Monica Beach on February 23, 2008 in Santa Monica, California (right). (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images North America)
I bumped into Mason again when we found ourselves working on the same floor on Fairfax & Wilshire while he was a producer and manager at Bender Spink and I was doing PR for Quintessentially Concierge Service. Mason had been reading Diablo Cody’s Minneapolis-based blog for years before calling her up and seeing if she might want to try her hand at a screenplay.
One of the many reason’s for Juno’s success was the viral cartoons produced by viral web master David Brooks and his team – including a cameraman/comedian named Luther and an intern named Arbi. Peter Rice, head of Fox Searchlight, had grown up with Brooks in the business and knew he had a good formula. In 2008, Rice brought Brooks into the studio full time to continue the viral phenomenas that propelled the Fox title “Juno” to stardom and an Independent Spirit Award.
In a sheer shocking coincidence, Brooks somehow got in touch with me and I joined their team at Fox for the first three months, helping with PR and viral video story development. “Jennifer’s Body” was among the films to cross my desk and I was hardly surprised to see Mason, Jason and Diablo team up again. You can read more about my Fox job here.
As Senior Vice President of Production at Fox Searchlight, Jeremy Steckler, was helpful in bringing in his friend and colleague’s film “Juno”. Before coming to Fox, Jeremy’s eye for talent landed him a senior studio producing gig at Paramount, with Lorenzo di Bonaventura where he produced “1408″, “Derailed” with Jennifer Aniston, and “Doom,” like the video game. Every time Jeremy has a movie come out, my mother sends him cookies at the studio to congratulate him. Jeremy was in my brother’s class at Harvard-Westlake and also went to grade school with us at John Thomas Dye, and is a close friend whom I often call a surrogate big brother. In his early career, Jeremy also worked at Polygram Filmed Entertainment in the Acquisitions Department and Spyglass Entertainment.Photo: David Brooks and Arbi Petrossian, Fox Marketing. Photo from Arbi.
Mason Novick also produced “(500) Days of Summer”, currently in theaters, which “is not a love story” according to the opening line of the movies, and stars Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt..
Other movies from Mason Novick
“Juno” director and “Jennifer’s Body” producer Reitman is currently in post production on his latest film, which he adapted, directed and produced, “Up in the Air,” starring George Clooney. Jason recently parted ways with his longtime producer, Dan Dubiecki, and shut down their production company together, Hard C.Share this post on Facebook, Twitter, Digg and more …
Trailer for (500) Days of Summer, currently in theatres, starring Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt
His new company will be called Right of Way Films and is intended to develop films as directing vehicles for him, but some could become producing projects. Helen Estabrook, who started with Reitman as an assistant, has grown to become his creative partner and will run development for Right of Way, which is backed by development partner Indian Paintbrush, a finance and production company headed by billionaire Steven Rales. Indian Paintbrush backed Wes Anderson’s “The Darjeeling Limited.”
Jason was born in Canada but grew up in L.A. and went to Harvard-Westlake. His father is Ivan Reitman, the writer and producer of Ghostbuster I & 2 as well as other popular 80s films like Casual Sex , Twins and Kindegarten Cop. Ivan recently announced a third installation to the Ghostbuster franchise, expected 2012. Jason went to USC for film and was first noticed in the industry for his film Thank you for Smoking, a documentary about the tobacco industry starring Arron Eckhart.
