HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Neal H. Moritz (born June 6, 1959) is an American film producer and founder of
Original Film Original Film is an American film and television production company founded by Neal H. Moritz. Notable films the company has produced include the ''Fast & Furious'' franchise. History Original Film was started out in the early 1990s by Neal ...
. He has produced over 70 major motion pictures which have grossed a total of over $11 billion worldwide as of 2021. He is best known for the ''
Fast & Furious ''Fast & Furious'' (also known as ''The Fast and the Furious'') is a media franchise centered on a series of action films that are largely concerned with street racing, heists, spies, and family. The franchise also includes short films, ...
'' franchise, the '' Jump Street'' and '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' films, as well as the television series '' Prison Break'' and Emmy-nominated '' The Boys''. His early credits include teen classics ''
I Know What You Did Last Summer ''I Know What You Did Last Summer'' is a 1997 American slasher film directed by Jim Gillespie, written by Kevin Williamson, and starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe and Freddie Prinze Jr. It is loosely base ...
'', ''
Urban Legend An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...
'' and ''
Cruel Intentions ''Cruel Intentions'' is a 1999 American teen romantic drama film written and directed by Roger Kumble and starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon, and Selma Blair. The film is a modern retelling of Pierre Choderlos d ...
''.


Life

Neal H. Moritz was born in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
, California, to Milton Moritz and Barbara (''née'' Levin). His paternal grandfather, Joseph Moritz, owned movie theaters in
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
and was an early investor in
American International Pictures American International Pictures (AIP) is an American motion picture production label of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution company known for producing and releasing fi ...
(AIP). Milton Moritz was born in Pittsburgh and moved to California after falling ill with rheumatic fever at age eight, when his doctor suggested the family move to a better climate. He was head of marketing at AIP and was later CEO and president of the National Association of Theatre Owners of California/Nevada. Moritz is from a
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family. Moritz grew up in Westwood and graduated from
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...
, where he participated in a Semester at Sea program. When he came back, he gave away several backpacks that were popular with Chinese students. He had so many requests for the backpacks that he and a friend began a company importing purses and bags from Taiwan. He sold the company to an investor, and returned to school. He earned a master's degree from the Peter Stark Producing Program at the
University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...
's School of Cinema-Television in 1985. He is a member of the school's Alumni Development Council. As of 2021, Moritz has been married for 20 years and has two children, aged 19 and 16.


Career

Moritz has more than 70 films to his credit, including ''Juice'' starring Tupac Shakur, ''
I Know What You Did Last Summer ''I Know What You Did Last Summer'' is a 1997 American slasher film directed by Jim Gillespie, written by Kevin Williamson, and starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe and Freddie Prinze Jr. It is loosely base ...
'', the first two films of the ''
Urban Legend An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...
'' franchise, ''
Cruel Intentions ''Cruel Intentions'' is a 1999 American teen romantic drama film written and directed by Roger Kumble and starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon, and Selma Blair. The film is a modern retelling of Pierre Choderlos d ...
'', ''The Skulls'', the ''
Fast & Furious ''Fast & Furious'' (also known as ''The Fast and the Furious'') is a media franchise centered on a series of action films that are largely concerned with street racing, heists, spies, and family. The franchise also includes short films, ...
'' franchise, ''
Not Another Teen Movie ''Not Another Teen Movie'' is a 2001 American teen parody film directed by Joel Gallen and written by Mike Bender, Adam Jay Epstein, Andrew Jacobson, Phil Beauman, and Buddy Johnson. It features an ensemble cast including Chyler Leigh, Chris E ...
'', the first two films of the '' XXX'' film series, being '' XXX'' and '' XXX: State of the Union'', '' ''S.W.A.T.'''', ''
Evan Almighty ''Evan Almighty'' is a 2007 American comedy film, and a spin-off of ''Bruce Almighty'' (2003). The film was directed by Tom Shadyac, written by Steve Oedekerk, based on the characters created by Steve Koren and Mark O'Keefe from the original fi ...
'', ''I Am Legend'', ''
Made of Honor ''Made of Honor'' (''Made of Honour'' in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, and Australia) is a 2008 American romantic comedy film directed by Paul Weiland and written by Adam Sztykiel, Deborah Kaplan, and Harry Elfont. The film stars Patri ...
'', ''
Sweet Home Alabama "Sweet Home Alabama" is a song by American southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, released on the band's second album ''Second Helping'' (1974). It was written in response to Neil Young's 1970 song "Southern Man", which the band felt blamed the e ...
'', ''Total Recall'' and the '' Jump Street'' films, being ''
21 Jump Street ''21 Jump Street'' is an American police procedural television series that aired on the Fox network and in first run syndication from April 12, 1987, to April 27, 1991, with a total of 103 episodes. The series focuses on a squad of youthful-loo ...
'' and ''
22 Jump Street ''22 Jump Street'' is a 2014 American satirical buddy cop action comedy film directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, written by Jonah Hill, Michael Bacall, Oren Uziel and Rodney Rothman and produced by and starring Hill and Channing Tatum ...
''. Recent credits include '' Sonic the Hedgehog'', ''
Spenser Confidential ''Spenser Confidential'' is a 2020 American action comedy film directed by Peter Berg and with a screenplay written by Sean O'Keefe and Brian Helgeland. The film stars Mark Wahlberg, Winston Duke, Alan Arkin, Iliza Shlesinger, Bokeem Woodbine, D ...
'', '' Bloodshot'', ''
Escape Room An escape room, also known as an escape game, puzzle room, exit game, or riddle room is a game in which a team of players discover clues, solve puzzles, and accomplish tasks in one or more rooms in order to accomplish a specific goal in a limite ...
'', ''
Goosebumps ''Goosebumps'' is a series of children's horror fiction novels by American author R. L. Stine, published by Scholastic Publishing. The protagonists in these stories are tweens or young teens who find themselves in scary circumstances usually ...
'' and '' Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween''. He has also produced the television series '' The Boys'', ''
S.W.A.T. In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...
'', ''
Preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as ...
'', '' Happy'', '' Prison Break'', and '' The Big Break''. In September 2017, Moritz and
Original Film Original Film is an American film and television production company founded by Neal H. Moritz. Notable films the company has produced include the ''Fast & Furious'' franchise. History Original Film was started out in the early 1990s by Neal ...
signed a first-look deal for Paramount Pictures that began on January 1, 2019, leaving his longtime home, Sony Pictures, after over 20 years. However, he still maintains his overall deal at
Sony Pictures Television Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production and distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, it is a division of Sony Entertainment's unit Sony Pictures Entertainme ...
.   In October 2018, Moritz filed a lawsuit against Universal Pictures for breach of oral contract and committing promissory fraud after the distributor removed him as lead producer on ''
Hobbs & Shaw ''Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw'' is a 2019 American buddy action comedy film directed by David Leitch and written by Chris Morgan and Drew Pearce, from a story by Morgan. It is the first spinoff of the ''Fast & Furious'' franchise ...
''. His lawsuit was settled in September 2020 and he received producer credit for the 2021 film '' F9''.


Filmography

He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.


Film


Sony Pictures


NBCUniversal


Lionsgate


The Walt Disney Studios


Warner Bros. Discovery


Paramount Global


Other studios


Direct-to-video

* ''
Cruel Intentions 2 ''Cruel Intentions 2'' (also known as ''Cruel Intentions 2: Manchester Prep'' or simply as ''Manchester Prep'') is a 2000 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Roger Kumble, starring Robin Dunne, Sarah Thompson, Keri Lynn Pratt, ...
'' (2000) * '' The Skulls II'' (2002) (Executive producer) * '' The Skulls III'' (2004) * '' Cruel Intentions 3'' (2004) * '' Devour'' (2005) * ''
I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer ''I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer'' is a 2006 American direct-to-video slasher film. The film is t ...
'' (2006) * '' Species: The Awakening'' (2007) * '' S.W.A.T.: Firefight'' (2011) * '' S.W.A.T.: Under Siege'' (2017)


As an actor


Thanks

* ''
My Trip to the Dark Side Shane Stanley (born June 15, 1971 in Encino, Los Angeles) is a filmmaker and founder of Visual Arts Entertainment, a film and television production company based in Los Angeles. He is best known for producing ''Gridiron Gang'' starring Dwayne " ...
'' (2011)


Television

''All works, he was executive producer unless otherwise noted.'' * ''
Shasta McNasty ''Shasta McNasty'' (later retitled ''Shasta'') is an American sitcom that aired on UPN from October 5, 1999, to August 1, 2000. The show was created by Jeff Eastin and produced by Eastin and Neal H. Moritz. The show starred Carmine Giovinazz ...
'' (1999) * ''Still Life'' (2003) * ''
Greg the Bunny ''Greg the Bunny'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on Fox in 2002. It starred Seth Green and a hand puppet named Greg the Bunny, originally invented by the team of Sean S. Baker, Spencer Chinoy and Dan Milano. Milano and ...
'' (2002–04) * ''
Tru Calling ''Tru Calling'' is an American supernatural drama television series that aired on Fox. Original episodes aired between October 30, 2003, and April 21, 2005; however, the final episode was shown in other territories before it was aired in the Unit ...
'' (2003–05) * '' Point Pleasant'' (2005–06) * '' The Big C'' (2010–13) * '' Save Me'' (2013) * '' Prison Break'' (2005–17) * '' Happy!'' (2017–19) * '' The Boys'' (2019–present) * '' Fast & Furious Spy Racers'' (2019–2021) * ''
Preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as ...
'' (2016–19) * ''
S.W.A.T. In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...
'' (2017–present) * ''
I Know What You Did Last Summer ''I Know What You Did Last Summer'' is a 1997 American slasher film directed by Jim Gillespie, written by Kevin Williamson, and starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe and Freddie Prinze Jr. It is loosely base ...
'' (2021) * '' The Boys Presents: Diabolical'' (2022)


TV Movies

* '' Framed'' (1990) * '' Blind Justice'' (1994) * ''
The Rat Pack The Rat Pack was an informal group of entertainers, the second iteration of which ultimately made films and appeared together in Las Vegas casino venues. They originated in the late 1940s and early 1950s as a group of A-list show business frie ...
'' (1998) * ''Monster!'' (1999) * '' Cabin by the Lake'' (2000) * ''
Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
'' (2000) * ''Electra's Guy'' (2000) * ''
Class Warfare Class conflict, also referred to as class struggle and class warfare, is the political tension and economic antagonism that exists in society because of socio-economic competition among the social classes or between rich and poor. The forms ...
'' (2001) * ''
Return to Cabin by the Lake ''Return to Cabin by the Lake'' is a 2001 American crime comedy telefilm, starring Judd Nelson. It was directed by Po-Chih Leong. The movie is a sequel to '' Cabin by the Lake''. Plot Two years after being presumed dead, Stanley Caldwell (under ...
'' (2001) * ''Shotgun Love Dolls'' (2001) * ''The Pool at Maddy Breaker's'' (2003) * ''Vegas Dick'' (2003) * ''Not Another High School Show'' (2007) * ''SIS'' (2008) * '' Prison Break: The Final Break'' (2009)


TV Pilots

* ''
Mr. Ed ''Mister Ed'' is an American television sitcom produced by Filmways that aired in syndication from January 5 to July 2, 1961, and then on CBS from October 1, 1961, to February 6, 1966. The show's title character is a talking horse which orig ...
'' (2004) * Untitled
Dave Caplan Dave Caplan (born May 6, 1959) is an American television writer and Executive Producer of prime-time comedies. He co-developed and serves as writer/executive producer of ABC's ''The Conners''. He was a writer/co-Executive on the reboot of ''Rosea ...
pilot (2008) * ''
Cruel Intentions ''Cruel Intentions'' is a 1999 American teen romantic drama film written and directed by Roger Kumble and starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon, and Selma Blair. The film is a modern retelling of Pierre Choderlos d ...
'' (2016) * ''
Roadside Picnic ''Roadside Picnic'' (Russian: , ''Piknik na obochine'', ) is a philosophical science fiction novel by Soviet-Russian authors Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, written in 1971 and published in 1972. It is the brothers' most popular and most widely tra ...
'' (2017)


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moritz, Neal H. 1959 births Living people 20th-century American Jews American film producers Businesspeople from Los Angeles Film producers from California USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni 21st-century American Jews