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Neal H. Moritz

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Neal H. Moritz
Moritz at the 2010 San Diego Comic Con
Born (1959-06-06) June 6, 1959 (age 65)
Alma materUSC School of Cinematic Arts
OccupationFilm producer
SpouseSarah Trimble Moritz

Neal H. Moritz (born June 6, 1959) is an American film producer and founder of Original Film. He has produced over 70 major motion pictures which have grossed a total of over $12 billion worldwide as of 2021. He is best known for the Fast & Furious 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 I Know What You Did Last Summer, Urban Legend and Cruel Intentions.

Life

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Neal H. Moritz was born in Los Angeles, California, to Milton Moritz and Barbara (née Levin). His paternal grandfather, Joseph Moritz, owned movie theaters in Pittsburgh and was an early investor in American International Pictures (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 family.[2][3][4][5]

Moritz grew up in Westwood and graduated from UCLA, 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.[3] He earned a master's degree from the Peter Stark Producing Program at the University of Southern California'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

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Moritz has more than 70 films to his credit, including Juice starring Tupac Shakur, I Know What You Did Last Summer, the first two films of the Urban Legend franchise, Cruel Intentions, The Skulls, the Fast & Furious franchise, Not Another Teen Movie, the first two films of the XXX film series, being XXX and XXX: State of the Union, S.W.A.T., Evan Almighty, I Am Legend, Made of Honor, Sweet Home Alabama, Total Recall and the Jump Street films, being 21 Jump Street and 22 Jump Street.

More recent credits include Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Spenser Confidential, Bloodshot, Escape Room, Goosebumps and Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween.

He has also produced the television series The Boys, S.W.A.T., Preacher, Happy, Prison Break, and The Big Break.

In September 2017, Moritz and Original Film 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.  

In October 2018, Moritz filed a lawsuit against Universal Pictures in Los Angeles County Superior Court for breach of oral contract and committing promissory fraud after the distributor removed him as lead producer on Hobbs & Shaw. On September 2, 2020, the California Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District filed a published opinion affirming the trial court's denial of Universal's motion to compel arbitration of Moritz's claims.[6] On September 10, 2020, it was reported that the parties had reached an amicable settlement.[7] Moritz went on to receive producer credit for the 2021 film F9 and the 2023 film Fast X.

Filmography

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He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

Film

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NBCUniversal

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Year Title Director Notes
2000 The Skulls Rob Cohen Under Universal Pictures
2001 The Fast and the Furious
2003 2 Fast 2 Furious John Singleton
2006 The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift Justin Lin
2007 Evan Almighty Tom Shadyac
2009 Fast & Furious Justin Lin
2011 Fast Five
The Change-Up David Dobkin
2013 Fast & Furious 6 Justin Lin
R.I.P.D. Robert Schwentke
2014 Search Party Scot Armstrong Under Focus World
2015 Furious 7 James Wan Under Universal Pictures
2017 The Fate of the Furious F. Gary Gray
2021 F9 Justin Lin
2023 Fast X Louis Leterrier

Sony Pictures

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Year Title Director Notes
1997 I Know What You Did Last Summer Jim Gillespie Under Columbia Pictures
1998 I Still Know What You Did Last Summer Danny Cannon
Urban Legend Jamie Blanks Under TriStar Pictures
1999 Cruel Intentions Roger Kumble Under Columbia Pictures
Blue Streak Les Mayfield
2000 Urban Legends: Final Cut John Ottman
2001 Saving Silverman Dennis Dugan
The Glass House Daniel Sackheim
Not Another Teen Movie Joel Gallen
2002 Slackers Dewey Nicks Under Screen Gems
XXX Rob Cohen Under Columbia Pictures
2003 S.W.A.T. Clark Johnson
2005 XXX: State of the Union Lee Tamahori
Stealth Rob Cohen
2006 Click Frank Coraci
Gridiron Gang Phil Joanou
2008 Vantage Point Pete Travis
Made of Honor Paul Weiland
Prom Night Nelson McCormick Under Screen Gems
2010 The Bounty Hunter Andy Tennant Under Columbia Pictures
2011 The Green Hornet Michel Gondry
Battle: Los Angeles Jonathan Liebesman
2012 21 Jump Street Phil Lord and Christopher Miller
Total Recall Len Wiseman
2014 22 Jump Street Phil Lord and Christopher Miller
2015 Goosebumps Rob Letterman Under Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation
2016 Passengers Morten Tyldum Under Columbia Pictures
2018 Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween Ari Sandel Under Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation
2019 Escape Room Adam Robitel Under Columbia Pictures
2020 Bloodshot David S. F. Wilson
2021 Escape Room: Tournament of Champions Adam Robitel

Paramount Global

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Year Title Director Notes
1992 Juice Ernest R. Dickerson Under Paramount Pictures
2020 Sonic the Hedgehog Jeff Fowler
2022 Sonic the Hedgehog 2
2024 Sonic the Hedgehog 3

Lionsgate

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Year Title Director Notes
1994 The Stoned Age James Melkonian Under Trimark Pictures
1999 Held Up Steve Rash
2001 Soul Survivors Stephen Carpenter Under Artisan Entertainment
2011 The Music Never Stopped Jim Kohlberg Under Lionsgate Films and Roadside Attractions
2018 Hunter Killer Donovan Marsh Under Lionsgate Films and Summit Premiere

The Walt Disney Studios

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Year Title Director Notes
1997 Volcano Mick Jackson Under 20th Century Fox
2002 Sweet Home Alabama Andy Tennant Under Touchstone Pictures
2019 The Art of Racing in the Rain Simon Curtis Under 20th Century Fox
2022 The Princess Le-Van Kiet Under 20th Century Studios and Hulu

Warner Bros. Discovery

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Year Title Director Notes
2004 Torque Joseph Kahn Under Warner Bros.
2007 I Am Legend Francis Lawrence
2013 Jack the Giant Slayer Bryan Singer Under Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema

Other studios

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Year Film Director Studio
2003 Out of Time Carl Franklin MGM Distribution Co.
2013 Dead Man Down Niels Arden Oplev FilmDistrict
2020 Spenser Confidential Peter Berg Netflix
TBA Afterburn J.J. Perry Black Bear Pictures
Shadow Run Cédric Jimenez Solstice Studios[8]

Direct-to-video

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Television

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All works, he was executive producer unless otherwise noted

Pilots

TV movies

Other credits

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Acting roles

Year Title Role
2001 The Fast and the Furious Ferrari Driver
2003 2 Fast 2 Furious Swerving Cop
S.W.A.T. Luxury Car Driver

Special thanks

References

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  1. ^ "Neal H Moritz, Born 06/06/1959 in California". CaliforniaBirthIndex.org.
  2. ^ Shollar, Masha (August 3, 2016). "Native son recalls hand in 'Golden Age' of B movies". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
  3. ^ a b "'B.S. Pod': The History of the 'Fast & Furious' Franchise With Neal Moritz". The Ringer. April 11, 2017. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
  4. ^ "Neal Moritz, a producer with his finger on the pulse of the populace". Los Angeles Times. March 14, 2011. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
  5. ^ Goldstein, Patrick (March 9, 1999). "Moritz Makes His 'Intentionsxxx' Clear". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
  6. ^ Cullins, Ashley (September 3, 2020). "'Fast & Furious' Spinoff Fight to Remain in L.A. Court". The Hollywood Reporter.
  7. ^ Patten, Dominic (September 10, 2020). "Universal & 'Fast & Furious' Producer Neal Moritz Settle 'Hobbs & Shaw' Legal Drag Race". Deadline.com.
  8. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (June 30, 2020). "Solstice Studios & Original Film Team For Action Thriller 'Shadow Run'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 11, 2020. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
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