Neal H. Moritz
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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 the ''
Sonic the Hedgehog is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese developers Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, and Hirokazu Yasuhara for Sega. The franchise follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battle ...
'' films, as well as the television series ''
Prison Break ''Prison Break'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Paul Scheuring for Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox. The series revolves around two brothers: Lincoln Burrows (Dominic P ...
'' and Emmy-nominated '' The Boys''. His early credits include '' I Know What You Did Last Summer'', ''
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'' and '' Cruel Intentions''.


Life

Neal H. Moritz was born in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, California, to Milton Moritz and Barbara (''née'' Levin). His paternal grandfather, Joseph Moritz, owned movie theaters in
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
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 Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
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, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...
, 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 The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
'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'', the first two films of the ''
Urban Legend Urban legend (sometimes modern legend, urban myth, or simply legend) is a genre of folklore concerning stories about an unusual (usually scary) or humorous event that many people believe to be true but largely are not. These legends can be e ...
'' 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 ''22 Jump Street'' is a 2014 American adult 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 T ...
''. More recent credits include ''
Sonic the Hedgehog is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese developers Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, and Hirokazu Yasuhara for Sega. The franchise follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battle ...
'', '' 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 A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who Open-air preaching, preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach com ...
'', '' Happy'', ''
Prison Break ''Prison Break'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Paul Scheuring for Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox. The series revolves around two brothers: Lincoln Burrows (Dominic P ...
'', and '' The Big Break''. In September 2017, Moritz and Original Film signed a first-look deal for
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...
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 company, production and broadcast syndication, distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, California, it is a division o ...
.   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 Arbitration is a formal method of dispute resolution involving a third party neutral who makes a binding decision. The third party neutral (the 'arbitrator', 'arbiter' or 'arbitral tribunal') renders the decision in the form of an 'arbitrati ...
of Moritz's claims. On September 10, 2020, it was reported that the parties had reached an amicable settlement. Moritz went on to receive producer credit for the 2021 film '' F9'' and the 2023 film '' Fast X''.


Filmography

He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.


Film


NBCUniversal


Sony Pictures


Paramount Global


Lionsgate


The Walt Disney Studios


Warner Bros Pictures


Other studios


Direct-to-video

* '' Cruel Intentions 2'' (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'' (2006) * '' S.W.A.T.: Firefight'' (2011) * '' S.W.A.T.: Under Siege'' (2017)


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 Giovinaz ...
'' (1999) * ''Still Life'' (2003) * '' Greg the Bunny'' (2002–04) * '' Tru Calling'' (2003–05) * '' Point Pleasant'' (2005–06) * '' The Big C'' (2010–13) * '' Save Me'' (2013) * ''
Prison Break ''Prison Break'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Paul Scheuring for Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox. The series revolves around two brothers: Lincoln Burrows (Dominic P ...
'' (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 Open-air preaching, preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach com ...
'' (2016–19) * '' S.W.A.T.'' (2017–25) * '' I Know What You Did Last Summer'' (2021) * '' The Boys Presents: Diabolical'' (2022) * '' Gen V'' (2023–present) * '' Goosebumps'' (2023–present) * '' Knuckles'' (2024) * '' Cruel Intentions'' (2024) * '' Long Bright River'' (2025) * '' S.W.A.T. Exiles'' (Upcoming) Pilots * '' Mr. Ed'' (2004) * Untitled Dave Caplan pilot (2008) * '' Cruel Intentions'' (2016) * '' Roadside Picnic'' (2017) TV movies * '' Framed'' (1990) * '' Blind Justice'' (1994) * '' The Rat Pack'' (1998) * ''Monster!'' (1999) * '' Cabin by the Lake'' (2000) * '' Hendrix'' (2000) * ''Electra's Guy'' (2000) * '' Class Warfare'' (2001) * '' Return to Cabin by the Lake'' (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)


Other credits

Acting roles Special thanks * '' My Trip to the Dark Side'' (2011)


References


External links

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