Art & Creativity Quote by Ivan Reitman

Reitman is quietly arguing for a kind of controlled chaos: treat the script as a living document when you have the rare performer who can generate usable writing in real time. The name-checking matters. Bill Murray and Harold Ramis weren’t just funny guys hitting marks; they were comic architects. By putting “performer” and “write” in the same breath, Reitman elevates improv from indulgence to authorship, reframing on-set spontaneity as legitimate drafting rather than reckless deviation.

The line also telegraphs a director’s power move. “If you think of it that way” is permission and warning: the set can become the writers’ room, but only under a particular mindset where accidents are mined, shaped, and ultimately owned. It’s not romantic “let’s just riff.” It’s a production philosophy that assumes the camera can capture first drafts with final-draft energy, and that comedy’s best moments often arrive with the pressure of time, crew, and chemistry.

Contextually, it’s a snapshot of the Reitman era of studio comedy, when films like Ghostbusters and Stripes turned looseness into a marketable style. The subtext is scarcity: most actors can’t do this, most sets can’t afford it, and most directors would fear it. Reitman’s compliment doubles as a boundary. You can rewrite on the day only when the people in front of the lens are, effectively, co-authors who understand structure, not just punchlines.