Neal H. Moritz

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, after attending Semester at Sea.^[6] 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.

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 main 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 the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, 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.^[7] On September 10, 2020, it was reported that the parties had reached an amicable settlement.^[8] Moritz went on to receive producer credit for the 2021 film F9 and the 2023 film Fast X.