Len Blum
Leonard Solomon Blum (born December 29, 1951) is a Canadian screenwriter, film producer and film composer.[1]
Len Blum | |
|---|---|
| Born | Leonard Solomon Blum December 29, 1951 |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer, screenwriter, yoga teacher, filmmaker |
| Years active | 1979–present |
| Spouse | |
Early life
Blum was born into a Jewish family.[2] He attended Westdale Secondary School in Hamilton, Ontario. He later graduated from McMaster University with a Bachelor of Arts in 1975.
Career
He has written many films, specializing in comedy, including Meatballs,[1] Stripes,[1] Heavy Metal, Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone, Beethoven's 2nd, Private Parts,[1] The Pink Panther remake and Over the Hedge. Prior to his film career, early on he was a rock musician and songwriter did studio productions, produced radio commercials.
In 2015, the Toronto International Film Festival created a screenwriter's residency program named after Blum, specifically for up and coming Canadian screenwriters to develop their projects.[3] The inaugural resident was Stephen Dunn.[4] In 2016, Andrew Cividino was announced as the new resident.[5]
Accolades
He won the Genie Award for Best Original Screenplay, in 1980, for the film Meatballs.[6]
Personal life
He has been married to Heather Munroe-Blum since 1970, with whom he has a daughter, Sydney.[2]
Filmography
- Meatballs (with Dan Goldberg and Harold Ramis) (1979)
- Stripes (with Dan Goldberg and Harold Ramis) (1981)
- Heavy Metal (with Dan Goldberg) (1981)
- Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (with Dan Goldberg) (1983)
- Feds (with Dan Goldberg) (1988)
- Beethoven's 2nd (1993)
- Dream Tower (with Ron Mann and Bill Schroeder) (1994)
- Private Parts (1997)
- The Pink Panther (with Steve Martin) (2006)
- Over the Hedge (with Lorne Cameron, David Hoselton, and Karey Kirkpatrick) (2006)
- Altman (2014)
- Summer of Love (2018)
- Carmine Street Guitars (2018) directed by Ron Mann
References
- Sandra Brennan (2014). "Len Blum". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2014-01-29.
- Gladstone, Bill (1996). "Conversation with screenwriter Len Blum". BillGladstone.ca. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
- Pinto, Jordan (July 21, 2015). "TIFF announces Len Blum Residency program". Retrieved 2016-08-04.
- "Stephen Dunn, selected as the inaugural Len Blum Resident". www.filmfestivals.com. Retrieved 2016-08-04.
- Erbland, Kate (2016-08-03). "TIFF Adds New Round of Titles, Including 'It's Only the End of the World,' 'Mean Dreams' and More". Retrieved 2016-08-04.
- Maria Topalovich, And the Genie Goes To...: Celebrating 50 Years of the Canadian Film Awards. Stoddart Publishing, 2000. ISBN 0-7737-3238-1.