Jason Ferus Blum (/blʌm/;[2] born February 20, 1969)[1][3] is an American filmmaker. He is founder and CEO of Blumhouse Productions, which has produced the horror franchises Paranormal Activity (2007–2021), Insidious (2010–2023), The Purge (2013–2021), and Halloween (2018-2022). Blum has also produced Sinister (2012), Oculus (2013), Whiplash (2014), The Gallows (2015), The Gift (2015), Hush (2016), Split (2016), Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016), Get Out (2017), Happy Death Day (2017), Upgrade (2018), Us (2019), The Invisible Man (2020), Freaky (2020), The Black Phone (2021), M3GAN (2022), and Five Nights at Freddy's (2023).
Jason Blum | |
|---|---|
 Blum at the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con | |
| Born | Jason Ferus Blum February 20, 1969[1] Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Vassar College |
| Occupation(s) | Producer, studio executive |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Organization | Blumhouse Productions |
| Spouse |
Lauren A.E. Schuker (m. 2012) |
| Mother | Shirley Neilsen Blum |
Blum received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Picture for producing Whiplash (2014), Get Out (2017) and BlacKkKlansman (2018).[4] He received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie for producing the drama film The Normal Heart (2014). He also won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series for the documentary miniseries The Jinx (2015).
Early life and education
Jason Ferus Blum[3] was born in Los Angeles, California,[5] the son of Shirley Neilsen Blum (née Neilsen) and Irving Blum. His mother was an art professor and his father was an independent art dealer and director of the Ferus Gallery.[6][7] Blum is of Jewish heritage.[8][9]
He graduated from Vassar College in 1991.[10] While at Vassar, he and fellow future filmmaker Noah Baumbach were roommates, and Blum produced Baumbach's first film, Kicking and Screaming, in 1995.[11][12]
Career
Blum worked for Bob and Harvey Weinstein as an executive at Miramax, and later as an independent producer for Paramount Pictures. Prior to his tenure at Miramax, Blum was a producing director at Ethan Hawke's Malaparte theater company.[13] He is a member of the board of trustees of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.[14]
He obtained financing for his first film as producer, Kicking and Screaming (1995), after receiving a letter from family acquaintance, entertainer Steve Martin, who endorsed the script.[15] Blum attached the letter to copies of the script he sent around to Hollywood executives.[15]
Blumhouse Productions
In 2000, he founded Blumhouse Productions, which specializes in producing micro-budget movies that give directors full creative control over the projects.[13] Bloomberg News praised Blum for making "blockbusters for pennies",[16] including the horror film Paranormal Activity which cost $15,000 to make and then grossed nearly $200 million.[17] In addition, NPR's Planet Money did a special podcast about the company's methods.[18]
Blum also produced Insidious (2010), Sinister (2012), The Purge (2013) and Happy Death Day (2017), as well as their sequels.[19] In 2014, he served as executive producer for the television film The Normal Heart, which went on to win the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie. In 2015, he won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series for HBO's The Jinx.[20]
Blum's feature films BlacKkKlansman, Whiplash and Get Out were all nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.[4]
In 2018, Blum said in an interview that the reason no woman had ever directed one of his horror films was that "there are not a lot of female directors (...) and even less who are inclined to do horror."[21] After much criticism on social media, in which lists of such directors were circulated,[22] he apologized for what he called his "dumb comments".[23] In 2019, Sophia Takal directed and co-wrote the studio's horror remake Black Christmas, which opened on December 13, and was the studio's first theatrically-released film by a female director.[24][25]
Other ventures
On August 14, 2020, Daily Front Row listed Blum as one of a group of high-profile investors who purchased W, a troubled fashion magazine.[26]
Personal life
On July 14, 2012, Blum married journalist Lauren A.E. Schuker in Los Angeles.[6]
In July 2019, he bought a Brooklyn Heights townhouse for $9.8 million.[27]
Boards
Blum is on the Board of The Public Theater in New York, the Sundance Institute, Vassar College, and the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
Philanthropy
In 2022, Blum donated $10 million to Vassar College, the largest gift ever given to the college from a male alumnus.[28]
Filmography
Film
Universal Pictures
Paramount Pictures
|
Producer
|
Executive producer
|
Lionsgate Films
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Sinister | Scott Derrickson | |
| The Bay | Barry Levinson | With Roadside Attractions | |
| 2014 | Jessabelle | Kevin Greutert | |
| 2019 | The Gallows Act II | Chris Lofing Travis Cluff |
|
| 2024 | Imaginary | Jeff Wadlow |
Focus Features
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Insidious: Chapter 3 | Leigh Whannell | With Gramercy Pictures |
| Sinister 2 | Ciarán Foy | ||
| 2016 | In a Valley of Violence | Ti West | |
| 2018 | BlacKkKlansman | Spike Lee | |
| Bathtubs Over Broadway | Dava Whisenant | Executive producer | |
| 2022 | Vengeance | B. J. Novak |
Sony Pictures Releasing
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Whiplash | Damien Chazelle | Through Sony Pictures Classics |
| 2020 | Fantasy Island | Jeff Wadlow | |
| The Craft: Legacy | Zoe Lister-Jones | ||
| 2023 | Insidious: The Red Door | Patrick Wilson | |
| 2024 | Afraid | Chris Weitz |
Netflix
|
Producer
|
Executive producer
|
Amazon MGM Studios
|
Executive producer
|
Producer
|
FilmDistrict
|
Producer
|
Executive producer
|
The Weinsteins
|
Producer
|
Executive producer
|
Other
Television
|
Executive producer
|
Producer
|
Awards and nominations
| Year | Association | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 25th Independent Spirit Awards | Best First Feature | Paranormal Activity | Nominated |
| 2014 | 66th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Television Movie | The Normal Heart | Won |
| 2015 | 72nd Golden Globe Awards | Best Miniseries or Television Film | Nominated | |
| 26th Producers Guild of America Awards | Best Long-Form Television | Nominated | ||
| Best Theatrical Motion Picture | Whiplash | Nominated | ||
| 4th AACTA International Awards | Best Film | Nominated | ||
| 30th Independent Spirit Awards | Best Film | Nominated | ||
| 87th Academy Awards | Best Picture | Nominated | ||
| 67th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series | The Jinx | Won | |
| 2016 | 27th Producers Guild of America Awards | Best Non-Fiction Television | Won | |
| 2017 | Gotham Independent Film Awards 2017 | Best Feature | Get Out | Nominated |
| 2018 | 75th Golden Globe Awards | Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy | Nominated | |
| 29th Producers Guild of America Awards | Best Theatrical Motion Picture | Nominated | ||
| 33rd Independent Spirit Awards | Best Film | Won | ||
| 90th Academy Awards | Best Picture | Nominated | ||
| Gotham Independent Film Awards 2018 | Breakthrough Series – Long Form | Sharp Objects | Nominated | |
| 2019 | 76th Golden Globe Awards | Best Motion Picture – Drama | BlackKklansman | Nominated |
| Best Miniseries or Television Film | Sharp Objects | Nominated | ||
| 30th Producers Guild of America Awards | Best Limited Series Television | Nominated | ||
| Best Theatrical Motion Picture | BlackKklansman | Nominated | ||
| 72nd British Academy Film Awards | Best Film | Nominated | ||
| 91st Academy Awards | Best Picture | Nominated | ||
| 71st Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Limited Series | Sharp Objects | Nominated | |
| 2020 | 77th Golden Globe Awards | Best Miniseries or Television Film | The Loudest Voice | Nominated |
| 2021 | 41st Golden Raspberry Awards | Worst Picture | Fantasy Island | Nominated |
| 2022 | 75th Locarno Film Festival | Premio Raimondo Rezzonico (Best Independent Producer) | Himself | Won |
| 2024 | 44th Golden Raspberry Awards | Worst Picture | The Exorcist: Believer | Nominated |
References
- ^ a b "Jason Blum". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
- ^ "Five Favorite Horror Films: Jason Blum". Rotten Tomatoes. October 15, 2018. Archived from the original on April 19, 2019. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- ^ a b Brady, Tara (March 16, 2017). "Jason Blum, the man who made $193m on a $15,000 film budget". The Irish Times. "Jason Ferus Blum was born in LA in 1969 to Shirley Neilsen, an art professor, and Irving Blum, an art dealer"
- ^ a b "Oscar Nominations: 'Grand Budapest Hotel' & 'Birdman' Lead Way With 9 Noms; 'Imitation Game' Scores 8". Deadline. January 15, 2015. Archived from the original on March 29, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
- ^ Bhattacharji, Alex (July 16, 2018). "How Producer Jason Blum is Disrupting Hollywood". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
- ^ a b "Weddings/Celebrations - Lauren Schuker and Jason Blum". The New York Times. July 15, 2012. Archived from the original on March 10, 2017. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
- ^ "Blum, Shirley". Dictionary of Art Historians. Archived from the original on March 31, 2018. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
the couple (Hopps), along with the artist Edward Kienholz founded the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles in 1957.
- ^ "Jewish producer booed off LA Israeli film festival stage for anti-Trump remarks". The Times of Israel.
- ^ "Get Out producer booed off stage at Israeli film festival for criticising Trump". TheGuardian.com. November 8, 2018.
- ^ Hertz, Larry (February 27, 2020). "Award Winning Film and TV Producer Jason Blum '91 to Deliver Commencement Address - Stories - Vassar College". Vassar.edu. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
- ^ "How I Made It: Jason Blum, film producer". Los Angeles Times. November 27, 2011. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
- ^ Macaulay, Scott (January 25, 2017). "Working Through Fear: An Interview with Blumhouse's Jason Blum | Filmmaker Magazine". Filmmaker Magazine | Publication with a focus on independent film, offering articles, links, and resources. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
- ^ a b "About Blumhouse Productions". Blumhouse.com. Archived from the original on June 21, 2013.
- ^ "Academy Museum Names New Board of Trustees | Hollywood Reporter". Hollywood Reporter. December 5, 2017. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
- ^ a b "I am Jason Blum, producer of Paranormal Activity, The Purge and Insidious: Chapter2". Reddit. June 18, 2013. Archived from the original on April 1, 2015. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
- ^ "Jason Blum, the Penny-Pinching Horror Movie Maestro". Bloomberg.com. April 25, 2014. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
- ^ "Paranormal Activity (2007)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on September 9, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
- ^ "Episode 650: The Business Genius Behind Get Out". NPR.org. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
- ^ "Q&A: Producer Jason Blum talks "OUIJA", "PURGE 3", "CURVE" & More…". Fangoria. February 4, 2015. Archived from the original on February 4, 2015. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
- ^ "2015 - 67th Emmy Awards". www.emmys.com. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
- ^ Patches, Matt (October 18, 2018). "Blumhouse has never produced a theatrically released horror movie directed by a woman — but hopes to". Polygon. Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
- ^ Nyren, Erin (October 18, 2018). "Jason Blum Says He's Meeting With Women Directors After Claiming 'There Aren't a Lot'". Variety. Archived from the original on October 20, 2018. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
- ^ Lussier, Germain (October 19, 2018). "Halloween Producer Jason Blum Has Apologized for His Ridiculous Comments About Women Directors". io9. Archived from the original on October 20, 2018. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
- ^ Kohn, Eric (December 7, 2018). "Blumhouse Hires Another Woman Director: Sophia Takal's All-Female Horror Movie". Archived from the original on December 9, 2018. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
- ^ Mendehlson, Scott (December 14, 2019). "Friday Box Office: 'Richard Jewell' And 'Black Christmas' Flop, 'Uncut Gems' And 'Bombshell' Break Out". Forbes. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
- ^ Spangler, Todd (August 14, 2020). "Karlie Kloss Leads Buyout of W Magazine, With Jason Blum Among New Owners". Variety. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
- ^ Keil, Jennifer Gould (July 24, 2019). "Producer Jason Blum shells out $10M for Brooklyn townhouse". NY Post. Archived from the original on August 8, 2019. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
- ^ "Good News: Jason Blum Donated $10 Million to Vassar". June 17, 2022.
External links
