Leonard Solomon Blum (born December 29, 1951) is a Canadian screenwriter, film producer and film composer.[1]

Len Blum
Born
Leonard Solomon Blum

(1951-12-29) December 29, 1951 (age 72)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Occupation(s)Musician, composer, screenwriter, yoga teacher, filmmaker
Years active1979–present
Spouse
(m. 1970)
Children1

Early life

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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

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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

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He won the Genie Award for Best Original Screenplay, in 1980, for the film Meatballs.[6]

Personal life

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He has been married to Heather Munroe-Blum since 1970, with whom he has a daughter, Sydney.[2]

Filmography

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Sandra Brennan (2014). "Len Blum". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2014-01-29.
  2. ^ a b Gladstone, Bill (1996). "Conversation with screenwriter Len Blum". BillGladstone.ca. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
  3. ^ Pinto, Jordan (July 21, 2015). "TIFF announces Len Blum Residency program". Retrieved 2016-08-04.
  4. ^ "Stephen Dunn, selected as the inaugural Len Blum Resident". www.filmfestivals.com. Retrieved 2016-08-04.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ Maria Topalovich, And the Genie Goes To...: Celebrating 50 Years of the Canadian Film Awards. Stoddart Publishing, 2000. ISBN 0-7737-3238-1.
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