Jack Blum
Encyclopedia
Jack Blum is a Canadian writer, producer, director, story editor, actor, educator and communications consultant based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. With his longtime partner Sharon Corder, he has written and produced more than fifty hours of television drama for both Canadian and American broadcasters. His early acting career included the role of Spaz in the comedy hit Meatballs
, as well as appearances in dozens of other feature films and television shows. In the theatre, he directed productions across Canada (including several world premieres) and was Associate Artistic Director at the La Jolla Playhouse
in California. He has written many articles about the film industry for periodicals (Take one, Montague, POV), taught courses in screenwriting, and been active as a lobbyist for indigenous Canadian film production. He has worked as a communications consultant for several prominent Canadian politicians. Since 1998 he has served as Chair of the Credit Arbitration Committee of the Writers Guild of Canada.
, and trained as an actor at the National Theatre School of Canada
.
In the early Eighties, Blum began writing for television. In addition to episodes of the series Sons and Daughters and The Edison Twins, he co-wrote and was Associate Producer on the television movie Hockey Night, starring Megan Follows and Rick Moranis, for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and the award-winning short drama The Umpire for the National Film Board of Canada.
In 1985 he began working with co-writer Sharon Corder. Together they co-created the celebrated and long-running series Traders, as well as a host of other episodes of television drama. They were Story Editors on the syndicated series Catwalk, Co-Producers on Traders (Global), and Supervising Producers on Power Play (CTV).
In 1998 they wrote and produced a feature film, Babyface (directed and co-written by Blum, produced and co-written by Corder), which premiered at the Director’s Fortnight in Cannes in 1998.
In 2003, the team produced a short drama, DNA, with Corder scripting and Blum directing. The film stars Michael Riley as a grieving widower struggling to get over his loss. In 2005, he and Corder founded Reel Canada, an educational program aimed at promoting Canadian film in high schools.
As of 2008, Blum and Corder are developing a new feature film, Crete on the Half Shell, based on the travel memoir of the same name by Byron Ayanoglu, and a four part miniseries, Sunnyside, about Toronto’s Great Heat Wave of 1936.
Blum also made guest appearances in many television series including Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, Sweating Bullets, Dracula: The Series, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Twilight Zone, and Street Legal
For Kids’ Records, Blum also scripted and directed the children’s audio tape A Child's Look at - What it Means to be Jewish, and, with Corder, A Child's look at - Mozart.
Blue Ribbon, American Film Festival, New York
Hockey Night: C.F.T.A. Award, Best Feature Length Production
ACTRA Award Nominee; Best Original Screenplay,
ACTRA Award Nominee; Best Children's Program
What it Means to be Jewish: Best Spoken Word Recording,
National Independent American Distributors Award, San Francisco
Getting out: Dora Mavor Moore Award for Artistic Excellence and Theatrical Innovation
Meatballs (film)
Meatballs is a 1979 Canadian comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman. It is noted for the first film appearance of Bill Murray in a starring role and for launching Reitman into a distinguished career of financially successful comedies including Stripes and Ghostbusters , both starring Murray...
, as well as appearances in dozens of other feature films and television shows. In the theatre, he directed productions across Canada (including several world premieres) and was Associate Artistic Director at the La Jolla Playhouse
La Jolla Playhouse
La Jolla Playhouse is a not-for-profit, professional theatre-in-residence on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. -Background:...
in California. He has written many articles about the film industry for periodicals (Take one, Montague, POV), taught courses in screenwriting, and been active as a lobbyist for indigenous Canadian film production. He has worked as a communications consultant for several prominent Canadian politicians. Since 1998 he has served as Chair of the Credit Arbitration Committee of the Writers Guild of Canada.
Early life and education
Born in Toronto, Blum grew up in Hamilton, OntarioHamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
, and trained as an actor at the National Theatre School of Canada
National Theatre School of Canada
The National Theatre School of Canada is a private college located in Montreal, Quebec.Established in Montreal in 1960, the National Theatre School of Canada offers professional training in English and French in a setting that unites all the theatre arts: acting, playwriting, directing, set and...
.
Career
On graduating from NTS he appeared in many feature films and television shows, including most notably Meatballs.In the early Eighties, Blum began writing for television. In addition to episodes of the series Sons and Daughters and The Edison Twins, he co-wrote and was Associate Producer on the television movie Hockey Night, starring Megan Follows and Rick Moranis, for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and the award-winning short drama The Umpire for the National Film Board of Canada.
In 1985 he began working with co-writer Sharon Corder. Together they co-created the celebrated and long-running series Traders, as well as a host of other episodes of television drama. They were Story Editors on the syndicated series Catwalk, Co-Producers on Traders (Global), and Supervising Producers on Power Play (CTV).
In 1998 they wrote and produced a feature film, Babyface (directed and co-written by Blum, produced and co-written by Corder), which premiered at the Director’s Fortnight in Cannes in 1998.
In 2003, the team produced a short drama, DNA, with Corder scripting and Blum directing. The film stars Michael Riley as a grieving widower struggling to get over his loss. In 2005, he and Corder founded Reel Canada, an educational program aimed at promoting Canadian film in high schools.
As of 2008, Blum and Corder are developing a new feature film, Crete on the Half Shell, based on the travel memoir of the same name by Byron Ayanoglu, and a four part miniseries, Sunnyside, about Toronto’s Great Heat Wave of 1936.
Filmography
- East End HustleEast End HustleEast End Hustle is a 1976 drama film directed by Frank Vitale and distributed by Troma Entertainment. The plot revolves around a high-priced prostitute who leads a rebellion of hookers against their sadistic pimps....
(1976) - Ernie - MeatballsMeatballs (film)Meatballs is a 1979 Canadian comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman. It is noted for the first film appearance of Bill Murray in a starring role and for launching Reitman into a distinguished career of financially successful comedies including Stripes and Ghostbusters , both starring Murray...
(1979) - Spaz - Hog Wild (1980) - Gil Lasky
- Happy Birthday to Me (1981) - Alfred Morris
- The Funny Farm (1983) - Peter Bowman
- Self DefenseSelf Defense (1983 film)Self Defense is a 1983 action-thriller-film directed by Paul Donovan and starring Tom Nardini, Brenda Bazinet, Darel Haeny and Terry-David Després.-Plot:...
(1983) - Patrick - RenegadesRenegades (1989 film)Renegades is a 1989 crime film starring Lou Diamond Phillips and Kiefer Sutherland. Floyd Red Crow Westerman debuted in this film as "Red Crow", Hank Storm's father....
(1989) - Keith Weinstock - ExoticaExotica (film)Exotica is a 1994 Canadian film set primarily in and around the Exotica strip club in Toronto, Canada. It was written and directed by Atom Egoyan. Music used includes "Montagues and Capulets".-Synopsis:...
(1994) - Scalper - Cowboys and Indians: The J.J. Harper Story (2003) (TV) - Harvey Pollock, QC
- AdorationAdoration (film)Adoration is a 2008 Canadian drama film directed by Atom Egoyan and starring Rachel Blanchard, Scott Speedman and Devon Bostick. It is Egoyan's first feature film since Where The Truth Lies....
(2008) -
Blum also made guest appearances in many television series including Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, Sweating Bullets, Dracula: The Series, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Twilight Zone, and Street Legal
For Kids’ Records, Blum also scripted and directed the children’s audio tape A Child's Look at - What it Means to be Jewish, and, with Corder, A Child's look at - Mozart.
Awards
The Umpire: First Prize at the Festival of the Humanities, San FranciscoBlue Ribbon, American Film Festival, New York
Hockey Night: C.F.T.A. Award, Best Feature Length Production
ACTRA Award Nominee; Best Original Screenplay,
ACTRA Award Nominee; Best Children's Program
What it Means to be Jewish: Best Spoken Word Recording,
National Independent American Distributors Award, San Francisco
Getting out: Dora Mavor Moore Award for Artistic Excellence and Theatrical Innovation