Len Blum

Leonard Solomon "Len" Blum (born 1951) is an award-winning Canadian screenwriter, film producer and film composer of Over the Hedge.

Early life
Blum was born into a Jewish family. 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, Stripes, Heavy Metal, Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone, Beethoven's 2nd, Private Parts, 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. The inaugural resident was Stephen Dunn. In 2016, Andrew Cividino was announced as the new resident.

Accolades
He won the Genie Award for Best Original Screenplay, in 1980, for the film Meatballs.

Personal life
He has been married to Dr. Heather Munroe-Blum since 1970, with whom he has a daughter, Sydney.