User:Spunkygidget/Lawrence Blume

Lawrence Blume was named one of the "Ten Rising Stars of Comedy" by the Hollywood Reporter for his first feature film, Martin & Orloff, which premiered at the 2002 US Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen. The film has gone on to win The Christopher Wetzel Award for Independent Comedy Film from the Art Institute of Chicago, The Audience Award for Best Feature at the East Lansing Film Festival, "Best of Fest" award at the Sarasota Film Festival, and was the headlining film at the Toyota NY Comedy Festival. Martin & Orloff is available on DVD through Anchor Bay Entertainment and on Comedy Central starting June 2006.

In addition to producing and directing Martin & Orloff, Lawrence Blume has directed two short dramatic films; "To Walk A City's Street", a science fiction thriller adapted from Clifford Simak's short story and "Otherwise Known As Sheila The Great" a Weekend Special for ABC Television. "To Walk A City's Street" makes its television premiere this year on the Sci-Fi channel. "Otherwise Known As Sheila The Great" won prizes at the USA Film Festival, The Chicago International Children's Film Festival, The New York Film and Television festival and top prize at the National Educational Film Festival.

Lawrence has also been a sound designer, film editor and was the founder/co-owner of PostWorks, one of New York's largest post-production companies. As a pioneer in non-linear editing he ran the post production center at the Sundance Institute Filmmaker's Lab, worked as a consultant to Avid Technology and has taught editing at the Maine Film/TV workshops and Film/Video Arts in New York. Recently he has been lecturing on HDTV and Digital Cinema at NYU film school, Hampshire College and Franklin & Marshall College. He is currently writing and directing an adaptation of the off-Broadway play "Temporary Help" and producing an adaptation of the novel "Deenie" for Disney.

Awards, Honors, and Nominations
As director and producer for Martin & Orloff, Lawrence has won numerous awards including:
 * Texas Chainsaw Massacre Film Festival (Winner: Director’s Prize)
 * Sarasota Film Festival ( “Best of Fest” Award)
 * East Lansing Film Festival (Winner: Audience Award: Best Feature)
 * The Art Institute of Chicago (Winner: Christopher Wetzel Award for Independent Comedy)
 * High Times Magazine Stoney Award: Best Unreleased film of 2003 (nominee)
 * IFP/West Independent Spirit Award: Motorola Producer of the Year
 * Top Ten Films of 2003: Chicago Reader
 * Hollywood Reporter: 2002 Ten Rising Stars of Comedy: Lawrence Blume