The Blumhouse Machine

Film has always been a risk to those that produce and create, presenting the issue of money loss, lack of an audience, and possibility of a dud hindering your future career. Jason Blum of Blumhouse fame has created a model that eliminates these risks, but can reap the reward of even the biggest Hollywood blockbuster. Recently with the success of 2017s Get Out, Blumhouse has reached a new height in acclaim, but also still seeks to make films that can succeed in the box office with his newest release coming April 13th in Blumhouse is Truth or Dare. Following this “Blumhouse Model” of a restricted budget has earned a reputation in Hollywood as a money making machine, but this has not always been the case. Blum is both single handily carrying the horror genre in the box office and gaining increasing critical acclaim, but it all started with a fellow star in Hollywood in a college dorm room.

The Beginning of the Machine

The first film Jason Blum acted as a producer on was Noah Baumbach’s 1995 filmmaking debut, Kicking and Screaming. Not that this was a huge gig (at the time), considering Blum and Baumbach were roommates at Vassar College, but it paved the path Blum is now trailblazing as a producer. From his producing debut, Blum moved to working for a once respected Hollywood mogul, Harvey Weinstein. By all accounts, Blum describes Weinstein similar to everyone who has ever interacted with him: abusive. Detailing a story of working with Harvey, Blum recounts crying at the doorstep of a client at 3 A.M. trying to regain distribution rights. This abusive workplace and constant micromanaging taught Blum an important lesson in producing: how NOT to do things. Experiencing the Harvey drag arguments, the flexing of his power and the abusive act towards the employees (including being burned by a lit cigarette), taught Blum to respect his own rules, his employees, and most importantly, to leave the film in the hands of the creator; attributing the lifeblood of Blumhouse to the directors.

First Big Hit & Continued Success

Micromanaging as least as possible, Blum has gained notoriety for upcoming filmmakers looking for a shot to break into the industry. Interestingly, this is another skill Blum picked up while working with Weinstein: the ability to find a hit in lesser known quantities. In 2007, Blum struck gold with his first big hit in Paranormal Activity. Donning a $15,000 budget, the film more than performed by grossing at a whopping $193 million, and created a wave of found footage copy cats for years to come in the horror genre. Seeing sequel after sequel, the Paranormal Activity franchise has grossed over $800 million worldwide, but that isn’t even Blumhouse’s biggest opening. The single highest grossing Blumhouse film to date is actually 2016s Split, directed by M. Night Shyamalan, with a $278 million worldwide gross. The continued success has followed Blum as he continued his production pursuit through films outside of the horror genre.

While Blum built his foundation with films like the Paranormal Activity franchise and other horror additions like Insidious (2010) and The Purge (2013), he is beginning to gain critical acclaim for his works both inside and outside of the genre. So far, the acclaim has been slowly building, but it’s there (with a small project directed by Damien Chazelle), Blumhouse was able to earn the highest honor with Whiplash (2014) receiving five total Oscar nominations and taking home three. Continuing his pursuit of gold, Blumhouse picked up the recently released Get Out (2017) and rode the wave to another collection of Oscar nominations; receiving Best Screenplay for the socially grounded horror film. As Blum continues to seek a challenge on what he can make succeed, the company is now in production for a documentary coupled with Time Magazine on a topical issue: gun control. This new pursuit of topical issues is a way for Blum to use his influence to make an impact, but also without micromanaging.

The Blumhouse Model

So, how did Jason Blum get to this point? Hollywood is riddled with producers and production companies, so it is only natural to wonder what makes Blumhouse so special. The answer comes in the “Blumhouse Model,” a set of perimeters that Blum gives to each film he picks up. The set of “rules” include every film receiving a budget between 3-5 million dollars. The reason for this is discussed by Blum himself, stating that the amount is about what the film can recuperate if the film does not garner a wide release. Because of this, the crew is usually asked to be paid by scale, so even if the film loses money, everyone involved still gets paid. Blum also takes precautions to cut corners around budget– exemplified is his request to shoot on location, rather than sets, and the fluidity he uses in low dialogue parts.

In Blum’s eyes he would rather use an extra with no dialogue over a minimum dialogue part that may require a higher pay. This low risk, high reward mindset has given Blum the ability to hit home runs without taking on a huge financial burden, as well as gives ambitious projects that may not have been made the chance to succeed. Another rule Blum applies is to give the directors full creative control, and this has led to the furthered pursuit of directors like Damien Chazelle, and now Jordan Peele. This new found notoriety aids in what Blumhouse is able to do, as everyone wants to be associated with success. Following the opposite footsteps of his abusive former boss, Blum also tries to keep his employees and crew happy. On a panel with people associated with Blumhouse, detail was given into the process of a Blumhouse shoot: “We try to rarely shoot six days a week and we try to rarely do all nighters because both of those things are really hard on the crew. We like to take care of the crew and you get better creative when everyone feels rested and taken care of.” This accommodation can really make a difference on set, and since Blum has dealt with the abuse of a former king of Hollywood, he knows the pitfalls that can come with an unhappy crew/employees.

The Future of Blumhouse

Blumhouse is arguably already the most profitable and successful production company in Hollywood, so where does Jason Blum go from here? What Blum has working for him is his model can essentially work for any genre. Currently Blumhouse is trying their luck in the documentary world, but the continued pursuit of domination of the horror genre is in full swing. With a new Purge prequel in the works, as well as a Danny McBride and Jamie Lee Curtis led Halloween sequel on the horizon, Blum knows his cash cow: cheap horror films. While the acclaim will continue to come in with his more mainstream projects, Blum will continue to take risks on low budget horror films like the upcoming Blumhouse’s Would You Rather? because that is where the money comes from. Without any real risk of financial crisis on a film and the always looming possibility of a hit, it is hard to see how Blum will be dethroned. As was the case with his former employer, a once  respected legend of Hollywood, it seems the only one that can stop Jason Blum is himself.

-Jacob