Al Gore, Jason Blum to Receive Tributes at 2017 IFP Gotham Awards

Vice President Al Gore and film producer Jason Blum will receive the humanitarian and industry tributes at the 2017 Independent Filmmaker Project Gotham Awards, it was announced Monday.

Gore will receive the Humanitarian Tribute, which recognizes an individual who has had a profound and transformative global impact through cinema.

The ceremony will be held on Monday, Nov. 27, at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City.

Also Read: Al Gore and Bill Maher Talk Climate Change and 'Losing Florida' - in Both Senses (Video)

The former vice president spends the majority of his time as chairman of The Climate Reality Project, a non-profit organization that is focused on solutions to the global climate crises. He also brought the climate crises to the attention of audiences through “An Inconvenient Truth” and “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power.”

Gore was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1976, 1978, 1980 and 1982, and the U.S. Senate in 1984 and 1990. He was inaugurated as the 45th Vice President on January 20, 1993, and served 8 years.

Also Read: Jason Blum Works Out of a Ford Van and 9 Other Surprising Facts About 'Get Out' Producer

The Industry Tribute is awarded to an individual whose unique vision and contributions have made a significant impact on the motion picture and TV industry. Blum has produced more than 70 films as well as many television projects, making Blumhouse one of the most prolific production companies in Hollywood.

Blum founded Blumhouse Productions, known for “low budget” horror films, in 2000. For example, “Paranormal Activity” was made for $15,000 and grossed nearly $200 million worldwide. His other credits include “Split,” “Get Out,” “The Purge,” “Insidious,” “Sinister” and the rest of the “Paranormal Activity” franchises.

Blum also served as a producer on “Whiplash” and was nominated for an Academy Award for it. He won Emmys for producing HBO’s “The Normal Heart” and “The Jinx.” He also received the 2016 Producer of the Year Award at CinemaCon and was named to the TIME 100 list of the world’s most influential people in 2017. Before Blumhouse, he served as Co-President of Acquisitions at Miramax.

Also Read: Blumhouse's Jason Blum Says Frugality Pays When It Comes to Making Horror Films

“We are thrilled to be presenting Vice President Al Gore with the Humanitarian Tribute and Jason Blum with the Industry Tribute” said Joana Vicente, Executive Director of IFP and the Made in NY Media Center. “Mr. Gore’s urgent message on the dangers of climate change has been heard and seen around the globe, motivating individuals, communities, businesses, and world leaders to take action, reminding us of the power of cinema and its ability to affect change. Jason Blum has shown the industry how creative and innovative models that support smart, original filmmakers- and produced with an economy of means -can be a potent force in connecting with audiences and achieving popular success.”

Additional 2017 tributes will be announced in the coming weeks. Previous honorees include Oliver Stone, Ethan Hawke, Amy Adams, Helen Mirren, Robert Redford, Tilda Swinton, Ted Sarandos, Bob & Harvey Weinstein, Matt Damon, Penelope Cruz, Gus Van Sant and more.

Nominees for the Gotham Awards will be announced on Oct. 19 and winners will be honored at the ceremony at Cipriani Wall Street on Nov. 27.

11 Biggest Box Office Surprises of 2016, From 'Arrival' to 'Zootopia' (Photos)

After six weeks in theaters, the female-driven "Bad Moms" became the first R-rated comedy of the year to cross $100 million, marking young studio STX's biggest hit. The film went on to earn nearly $180 million worldwide -- not bad for a movie that was made for a modest $20 million.

Also Read: STX Finds Fast Footing: ‘Bad Moms’ Spinoffs, ‘Edge of Seventeen’ Raves and Martin Scorsese
STX
"Deadpool" is a comedy wrapped inside of a comic book action movie -- and it crossed $100 million months before "Bad Moms." In fact, it's the highest-grossing R-rated movie of the year with $363.1 million in North America and the fifth highest grossing of 2016 overall, just behind "The Jungle Book." Needless to say, the film that took Ryan Reynolds years to bring to the big screen shocked prognosticators with its eventual $782.6 million in global box office returns.

Also Read: ‘Deadpool’ Blows Away World Record as Top-Grossing R-Rated Movie Ever
20th Century Fox
"Boo! A Madea Halloween" topped the box office two weekends in a row when it came out. Its success even seemed to shock its creator, Tyler Perry, who told TheWrap, "It’s been 18 years and to see people still coming, it’s very moving to me still because I certainly didn’t think I would do it this long."

Also Read: 6 Reasons Why ‘Boo! A Madea Halloween’ Slayed at the Box Office
Lionsgate
Sci-fi drama "Arrival" proved it's more than an awards season play when it crossed $100 million worldwide in its third week in theaters.

Also Read: ‘Arrival’ Director Denis Villeneuve on How It Feels Relevant Post-Election
Paramount
R-rated animated movies always had a hard time surpassing the $55-million range -- until Seth Rogen's "Sausage Party" shattered that barrier, making nearly $100 million domestically over the summer and topping $140 million worldwide.

Also Read: 6 Reasons Why ‘Sausage Party’ Sizzled at the Box Office
Sony
Modestly-budgeted home invasion thriller “Don’t Breathe” seemed to come out of left field, opening to a whopping estimated $26.1 million -- more than double predictions and nearly triple its $10-million production budget. Now, that's scary good.

Also Read: 5 Reasons Why ‘Don’t Breathe’ Had a Shockingly Massive Debut

Sony
"The Secret Life of Pets" shattered expectations when it opened to a massive $103.2 million -- the sixth highest debut for an animated feature. It's currently the third highest grossing movie of the year with $368.2 million.

Also Read: Why ‘Secret Life of Pets’ Spells Good News for Original Ideas in Hollywood
Illumination/Universal
The bunnies of "Zootopia" hopped over the global $1 billion mark at the box office in early June, making it the second movie of 2016 to cross the 10-figure threshold (the other being fellow Disney title "Captain America: Civil War"). That's some bang up business, especially since the movie is a non-sequel -- a new, original idea.

Also Read: 30 Highest Grossing Animated Movies of All Time Worldwide
Disney
Taut summertime thriller "The Shallows" was made for just $17 million. But the flick, which features Blake Lively outwitting a deadly shark, proved to have sea legs when it made back its production budget during opening weekend and went on to earn nearly $120 million worldwide.

Also Read: Here’s Why ‘The Shallows’ Caused a Feeding Frenzy at the Box Office
Columbia Pictures/Sony
Bank heist Western "Hell or High Water" hit that rare sweet spot for an arthouse film -- garnering critical acclaim, awards season buzz and also some solid box office. As of early October, it was the No. 1 highest grossing limited release movie of the year and has amassed an impressive $27 million.

Also Read: ‘Hell or High Water’ Reaches High-Water Mark in Limited Debut
CBS Films
You may not have seen the sci-fi comedy "Lazer Team," but what made it a box office surprise is that it made it to the box office at all. Made by popular web series creators Rooster Teeth, the movie's crowd-funding campaign broke records on Indiegogo. The film went on to earn $1.2 million from just three weekends in a very limited release.
Amplify Releasing

1 of 11

TheWrap’s Best & Worst 2016: From billion-dollar movies to small budgeted hits, theater-goers kept us on our toes this year

After six weeks in theaters, the female-driven "Bad Moms" became the first R-rated comedy of the year to cross $100 million, marking young studio STX's biggest hit. The film went on to earn nearly $180 million worldwide -- not bad for a movie that was made for a modest $20 million.

Also Read: STX Finds Fast Footing: ‘Bad Moms’ Spinoffs, ‘Edge of Seventeen’ Raves and Martin Scorsese

View In Gallery