# Olly Blackburn

Olly Blackburn, also credited as Oliver Blackburn and Ollie Blackburn, is a film director and screenwriter.

## Quotes

* No one is evil, they just make very bad decisions. And no one has super powers, they only have their street smarts.
** Wilkinson, Amber (18 July 2008). "Giving British films some Punch". Eye for Film (www.eyeforfilm.co.uk). Retrieved on 23 February 2012.
* I love films, I eat, sleep and drink them, and genre definitely had a huge impact.
** Gillespie, Michael (10 November 2008). "Director Olly Blackburn talks Donkey Punch". The Skinny (Scotland: Radge Media). Retrieved on 23 February 2012.
* The pure emotion, from a very early age, of seeing a film and feeling it take you over like a high... At first it was all the things I loved as a kid -- James Bond films and Spaghetti Westerns and things like that (which I still love). Then I started discovering the masters and finding out which films spoke to me and when they did -- the total immersion, the experience of being taking to another world for a couple of hours, opening your mind to new things and ideas on such an emotional level. How could you not fall in love with that?
** "Park City ‘08 Interview - “Donkey Punch” director Olly Blackburn". indieWire (SnagFilms). 7 January 2008. Retrieved on 23 February 2012.
* I’ve directed a fair amount of stuff in the past, such as music videos, commercials and short films and I believe that the best way to learn in this industry – I mean, you can go to film school and that’s good – but ultimately, the only way you’re ever going to learn is through raw experience.
** "Donkey Punch - Olly Blackburn interview". IndieLondon (www.indielondon.co.uk). 2008. Retrieved on 23 February 2012.
* I think when you’re shooting on such a tight budget and schedule, the insanity and the energy and the sense of spirit is what makes the experience unique. Ten percent more isn’t going to make enough of a difference and anything that would — double the budget, triple the time — then you’re making a different kind of film.
** Guerrasio, Jason (15 January 2008). "”Donkey Punch” co-writer-director, Olly Blackburn". Filmmaker Magazine (Independent Feature Project). Retrieved on 23 February 2012.
* Dawn of the Dead is one of the most prophetic and disturbing films you’ll see, and I challenge you to find anyone who can find another film from that era which provides the same level of social commentary.
** Gillespie, Michael (10 November 2008). "Director Olly Blackburn talks Donkey Punch". The Skinny (Scotland: Radge Media). Retrieved on 23 February 2012.
* And for the genre stuff I'm a big fan of Carpenter, Romero, Peckinpah, and Polanski, because they're unremitting and real and brilliant at showing characters under unbearable stress and unafraid of challenging us with uncomfortable truths as well as being just incredible filmmakers.
** Olszewski, Tricia (13 February 2009). "Interview With Donkey Punch Director Olly Blackburn". Washington City Paper (Creative Loafing Inc.). Retrieved on 23 February 2012.
* Nic Roeg inspires me. He’s one of the greatest British film directors. His work is bold, challenging, cinematic and full of mesmerising ideas.
** Olly Blackburn (9 July 2008). "Olly Blackburn meets Nic Roeg". TimeOut London (Time Out Group Ltd and Time Out Digital Ltd.). Retrieved on 23 February 2012.
* I suppose my mega heroes are the films of Michael Powell and Sam Peckinpah. I would have loved to have looked over their shoulder. I’m a bit of a cinephile. I love cinema. It’s an amazing medium. I can go and watch anything from very, very arty films to huge Hollywood spectaculars and everything in between.
** "Donkey Punch - Olly Blackburn interview". IndieLondon (www.indielondon.co.uk). 2008. Retrieved on 23 February 2012.
* The film is about what happens when real people do ghastly things to each other, and sure, it shows those things because that's the tone of the film — fairly realistic.
** Olszewski, Tricia (13 February 2009). "Interview With Donkey Punch Director Olly Blackburn". Washington City Paper (Creative Loafing Inc.). Retrieved on 23 February 2012.
* I knew we needed brave actors - the story called for scenes that might be frightening to some - and we needed it to be real and believable.
** "Olly Blackburn and David Bloom on Donkey Punch". Film4 (Channel Four Television Corporation). 2008. Retrieved on 23 February 2012.
* Making Donkey Punch was all about energy, speed and intense work.
** Olly Blackburn (20 June 2008). "News - Self portrait: Olly Blackburn". Edinburgh International Film Festival (www.edfilmfest.org.uk). Retrieved on 23 February 2012.
* The core idea was to be as realistic as possible and we wanted people to identify with the characters.
** Olly Blackburn (20 June 2008). "News - Self portrait: Olly Blackburn". Edinburgh International Film Festival (www.edfilmfest.org.uk). Retrieved on 23 February 2012.
* I think Donkey Punch is an extreme thriller or an extreme reality-based thriller. The whole point of the film is it's grounded in reality.
** "Exclusive interview with Oliver Blackburn". Total Film (Future Publishing Limited). 2011. Retrieved on 23 February 2012.
* Donkey Punch is a very extreme, real-world thriller – it’s about characters and events that are based in reality and it pushes them into very dark and extreme situations where they have to do things that they would never have imagined. The film shows all this quite realistically and doesn’t pull its punches.
** Mr. Disgusting (2011). "Interview Donkey Punch: Writer/Directory Olly Blackburn". Bloody Disgusting (Bloody-Disgusting LLC). Retrieved on 23 February 2012.

## About

* Director Olly Blackburn has, for the last ten years, been one of the most respected and in-demand directors of music videos and commercials.
** Gillespie, Michael (10 November 2008). "Director Olly Blackburn talks Donkey Punch". The Skinny (Scotland: Radge Media). Retrieved on 23 February 2012.
* Blackburn also took an interest in the dynamics of friendships between men and the psychological games that can become part of this.
** "Olly Blackburn and David Bloom on Donkey Punch". Film4 (Channel Four Television Corporation). 2008. Retrieved on 23 February 2012.
* Olly has created a distinctive and glamorous look that belies the fact that the entire film was shot in less than a month.
** Wilkinson, Amber (18 July 2008). "Giving British films some Punch". Eye for Film (www.eyeforfilm.co.uk). Retrieved on 23 February 2012.

## See also

* Film
* Film directors
* Television

## External links

* Official website
* Olly Blackburn, website at United Agents
* Olly Blackburn on IMDb