Simon Blackwell

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Simon Blackwell

Blackwell at the Cheltenham Literature Festival in 2010
Born 27 May 1966
Battersea, London

Simon John Blackwell (born 27 May 1966) is an Oscar- and twice Emmy-nominated British comedy writer and producer. He is best known for his work on The Thick of It, In The Loop and Veep, and for his collaborations with Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain on Peep Show, Four Lions and The Old Guys.

Career

Radio and early television work

Blackwell started his career on BBC Radio in 1997, writing for The News Huddlines, The Way It Is, The Sunday Format and Dead Ringers winning Sony Gold and Silver awards for Dead Ringers[1] and The Sunday Format respectively.

Early television work at this time included The 11 O'Clock Show, Bremner, Bird and Fortune and V Graham Norton.[2]

Over the next decade Blackwell worked on seven series of Have I Got News For You, as well as the International Emmy award-winning The Kumars at No. 42,[3] Alastair McGowan's Big Impression, Dead Ringers, and The Sketch Show, which won the 2003 BAFTA for Best Comedy.

Blackwell also created and wrote the street-talking WWII Pilots for The Armstrong and Miller Show.[4]

With Armando Iannucci

Blackwell first worked with Armando Iannucci in 2003 on the topical Channel 4 show Gash, and has written on every episode of the political sitcom The Thick of It since its first series in 2005. The show won a BAFTA for Best Sitcom in 2006 and again in 2010.

In 2009 Blackwell co-wrote Iannucci's film In The Loop, a spin-off from The Thick of It, which won a string of awards including Best Screenplay (Evening Standard Film Awards,[5] British Independent Film Awards) and was nominated for two BAFTAs and an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.[6]

Other work with Iannucci includes 2004: The Stupid Version and Time Trumpet.

The two collaborated again on the HBO comedy Veep, with Blackwell co-writing the pilot episode and serving as writer and co-executive producer on the subsequent series, for which he was nominated for Primetime Emmys in 2012[7] and 2013.[8]

With Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong

Blackwell wrote for Chris Morris's 2010 BAFTA award-winning black comedy film Four Lions,[9] alongside Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain. He had previously collaborated with them on the Channel 4 sitcom Peep Show and BBC One's The Old Guys, and with Armstrong as part of the writing team for The Thick of It and In the Loop.

External links

References

  1. ↑ Broadcastnow. "BBC radio boosted by 23 Sony Awards", 4 May 2001.
  2. ↑ PBJ Management. "PBJ Management, CV, Simon Blackwell". As of sept. 2012.
  3. ↑ Comedy Guide. "British Comedy Guide, The Kumars at No. 42" As of 2006.
  4. ↑ Chortle Interview "The Telly Lot Are Never Going To Make Any Sketch Shows" 7 October 2009.
  5. ↑ BFI industry comment "Evening Standard British Film Awards, UK Film Council Comment" 2010.
  6. ↑ BBC "The Thick of It's winning trio" 7 June 2010.
  7. ↑ Official Emmy Site "Emmy Nomination List 2012" 2012.
  8. ↑ Official Emmy Site "Emmy Nomination List 2013" 2013.
  9. ↑ BBC "Sheffield film Four Lion nominated for BAFTA awards". 18 January 2011
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