Eamon O'Rourke
| Eamon O'Rourke | |
|---|---|
 B Headshot.jpeg Eamon O'Rourke Headshot | |
| Born | Eamon O'Rourke Brooklyn, New York |
| 🏡 Residence | Brooklyn, New York |
| 🏳️ Nationality | American |
| 🏫 Education | Colgate University |
| 💼 Occupation | |
| https://www.facebook.com/eamon.orourke.3 | |
| https://www.instagram.com/eamonorourke/?hl=en | |
| https://www.linkedin.com/in/eamon-o-rourke-24971618/ | |
About[edit]
Eamon O’Rourke is a Brooklyn, New York-based director and activist. He released his debut feature film, Asking for It, in March 2022 with Paramount.
Early Career[edit]
Eamon O’Rourke has more than 10 years of experience working in various departments on film sets. He keyed the second unit as a production assistant on Wolf of Wall Street and also worked on television shows including The West Wing.
O’Rourke specialized in ghostwriting and doctoring scripts for the film industry, although he later pivoted to running a music video company. During that time, he produced dozens of high-end videos for clients ranging from Tommy Hilfiger to Schoolboy Q.
Asking For It[edit]
Asking for It is Eamon O’Rourke’s directorial debut. Featuring a star-studded cast that includes Vanessa Hudgens and Luke Hemsworth, Asking for It follows the story of a woman recovering from sexual assault. Seeking vengeance, she joins an all-female gang of vigilantes in an action-packed film that tackles difficult subjects like assault, corruption, and misogyny.
Eamon O’Rourke’s goal was to reverse the dominant male narrative that’s so pervasive in Hollywood. O’Rourke wanted to flip the script and highlight women’s stories of strength, proving that a female-led action movie could turn heads at the box office.
O’Rourke knew he had to let others lead the way. “I did my best to figure out how to make this movie responsibly, to make it in a way where I’m not telling people this is what the experience is,” he says. He leaned on female, Native American, and LGBTQ+ cast members to handle the material with sensitivity, taking their direction for shooting certain scenes. "The way that I will succeed, in directing, is knowing when to listen to who, and when,” Eamon O’Rourke says.
It’s an approach that paid off: Asking for It earned the ReFrame Stamp, which commended the film’s focus on diversity.
Activism[edit]
Eamon O’Rourke is a passionate volunteer who’s supported numerous causes, including:
- Legal Hand: As a volunteer at Legal Hand, O’Rourke helped vulnerable populations access housing, jobs, health care, and legal aid.
- Halfway homes: Eamon O’Rourke taught acting and improv to residents in halfway homes. He found this work profoundly rewarding, as he believes people have the right to recover from substance abuse and past incarceration.
- Opioid overdose prevention: After losing many friends to overdoses from fentanyl and fentanyl-laced drugs, O’Rourke volunteered to provide free Narcan kits and fentanyl test strips to NYC venues.
- No DAPL: O’Rourke joined protests at the Standing Rock Reservation to fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Eamon O’Rourke has also been involved in the Occupy Wall Street, abortion-rights, and Black Lives Matter movements.
Personal[edit]
Eamon O’Rourke comes from a family of educators who believe in providing a quality education outside of traditional institutions. His parents taught at St. Ann’s School in Brooklyn, New York, which is a private school that doesn’t use grades for coursework.
Eamon O’Rourke’s mother later became the headmaster at the Pierrepont School in Westport, Connecticut, which included access to people who couldn’t traditionally afford private school. After his mother passed away, O’Rourke taught at Pierrepont for two years. Eamon O’Rourke says that the loss of his mother and father had a profound impact on his art, and he has dedicated his life to telling the stories of others who have experienced the trauma of loss.
Eamon O’Rourke has a rare form of epilepsy that prevents him from driving a vehicle. He’s participated in multiple research studies in an effort to learn more about his condition. However, O’Rourke credits his unique brain structure with his distinctive approach to filmmaking and art.
References[edit]
- Principal Post Interview - Eamon O'Rourke
- Ideamensch Interview - Eamon O'Rourke
- Eamon O'Rourke Discusses Why Diversity Matters On and Off the Set - Newseveryday.com
- Eamon O'Rourke Reveals Why Jason Momoa is the Nicest Guy in the Whole World - goodmenproject.com
- Eamon O'Rourke is Proud "Asking For It" Won a Reframe Stamp - femalefirst.com
- Eamon O'Rourke Shares Why He Has Always Wanted to Make a Heist Movie - Filmdaily.co
- 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Became A Filmmaker - Eamon O'Rourke
