Reginald Hudlin

Early life

Hudlin was born in Centreville, Illinois, the son of a teacher couple. Hudlin's older brother, Warrington Hudlin, is also a film director, as well as an actor and producer.

The Hudlins grew up in East St. Louis, Illinois, where the family had deep roots. The Hudlin Brothers are paternal great-great-grandsons of Peter and Nancy Hudlin, who were part of the Underground Railroad. Their great uncle was tennis instructor Richard A. Hudlin, who mentored Arthur Ashe and Althea Gibson.

The Hudlins attended Katherine Dunham's Center for the Performing Arts, an experimental school, Warrington for high school and Reginald for after school martial arts classes. Hudlin has said that the experience was formative, and led to his older brother attending Yale University, and his attending Harvard University.

While an undergraduate at Harvard University, Hudlin directed his thesis project, a short film called House Party, which received numerous awards including first place at the Black American Cinema Society Awards. The film was inspired by his experience growing up in East St. Louis. In 1983, Hudlin graduated magna cum laude from Harvard with a B.A. in Visual and Environmental Studies. His short film thesis was the basis for his first feature film, House Party.

Career

After college, Hudlin and his brother formed a production company and made music videos for such artists as Heavy D, Jamaica Boys, and others.

Hudlin directed—with older brother Warrington producing—his first feature-length film, 1990's low-budget, urban teen comedy House Party, which starred hip-hop duo Kid 'n Play. One of the messages of the film was its promotion of safe sex. The film, distributed by New Line Cinema, was, according to Variety, one of the most profitable films of the decade. New Line wanted to make sequels, but the Hudlins did not feel the compensation or deals were adequate.

Hudlin directed 1992's Boomerang, again with older brother Warrington producing. The film was a big-budget romantic comedy that starred Eddie Murphy, who had a term deal at Paramount Pictures and hired the Hudlin Brothers because he liked House Party. It starred an all-black cast that included Robin Givens, Halle Berry, Martin Lawrence, David Alan Grier, and Chris Rock. Boomerang was based on an original idea by Murphy and was written by Saturday Night Live writers Barry W. Blaustein and David Sheffield.

A celebration of the 25th anniversary of Boomerang's release was held on July 1, 2017, at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., with a conversation between Hudlin and producer George Alexander.

In 1992, while making Boomerang, Hudlin wrote the animated film, Bebe's Kids, which was championed by Paramount's Brandon Tartikoff, and was made in memory of comedian Robin Harris, who had died in 1990.

In 1994, the Hudlin Brothers produced the HBO anthology television film Cosmic Slop, of which Hudlin directed the segment "Space Traders". The segment is an adaptation of the short story "The Space Traders" by Derrick Bell, found in Bell's book Faces at the Bottom of the Well: The Permanence of Racism.

He then directed The Great White Hype (1996), The Ladies Man (2000), Serving Sara (2002), two episodes of the ABC TV series Modern Family, an episode of The Office, an episode of The Middle, and several episodes of Outsourced. He was also a recurring producer and director of The Bernie Mac Show for three years.

From 2005 to 2008, Hudlin was the President of Entertainment for BET. Notable shows shepherded by Hudlin at that time included the documentary series American Gangster and Sunday Best, a gospel-music singing-competition show. Hudlin created The BET Honors and the BET Hip Hop Awards.

Hudlin wrote the Marvel Comics series Black Panther from 2005 to 2008, including the 2006 storyline "Bride of the Panther," which saw the character marry X-Men leader Storm.

Hudlin was a producer of Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained, starring Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, Christoph Waltz, Kerry Washington, and Samuel L. Jackson. On January 10, 2013, Hudlin received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture for the film.

Since 2013, Hudlin has been executive producer of the NAACP Image Awards.

In 2014, Hudlin produced the Black Movie Soundtrack celebration of Black music in film, held at Los Angeles' Hollywood Bowl and hosted by Craig Robinson. Black Movie Soundtrack II, also hosted by Robinson, was held in 2016.

In 2015, DC Comics announced that Hudlin and artists Denys Cowan and Derek Dingle would be part of the relaunch of the publisher's Milestone Media imprint, founded by Cowan, Dingle and Dwayne McDuffie. The comic line returned in September 2020 with the Hudlin-penned Milestone Returns #0.

In 2015, Hudlin joined the board of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, a non-profit organization founded in 1986 chartered to protect the First Amendment rights of the comics community.

By June 2017, Hudlin had been hired to direct a movie based on the comic Shadowman. That October, Hudlin's film Marshall, about Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American U.S. Supreme Court justice, starring Chadwick Boseman, was released.

Hudlin contributed a story to the Black Panther Annual #1, released in February 2018. By July the following year, Hudlin had been hired to direct the Walt Disney Pictures film Safety for Disney+.

In June 2021, the French website LivresHebdo said Reginald Hudlin is to direct a movie based on the comics, Cinq branches de coton noir, written by Yves Sente and drawn by Steve Cuzor.

On July 12, 2021, it was announced that Hudlin along with Ian Stewart will the executive producers for the 73rd Emmy Awards which will have a live audience on September 19, 2021, on CBS.

Personal life

In 2002, Hudlin married Chrisette Hudlin (née Suter), a public relations consultant, in Montego Bay, Jamaica. They have two children.

Reginald Hudlin's lawyer at the time was Doug Emhoff. In 2013, Chrisette Hudlin set up Emhoff on a blind date with then-Attorney General of California and former Vice-President, Kamala Harris.

Filmography

Feature films

Producer only

• Ride (1998)
• Django Unchained (2012)
• Burning Sands (2017)
• Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank (2022) (Executive Producer)
• House Party (2023) (Executive Producer)

Acting roles

Documentary Appearances

• Milestone Generations (2022) (Associate Producer)

Short films

Television

Executive producer only

TV specials

Awards

• 1986: Black American Cinema Society (film archives of the Western States Black Research Center), Black Independent Video and Film-maker's Awards, $1,500 first prize for House Party (short)
• 1990: Sundance Film Festival, Filmmakers Trophy for House Party
• 1990: Sundance Film Festival, Grand Jury Prize for House Party – nominee
• 1990: Deauville Film Festival, Critics Award for House Party – nominee
• 1991: Film Independent Spirit Award, Best First Feature for House Party – nominee
• 1991: Film Independent Spirit Award, Best Director for House Party – nominee
• 1995: CableACE, Dramatic or Theatrical Special for Cosmic Slop
• 2012: American Film Institute Awards 2012 for Django Unchained, Top 10 Films
• 2013: Academy Award for Best Picture for Django Unchained – nominee
• 2013: Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama for Django Unchained – nominee
• 2013: PGA Awards, Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures for Django Unchained – nominee
• 2015: Comic Con, Icon Award
• 2016: African-American Film Critics Association, Salute to Excellence Award
• 2016: Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class Program for 88th Academy Awards – nominee
• 2021: Recipient of (Miami University of Ohio) Miami's Summer of ‘64 Award for his contributions in bringing the Black image to screen.

Leadership and membership

• UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, Board Member
• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Board of Governors

Works and publications

Comics

• – Contains material originally published in magazine form as Marvel Knights Spider-man #13-18
• – Contains material originally published in single magazine form as: Black Panther #26-30
• – Also includes Black Panther: Black to the Future
• – Contains material originally published in magazine form as Black Panther #31-34
• – Collecting Black Panther #1-6
• – Contains material originally published in magazine form as Black Panther #7-12
• – Originally published in single magazine form in Django Unchained #1-7
• – Contains material originally published in magazine form as Doomwar #1-6

Selected writing

References

Bibliography

• "Part 2". "Part 3". "Part 4". "Part 5".

References

1. Otfinoski, Steven. (2014). "African Americans in the Visual Arts". [[Facts On File]].
2. (May 1990). "They Gotta Have It". [[Film Comment]].
3. (1990). "Tearing the Roof Off the Sucker: An Interview with Reginald and Warrington Hudlin". [[Cineaste (magazine).
4. Sebastian. (2013-01-10). "Django Unchained nominated for 5 Oscars".
5. (2003). "Black Directors in Hollywood". University of Texas Press.
6. (March 4, 1990). "In Hollywood, Black Is In". [[The New York Times]].
7. (February 27, 2000). "Its History Rides on the Underground Railroad". [[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]].
8. (May 27, 2006). "Katherine Dunham Helped Teach the World to Dance". [[NPR]].
9. (January 11, 2013). "Metro East native Reginald Hudlin receives Oscar nod for 'Django'". [[The St. Louis American]].
10. (January 27, 1986). "Winning Black Videos, Films Highlight Youth". [[Los Angeles Times]].
11. "The Reginald Hudlin Story". Hudlin Entertainment.
12. (March 8, 2017). "Writer / Director Reginald Hudlin". PodcastOne.
13. (July 10, 1992). "Fresh Air with Terry Gross, July 10, 1992: Interview with Warrington Hudlin and Reginald Hudlin". [[NPR]].
14. (1980s). ""Hey Love" 1980s TV Commercial – No My Brother".
15. (September 10, 2000). "If It's a Question of Money...". [[Los Angeles Times]].
16. (2003). "Why We Make Movies: Black Filmmakers Talk About the Magic of Cinema". Harlem Moon.
17. (June 28, 1992). "FILM; He's Never Been Happier, or More Glum". [[The New York Times]].
18. (July 1, 2012). "Exclusive: Director Reginald Hudlin talks Boomerang 20 Years Later, Black Panther, and producing Django Unchained". BlackFilm.com.
19. (June 29, 2017). "African Americans and the Advertising Industry Series Leads the National Museum of African American History and Culture July Programming". [[National Museum of African American History and Culture]].
20. (July 1, 2017). "Exclusive: Director Reginald Hudlin talks 'Boomerang' 25 Years Later, 'Marshall,' and More". First Klass Breakfast.
21. (November 7, 1994). "Using Fun to Show Blacks to Whites". [[The New York Times]].
22. (1992). "Faces at the Bottom of the Well: The Permanence of Racism". [[Basic Books]].
23. (February 14, 2013). "Interview: Reginald Hudlin On His Oscar Journey, Working w/ RZA, Directing Again, More". [[IndieWire]].
24. (February 25, 2016). "Oscar Producer Plans Second 'Black Movie Soundtrack' at the Hollywood Bowl". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
25. (January 21, 2015). "Exclusive: Milestone Media rises again. Hudlin, Cowan and Dingle will revive company with eye toward characters of color". [[The Washington Post]].
26. (August 4, 2015). "Watch: Reginald Hudlin and Denys Cowan Talk Milestone 2.0". [[Indiewire]].
27. Johnston, Rich. (August 23, 2020). "''Milestone Returns'' #0 Previews in Three Weeks from DC Fandome for Free". [[Bleeding Cool]].
28. Melrose, Kevin. (March 11, 2015). "Reginald Hudlin Joins CBLDF Board of Directors".
29. (June 13, 2017). "Reginald Hudlin to Direct Valiant's Supernatural Superhero Movie 'Shadowman' (Exclusive)". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
30. (June 9, 2016). "Open Road Acquires Thurgood Marshall Biopic Starring Chadwick Boseman".
31. Sava, Oliver. (February 15, 2018). "Iconic creators return to Wakanda in this ''Black Panther Annual'' exclusive". The A.V. Club.
32. Kit, Borys. (July 12, 2019). "'Django Unchained' Producer Reginald Hudlin to Direct Sports Drama for Disney+ (Exclusive)".
33. Dahlia Girgis. (June 30, 2021). ""Cinq branches de coton noir" adapté au cinéma". LivresHebdo.
34. (12 July 2021). "2021 Emmy Awards announce Cedric the Entertainer as host ahead of nominations".
35. "The "73rd Emmy Awards" to Return With Live Audience and Cedric the Entertainer As Host for Broadcast on CBS, Sunday, Sept. 19".
36. (January 6, 2003). "Chrisette Suter and Reginald Hudlin". [[Variety (magazine).
37. (January 13, 2016). "California Attorney General Kamala Harris Plans to be America's Next Black Female Senator". [[Essence (magazine).
38. (2016). "Top Ten Heroes of the Year". Hudlin Entertainment.
39. Desta, Yohana. (August 19, 2020). "How Hollywood Shaped Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff's Marriage".
40. Bennett, Jessica. (January 17, 2021). "Kamala Harris Will Make History. So Will Her 'Big, Blended' Family.".
41. (2013). "Winners & Nominees 2013". [[Hollywood Foreign Press Association]].
42. (July 29, 2015). "Reginald Hudlin and Joss Whedon Are the Latest Comic-Con Icon Award Recipients!". [[Comic-Con International]]: San Diego.
43. (December 15, 2015). "Oscars Producer Reginald Hudlin to be Honored at AAFCA Awards". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
44. (2017). "Executive Board – Reginald Hudlin". [[UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television]].