Reginald Hudlin

He co-produced the 88th Academy Awards ceremony in 2016 as well as other TV specials. Hudlin's breakout film was House Party (1990). He directed the 1992 film Boomerang. Alongside Warrington, he executive produced the 1994 anthology television film Cosmic Slop, and directed the first of the film's three segments, "Space Traders". Hudlin worked as a producer on the 2012 film Django Unchained, directed by Quentin Tarantino, which received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture.

• Name — Reginald Hudlin • Born — 15 December 1961 • Birthplace — Centreville, Illinois, U.S. • Occupation — Director, writer, producer • Years Active — 1983–present • Known for — House Party Boomerang • Children — 2 • Relatives — Warrington Hudlin (brother)

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. In 1979, Hudlin graduated from Assumption Catholic High School in East St. Louis. 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.

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. 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. Hudlin contributed a story to the Black Panther Annual #1, released in February 2018. 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.

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.

• Year — Title — Role • 1986 — She's Gotta Have It — Dog 4 • 1990 — House Party — Burglar #1 • 1992 — Boomerang — Street Hustler • 1993 — Posse — Reporter 31 • 1996 — Joe's Apartment — Rodney Roach (voice) • 2000 — The Ladies Man — Aloysius Documentary Appearances • Milestone Generations (2022) (Associate Producer)

• Year — Title — Director — Producer — Writer — Notes • 1994 — Cosmic Slop — TV movie; segment: "Space Traders" • 2000 — City of Angels — Episode: "When Worlds Colitis" • 2002–2005 — The Bernie Mac Show — 11 episodes • 2005 — Richard Pryor: The Funniest Man Dead or Alive — Executive — Documentary film • Everybody Hates Chris — Episode: "Everybody Hates the Pilot" • 2007 — Wifey — TV movie • 2009 — Raising the Bar — Episode: "Making Up Is Hard to Do" • The Middle — Episode: "Christmas" • The Office — Episode: "Koi Pond" • 2009–2010 — Modern Family — Episodes: "Fears", "Come Fly with Me" • 2010 — Better Off Ted — Episode: "The Great Repression" • Sons of Tucson — Episode: "Father's Day" • Marvel's Black Panther — Executive — Also developer; actor as President (voice) in episode "To the End" • 2010–2011 — Outsourced — Episodes: "Temporary Monsanity", "The Todd Couple" • 2010–2012 — Psych — Episodes: "Ferry Tale" and "True Grits" • 2011 — Friends with Benefits — Episode: "The Benefit of Being Shallow" • 2012 — Are We There Yet? — Episodes: "The Expensive Purse Episode", "The Master of Ceremonies Episode", "The Quarantine Episode" • 2013 — Bones — Episode: "The Party in the Pants" • How to Live with Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life) — Episode: "How to Run the Show" • 2014–2015 — Bad Judge — Episodes: "Knife to a Gunfight", "Lockdown" • Marry Me — Episodes: "Stand by Me", "Change Me" • Murder in the First — Episodes: "Punch Drunk", "State of the Union", "Bruja Blanca" • 2015 — Weird Loners — Episode: "Weird Knight" • New Girl — Episode: "Panty Gate" • Telenovela — Episode: "Evil Twin" • 2016 — Heartbeat — Episode: "Backwards" • Angel from Hell — Episode: "Angel Appreciation Day" • Uncle Buck — Episodes: "I Got This", "Going to Jail Party" • 2019 — Black Monday — Episodes: "295", "243" • The Last O.G. — Episodes: "Criminal Minded", "Your Mom's in My Business", "Fight the Power" Executive producer only • Year — Title — Notes • 2005–2008 — The Boondocks — 31 episodes • 2006 — Somebodies — Executive in charge of co-productions • 2008 — Brothers to Brutha — Network executive • 2017 — Blue & Green — TV movie

• Year — Title — Role • 1994 — The Last Days of Russell — Co-executive producer, director, writer • 2006 — Bring That Year Back 2006: Laugh Now, Cry Later — Network executive producer • BET Hip Hop Awards — Executive in charge of production • 2008 — The BET Honors — Executive in charge of production • 2010 — Burr and Hart — Director • 2013–present — NAACP Image Awards — Executive producer • 2014 — Governors Awards • 2016 — 88th Academy Awards — Producer • Showtime at the Apollo — Executive producer • 2020–2022 — Primetime Emmy Awards

Reginald Hudlin is recorded as film director, screenwriter, film producer and comics writer.

After college, Hudlin and his brother formed a production company and made music videos for such artists as Heavy D, Jamaica Boys, and others. They additionally created the "Hey Love" 1980s TV commercial for a various-artists compilation record, that played regularly on late night TV. Hudlin directed—with older brother Warrington producing—his first feature-length film, 1990's teen comedy House Party, which starred hip-hop duo Kid 'n Play. 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. 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 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. Since 2013, Hudlin has been executive producer of the NAACP Image Awards. 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. 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. 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. By July the following year, Hudlin had been hired to direct the Walt Disney Pictures film Safety for Disney+. In June 2021, Hudlin was announced to direct a film based on the comic Cinq branches de coton noir by Yves Sente and Steve Cuzor. On July 12, 2021, it was announced that Hudlin, along with Ian Stewart, would be the executive producer for the 73rd Emmy Awards.

• Year — Title — Director — Producer — Writer — Notes • 1990 — House Party • 1992 — Boomerang • Bebe's Kids — Executive — Also songwriter ("I Ain't Havin' It", "Freedom Song", "Straight Jackin'") • 1996 — The Great White Hype • 2000 — The Ladies Man • 2002 — Serving Sara • 2017 — Marshall • 2019 — The Black Godfather — Documentary • 2020 — Safety • 2022 — Sidney — Executive — Documentary • 2023 — Candy Cane Lane 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)

• Year — Title — Director — Writer • 1983 — House Party • 1985 — Reggie's World of Soul • 1986 — The Kold Waves

• 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.

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