Reginald Alan Hudlin (born December 15, 1961) is an American director, writer, and producer. Along with his older brother Warrington Hudlin, he is known as one of the Hudlin Brothers. From 2005 to 2008, Hudlin was President of Entertainment for Viacom's BET. Hudlin has written numerous graphic novels. 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.
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. 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.
Career
Film and television 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.
Comics & Graphic Novels 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.
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 Year Title Director Producer Writer Notes 1990 House Party 1992 Boomerang Bebe's Kids 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 Documentary2020 Safety 2022 Sidney Documentary2023 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)
Acting roles 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)
Short films Year Title Director Writer 1983 House Party 1985 Reggie's World of Soul 1986 The Kold Waves
Television 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 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 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
TV specials 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
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