Film & TV
After college, Hudlin and his brother formed a production company and made music videos for such artists as Heavy D, Jamaica Boys, and others.[5] They additionally created the "Hey Love" 1980s TV commercial for a various-artists compilation record, that played regularly on late night TV.[13][14]
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.[15] New Line wanted to make sequels, but the Hudlins did not feel the compensation or deals were adequate.[16]
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.[13][17] 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.[18][19]
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.[20] 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.[21][22] 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.[23]
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.[24]
By June 2017, Hudlin had been hired to direct a movie based on the comic Shadowman.[25] That October, Hudlin's film Marshall, about Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American U.S. Supreme Court justice, starring Chadwick Boseman, was released.[19][26] By July the following year, Hudlin had been hired to direct the Walt Disney Pictures film Safety for Disney+.[27] 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.[28]
On July 12, 2021, it was announced that Hudlin, along with Ian Stewart, would be the executive producer for the 73rd Emmy Awards.[29][30]
