If you know me, you know that my love for Black Cinema runs deep; especially Black Cinema from the 90s. One of my favorite movies from this era is House Party. A simple, yet phenomenal movie about teenagers (and probably a few young adults) kicking it at a house party…. along with other craziness that takes place!! I absolutely love this cult classic that has stood the test of time! House Party is based on a short film thesis project that was written by a young man who was attending Harvard University at the time. Inspired by his experiences from his upbringing in his hometown, he took that and turned it into a feature film. What else makes it special?? He directed his own film and another young man, his brother, produced it. Let’s not stop at House Party though!! There’s another film that was directed by Reginald and was co-produced by his brother Warrington and that’s the 1992 classic Boomerang starring Eddie Murphy! How dope is that?!
Who are these young men that I’m speaking of? Their names are Reginald and Warrington Hudlin. Why am I writing an open letter to them?? Because they hail from the city of East St. Louis, which also happens to be my hometown! It was such a mind-blowing moment discovering this information when I was a kid! It’s not often you can tell people that some of your favorite movies were directed and produced by people from your hometown. In fact, that’s a huge flex!
So, what has The Hudlin Brothers been up to these days??
While Warrington has been keeping a low profile, Reginald has made several major moves and continues to do so within his career as a writer, producer, and director. He has such an impressive track record! Let’s take a look, shall we?? Reginald’s “Directorial” work includes The Great White Hype, The Ladies Man, Marshall, The Black Godfather & Sydney. His “Producing” work includes BeBe’s Kids, Ride, Django Unchained, Burning Sands, Marshall & The Boondocks (Executive Producer).
But hold on now!!!! That’s not all!! Check this out:
-Launched Hudlin Entertainment
-The President of Entertainment for BET (2005-2008)
-Created The BET Honors and the BET Hip Hop Awards
-Wrote for the Black Panther Comics for Marvel 2005 to 2008. He wrote “Bride of the Panther”!
-Produced the 88th Academy Awards
-Received an Oscar Nomination for Django Unchained
-Current Executive Producer of the NAACP Image Awards (since 2013)
-Current Executive Producer for the Primetime Emmy Awards
I am truly in awe that someone from my hometown is moving BIG like this!!
That being said….
Dear Hudlin Brothers,
I thank you!!! Thank you so much for your contribution to the film industry. Thank you for the time, effort, and energy that you all have put into this industry. Countless hours of script writing, filming, directing and producing; I know this is hard work, so I thank you! Thank you for putting the city of East St. Louis on the map! I’m forever grateful to be from the same city you all are from.
To Mr. Reginald Hudlin,
You are truly one of a kind. Your passion for this industry goes unnoticed. I see your work, I see your talent, I see YOU!! You are truly one of the greatest of all time! Writer? Director? Producer? You can do it all and you do it extremely well. Who would’ve thought that a short film thesis would turn into one of the best cult classics of all TIME!? A movie that pretty much changed your life! That was you, you did that, and I thank you!! Launching your own entertainment brand?? BOSS move!!! You’ve inspired so many people to become writers, directors & producers. People look up to you, people cite you as one of their favorites in the film industry and I don’t blame them! You’re it!! Being that you are from my hometown, you have no idea how much you inspire me to go out there and leave my mark on this world like you have and continue to do so! You don’t know me, but I am truly proud of you and all that you have done in this industry! So, thank you!! Thank you, thank you, thank you Mr. Hudlin!!
I want to end it with this quote from Reginald:
“East St. Louis made me who I am…Yes, I went to Harvard...yes I lived in Harlem, and I work in Hollywood, but the key matrix that shaped me was East St. Louis”. That’s a hometown hero right there!
