Director Bille Woodruff tells how Beyonce & Kerry Washington were almost cast in Honey and why directing is better than sex on Maria Menounos Black Hollywood Live.
Hollywood, CA (PRWEB) November 19, 2014 -- Bille Woodruff is quickly becoming Hollywood’s most sought-after director in entertainment. He always knew that he would be a star, but even with a full academic scholarship to the University of Maryland, it took him a long time to realize what he wanted to be. "I definitely didn't grow up thinking I would be a director," said Woodruff. "I was lucky enough, when I got to college to combine all the different things that I like by directing."
Woodruff credited his internship at Black Entertainment Television (BET) for shaping his career. "It was my real school," he said. "I was studying radio, television and film [at UMD], but I started feeling like I was getting way more experience on the job at BET."
He got his directorial experience directing EPK’s and music videos. He recalls how excited he was to direct his first music video for a group called Blaze from New Jersey. The group included a link to singer Toni Braxton, whose videos he would later go on to direct. “Blaze had a song called ‘We Almost Lived Together', it was a blending of house music and a little bit of hip-hop soul. Some of Woodruff’s most memorable music videos were the ones he directed for Toni Braxton, including her hit song 'You’re Makin Me High.' “She came to me and said, you should direct the video, and I said, really? She was the hottest thing out there at the time. The work that I’ve done with Toni really does stand out as some of my most favorite stuff because she trusted me so much.”
Woodruff has been big on having a diverse cast in the movies he directs, going all the way back to his first feature film, Universal Pictures’ 'Honey', starring Jessica Alba. “It was almost Kerry Washington that was Honey. Before I even got attached, it was supposed to be Beyonce, but she couldn’t do it. I made it a Latin person; I wanted somebody that everyone could relate to.”
Directing the erotic thriller 'Addicted' was Woodruff’s foray into a different genre. For him, directing such a sexy movie was “like an amazing orgasm. I was excited to do that film because I’m a huge fan of Alfred Hitchcock. I’ve been wanting to do something in that vain. It just showed a different side of me.” No matter how many films Woodruff makes, he never gets tired of seeing how audiences react to his work. “The biggest thing for me is seeing the audience react to the project. I just never get sick of that with any of my films.”
Links to Bille Woodruff’s appearance on Black Hollywood Live can be found at:
YouTube: http://youtu.be/aeYC3kHk5LQ?list=PLsewtEOygG8v7cu__oX4LAuba5wFdOYpI
Itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/next/id625652561?mt=2
BHL Next - hosted by Megan Thomas, Cortez West and KiKi Ayers - airs every Friday and is available for free downloads on iTunes, BlackHollywoodLive.com, and also viewable on YouTube. Every week, BHL Next features intimate, in-depth interviews with Hollywood’s next edition of stars and influencers. Past guests have included Jay Ellis, Asia Ray, Drew Sidora, McKinley Freeman, Mack Wilds, Toks Olagundoye, Robert Christopher Riley, Angell Conwell, Sam Sarpong, Omar Miller, and more.
Black Hollywood Live is the world’s first online broadcast network dedicated to African American entertainment. Black Hollywood Live programming features insider information, insightful commentary and in-depth interviews with some of Hollywood’s biggest stars and influencers. For more information about the network visit BlackHollywoodLive.com or contact Executive Producer @derrialchriston.
Derrial Christon, Black Hollywood Live, http://www.blackhollywoodlive.com, 646-279-7907, [email protected]
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