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Somebody To Be: UGA Grad To Make Television Debut

by Chris Flippo
01/19/2008

Starting next spring, UGA’s own Hadjii Hand will make his television debut in a show based off his award-winning film, Somebodies (2006). A coming of age story about a man facing the threat of post-college life, the film was shot last year on minuscule budget around the Athens- Clarke County area. The film went on to several festivals, including Sundance, and received an enthusiastic response from the audiences. Now, as the production date for the show draws closer, Athens Exchange met with Hadjii to talk about the upcoming project.

Athens Exchange: How did you get the idea for Somebodies?

Hadjii Hand: Basically, it was sitting around with friends doing what we usually did which would be playing cards, cracking jokes, and stuff like that, hanging out. And while we were doing that, we were actually in the middle of an intelligent conversation about something going on in the news that the average person would have never thought we were thinking about, but we were talking about the issue in our own special way, and I thought, “This would make an interesting TV show.” A behind the scenes look at young black life, if you will, or at least a version of it.

AE: Can you tell us about your experience at Sundance?

HH: Lots of lots of free stuff, my man. Can’t beat the swag. [Laughs] But nah, it was fantastic. The exposure I got from Sundance was the break that I needed to jump-start my career. I met people from all of the high-powered agencies, studios, networks, and on and on and on. That’s where I signed with Paradigm Talent Agency who helped me get my book deal, my t.v. show, and sell the film itself. Sundance opened up a whole new world to me that I couldn’t open up for myself.

AE: Tell us a little bit about the book...

HH: Don’t Let My Mama Read This: A Southern-Fried Memoir, a very funny book, or so I’ve heard [laughs], will be released by Random House on April 22nd of next year. They pushed it back in order to have it come out a little closer to the show, but the two really aren’t related. It’s basically a loosely-based auto-biography about me growing up as a potty-mouthed kid in Brunswick, Georgia. I just go on rants about different subjects, but it’s all in good fun. Nothing serious. A lot of people say it reminds them of David Sedaris. Personally, I’ve never read any of his work, but from what I understand, to have your work mentioned in the same sentence as his is a huge compliment, so I’m happy about that. I guess I did something right for a change.

AE: What are the main differences between Somebodies the movie and Somebodies the television series?

HH: The main difference, I think, is that the show is going to be a hell of a lot better than the movie. I’m still very proud of the movie, but we’ve all grown as artists now. I think I’m a better writer now. Matter of fact, I know I’m a better writer now. I know a lot more about directing than I did before. And for most of the cast members, Somebodies was their first chance at playing a feature role in a film. Since then, a lot of them have gone on to star in other features and shows, or whatever, so to a certain degree, I think we’re all better performers now and we have a better understanding of what it takes to pull this type of thing off. We’ve all grown and matured as people as well, so I think you’ll see a lot of growth come through on the show.

AE: Tell us a little bit about the process of turning the film into a television series. Was it more difficult than getting the film made?

HH: Oh, it was definitely easier to get the movie made. The movie was actually intended to be a pilot for the show and what happened was my agent sent a copy of the film to Reginald Hudlin, the President of Entertainment at BET. He watched the movie and called me up to congratulate me, because he really enjoyed it, and being a filmmaker himself (Boomerang, House Party, Ladies Man, etc.) he said he just wanted to congratulate me one filmmaker to another. Which tripped me out, because he’s directed some of my favorite films and I’ve directed, well... one. Then he told me about his situation with BET and he thought we should do something together. Then one thing led to another and I eventually told him about the Somebodies television series and there you have it.

AE: Are there any plans for Somebodies the movie to come to DVD?

HH: Yeah, the DVD should be released after or during the first season of the show. We want to come out with the show first, because like I said, I think the show is going to be a lot better than the movie. By the way, we’ll actually have some money to spend this time around. [Laughs] That always helps. So I think the show will give us a chance to put our best foot forward, if you will. Then the movie will be released as a “This is how it all started” type deal.

AE: When will the show premiere, and how many episodes have been ordered?

HH: BET’s ordered ten episodes, and I think the plan is to use the BET awards to launch the show which takes place sometime in June. So the show will probably begin airing in late June/early July.

AE: How will the WGA strike affect production of the show?

HH: To tell the truth, I really don’t know yet. Only time can tell.

AE: Do you have any plans for future film projects?

HH: The next film I would like to direct is a piece written by a friend of mine named Allison Firor. It’s called Who By Fire and it’s incredible. It will be a change of pace for me, because it’s not a comedy. I mean, there are some hilarious moments in it, but it’s more of a drama so people won’t be expecting that from me. I didn’t expect that from me either, but I read the script and fell in love with it. That doesn’t happen often for me. And then in terms of what I’m writing, I hope to finally nail down this script called, My Father’s Business, which I’ve been thinking about for a few years now. It’s a comedy that deals with the commercialism of the church and things like that.

Make sure to keep an eye out for Somebodies the television series as it premieres on BET next fall.

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