Bille Woodruff

{{Short description|American director}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2013}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Bille Woodruff

| image =

| caption =

| birthname =

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| birth_place = Denver, Colorado, U.S.

| education = University of Maryland

| occupation = {{hlist|Film director|music video director}}

}}

Bille Woodruff is a director of film, television and music videos, noted for directing many videos for a number of R&B and hip-hop artists since the mid-1990s. These artists include Joe, for whom Woodruff has directed 9 music videos since 1994, and Toni Braxton, with whom he has worked 10 times since 1996. Woodruff directed the videos for some of Braxton's biggest singles, including "Un-Break My Heart", "You're Makin' Me High", and "He Wasn't Man Enough".{{cite web|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/person/291111/Bille-Woodruff|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080525092422/http://movies.nytimes.com/person/291111/Bille-Woodruff|url-status=dead|archive-date=2008-05-25|department=Movies & TV Dept.|work=The New York Times|publisher=Baseline & All Movie Guide|date=2008|title=The New York Times|access-date=2012-01-10}}

Film and television career

Woodruff directed the 2003 film Honey. Rumors stated singer and actress Aaliyah was originally slated to play the title role, but died before filming began. However, Woodruff said, "That’s incorrect. It was supposed to be Beyoncé. That’s been widely reported but it’s incorrect. She couldn’t do it because of her touring schedule for her first album Dangerously in Love."{{Cite web|url=https://shadowandact.com/honey-director-puts-to-rest-the-rumors-aaliyah-was-going-to-star-in-film-says-beyonce-was-supposed-to-instead|title='Honey' Director Puts To Rest The Rumors Aaliyah Was Going To Star In Film, Says Beyoncé Was Supposed To Instead|website=shadowandact.com}} She was replaced by Jessica Alba. The film was released on December 5, 2003 and opened at #2 at the US Box Office, earning $12,856,040 in its opening weekend. The film received generally negative reviews from critics, with a rating of 20% on Rotten Tomatoes, but favorable reviews from moviegoers, with a rating of 76% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Woodruff then directed the 2005 film Beauty Shop, a spin-off of the Barbershop film trilogy, starring Queen Latifah. The film was released on March 30, 2005 and went on to gross worldwide $37,245,453 at the worldwide box office. Movie critics' reviews were generally negative, generating a rating of 38% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, moviegoers liked the movie, giving it a 70% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

He then directed the 2009 film Bring It On: Fight to the Finish, starring Christina Milian. The film was released straight-to-DVD on September 1, 2009.

He directed the straight-to-DVD sequel to Honey, Honey 2, which was released in 2011.

He released the movie Rags on Nickelodeon in 2012. He directed 7 episodes of The Game TV series in 2012 and 2013.

Woodruff directed the film adaptation of the best-selling novel of the same name Addicted and A Very Larry Christmas.

In 2015, Woodruff directed Honey 3 in South Africa with new fresh Talent including Bobby Lockwood and 'Kenny Wormald.

He directed the film The Perfect Match starring Terence Jenkins and Paula Patton in 2016.

Since 2016, he has directed numerous episodes of the following television series: Hit the Floor, Star, Empire and Black Lightning.

In 2024, he is the director of Bridgerton.

Videography

=1991=

  • Sounds of Blackness – "Optimistic"{{cite web|title="Where It All Began" Part 4|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D60VpsOOKJo&feature=relmfu |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008033918/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D60VpsOOKJo&gl=US&hl=en |archive-date=2020-10-08 |url-status=dead|work=BET|publisher=YouTube|access-date=2012-04-09}}
  • The S.O.S. Band – "Sometimes I Wonder"

=1994=

=1995=

  • A Few Good Men - "Have I never"

=1996=

=1997=

=1998=

=1999=

=2000=

=2001=

=2002=

=2003=

=2005=

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=2008=

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=2012=

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Filmography

=Film=

=Television=

class="wikitable"
Year

! Title

! Episodes

2012–2014

| The Game

| 11 episodes

2016–2018

| Hit the Floor

| 4 episodes

2017

| Shadowhunters

| "You Are Not Your Own"

2017

| Daytime Divas

| "We Are Family"

2017

| Greenleaf

| "Silence and Loneliness"

2017–2019

| Star

| 5 episodes

2017–2020

| Empire

| 5 episodes

2018

| Claws

| "Scream"

2018–2021

| Black Lightning

| 7 episodes

2019

| Perfect Harmony

| "Merry Jaxmas"

2020

| Filthy Rich

| "Romans 12:21"

2021

| Genius

| "Aretha: Unforgettable"

2021

| Fear the Walking Dead

| "Reclamation"

2021–2025

| Yellowjackets

| 2 episodes

2022

| The Endgame

| "Gold Rush"

2022

| A Million Little Things

| "Lesson Learned"

2022

| Tom Swift

| "...And the Benefits of Bondage"

2022

| Vampire Academy

| "Pilot"

2023

| Will Trent

| "Pterodactyls Can Fly"

2024

| Bridgerton

| 2 episodes

2024

| Grey's Anatomy

| "Night Moves"

2025

| Watson

| "The Camgirl Injury"

2025

| Elsbeth

| "Four Body Problem"

References

{{reflist}}

Further reading

  • Henry Keazor, Thorsten Wübbena: [http://www.vttrs.de Video Thrills The Radio Star. Musikvideos: Geschichte, Themen, Analysen]. Bielefeld 2005, p. 111ss.