Rob Hardy(I)
- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Rob Hardy, who is a recent nominee of the HBO Director to Watch Award,
broke into network television with his January 2007 directorial debut
of the Emmy Award winning show ER. Soon after, Black Enterprise
Magazine listed him among the Top 40 Entertainers under 40 for the year
2008. Since recently wrapping production on Stomp the Yard: Homecoming
for Sony Pictures, Hardy has returned to television with a directing
stint on the CBS series Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior starring Oscar
winner Forest Whitaker.
Hardy began his career as a high school Senior, with the camcorder-shot
movie G-Man. While pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering at
Florida A & M University, he made the leap to film with the low-budget
motion picture Chocolate City. This experience earned him the
institution's highest honor, the Bernard Hendricks Student Leadership
Award, and launched his company Rainforest Films. The underground buzz
on the project soon led to his controversial film Trois. Hardy not only
directed and co-wrote the thriller, he was also instrumental in
self-distributing the project to be the fastest Independent African
American film to pass the $1million dollar mark. In 2003, after
directing the critically acclaimed thriller Pandora's Box, he added the
role of "Producer" to his credits by collaborating with business
partner Will Packer (they co-founded Rainforest Films), to produce
Motives. 2004 saw Hardy Executive Producing Trois: The Escort, and
penning an "untitled Usher" project for MTV Films. Hardy then wrote and
directed the spiritually themed drama entitled The Gospel, and produced
the companion Gospel Live!. Executive producing Mekhi Phifer's
directorial film debut Puff Puff Pass, soon followed, before serving as
Executive Producer of Stomp The Yard, which held the #1 position at the
box office for two weekends in January of 2007 and received the 2007
Movie of the Year Award from the BET Hip Hop awards. Afterwards came
Motives: Retribution and Three Can Play that Game. His hard-earned
success has garnered a 2006 "Best Screenplay" (Black Movie Awards)
nomination for The Gospel. The Hollywood Reporter (December 2002)
listed him amongst the New Establishment of Black Power Brokers.
Florida A&M University awarded him with the Meritorious Achievement
Award, which is the highest honor bestowed on an alumnus. After which
he received the inaugural Woody Strode / Paul Robeson Award of
Excellence from his fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
His company Rainforest Films, was listed as one of the Top 25 Money
Makers in Entertainment (2007) by Black Enterprise Magazine and has
gone on to produce feature films including: This Christmas, Obsessed
and Takers. Most recently Hardy has continued his network episodic
directing with stints on The Vampire Diaries, Bones, 90210, Criminal
Minds and NBC's Heroes (the webisodes). With several studio projects in
development Hardy has also broken into reality television with his
creating Sprite Step Off for MTV2. Additionally, Hardy completed
studies at the New York Film Academy, and has begun directing
commercial projects for clients, including: CNN, TBS (Turner
Broadcasting), American Honda, Coca-Cola, Georgia Lottery and The
National Cancer Institute. He serves on the Advisory Board for the
International Feature Project (IFP) Film Lab series. He resides in
Atlanta, GA with his wife and son.
broke into network television with his January 2007 directorial debut
of the Emmy Award winning show ER. Soon after, Black Enterprise
Magazine listed him among the Top 40 Entertainers under 40 for the year
2008. Since recently wrapping production on Stomp the Yard: Homecoming
for Sony Pictures, Hardy has returned to television with a directing
stint on the CBS series Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior starring Oscar
winner Forest Whitaker.
Hardy began his career as a high school Senior, with the camcorder-shot
movie G-Man. While pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering at
Florida A & M University, he made the leap to film with the low-budget
motion picture Chocolate City. This experience earned him the
institution's highest honor, the Bernard Hendricks Student Leadership
Award, and launched his company Rainforest Films. The underground buzz
on the project soon led to his controversial film Trois. Hardy not only
directed and co-wrote the thriller, he was also instrumental in
self-distributing the project to be the fastest Independent African
American film to pass the $1million dollar mark. In 2003, after
directing the critically acclaimed thriller Pandora's Box, he added the
role of "Producer" to his credits by collaborating with business
partner Will Packer (they co-founded Rainforest Films), to produce
Motives. 2004 saw Hardy Executive Producing Trois: The Escort, and
penning an "untitled Usher" project for MTV Films. Hardy then wrote and
directed the spiritually themed drama entitled The Gospel, and produced
the companion Gospel Live!. Executive producing Mekhi Phifer's
directorial film debut Puff Puff Pass, soon followed, before serving as
Executive Producer of Stomp The Yard, which held the #1 position at the
box office for two weekends in January of 2007 and received the 2007
Movie of the Year Award from the BET Hip Hop awards. Afterwards came
Motives: Retribution and Three Can Play that Game. His hard-earned
success has garnered a 2006 "Best Screenplay" (Black Movie Awards)
nomination for The Gospel. The Hollywood Reporter (December 2002)
listed him amongst the New Establishment of Black Power Brokers.
Florida A&M University awarded him with the Meritorious Achievement
Award, which is the highest honor bestowed on an alumnus. After which
he received the inaugural Woody Strode / Paul Robeson Award of
Excellence from his fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
His company Rainforest Films, was listed as one of the Top 25 Money
Makers in Entertainment (2007) by Black Enterprise Magazine and has
gone on to produce feature films including: This Christmas, Obsessed
and Takers. Most recently Hardy has continued his network episodic
directing with stints on The Vampire Diaries, Bones, 90210, Criminal
Minds and NBC's Heroes (the webisodes). With several studio projects in
development Hardy has also broken into reality television with his
creating Sprite Step Off for MTV2. Additionally, Hardy completed
studies at the New York Film Academy, and has begun directing
commercial projects for clients, including: CNN, TBS (Turner
Broadcasting), American Honda, Coca-Cola, Georgia Lottery and The
National Cancer Institute. He serves on the Advisory Board for the
International Feature Project (IFP) Film Lab series. He resides in
Atlanta, GA with his wife and son.