BREAKING BLAND
BY [ Tanesia A. REED ]
FORMER STUDENT LEADER CLIMBS TO HIGHER GROUND, NOW RUNNING THE SHOW IN HOLLYWOOD JAMES BLAND is the creative genius behind the Emmy Award-winning drama series, Giants, which has gone from Issa Rae’s YouTube Channel to broadcast television on Cleo TV. The creator, showrunner, and star of his series, Bland has chosen to dedicate himself to accurately portraying the stories of Black millennials in a journey to adulthood series about three friends approaching 30. Bland is a Titusville, Fla. native and 2008 business administration graduate of Florida A&M University. During his matriculation at FAMU, Bland was Freshman and Sophomore Class Vice President even after running as a write-in candidate, President of the Omicron Delta Kappa Leadership Society, and Student Activities Board Chairman. He was also Student Body Vice President during his senior year and a Spring 2006 initiate of the Beta Nu Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Through his college years, such prominent alumni in filmmaking as Will Packer, Rob Hardy, and Anika Noni Rose opened his eyes to the endless opportunities a FAMU degree can grant a Rattler. “They [Will Packer and Rob Hardy] had gone to FAMU and they weren’t film majors — they were engineering majors,” said Bland. “Because they had left FAMU with engineering degrees and still were able to find success in Hollywood as filmmakers, I believed that I could, too.” Bland met Packer during his junior year at FAMU. Packer advised him to make his very first film to show his seriousness about getting into the filmmaking. After spending his senior year creating his first film, Dreaming in Color, which was about two teenage best friends struggling to chase their dreams, and moving to Los Angeles, Bland was offered an intern position at Will Packer Productions. As an intern shortly after graduation, he maintained the office of the producer during the production of the 2010 action thriller film Takers. “Because I’m a Rattler, I knew how to network and how to get people on my side,” said Bland as he talked about his internship with Packer coming to an end. “I made sure I talked to a few folks while I was his intern at the studio. So, when the internship ended and there were not any more opportunities to work with Will Packer, I started reaching out to people that I had met at the studio and (that) brought me back as a production
assistant [at Sony Screen Gems].” He later took a step further into the industry as an executive assistant at Sony Screen Gems in 2009, completing organizational tasks for company executives, as well as the digital producer for TV Land in 2014, where he produced the series The Soul Man and managed social media accounts. During this time, Bland produced impressive film content through different web series and short films. Afterward, he wrote, produced, and acted in his hit series, Giants, which was the first project Bland could completely call his own. “I created Giants to really show the industry and the world what James Bland could do,” he said. “It made me a power player in the industry, and it made Hollywood care what James Bland had to say.”
“I created Giants to really show the industry and the world what James Bland could do”
Bland is now the founder and CEO of James Bland Productions, “a full-service production company focused on creating purpose-driven content for film, television and digital platforms,” according to james-bland.com. He has also made time to give back to young, Black content creators through numerous educational and experience-driven programs. Through his “Creating a Giant” master class to his “Giants X LeadersUp Internship Program,” Bland has provided many opportunities for skilled youth interested in filmmaking. Bland also worked with the Entertainment Industry College Outreach Program’s HBCU in LA by supervising the final summer project — a 10-minute short film in 2019 called Uchawi. The film was about two sisters being forced to confront their past through miraculous powers and learning how to forgive. Kenya Cummins, an intern during the HBCU in LA program who worked as a producer for the short film, expressed her gratitude for the program in a Making the Film | HBCU in LA 2019 video on Bland’s website.
“It was awesome,” said Cummins, a Hampton University alumna. “Just being in the mix you learn so much, so I’m really grateful.” Alongside filmmaking, Bland has directed music videos for a new multi-genre music artist with a unique intergalactic sound, TeaMarrr. The Boston artist’s songs, Chasing Amy and One Job, are amongst the four videos directed by him. In My Mind by TeaMarrr was featured in Bland’s Giants television series and she is now signed to Issa Rae’s record label, Raedio. “There’s a trend when you look at it. Any of the videos that James [Bland] has directed are at a million-plus views. Where the others … aren’t. James [Bland] has this magical, physical touch to my brand,” said TeaMarrr. “If a video is not directed by him [Bland], it’s because we asked him first and he couldn’t do it. No disrespect to the other directors I have worked with because they’re amazing, but James [Bland] is my go-to.” TeaMarrr describes Bland as a “thoughtful dude,” who thoroughly listens to her music to visualize a video content that is always spot on with her creative vision. The artist hopes to arrange more of her music videos to be directed by Bland in the near future. Bland plans to continue living his dream of creating content full-time with bigger budgets on larger platforms. Ryan Coogler, Angela Bassett, and many other film icons are on his radar as he works toward making James Bland a household name and representing the Black community in his work.
FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY // A&M MAGAZINE // 43
