Catching up with Darryl Taja
Some teenagers dream of making it to Hollywood. Not Darryl Taja, who planned on going to law school after graduating from Huntington High School in 1988. But, new opportunities surfaced, new talents emerged and a new career called.
Ironically, while Mr. Taja never did make it to law school, he did marry a lawyer. He and his wife Sandra are today the parents of a two-year old daughter, Skylar and live in Los Angeles.
The Huntington alum has been the producer or executive producer of a number of films, including Thicker than Water (1999), Negative Exposure (1999), Housebound (2000), Pursuit of Happiness (2001), Higher Ed (2001), Go for Broke (2002), King’s Ransom (2005), Suburban Girl (2007), with Alec Baldwin and Sarah Michelle Geller, New in Town (2009), starring Renee Zellweger and Harry Connick, Jr. and Preacher’s Kid (2009), which is now in post-production.
The 38-year old has worked as music supervisor for Butter (1998), Higher Ed (2001) and Go for Broke (2002) and as the music coordinator for Running Woman (1998) and The White Raven (1998). He also received credit for writing Negative Exposure.
In 2003, Mr. Taja launched Epidemic Pictures and Management (www.epidemicpictures.com). He serves as the company’s president and has collaborated with New Line Cinema, Walt Disney Pictures, Universal Pictures, HBO, Palm Pictures and several television networks. His wife serves as Epidemic’s general counsel.
During his career, Mr. Taja has also worked at Catch 23 Entertainment as senior vice-president of the management and production divisions and was managing partner at The Bubble Factory’s management company. He has directed and produced over 30 music videos and owned a record label distributed by Sony Records.
When Darryl Taja Brathwaite graduated from Huntington High School on a hot June day in 1988, he left behind a legacy as a thoughtful teenager and talented athlete. That fall he headed to Howard University in Washington, DC where he studied business management. “At college, I started promoting parties and as they became more popular in the area, music stars and labels approached me about promoting their artists,” he said. “From there, I met a lot of people and got exposed to film promotions. I took those opportunities and parlayed them into music supervisory services for films, then observed, asked questions, and taught myself how to produce movies.”
As a Blue Devil soccer player, Mr. Taja was one of the program’s best ever, winning All-State honors and helping Huntington capture league crowns. Championship banners hang in the school gym today.
Like most teenagers and high school students, he had his favorite teachers and administrators. These included English teacher Helen Anderson and James Edwards, a high school assistant principal. Two decades later, he still credits the pair with playing an influential role in his life.
Along the road to Hollywood he encountered some negative forces, including disrespect, racism and even downright meanness. These behavioral extremes have helped “forge my path toward business,” he said. “Without both sides of the spectrum, I would not have had the fortitude to prosper in the entertainment business, which is one of the most difficult businesses to thrive in. So many doors get slammed in your face in this business of entertainment, that only the strong-willed can make it. You have to have an unwavering drive and determination and let no one talk you out of your dream - ever.”
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