Mayor Vincent C. Gray today announced that he has appointed producer and director Pierre Bagley to serve as the new director of the District’s Office of Motion Picture and Television Development (MPTD). He will replace Interim Director Herbert Niles, who has served in the role since October. Niles will assume the role of Deputy Director of the agency.
“Pierre brings more than 35 years of experience in the entertainment industry, which makes him a natural choice to direct MPTD’s efforts to support film and TV-related economic activity, growth and employment in the District,” said Mayor Gray. “We are excited to see what his creativity and expertise can bring to the already burgeoning media-and-entertainment market in our city.”
Bagley is the producer, director, and co-writer of the upcoming independent feature From the Rough, starring Academy Award nominees Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) and Michael Clarke Duncan (The Green Mile) as well as Harry Potter series actor Tom Felton. The film, which is inspired by the remarkable true story of the first female head coach of an NCAA Division I men’s golf team, is scheduled to be released in theaters in early 2014. Bagley guided the project from development to production in less than six months and raised nearly $7.5 million in equity to complete the film. Other recent projects include two critically-acclaimed documentaries: A Legacy of Leadership, hosted by Sidney Poitier; and LAPD: Transforming the Dream, commissioned by then-Los Angeles Police Chief (and now New York City Police Commissioner) William J. Bratton.
Prior to his work with From the Rough, Bagley was a producer and director with First Tuesday Productions, which he founded in 1981 and ran for nearly three decades. First Tuesday garnered a national reputation for creating captivating works of art in the multi-dimensional mediums of film and video. His diverse and eclectic clientele ranged from TIME Inc. and Muhammad Ali to Neiman Marcus and Oprah Winfrey. His company also was tasked by major institutions such as the National Urban League, Toyota Motor Company, National Association of Black Journalists, The Trammell Crow Companies, and Anheuser-Busch to lend its unique creative perspective and consistent production execution. First Tuesday was the exclusive production company for the Dallas Market Center, creating programming for the fashion and design industries. Bagley also created the Dallas Market Center Television network, which encompassed the 10-million-square-foot complex and the surrounding major hotels, providing 24-hour, TV-industry specific programming.
Bagley began his career in the media industry by co-founding the Phoenix Video Center, one of the nation’s first independent production and post-production facilities, which serviced the Arizona/California market. Commercial clients included ABC, Jack-in-the-Box, Walmart, CBS and ABC Television Networks, Foot Locker, Proctor & Gamble and the Chrysler Corporation, among many others.
Bagley currently resides in Ward 5.