J. D. Dillard

JD Dillard
Dillard in 2022
Born (1987-12-26) December 26, 1987 (age 36)
NationalityAmerican
Occupations
  • Film director
  • Producer
  • Screenwriter
Years active2013–present
Notable work
Parents
  • Bruce Dillard (father)
  • Geri Dillard (mother)

JD Dillard (born December 26, 1987) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter best known for his work on Sleight (2016), Sweetheart (2019), and Devotion (2022).

Early life

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Dillard was raised as a Navy brat, the son of Bruce and Geri Dillard. His father was a Naval flight officer and the second African-American selected to fly for the Blue Angels.[1]

Career

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In March 2013, Dillard directed a trailer for Empire of the Sun's second album Ice on the Dune.[2][3] In 2016, he directed the science fiction crime drama film Sleight, for Blumhouse Tilt.[4]

In a 2017 interview with /Film Dillard disclosed that he was in early negotiations to direct a remake of David Cronenberg's The Fly. Dillard stated that he might work with Alex Theurer, the co-writer of Sleight, on it and that the two of them "want to start with character" when making the film.[5]

In January 2019, he wrote and directed the horror film Sweetheart, starring Kiersey Clemons.[6] In February 2019, Legendary Entertainment won a bidding war for Mastering Your Past, which was written by Dillard.[7] In April 2019, he wrote the supernatural noir film Stray.[8] In September 2019, he directed an episode of The CW series Two Sentence Horror Stories.[9] In December 2019, he cameoed as Stormtrooper FN-1226 in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.[10][11]

In February 2020, it was reported that Dillard was developing an untitled Star Wars film,[12][13] and was in talks to direct The Return of the Rocketeer, a sequel to the 1991 film The Rocketeer.[14] In November 2022, Dillard announced he was not attached to either Star Wars or Rocketeer projects.[14]

In 2020, he directed an episode of the HBO miniseries The Outsider.[15] In June 2020, Dillard directed an episode of the CBS All Access series The Twilight Zone.[16] In September 2020, he directed an episode of the Amazon Prime Video series Utopia.[17]

In February 2021, he directed the action war film Devotion, starring Jonathan Majors as Jesse L. Brown.[18] Dillard stated that his father's real life service as a Naval flight officer partly inspired his handling of the film.[19] During filming, Dillard's parents visited the set, and his father acted as a Navy pilot tech consultant for the film.[20]

In February 2024, he served as showrunner, creator, and executive producer on the Apple TV+ series Neuromancer, based on the book of the same name.[21]

Filmography

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Film

Year Title Director Producer Writer Ref.
2016 Sleight Yes No Yes [4]
2019 Sweetheart Yes Yes Yes [22]
Stray No Yes Yes [8]
2022 Devotion Yes Executive No [18]

Television

Year Title Episode Ref.
2019 Two Sentence Horror Stories "Trilogy: Guilt Trip" [9]
2020 The Outsider "Foxhead" [15]
The Twilight Zone "Downtime" [16]
Utopia "Talking Hurts" [17]

Accolades

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In January 2016, Dillard was nominated at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival Awards, in the category "Best of Next!", for his work on Sleight.[23] In February 2018, Dillard received two nominations at the Black Reel Awards of 2018, in the categories "Best Emerging Filmmaker" and "Best First Screenplay", also for his work on Sleight.[24]

References

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  1. ^ "Lt Bruce Dillard, No. 8". Intruder Association. Archived from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  2. ^ Minsker, Evan (March 11, 2013). "Empire of the Sun Announce New LP, Share Epic Album Trailer". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on July 20, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  3. ^ Locker, Melissa. "11 Best Music Videos of 2013 (So Far)". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Archived from the original on July 22, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  4. ^ a b Lang, Brent (January 28, 2016). "WWE, Blumhouse Buy Magician Thriller 'Sleight'". Variety. Archived from the original on December 13, 2016. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  5. ^ Sciretta, Peter (May 5, 2017). "'The Fly' Remake: J.D. Dillard Wants To Bring Some Real Emotion To The Blockbuster Re-Do". /Film. Archived from the original on July 20, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  6. ^ Kroll, Justin (February 2, 2017). "Kiersey Clemons to Star in Horror Film From Blumhouse and 'Sleight' Team". Variety. Archived from the original on July 20, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  7. ^ Galuppo, Mia (February 12, 2019). "Legendary Wins Bidding War for J.D. Dillard Thriller 'Mastering Your Past' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  8. ^ a b Hipes, Patrick (December 2, 2016). "Christine Woods, 'Suicide Squad's Karen Fukuhara & More Join 'Sleight' Team's 'Stray'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Two Sentence Horror Stories Anthology Series Coming This Halloween". September 20, 2017. Archived from the original on July 20, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  10. ^ Breznican, Anthony; Robinson, Joanna (December 20, 2019). "25 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Cameos You Might Have Missed". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on December 1, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  11. ^ Alex, Susannah; Tanswell, Adam (July 28, 2020). "The Boys and Star Trek star Karl Urban had secret Rise of Skywalker cameo". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on July 29, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  12. ^ Vary, Adam B. (February 21, 2020). "New 'Star Wars' Movie in Development With 'Sleight' Director, 'Luke Cage' Writer". Variety. Archived from the original on October 6, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  13. ^ Vary, Adam B. (February 21, 2020). "New 'Star Wars' Movie in Development With 'Sleight' Director, 'Luke Cage' Writer". Variety. Archived from the original on October 6, 2020. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
  14. ^ a b Taylor, Drew (November 8, 2022). "'Devotion' Filmmaker J.D. Dillard No Longer Developing 'Star Wars' Movie for Lucasfilm (Exclusive)". TheWrap. Archived from the original on November 8, 2022. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  15. ^ a b "For my friends watching The Outsider: next week is the episode I directed and it's called 'Foxhead'!". Archived from the original on July 20, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  16. ^ a b Al-Ghamdi, Abdullah (June 27, 2020). "The Twilight Zone: Downtime Ending Explained". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on July 20, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  17. ^ a b "I directed the penultimate episode of Gillian Flynn's wonderfully insane Utopia with the incredible Shawn Kim shooting and it's out now on Amazon Prime!". Archived from the original on July 20, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  18. ^ a b Kroll, Justin (February 4, 2021). "Serinda Swan To Play Elizabeth Taylor In Black Label Media's Korean War Pic 'Devotion'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 24, 2022. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  19. ^ Treese, Tyler (March 1, 2023). "Interview: J.D. Dillard on Devotion & the Rise of Jonathan Majors". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  20. ^ Dillard, J. D. (December 11, 2022). "Guest Column: 'Devotion' Director J.D. Dillard on Why The Story of the Navy's First Black Aviator Is So Personal". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  21. ^ Cordero, Rosy (February 28, 2024). "Apple Greenlights New Sci-Fi Drama Series 'Neuromancer' Based On William Gibson Novel". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  22. ^ Kroll, Justin (April 3, 2017). "Emory Cohen to Co-Star With Kiersey Clemons in Blumhouse's Sweetheart (Exclusive)". Variety. Archived from the original on July 2, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  23. ^ "2016 Sundance Film Festival Awards Ceremony". Archived from the original on July 24, 2021. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  24. ^ "Get Out Dominates The Black Reel Awards". Archived from the original on December 19, 2017. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
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