JD Dillard | |
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![]() Dillard in 2022 | |
Born | December 26, 1987 |
Nationality | American |
Occupations |
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Years active | 2013–present |
Notable work |
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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).
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]
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]
Film
Year | Title | Director | Producer | Writer | Ref. |
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2016 | Sleight | Yes | No | Yes | [4] |
2019 | Sweetheart | Yes | Yes | Yes | [21] |
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] |
In January 2016, Dillard was nominated at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival Awards, in the category "Best of Next!", for his work on Sleight.[22] 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.[23]