JD Dillard | |
|---|---|
 Dillard in 2022 | |
| Born | 26 December 1987 |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2013–present |
| Notable work |
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JD Dillard (born 26 December 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 | Writer | Producer | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Sleight | Yes | Yes | No | [4] |
| 2019 | Sweetheart | Yes | Yes | Yes | [21] |
| Stray | No | Yes | Yes | [8] | |
| 2022 | Devotion | Yes | No | Executive | [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]
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Kiersey Nicole Clemons is an American actress. She is known for her role in the 2015 comedy-drama film Dope, playing Cassandra "Diggy" Andrews. Subsequently, she went on to co-star in Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (2016), Flatliners (2017), Hearts Beat Loud (2018), and played Iris West in both Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021) and The Flash (2023).
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