Director JD Dillardthe latest feature of Dedication is an emotional adaptation of the author Adam Mako novel recounting the heroic deeds of two US Navy fighter pilots during the Korean War. With a screenplay written by Jake Grue et Jonathan Stuart, Dedication chronicles the partnership and friendship between Ensign Jesse Brown (interpreted by Jonathan Majors), the Navy’s first black carrier pilot, and his wingman Lieutenant Tom Hudner (interpreted by Glen Powell), at a time of segregation and societal upheaval. When one of their planes is shot down behind enemy lines, the other must make a dangerous choice. The film also features Christine Jackson like Daisy Brown, Jesse’s wife who struggles to come to terms with her husband’s life-threatening job, as well as Cygne Serinda, Thomas Sadoski, et Joe Jonas.
In an interview with CNET’s Steve WeintraubDillard and Jackson discuss the importance of discovering the film’s reach in theater and how Dillard’s first cut of the film was over 3 hours long, adding: “Dedication was really a film that was tightened in the edit more than it was found in the edit. Jackson also describes Major’s performance as “intentional” and shares that their dynamic together gave him the motivation to get out of emotional scenes. You can watch the interview in the video above or read the full transcript below.
GameSpot: Really want to start, I think a lot of people over the last few years have taken to watching movies at home, even on their phones. But what I want to emphasize about this movie is that it’s a movie you want to see in a theater. It’s a cinematic experience. Can you both talk about wanting to see this one in the theater?
JD DILLARD: Yes. I would like people to see it in theater because I think “theatricality” is a term that almost transcends theater. It’s actually a matter of experience. And the really amazing benefit of being able to do a bit of touring of this film at festivals is that you start to get a sense of what it’s like to watch this with your family, to watch this with your friends. And that’s where I’m selfishly very excited about this being a Thanksgiving movie, because that fits the formula for me, as a movie buff and someone who also loves their family, to go the see together while everyone is at home.
And that’s because the reach is big, the emotions are big, the performance is big. It also answers, for me, that it’s not just the giant action movies that have that experience. But also, stories that feel great, stories that move us are also effective in this environment, this community environment of watching movies. So yeah, for me, that’s why I’m so excited for it to hit theaters.
CHRISTINA JACKSON: Plus, it’s just different. It’s different watching it on your phone or on your laptop, with screens or whatever, actually having it in front of you the way it’s shot, feeling the planes approaching you, to sit at the table with Jesse and Daisy and feel the weight of that emotion. It’s all just heightened when you’re in a bigger space with sound that covers you. And I just think it’s going to benefit you to go see it in the cinema.
I agree 100%. JD, I’m always curious about the editing process because that’s where the film comes together. How was this movie able to change in the editing room in ways you didn’t expect?
DILLARD: That’s a fun question. The trippy thing about Dedication We pitched the script so hard in preparation that once we started shooting, the film didn’t change much. And that’s not always the case, but I really had a lot of time to prepare, time to rehearse with the gang and really, really put every scene to the test. So the moment we came to shoot, it was like, “Oh, we’ve been here before.” And cleanly, by the time it stopped, I really had already been here. Now obviously you start sucking it in, you tighten it up. I think the first cut was 3 hours and 45 minutes. Just because you leave every look, you leave every look of longing. It all stays when you see it again for the first time. But Dedication was really a film that was squeezed in the edit more than it was found in the edit, which again, I really owe it to the time we had to put it together.
I think I just want to make sure, for people who are going to watch this and say “Oh my God, you had a 3 hour and 45 minute cut”, we should say this isn’t a version that everything the world should see.
DILLARD: Yeah. It’s the funny flip side of the director’s cut. Please don’t watch my director’s edit. It’s awful. I would be horrified if this was released as a special feature, as it would be unwieldy. I’m much happier with the theatrical cut than the director’s cut. So yes, if you ever see this, run. Don’t watch the director’s cut.
Christina, you have great scenes with Jonathan. [Majors]. He’s such a great actor. You two are so good together. What was it like filming those scenes and working with someone who is clearly giving his all?
JACKSON: The dream. You want to be able to step into that space to tell that story and know that what you give is reciprocated. I think it just improves the understanding between the two characters and actors. But also, he arrives, already, the first day, so prepared. He was already Jesse [Brown]. There was just this question of, “Well, who are these two people when they’re together?” When no one else is watching, when no one else is there? And so, to get into those scenes with him, to be in those spaces with him, Jonathan is so intentional. It gave me all the motivation I needed to be able to come in here and do these scenes with him and be aware of the emotion and be aware of the intimacy that you want to be able to show these people like this man and woman and what it is trying to accomplish.
Dedication hits theaters November 23. For more on the film, check out Deadline’s interview with the cast and Dillard from the Toronto International Film Festival.