Interview (Written): Destin Daniel Cretton

A conversation with the co-writer and director of the movie Just Mercy starring Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx, and Brie Larson.

When I saw Short Term 12, I was so blown away by the movie — it was my favorite film of 2013 — I knew I had to interview its writer-director Destin Daniel Cretton. I contacted the movie’s producer Asher Goldstein who put me in touch with Destin and we had a wonderful conversation which you can read here.

Destin is back with his latest movie Just Mercy which he co-wrote (along with Andrew Lanham, based on a book by Bryan Stevenson.

IMDb plot summary: World-renowned civil rights defense attorney Bryan Stevenson works to free a wrongly condemned death row prisoner.

Here is an excerpt from an interview Destin did with Hollywood Glee in November related to a special screening of the movie in association with AFI Fest.

AFI: What initially drew you to make JUST MERCY and to tell Bryan Stevenson and Walter McMillian’s story?

DDC: I read Bryan’s book, “Just Mercy,” and it honestly floored me. I felt like my heart was torn to shreds and put back together. One would think reading a book about the unfairness of our criminal justice system would leave you feeling defeated and cynical about the state of our world. But Bryan believes that hopelessness is the enemy of justice and that hope allows you to work toward the things that you cannot see. As soon as I finished his book, I had no idea how, but I knew I wanted to find any way to help him tell this story.

AFI: How closely did you work with Bryan before and during filming?

DDC: Andrew Lanham and I worked very closely with Bryan throughout the entire screenwriting process. Before we put any words to the page, we visited Bryan in Montgomery to see the work he does first-hand, alongside his staff at the Equal Justice Initiative. Bryan was an extraordinary collaborator on this project, guiding us throughout to make sure we got it right, while allowing the space for the writing process to organically come together. He was also an invaluable source for all of our department heads during production to make sure the sets, costumes and props all reflected the work they were doing at the time.

Here is a brief video in which Destin talks about Just Mercy:

Here is a trailer for the movie:

Movie Website

Here’s something cool that Destin is doing. From Vanity Fair:

Not many moviegoers sit through the credits. On TV and streaming services, they whiz past our eyes and get popped into a small box in the corner of the screen in the service of autoplay.

But Destin Daniel Cretton is determined to make up for it. In the lead-up to the release of his new feature, Just Mercy, on December 25, Cretton turned his Instagram over to his film’s crew. From script supervisor to hairstylist, first assistant director to second assistant camerawoman, Cretton has been posting an Instagram photo with a short interview every few days — heartfelt tributes that are also a miniature film education in just how many people it takes to make a movie.

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“I think audiences forget the amount of real people that it takes to make a movie,” said Cretton, who used to teach high school and likes to keep in touch with those students who often ask him what really goes into filmmaking. “I think it’s so easy for people to watch a movie and sit in a theater for two hours and not think twice about it when they leave, regardless of what they thought of the movie. I think it’s nice to remember the amount of real people that poured themselves into it.”

Way to go, Destin!

For the rest of the Hollywood Glee interview, go here.

For 100s more interviews with screenwriters and filmmakers, go here.