Warner Bros.
Just Mercy is available via Video on Demand today, so we’re re-sharing this interview with director Destin Daniel Cretton about how accurate the film is—among other subjects.
Just Mercy director Destin Daniel Cretton had no choice but to stay close to the facts of the memoir that inspired the Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx death row drama: Cretton says Bryan Stevenson, who inspired the film, “was constantly keeping us in check in the best way.”
Stevenson’s memoir, also called Just Mercy, describes his efforts to save Walter McMillian, a man who was wrongly convicted of murder in 1988. Jordan plays Stevenson, and Foxx plays McMillian.
“We had to stick close to the facts, because Bryan Stevenson was working closely with us every step of the way and making sure that we were telling a story that would resonate not only with an audience, but would resonate with lawyers who are doing this type of work, that would resonate with people on death row who are going through this process, and would resonate with the clients and the people who are in this story, some of which are still alive, or their relatives are still alive,” Cretton says on the new MovieMaker Interviews podcast.
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He explains that they wanted to not only inspire people trying to repair the criminal justice system, but educate people about how hard that is.
“Accuracy was definitely important so that when they watch this movie, people can understand what it really takes,” Cretton added. “This isn’t a made-up version of what it takes to prove somebody’s innocence. This is the long process that is in place right now in our system.”
You can listen to the full interview here:
Or any of these places:
Here are highlights of the episode, with timestamps:
1:36: Destin Daniel Cretton interview begins.
2:10: How Bryan Stevenson’s memoir, Just Mercy, affected him
3:10: How Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx got involved
3:44: How working with at-risk kids helped lead to a career in Hollywood
5:40: How he met Ryan Coogler, and Coogler quickly connected him with Michael B. Jordan: “He put me on hold and when he reconnected me, Michael B. Jordan was on the line.”
7:00: How Jamie Foxx joined Just Mercy.
8:30: The moment when he knew the movie was working.
10:30: Why he stuck close to the facts.
We had to stick close to the facts because Bryan Stevenson was working closely with us every step of the way and making sure that we were telling a story that would resonate not only with an audience but would resonate with lawyers who are doing this type of work, that would resonate with people on death row who are going through this process, and would resonate with the clients and the people who are in this story, some of which are still alive, or their relatives are still alive. Bryan cared deeply about all of that, and was constantly keeping us in check in the best way.
Accuracy was definitely important so that when they watch this movie, people can understand what it really takes. This isn’t a made-up version of what it takes to prove somebody’s innocence. This is the long process that is in place right now in our system.”
12:30: What Bryan Stevenson has in common with Mr. Rogers.
13:40: “I can’t deny that we didn’t go far and wide searching for that flaw.”
15:30: Let’s talk about the death penalty.
18:00: How often the government gets it wrong.
18:20: A quick shoutout to Clemency, and how Cretton captured the atmosphere of a Southern prison in the 1980s.
21:54: The advice he got from Brie Larson and Michael B. Jordan about joining the Marvel Universe.
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WOW!!!.., - That wuz Definately a tremendously Powerful Interview and One which I Myself feel that I can finally use as an anchor of my very own, when sharing part of my very personal yet open and rather candid at the same time, as to the entire ‘How, When, Where and above all Why...”, I myself had Been apparently convicted from My very Own Heart-Outwardly, to do Jail Ministry, -YET.. Like everything in our lives, NOTHING Arruves to Us right when WE want things. But we also must remember that God is a God of miracle perfections, and so with that said, He’ll NEVER be late on Us to Anything in Life, (that we Have to continually remember!!)..., He’s for Sure never Early- Ugghh,, that wud really be boring to know a Our future so constantly and if we were to Really, really dig into that statement a little too long- Well, if you ask Me it could prob even get a tad bit too scary!!
So all in all, I guess the only other thing I’d also be wanting to get at with such a phenomenal Story, because Yes I’ve read your Book and going on 50 next Saturday the 11th alone, Well,, -All I can say is that I’m very humbly Blessed to have been Raised by my 2 Latin-South American, Immigrant Parents who very well taught Me to be Properly Well-Roundedm and in every sense of the word, -that to be Including ‘NEVER Discriminate A Single Soul!!...’. Now I know that I just may (or hopefully May not), receive a ton of backlashing with this statement and if that’s the case then that’s ok too. Because Sadly enough, despite the fact that We as a Supposed ‘United...’, States of America are being continually Called each and every day, at least recently And better late than never right? Even if it hadn’t occurred, My Own personal Prayer is that at Some Point during -let’s just throw out a rough figure for Love’s Sake of 6 Months-, and even that to me would even be considered too long in the Movie Life Span. But looking at the futuristic takeaway My Sense in in is that, hopefully this Society will begin to not only realize but God-willingly UNDERSTAND all of the many different facets to what actuallly goes on ‘behind the scenes IN THE JAIL SYSTEM which in turn, are the 2 Main reasons why The Pope has been pleading for Us to Pray, (Now remember He is simply a Mediator of God sent down from and thru Peter— NO One ever takes the place of Our Lord!), so that in turn WE as a Unit can Urgently have More Peacemakers that truly Believe in Visiting the Jails;)), which is what I wuz about to start, when our lovely Pandemic began,
Well— there you have My two cents. Thought you were gonna actually hear My entire Story? Not! I’ll for sure save that for another time. All i know, is that it truly did feel Amazingly Beautiful last year when i wuz able to put all the pieces of my very own puzzle together. God is Indeed Good All the Time, & ALL TIME, HE IZZ GOOD!!... ECC. 3;1-15