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Interview: Director Jason Hall honors veterans with 'Thank You for Your Service'

If 'Thank You for Your Service' is any indication, Hall is only getting started. Borrowing from another veteran filmmaker, Hall wants to tell you the truth about the costs of war. 
Universal Pictures

Jason Hall wants to talk to you about United States soldiers. More importantly, he wants to take you into their homes after war, when they come home to battle a different kind of war: a psychological one that may be as endless as the ocean they traveled over in order to fight a physical one. With his new film-and directorial debut-"Thank You for Your Service," Hall is shining a light on the one aspect Hollywood has bypassed for more explosive tales lately.

Sure, Hall's Oscar-nominated screenplay for Clint Eastwood's "American Sniper" spent some time with Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper) in between tours of duty, but what film has spent the majority of its running time with a soldier after he comes home from war in the past 10-20 years? Very few, so when Hall sat down for a roundtable with film critics earlier this month, he expanded on making a movie about what happens after the soldiers come home.

When I asked Hall if the prep for "American Sniper" helped him assimilate conversations for his new film, he was quick to point out that there is a difference between talking to a soldier and with a Navy Seal.

"I thought it was going to help, but that wasn't true," Hall said about the process. "These guys fought a different war than Chris Kyle thought. Different backgrounds, but most starkly, they had different training. Navy Seals are put through such rigorous training that you get the best and the sharpest. That's not true for the military."

Hall pointed out that in 2007, 39 percent of our military were on waivers, meaning they had to get a waiver due to a pre-existing mental or unknown condition.

"You're taking people who already have some form of challenge in their life and putting them into a humvee and driving around waiting to get blown out," he said.

"Thank You for Your Service" doesn't beat the drum that says "war is good," and Hall was asked about if he encountered any difficulty making this film.

"The only resistance we've had was from combat veterans who have already lived that war, but what we found that when we get them to see it, they realize someone finally told their story," said Hall.

The movie spends only two scenes in Iraq combat zones, with the rest happening at home on civilian turf, which was refreshing to me. Hall definitely had a focus in what story he needed to tell.

"This is a war movie, and it takes place at home. Memories are ricocheting around them (at home), tearing up their insides."

Working with Eastwood definitely helped prepare Hall to direct, and it helped that the Hollywood legend took a liking to Hall during the process of making "American Sniper."

"Clint is such a personality," he said. "I guess I was the first writer that he let stick around, because I was around for the entire shooting of the film. He was super generous and asked my opinion on stuff, which is not a common trait for him."

Hall also took away an important filmmaking tool from Clint, which was using your instincts.

"I learned about keeping it loose, and following your instincts. Not being afraid to turn a scene on its head. He also taught me about truth. His goal is to put truth on the screen."

Being the writer and director of a project produces more control for a filmmaker, and Hall certainly enjoyed it the freedom.

"Let me just say that it's very uncomfortable to not be in control, handing over a script that you wrote to someone else. When you are directing it and something doesn't work, you know who to blame. It was very liberating, especially since I see it when I write it."

Hall's take on the effects of war on the human mind was very liberating for me to see on screen. What he is trying to do with "Thank You for Your Service" is start a conversation — or at least the continuation of one — about what combat can do to a human being. How the war doesn't stop when a soldier hands his or her weapon back to the military, yet can intensify drastically when he or she touches home. It's a fascinating story and Hall is leaning into it with his debut film.

If "Thank You for Your Service" is any indication, Hall is only getting started. Borrowing from another veteran filmmaker, Hall wants to tell you the truth about the costs of war.

The film opens wide this Friday,

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