Filmgoers purchasing tickets for Devotion will be able to watch a new movie while simultaneously supporting a good cause. Directed by JD Dillard and written by Jake Crane and Jonathan A. Stewart, Devotion is based on the Adam Makos book Devotion: An Epic Story of Heroism, Friendship, and Sacrifice. It delves into the true story of naval officers Jesse Brown and Tom Hudner who served together during the Korean War, coming out of the conflict as two of the Navy’s most celebrated wingmen.
Speaking about the feature film with Variety, Dillard revealed that some of the money raised by the release of the movie will be for the benefit of the children of Navy veterans. Producers Black Label Media have arranged for a portion of the box office profits to benefit the Hudner Navy Scholarship Foundation, an organization honoring the legacy of Jesse Brown and Tom Hudner by providing scholarships. Over the course of 60 years, more than $155 million in scholarships have been given out by the organization.
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“We started working on the scholarship fund from the time we greenlit the film in the spring of 2020,” Molly Smith of Black Label Media said. “Black Label has had a long relationship with Tom Rothman [Sony Pictures Entertainment chairman and CEO] and Sony, who agreed to distribute the film and have been amazing supporters if this story. We are all honored to tell this story and honor the sacrifices of these men.”
According to Smith, the equity in Devotion has already been donated. Following the repayment of that amount and all back-end participations, all future revenues earned by Devotion will go directly to the scholarship fund. Dillard notes in the story that he had personally dropped out of college after just one semester as it was just too expensive, so he’s happy to help raise money that will help keep others from facing the same dilemma.
“As someone who had to drop out for financial reasons, I know, quite tangibly, what looking down the barrel of that decision is, so it’s incredibly meaningful,” he says. “It’s one of my favorite things about the movie because it can, in a way, be more than film.”
Devotion Tells the Heroic True Story of Jesse Brown and Tom Hudner
Sony Pictures Releasing
The cast of Devotion is led by Jonathan Majors as Jesse Brown and Glen Powell as Tom Hudner. Also starring in the movie are Christina Jackson, Joe Jonas, Thomas Sadoski, Serinda Swan, Daren Kagasoff, Nick Hargrove, and Spencer Neville. JD Dillard Executive produced with Glen Powell, while Moly Smith produced alongside Rachel Smith, That Luckinbill, and Trent Luckinbill. You can view the official trailer below.
The official synopsis for Devotion is as follows.
Devotion will be released in movie theaters on Nov. 23, 2022.
Devotion, an aerial war epic based on the bestselling book of the same name, tells the harrowing true story of two elite US Navy fighter pilots during the Korean War. Their heroic sacrifices would ultimately make them the Navy’s most celebrated wingmen.
