HOLLYWOOD, CA — With an enviable slate of film and television projects in various stages of release, production or development, rising Hollywood filmmaker Dallas Jackson has a name currently ringing out in the best way among entertainment industry power circles. Jackson’s new action thriller “The System” starring Tyrese Gibson, Terrence Howard, Jeremy Piven, and Lil Yachty is set for a nationwide theatrical release on October 28; He’s in development on “Creature House,” Jackson’s new horror feature film in collaboration with Kevin Grevioux, 50 Cent and G Unit productions which was recently announced by Deadline; and his 2020 action feature “Welcome to Sudden Death” starring Michael Jai White is still in heavy rotation on Netflix, where it ranked among the top 10 movies on the platform for weeks following its release.
Jackson, a proud Howard University alumni (one of the nation’s leading HBCUs), is being honored with a Bison Honors Award at his alma mater’s Homecoming on Saturday, Oct. 22. A special screening of his newest film, “The System” will be shown during Homecoming week in Washington DC on Thursday, Oct. 20.
As President of production company DJ Classicz, Jackson creates content focusing on edgy, young adult driven film and television projects for international audiences. The multi-hyphenate writer/director/producer considers it his mission to entertain the world by creating content for multicultural audiences that embeds a redemptive message at its core or shines a light on societal issues. In The System, he takes on the corruption inside the privatized prison system, which many social justice advocates describe as ‘modern day slavery’ and disproportionately affects people of color.
Jackson served as Executive Producer, alongside iconic director John Singleton for 10 episodes of the limited series crime-drama “REBEL” on BET/Viacom Networks. His other credits include serving as writer and director on Blumhouse feature film “Thriller” starring Mykelti Williamson (Fences), and rapper-actor RZA, which made its world premiere at the 2018 Los Angeles Film Festival. He co-wrote “Straight Out of Heaven” with iconic director Singleton for WBTV, and served as screenwriter on the urban-family series “Uncle P” starring Lil’ Romeo Miller and Cheech Marin for Nickelodeon.
The Denver native, who was a latchkey kid riding the bus at age 10 to rent movies from his favorite genres, recalls the rich relationships that have informed, supported and fueled his career forward. They include Singleton, his esteemed mentor, and RZA, who he has collaborated with on several projects since he began in the business.
“I got a master class by shadowing John Singleton and watching him work,” said Jackson. “He taught me how to pay attention to other directors on the show. I got a notebook and took copious notes – how to block a scene; how to tweak a script on-the-spot during a table read; how to identify a problem and quickly solve it during the production. John said, ‘know your story and know it better than anyone else. That way no one can tell you what to make and how to make it.’ He was a complete professor to me in giving me instructions. He believed in me enough to endorse me, which had a major impact on my career trajectory.”
