I'm very happy being behind the camera: Jason Hall

Jason Hall started his career in showbiz as an actor and then went on to write and produce films. Now, he will be making his directorial debut with Thank You For Your Service. The filmmaker says he feels qualified for his new role and has no aspiration to come in front of the camera.

"I'm thrilled to have been given the opportunity to bring this story to the screen and couldn't feel more prepared or qualified to do it. It's a subject near and dear to my heart," says Jason. 

Asked if he will get back to acting, he says, "Probably not. If I couldn't find the right actor for a part -- I might -- but I'm very happy being behind the camera."

Jason entered the business as an actor in the late 1990s, and worked on shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and CSI: Miami. He transitioned to screenwriting with the 2009 movie Spread, starring Ashton Kutcher, and followed it up with Paranoia and went on to get an Oscar nomination for writing the Bradley Cooper-starrer American Sniper.

At the moment, Jason is enthused about Thank You For Your Service, which deals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), on the big screen. Reliance Entertainment will be releasing the film in India on November 24.

Jason hopes to usher in a real change with his cinematic endeavour. "As we enter the 17^th year of conflict in the Middle East, I hope to promote discussion on the topic of how to bring our soldiers home," he says.

Thank You For Your Service is a story of struggles that a group of soldiers undergo when they return from Iraq and have trouble getting back into civilian life with their families. It is based on a book of the same name by David Finkel.

The case consists of Miles Teller, Haley Bennett, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Amy Schumer, Joe Cole, Kaye Lyn Sheil and Beulah Koale. Jason says he wants to make the most realistic depiction of soldiers coming home with the film.

"We shot the movie in 42 days in Atlanta and Morocco. Both were fantastic places to shoot and we worked hard to make them resemble Kansas and Iraq," the filmmaker says, adding that he hopes that the audience finds "a new understanding of the sacrifice our veterans make and are inspired to start a conversation with the veteran in their life."

Thank You For Your Service, according to Jason, is a "hard-hitting and honest depiction of what it's like for some of these men and women to come home." 

Jason has already started working on his next. "I'm doing a project called The Virginian about George Washington and the story of his maturation into a leader."