I’m sipping the hazelnut coffee in the early morning and everything is so perfectly quiet. This week saw more advances in projects but also saw me begin winter prep in earnest. I did an end of year mow but still need to do some tree trimming. The harvest is almost all in and soon I will do some additional wood splitting. The deck was a big add this year getting it sealed and stained with the rugs and step covers.

With the office, I might still try to have the rafters enclosed. The quote was a tad higher than I expected so we will see if I can pull that together. I also have been computer shopping and think I’m close to picking the replacement. Always something to address to keep the wheels a turning.

Updates-

1. Harsens Island Revenge is now on dvd and streaming on Amazon, Vudu and more. If you have seen it leave a review in the platform site and/or imdb.com – I had a good catch up with our director Carl and we will start some talks about development of a follow up project.
   
2. Wild Faith Christmas has folks returning to watch the first film, Wild Faith. The sequel will premiere in AZ at the Wild Bunch Film Festival end of the month. Our partner/theatrical booker Dreamscape Productions is already in talks with theaters for November and beyond. Giddy up!
3. Monday we start plotting the musical score for the dark comedy Rom Coms Must Die. I am looking forward to a watch and getting that ball rolling with Dennis Therrian.
4. The first rough edit of The Secret of the Kingdom Chip is done. All I can say, it’s everything we had hoped for and more. I’m still placing the final backers and negotiating with a few additional sponsors so not too late to get on board with this film. We will start the fine tune of the edit and start placing VFX shots in come November. The film is a beautiful story of science and spirituality that can be embraced by everyone. But it will make you think and leave you feeling good.
   
5. If you want to get a jump on the ‘feel good’ watch The Quest Trilogy by CDI. Part 1 is Forty Nights, Part 2 Chasing the Star and Part 3 The Christ Slayer. The Secret of the Kingdom Chip is a loose follow up to these films. It can stand alone but also have several ‘secret’ tie ins.
6. As the weather gets colder it is a good time to settle in with a good story. At CDI a good story is always our goal. We have many great stories to suit your mood and taste.
   
7. Development- I’m focusing on getting all these projects caught up and aligned. End of year business lies ahead along with an end of year dispersement for our investors. Following that we have end of year taxes which all happens earlier for corporations.
   
8. Final thoughts- It is hard to let people you care about make mistakes but sometimes that is how they grow. You sometimes have to remind oneself that you too made missteps. I think in film you have to have the ability to prep, execute and finish. That first one affects your entire process of execution by having you run in emergency reactionary mode or in preventive mode. The latter has everything planned for done and allows all hands on deck to handle any new issues. Emergency mode can prevent finishing where the other almost always assures it.
   Someone else spoke into it saying the unfocused mind craves the next new thing, something shiny. This prevents finishing which is an important skill in all areas but especially directors. If they cannot focus all the way through a project they are not meant to be a director or let us say ready. Will they ever be ready? Hard to say, but you have to get behind those artists who can ride the process to final delivery. Anything else is unripe fruit. It is why some lucky enough to direct a first feature never direct a second. Most actors have a few lost projects whose leadership failed and so the hard work never gets seen. I think I have 4 projects like that. One film I text almost yearly to check in on but the others are lost to the universe.
   
   
   

Wrap Up- I’m finishing my coffee and thinking about the nice evening we had last night. An actor artist friend of many years tied the knot yesterday. It was a beautiful place and the festivities were on point. Today is one of the last flea markets with the end of season one next week. I’ve already started with my holiday gifts for some folks. I’m looking forward to a great holiday season. I’m looking ahead and we will see what 2026 will bring. Already several films will be releasing and talks are well underway for new projects. I’m looking forward to some more winter writing. Until we meet again for a few sips of java and some real talk on art, biz and life – coffee cheers!

DJ