(Graham Turner showcasing one of the cast/crew mugs from our Reinert Pottery sponsor)

I woke to beautiful sunshine streaming in the window even though the outside is a touch chilly. We have flowers blooming and trees are budding and everything is starting to take on a beautiful green color. This past week I finally did my lawn mow and mulch. I finished my trimming of the apple trees and the mulberry trees might be next. I’ve loved that I can disconnect from the desk at times and go tinker on the property between business calls. I hope everyone had a nice Easter and carry that good feeling into the spring. We lost one of our hens to an illness and I buried her. The next day my lil mouse Jerry who I had been working to live trap and relocate got hung up on a sweet potato bag. When I say hung I mean just that found him dead. Poor lil dude was still warm I cut him free and tried to rub some life into him with gloves on but no dice. So another day and another burial amongst the raspberry bushes.

(The film is bringing family and friends together!)

Okay let’s talk movies! Friday up in Alpena the classic cars were out and the flapper dresses and soot suits made an appearance for the kick-off showing. Of what? Harsens Island Revenge of course. An afternoon showing for cast and crew and the public got to see the first showing Friday night! A packed house and that carried right into yesterday and I’m going to guess today. I know folks who have seen the film three times already. It plays great on on the big screen and I’m excited to see it play Owosso, MI starting on May 17th! That is the home town of the book author Karl Manke and fellow actor/producer Anthony Hornus. There will be an afterglow party there also. Lansing, Grand Rapids and Detroit bookings are underway. We will try to hit as many as we can put people need to reach out to their theaters and request it. You can see some great pics from the Alpena showings by going to the FB page of the same name. Also if you saw the film and what to talk about it you can put your review comments on http://www.imdb.com (Harsens Island Revenge)

The next film coming down the pike (funny term) is WILD FAITH CHRISTMAS. We are seeing a nice surge in viewing of the original film WILD FAITH. The sequel has a first pass on color correction and music has started as well as the opening credit sequence. This film will bring some of the favorite characters back to the big screen in November. The Season 1 that I have written might find its funding/footing we will see. I think fans of the first will really love this follow up and first time viewers will love the film. But they might be inspired to go back and watch the first film. Either way this amazing film is moving down the post process with Dennis Therrian’s music being currently created! Follow this film’s FB page for more updates.

ROM COMS MUST DIE the dark comedy about filmmaking and the first feature by Travis Hayward. On Monday we’ll watch the film on the big screen and see if we want any adjustments before we lock it. We are going to also look where we can add additional sound design. I completed my Voice Over work on Saturday so that will be laid into the picture. We’ll also discuss any tweaks to color correction and next week I should see a first trailer cut. This film is wildly unique and I think will be well received especially by artists. Follow this film’s FB page for more updates.

MISC.

1. I did a VO for an MSU promo piece which was really cool because it is my alumni school!
2. A new music video for SHALLOW RISING should be coming out soon!
3. I sent the new Semi-Sci-Fi script THE KINGDOM CHIP to a few individuals for feedback. I’ve gotten some great feedback on the script and some input that had me tweak the dialog a bit on a few scenes and I like the flow much better. This is sitting with one of our directors and I’m awaiting their feedback.
4. After ROM COMS MUST DIE (RCMD) will decided to do a few of these lower-budget films giving some new opportunities to artists. I have two scripts being evaluated and I’m working to identify directors and DP’s (Camera). While releasing these two big films it might be a good breather to do the smaller scope films for a beat. We had so much fun with RCMD.
5. Last week I did a newspaper interview and two podcasts. Here is the Alpena newspaper interview– https://www.thealpenanews.com/life/2025/04/harsens-island-revenge-opens-tonight-at-sanctuary-cinema/
6. Here is the ESPN podcast with 3PP – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kr55Z78nMpo
7. The other podcast is THE INTENSE LIFE and I will post next week once it goes live.
8. Collaborations – I have a few follow up phone calls on possible collaborations. In these situations they have their own funds and want it done properly. A few of these include scripts already written and in development. In a few others it could have me writing the script. It all starts with the script.
9. This week I talked about the post film work but it will be diving deeper into the development. Even typing here has helped me put everything into perspective. I think I know the direction I want to take. I’m anxious for some feedback this week that will help influence those decisions.
10. Again if you have a theater near you and you want the film to travel to your back yard please contact the theater management and request the film. If you can pass on the contact info I will put that into the hands of our theatrical booker!

WRAP UP: What a week! I want to thank all the wonderful fan mail I received for the performance in Harsens as ‘Axel’ the WW1 vet who assists our lead Frankie (David Reardon) in his situation with the Purple Gang. We will try to get some more reviews done and announce some new theater dates! In the meantime the film will play in Alpena for at least the week maybe longer. A trip to Alpena would be fun and you could see a film too in that beautiful Sanctuary Cinema. Thank you to our friends there! I’m off to make a few eggs and work in the yard today. It is really looking good and soon the summer zen will be upon us. Until next week be good to one another!

Coffee Cheers!

DJ