“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ― Sun Tzu

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A Goodbye to 2025 and Preparing for 2026!

(CDI has had some great sponsors like Hersheys, Smithfield Foods, Hormel, Pepsi and more)

It is a rainy morning and the hazelnut coffee is hitting the spot. I want to once again thank all my viewers from China and all the countries around the world. Last night we had the last family Christmas gathering and now my focus is slowly shifting to the new year. It is a time to look at all the goals that we either achieved or fell short of. I for one feel like we had a great year not without its challenges and loses for a good year. I’m healthy and ended the year by putting smiles and joy into audiences with our films. Harsens Island Revenge started 2025 with the final run of the film in theaters. Wild Faith Christmas was finished and took awards in Tuscan at the Wild Bunch Film Fest before rolling into theaters. On Dec 22 we got to watch our family, friends and home town crowd view the highly anticipated follow up film to WILD FAITH. That franchise will be looked at as we move forward. I have both a 3rd feature in the works and better yet a season one TV show WILD FAITH: Hastings consisting of eight 44 min shows. We will see what opportunities open up to get these produced.

Harsens Island Revenge is now on streaming and DVD via Amazon. I’m proud of that film because of the world we built as artists at CDI. The film is slick and cool and represents a wild time in US history during the 1920’s. I think we might set up a few dinner and view events with this film whereas people can also get posters signed and such. This film was based on the book of the same name by Karl Manke. Do take a read before or after you’ve seen the movie. If you’ve seen this film please do go to the film’s http://www.imdb.com page and VOTE (10 is high and 1 is low) and leave us your review of the film. This is a good practice with any of the CDI films since it does help the film’s distribution.

Rom Coms Must Die, is our dark comedy and it is almost complete. It pokes fun at the filmmaking industry from all sides. The musical score and sound effects are about done and we’ve been mixing the film before another producer’s watch. One of our CDI tribal members making a splash with his acting in Adam Towner and he shines in his first co-starring role. We will look to have a premiere in the coming new year and start the theatrical run. It will look to release to home video during the 3Q of 2026.

AI Jesus: The Secret of the Kingdom Chip is having the VFX dropped in and we’ll do the final tweaks to the edit soon. Once that is complete and Rom Coms Must Die moves out of the sound studio AI Jesus will move into the studio. This movie is a perfect blend of humor and taking a serious look at technology and spirituality existing together. We are still pulling a few backers onto the film for marketing but we are excited to have this film also roll into theaters before joining Wild Faith Christmas for a Q4 2026 home video release.

2026 Preview

We do have a few funding efforts underway for projects that have been in development for a few year now. We have a few smaller film endeavors developing but I want to finish the business on the current films before announcing any new opportunities. I do encourage everyone to write down your 2026 goals. If you did that last year, study your previous list and see what projects made progress or you completed. I will be doing that myself in the coming days. It can be personal, professional or anything you wish to draw your focus to. I plan to work hard to make 2026 as productive as 2025.

Wrap Up: I don’t have any major revelations to put forth. I’m a simple man and I take pleasure in simple things. I love the friendships with our CDI artists and I’m looking forward to being on set soon. I don’t have a project locked which is kind of nice. I’ve been getting some good writing done and that could lead to a few new films being made. I’ve been working on a few follow up films to previous CDI films. I had no less than four possible writer for hire scripts in 2026 but the business did not gel. That allowed me to do my own writing. So in a way that turned out to be a blessing.

I’m thankful for the new CDI tribal artists that joined us this year. New investors, sponsors and more that see the power of the CDI machine. All these projects are a result of determined hard work to stay on schedule, budget and showcase a handcrafted quality that is always unique. Again if you or your business want to explore getting involved with Collective Development Inc. please do reach out. You never know what a single collaboration can do. For many it leads to a life time journey with a great group of people. I’m excited to grow as a company and as an individual. I am so very blessed to be able to do exactly what I wanted to do- entertain audiences with stories. I’m going to wrap this up and likely go prepare a few eggs. We are working to get the house back in order and I’ll be entertaining a few quests this eve and this week. The wood stove will have to be heated up and great conversations and planning will take place. I want to thank you all for your support of the films, this blog and just our collective endeavors. I will see you all next year! Coffee cheers. DJ

It’s Starting to Look a bit like Christmas! CDI Updates

Hazelnut coffee cheers. I do have my new computer mostly set up but I’m using my phone to post this. I want to thank my readers from dozens of countries around the world. It goes to show how storytelling is important to the entire human race. I’m at that end of the year place of evaluating the past year’s journey. I’ve had a balance of prepping for the new year and taking care of business in front of me. I’ve had a few minor frustrations usually surrounding tech as I try to set up my new systems for 2026. Streamlining and starting new work flow operations with dispersement and management of incoming funds. Let’s look at some of the updates.
1) Harsens Island Revenge which is just starting its home video run on dvd and streaming set records at the distributor for ad engagement which we hope will translate to views. A wonderful story ripped from history and adapted from Karl Manke’s book of the same name. Check it out on Amazon!
2) While ‘Wild Faith Christmas’ has been releasing in multiple states we’ve had many family, friends and fans who want to enjoy the much anticipated follow up to our ‘Wild Faith’ film six years ago. The film picks up five years later and so far audiences have loved it. But this showing tomorrow at Celebration Cinemas in Lansing, MI plays at 6:00 (few tickets left) and 8:15 (tickets available but going steady). It will be a great gift to our loved ones and town. We hope to see you there!
3) Rom Coms Must Die: This dark comedy that makes fun of the film industry is in final mixing of audio. We will have a premiere and go to theaters with it first of the year. It will release to home video Q3 2026.
4) Working its way down post production is AI Jesus: The Secret of the Kingdom Chip. This thought provoking film has comedy and real emotional impact. The edit is close to a lock. VFX is being worked on and will be dropped in the first of the year before music and audio work begins. It will go to theaters before enjoying a Q4 2026 home video release with Wild Faith Christmas.
5) A few developmental projects both commercial and features are moving along nicely and hopefully that will plan the course of action for 2026. Businesses wishing to get involved via sponsorship or investment feel free to reach out to have discussions. CDI has been growing steadily and we’re always looking for the right partnerships.
6) CDI website and new highlight reel is in the works. Next year is our 30th anniversary at CDI! Look for some exciting stuff to emerge that celebrates this milestone.
7) I will soon be setting goals for 2026 as something I do on a weekly basis both personally and for CDI. I encourage you to put your own goals down in writing.

Wrap Up: I’ve got some Christmas stuff to wrap up for our three family gatherings. I also love the small CDI gatherings with our folks. I’ve already had some wonderful ones. I appreciate our people deeply and love to watch their growth. I know many are struggling to find their balance personally and professionally. It is not easy being an artist. It is way more than just playing. It is creating within business perimeters. We do just that and so our growth has been steady. I’m going to wrap things up here. I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas! I’ll speak to you before the new year. Be good to one another. Coffee cheers! DJ