I want to start with sending my wishes to my long-time acting amigo Terry Jernigan who lost his father last night. He and I spoke a few days ago about the loss of parents. It is a journey we will all have to make at sometime. I don’t think we are ever ready for such a thing so I just hope he keeps the strength. That is why friends and family are so important and so remember to be a good friend. I didn’t know any of the Beastie Boys but I was raised on a steady diet of them from high school and into college. The death of one of them puts a solid pillar of age before me. I didn’t feel it really with MIchael Jackson or Whitney but this surely did. I have their newest CD in my vehicle at this time and was so impressed and looking forward to the next. It will never be the same. That is a theme as time moves past – enjoy the present because it will NEVER be the same.

I’ve recently been re-watching some of the past films as I negotiate deals to get the library out there. It was fun to re-live those moments and see the beauty of adventure of the storytelling. The other night I got to see “Locked in a Room” at the multiplex and watch audiences be scared. I LOVE watching others watching the work. There was about 150 people there and I know more showings are planned.

PAST, PRESENT and FUTURE…

We have two slates of films that are firming up – one that is based on Michigan films and the other primarily outside Michigan productions. Development is really starting to gel and I hope to have many artists to work soon.

I’ve got a few scripts/films I’m in talks about working on as talent. One shoots in Paris, France and that would be interesting as I’ve never been there before.

I’ve also got a mystery package from the UK that postal tried to deliver when I was out so I need to maybe swing by and pick that up today. I’ve got a few connects in the UK but was not really expecting anything.

Another film that is from a Mexican production company has been talking to me about acting and so I’ll do a little more communication on that project this week.

I’ve also been getting emails from some fans in Norway and other foreign places in South Africa and such and I recently realized that it is from “Book of Ruth” that is playing in about ten countries as well as a half-dozen US TV networks. I think Ray N. and I are close to launching a few other biblical dramas and so that will be fun. I love period pieces and so I’m sure I will be producing many in the near future.

I’ll leave this all here for now – I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

DJ

The coffee is flowing nicely this morning as I relax into this update. It was a good week overall and one of my highlights/low-points was a lunch visit with one of my business mentors. He has been part of CDI for 15+ years and now at 86 years old he is in failing health. He was a partner in our editing facility venture for many years and our weekly lunches always brought be insight to issues. It was great to see him but also touched with a little bit of sad. That said, I feel blessed for the years of insight and business wisdom. Remember those around you and be open to those bits of advise. That said, onward to the updates!

I’ve spent some time reviewing the producer work copies of “Darkest Night” and “Locked in a Room” both I think are going to be exciting projects. The first will have a Hollywood distributor screening in June and the latter a Michigan May 3rd premiere at the Canton Emagine theater next week. I will be attending and there are some exciting theatrical possibilities happening with this project. As a fan of “found footage” type horror films I think that “Darkest Night” could really be the next big thing. It is an amazingly fresh dive into the genre and much of it is because of the beautiful Philippine artists involved. I’m very proud to be associated with these films via CDI and my onscreen work.

I also hear final sound mixing on “7 Stones” is about complete and we will hear soon if we will play in the Waterfront Film Festival. It would be my 1st time attending and I’m sure it would be a rich experience. “7 Stones” showcases what I feel to be some of my strongest drama in a while. I will keep everyone updated about this powerful film that is also a CDI association.

August will see “Deadly Renovations” come out nationally. Also some of the CDI library will be coming out this fall and so overall it will be a busy year. Also new productions could start moving forward as well. We have a few film projects on a joint slate that are part of a film fund. We might even move into pre-production on the 1st title in May here.  We also a slate of Michigan films that might be getting close to moving into pre-production. Also development work on our 2nd Philippine project is underway and “The Beast” will go into pre-production late this year or early next year. I will co-star in that film and I’ve also recently given my interest in a few other film projects as talent. These projects range from dramas to westerns to even a romantic comedy. So lots of promotion of the product hitting the market and a slew of projects prepping to shoot.

Again we are making some strides in our commercial area with providing extras material on a few studio projects. Large or small if you have a need for commercial services contact me and join the tribe! CDI TV/Internet division is close to a launch with CDI pushing a couple of pilot projects out and at least one planned shoot on a new pilot. I’m excited to see where all this leads us.

As of late getting lots of presentation materials together on the films. I’ve got planned talks with many distributors who are coming out of the walls almost daily now. We are planning to work again with a few companies that have already been proving themselves. That means providing reports and payout. With the social networking it is getting harder for companies doing bad business to maintain. I think this is a very good thing because most will find that honest deals can create a long-term flow of cash for both producers of content and distributors. Sadly that is not always the case and legal is not nearly as productive as creating and selling product. We’ve got one attorney that just works collections. The BIZ of SHOWBIZ:)

Well tomorrow will be our 1st outdoor league soccer game of the season. I’m looking forward to it and so I’m sure I will be a sore individual come Monday/Tuesday but I actually enjoy that feeling. I’m  also going to be looking into prepping my 1st home-brew batch of beer this week. We’ve done lots of wine but now we will try something a little different. I hope each and every one of you has a great weekend and next week it will be back to clawing my way to the middle.

DJ