Welcome to November! Release Updates and News from Oklahoma, Will Rogers Medallion Awards
November is here. This morning I awoke in my own bed with my furry buddy Finn snuggled on my feet. Our Fall is in full effect versus Oklahoma which is where I just returned from. Now I have my cup of hazelnut coffee and I’m sitting down to do my blog a day late. I let everyone know last week I would do the blog today. I have lots of promo pics to review and I have to say the people of Oklahoma are so kind and welcoming. I was with Melissa Anschutz, Mark Balko and Steve Maranowski celebrating WILD FAITH CHRISTMAS winning the bronze Will Rogers Award. On night one we attended a meet N greet that was just class at the beautiful Will Rogers Museum. Chris Enss and her staff put on a great event and we deeply thank the judging staff for their recognition. If you look at the other two films and the folks involved you will see we were in good company. At the meet and greet we visited with the lead producer of the gold film BROKE which was Peter Billingsley best known as ‘Ralphie’ from A CHRISTMAS STORY. Kurt Russell’s son Wyatt was the lead with a great cast of Dennis Quaid, Mary McDonnell, Tom Skerritt and so I think it was an honor to be included for recognition with Where the Wind Blows and Broke. The night included a great BTS watch on Little House on the Prairie hosted by Dean Butler best known as Almanzo on the show and the reboot. Being that the show was an influence on our WILD FAITH it was extra special top share that with him.
Night two after some exploring of Tulsa we attended A NIGHT WITH WILL ROGERS where we heard famous words by Will Rogers read by Lifetime Achievement guests such as Barry Corbin, Bruce Boxleitner, Dean Butler and Will’s own family members. Night three was the awards ceremony with a great meal and listening to the lifetime awards speakers including music legend Clint Black. I even saw an old associate Thadd Turner at the event and I owe him a beer catchup as we had to be up early to travel so did not stay late post event.
And that brings me back to here. It is nice to know that our productions are on par with some of the best in the biz. While we were there we had a slew of activity on our film releases and I’ll try to list some of those. I hope everyone had a wonderful October and are ready for a great November. I had hoped that Kevin Costner would have been there with his doc film so I could have told him what an influence DANCES WITH WOLVES was on me. So Kevin, thank you for all you create.
UPDATES:
- ROM COMS MUST DIE our quirky horror comedy that makes fun of our industry has transitioned onto more platforms for ad based watching. What does that mean? FREE with ads. So on TUBI, FREE4ALL, ROKU, PLEX and more you can watch the film now free with ads. It might not be everyones cup of tea with the language and mild violence but I believe you will get a few good laughs. If it is your cup of tea please do take a moment to leave a review.
- AI JESUS: The Secret of the Kingdom Chip – This unique film got a major PR shout out that got wide pick yup due to the topic of AI. This film is now available to RENT or BUY on Amazon Prime and other participating platforms. WATCH HERE: https://www.primevideo.com/detail/0M7VV4SLYGTKA1DJIJ6HAA3OXX?ref_=atv_dp_share_cu_r On November 18th we are having a charitable premiere to benefit NEW HOPE PET RESCUE. Follow the FB page on this and all our films for updates! Also I encourage you to watch THE QUEST TRILOGY the 3 biblical adventures we shot in the desert. Part 1 FORTY NIGHTS, Part 2 CHASING THE STAR and Part 3 THE CHRIST SLAYER.
- TOMORROW 11/3/26 is the official release date for WILD FAITH CHRISTMAS! Tens of millions enjoyed the first film and so we proudly present the follow up film. I think it stands shoulder to shoulder with the first film and may become a traditional holiday watch for many just as SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA has. It really highlights the spirit of Christmas that is love between friends, families and sometimes strangers. I look forward to seeing what audiences worldwide think. The theatrical crowd last Christmas was really in love with the story so if that holds up we will have done our job. Happy Holiday and Merry Christmas.
- DEVIL’S PASS is in post undergoing a polish on the edit and here is a great news story about the project due out in 2027. WAThttps://youtu.be/zYgZCXG4boE?si=QeOiI330UWi9o4aKCH HERE:
- A few selections from the great AI JESUS: The Secret of the Kingdom Chip PR and reviews rolling out – https://www.argus-press.com/news/ai-jesus-film-brings-hollywood-to-owosso-7cc2b515 and https://www.desmoinesregister.com/press-release/story/145920/as-ai-anxiety-climbs-new-film-asks-what-if-an-ai-claimed-to-be-jesus-ai-jesus-movie-sets-oct-30-worldwide-vod-release/
DEVELOPMENT– This month I plan to finish at least one of the two screenplays I have in the works. I have two scripts to evaluate for possible collaboration. I will be preparing end of the year business and also looking to finish funding on one 2027 project and will start presenting the other soon. It has been an incredible year that through hard work has brought several new stories to the world marketplace. We plan to keep this tradition for many years to come if I am granted that privilege.
WRAP UP: I’m looking at my untouched suitcase that needs unpacking. Winter prep with start around the property and looking forward to some time with family and friends. I have some paperwork to sort through and get my business flow back in order. I’m looking forward to the AI JESUS charity premiere because I love the cause we are helping out. I’ve unfortunately seen the condition of some of these rescued animals. I’ve also seen what some medical care and love can do to this animals. So it makes my heart feel good. I’m going to leave it here with my heart feeling good. I hope you find some peace in this holiday season. I’m going to jump right into it and soak it up. 2027 lies ahead and I’m wanting to send 2026 out right and recharge for another year. I usually look at what 2026 goals I achieved and what goals will be pushed to 2027. Coffee Cheers my friends! DJ
Welcome to 2026!~ Let’s Toast a Great New Year
Happy 2026! I’m sipping my hazelnut coffee and finally sitting down to share with all of you. January 4th and we are off and running. I felt really good about 2025 and what we accomplished both personally and as a company of artists at CDI. We once again have a winter wonderland outside and I’m enjoying it more than dreary rain. The other day we had our last family holiday meal and it was a good season of memories made. I’m happy to say that I’ve stayed healthy save the occasional sore day from splitting logs for the fire. The last day of the year was work as we are streamlining CDI and making moves to get us ready for bigger things. Some of this is automating the check dispersement process which right now takes about three days. Let’s look at some of the updates-
- Harsens Island Revenge is now released to home video both DVD and streaming. This time period (1920’s) is very popular and the history of the Purple Gang is a worthy subject. If you’ve not seen this film I wrote off Karl Manke‘s book of the same name you should. And read the book. The theatrical run was not as strong as we wanted but that is because of the release time and studio conflicts. But it did some acceptable extra business which is helpful. It played great on the big screen and now on people’s personal TV’s I’m hearing good things. I loved playing Axel and I’ll be forever proud of that film. Check it out!
- Wild Faith Christmas is now in theaters as we speak. We had a great world premiere in Tuscan, AZ winning awards before bringing it back to Michigan. Awesome premiere showings in Alpena and Lansing, Michigan and it is now back in Lansing until the 8th I believe at Celebration Cinema. It is also in Grand Rapids and Fort Worth, Texas. It has played several different states and will play many more before the run is over. SEE this film on the big screen if you can. If you can contact your local theater and ask them to book it. If you’ve seen it leave a review on the http://www.imdb.com page (That is for all films) Thank you for all the love this film has gotten. Ben Lily is a great character and I’m proud to fill those moccasins.
- Rom Coms Must Die – This dark comedy is a joke. The entire film was born from development meetings with distributors seeking low brow content for the audiences. Also the desperation of filmmakers, actors and the pains of chasing dreams. Monday we are watching with the audio elements finely mixed. We are getting close to a locked picture and will look at a cool premiere before it travels into theaters before a Q3 home video release. This is a bit of a departure from our family films but is still very digestible mostly due to the abundance of humor.
- AI Jesus: The Secret of the Kingdom Chip – Yesterday I watched the new edit with color correction and the VFX dropped in. Let’s just say it made my day. This film is thought provoking in the best way and also has emotional impact that can match any of the previous CDI films. The acting chemistry between the characters is just wonderful and I cannot wait to add the music and sound design. This film is a loose follow up to THE QUEST TRILOGY (Forty Nights, Chasing the Star. The Christ Slayer) If you have not seen these three biblical adventures give it a go. They are unique and are a good tip of the hat to biblical classics of the early days. Ben Hur (original) is still one of my favorites.
- The CDI website needs to undergo an update that will essentially make it easier for audiences to find all our films. I’ll be working with David Gries our wonderful designer in trying to upgrade that. I hope to have streaming there soon a new 2026 CDI highlight reel. CDI is now 30 years old which is amazing to me. Can we go another 30 years? Perhaps we can. We do have new branches growing on the CDI tree every year. CDI is a place that artists plant the seeds of new projects. Given the proper attention and time and great things grow.
- We do just recently sign a home video deal on the Wild Faith Christmas, Rom Coms Must Die and AI Jesus and we’re excited to work with our partners at TEG. Before that it is a theatrical partnership with Dreamscape Productions, our theatrical rep. I want to thank them both for all their collaboration in 2025. To that I want to add my deep enjoyment of collaborating with McGraw Multimedia, Strike to Burn and of course Dennis Therrian. Choose your partners carefully as they can be sails or anchors to your endeavors. CDI doesn’t have to say much as we let actions speak. Recently someone was discussing why I don’t hype more versus taking the more conservative approach. I like to set reasonable expectations and exceed those versus the other way around. I’ve turned down money and partnerships and projects where something did not fit or feel proper. We are not a perfect company but we work to refine our processes every day. I like to think it shows.
- I set a great list of goals for 2026 both personal and professional. I do this every year and I think it helps us keep accountable to ourselves. It also gives us something to strive towards. We are positioned well and I’m going to work as hard as I always do to bring us into the new era of success. I’ve got a few scripts underway and I’m excited by those. We’ve got a few film slates out there being looked at for financing. I’ve had some great meetings with some interesting people in 2025 and 2026 I see more of the same.
WRAP UP: Our team is on top of the end of year wrap up work. I plan to keep our steady climb and enjoy the company of the folks we are traveling with. I start the new year with new tools such as this computer. I got 13 years out of the previous. I got 15 years out of the old vehicle before getting the jeep. I don’t live flashy and I’m not trying to impress anyone save the fans of our art. I had a most wonderful holiday that allowed me to relax, recharge and reflect on my previous year. My favorite professional joy was hearing the laughter and tears of joy during our theatrical showings. I was once just a pre-teen with a camcorder and a few close friends playing make believe and storytelling.
I don’t have any lessons or insights from events to share at this time. I just wanted to thank all of you for accepting the art we create at Collective Development Inc. and hope you all see 2026 as a fresh start for yourselves. Be mindful of who and how you spend your energy. I’m thinking about eggs. Our chickens are increasing their production with the growing light. I’m going to do some additional organizing and such to get ready for a productive week. Spending this time with all of you each week helps me refocus on what needs to be done forthcoming. I want to welcome you all to 2026 with a coffee cheers. Now go have a great year and I’m chat with you again next week. Be good to one another! DJ
