Nominations, Development and a Welcome to March!
Happy March! Can you believe we are now starting the last month of Q1? I’m sipping the hazelnut coffee on a bitter snowy day. I’m happy to report a great week of progress on many fronts. Most of my desk work was getting wrap book paperwork sent to TEG on Wild Faith Christmas. I’ll get more into that soon. I will note this week included a nice sit down with the filmmaker whom I collaborated with recently as an actor. Always good to slow down and get to know people. I did just that and I really enjoyed that time spent.
FILM UPDATES:
- The big news that has everyone buzzing this morning concerns WILD FAITH CHRISTMAS. The ICFF or International Christian Film Festival announced that WFXmas was up for Best Picture, Best Cinematography Travis Hayward, Best Screenplay DJ Perry, Best Actor Shane Hagedorn and Best Supporting Actress Melissa Anschutz.
- Wild Faith Christmas was also named as a Best Film nomination in The Red Letter Awards. Individual nominations have not yet been announced. This film is planned to re-enter theaters on the other side of Summer before a Q4 home video release.
- AI Jesus: The Secret of the Kingdom Chip is in post audio. A polished theatrical poster is underway and we’ll be putting a BTS video together as well. This film will enter theaters Summer into the Fall before a Q4 home video release. We still have a small holding in this film open and I’ve been having discussions on that. This film will be a must watch for anyone interested in AI and the possible impact on society.
- ROM COMS MUST DIE – We have great updates on this film. We have been tweaking a new poster that will likely be our theatrical poster. CDI Distribution will be doing the theatrical booking on this film working in conjunction with our festival entries and Q3 home video. We want to have fewer screenings that are more of an event. We want to showcase it in the cities of some of our cast like Miami and Nashville. Excited to bring this dark comedy out into the market. I need to get the wrap book digitized this week to deliver to home video.
DEVELOPMENT:
On the development front we have had several projects and slates being worked on. Let me list some of the things we have in development.
- Literary- The GHOST TOWN book is being tweaked to return to the marketplace. A reworking on the intro and a new proof needs to be done. Also the Making of KNIGHT CHILLS book is underway with the original script full of notes and other great pics. I will be writing an intro for it this week.
- Staying with literary but moving to scripts – I’ve got two scripts I’ve been working on. Both are follow up’s of fan favorite films. One is the follow up to MAN’S BEST FRIEND and the second is a stand alone feature for the WILD FAITH franchise. We do have the 8 shows written for a season 1 WILD FAITH: HASTINGS. We will see as the current film is still collecting awards and will re-enter theaters before a holiday streaming and DVD release.
- We have a completed script for a great WHO DONE IT turn-of-the-century film which might launch this year if the funding comes together.
- We will be announcing a CDI in association with Katharsys Pictures. They are the company that gave me my 1st starring role IN THE WOODS. We will be assisting in the development and production of (3) films that will be directed by Lynn Drzick. More will be announced on these three films in the coming weeks.
- We have been developing GOTCH for several years now and we’ll know soon if this will launch this year or not. Frank Gotch’s legacy can be seen ion our amazing documentary FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH. If the feature film doesn’t launch we might pivot to producing the 2nd doc in this series but we would all love for the feature film to launch.
- We have a developing slate of films we are developing to shoot in Iowa. It is my hope is that we’ll make some progress there in the very near future. Few things happen quickly so that is why development is always such an important task.
- There are a handful of other projects being developed but not to a point worth mentioning. There is a time to be quiet and a time to announce. The key is not to do one too early. You want to keep energy focused on the goal and not start dealing with things out of order or cart before the horse.
WRAP UP:
I am ready for warmth to sneak back into the state. I had good meetings this past week also with my friends at Bank of America getting ready for the new work flow. I love how interactive my bankers are with what we are doing at CDI. The team here at CDI is anxious and excited to be on set again and that is what I want as well. I got together with Shane Hagedorn at week’s end and we did a great commentary for BEST YEARS GONE. This film was shot in-between the MI Covid lock downs. We are exploring doing some test releasing of CDI films with commentary. That disappeared with the drop in DVD’s versus streaming. But do people still want to watch one of their favorite films with the creators talking about it? Let me know in the comments.
I did get some yard clean up done before the fresh snow hit. If you own a dog or dogs, you understand the Spring clean up. I’m still enjoying the wood stove burning bright at these meetings. This Spring I am going to have a cleaning done. I plan on getting another log rack and disassembling the old wood storage bins. Maybe a greenhouse or a gazebo? I’m looking forward to a great year making upgrades to the property.
Our chickens have increased production of eggs and I’m actually looking to get after a few once I hop off here. I also might start up a batch of Frankenberry wine from all the berries gathered from the property last Summer. I also have everything needed to make a batch of beer. Like I’ve said before, I usually do a wine and beer batch every year. I’m also excited for outdoor soccer season. I’m going to sub in on the indoor team again starting Tuesday. I will also be looking forward to attending the monthly flea markets where I find many of my props and wardrobe pieces. Alright my friends! I wish you all the best. Be kind to one another!
DJ
HAPPY Mother’s Day! Also CDI’S TOP 10 UPDATES (There are some good ones)
My first sips of hazelnut coffee on this Sunday morning. I’ve been recovering the last two days from my first of the season soccer matches. My legs are in good shape but not ready for the constant run and directional changes. Yesterday my legs were stiff and tad heavy giving me the ‘mummy’ walk – “COIN!” (Old Scooby Doo reference)
I had a very productive week on many fronts and I’m just so pleased with how everything is moving along. But before we get into all the film updates let take this moment to celebrate mommas. EVERYTHING I’ve done in this life I’ve done because I was brought into this world. Every story that started as a spark in my imagination and brought to screen is because of her. (Dad also had something to do with it:) But I’m just so appreciative that I was given this opportunity. We will have the moms over this afternoon for an early dinner. A few love gifts and a good meal. I LOVE you momma:) Happy Mother’s Day to all of you. That counts if you mother child or animal, so again – thank you to all the mothers for what you’ve done, are doing and will do because that is what mother’s do. LOVE.
Maybe let’s try a TOP TEN Updates
- FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH documentary is now in editing. We had a post meeting last week and we’ll even having a teaser trailer coming soon. This is about the history of the grappling arts and the evolution of “Catch” as told by those who love it the most. Hosted and directed by two time world champion Curran Jacobs. We have some great interviews. Big Kudos to Dan Chipman our mobile production and Adam Towner, B camera and post. This just might be the first of many documentary collaborations between #Tribecdi with The Red, White and Blue Project Inc. You can follow us on IMDB and Facebook as we have pages for both now.
- BESTSELLER – This “Hitchcock” like thriller adapted from the book by Christopher Knight has been signed for a new release campaign. This film stars Melissa Anschutz, DJ Perry, Ralph Lister, Taylor Nichols and Lana Wood. It has really only had a limited DVD release and so this new push will be much greater. It is R-rated (language and implied violence) but is done without being overly graphic. This film captures Michigan in the fall in all it’s haunting glory. I will have more info as we go but I believe the idea is a late summer/fall release!
- BEST YEARS GONE – the first pass on dialog clean up is complete. Last week our director and composer discussed music cues and even sound design ideas. Color Correction is happening as we speak along with the edit of our first official trailer. As if that wasn’t enough- we’re planning the premiere, manufacturing merchandise and more official stills are being prepped for delivery to our distributor (BMG) so they can begin poster art. Lotta fun ahead with this movie and I think audiences will really enjoy it. I need to add that the Battle of the Bands judging is underway by our team and celeb judges. We will be announcing a winner this month!
- LOST HEART is really a film that has a lot going for it. But to try and convey that via shelf art alone is hard. The film is a story is about music star Hannah Sweet going back to her home town for a funeral but the B story is the town of ‘Lost Heart’ itself. It started with fan mail before Christmas from men who had lost the remote and via wife/girlfriend and was made to watch ‘Lost Heart’ and really loved it. I recall one gent saying that he would have never watched that film except by his wife’s choosing. But he loved the Bigfoot, UFO (UFA?:) and humorous mystery in our story. In a meeting with our distributor I recall telling these stories after discussing the demographic audience that is being drawn to our story. A joke was mention that if the title was “Bigfoot, UFO’s and Jesus” the film would find its partially missing male demographic. Guys hanging out amongst themselves are unfortunately not going to randomly watch a film named ‘Lost Heart,’ which is a name I truly love. It was pointed out to me that a title like “Bigfoot, UFO’s and Jesus” would also attract more women who were equally into the mystery aspects, like my own cousin Angie. So I stand corrected. This GM release should add to our overall audience by revealing the wonderful B story of our film. It was a nice hidden gem inside our story but I think we need to be more direct. So a ‘General Market/GM’ campaign release is underway with a new title, poster art and trailer. I will share this new artwork at the end of this update. But I’m very excited because this film/story deserves to be seen by many, many, many more people from around the world. And so it will.
- WILD FAITH/HASTINGS – I want to do a polish up on the “Hastings” scripts for simple grammar mistakes but I had a few more connections start to open up on the WILD FAITH TV spin off. I’m excited to put that into play to shoot next year. I know the feature is growing an audience around the world and so the series would have a nice welcome audience.
- MBF/MAN’S BEST FRIEND – This film has been working its way into the marketplace. I was told a new deal was just executed taking the film into Latin America. I know it is making its way into territories around the world. The top two questions I get with this film 1) Will you do more martial arts filming? I do have a great concept that will eventually make it to script. 2) What was Paul’s sentence, will there be a sequel? Right now I like keeping Paul’s fate in limbo with audiences. Will there be a Part 2? Never say never. If you have not watched this film – watch it. If you have and enjoyed it, pass it along. Thank you to the many fans of this film out there.
- The Quest Trilogy (Forty Nights, Chasing the Star, The Christ Slayer) – A special message is spread across these three stories. Actually several lessons are presented and the way the story is told – everybody can take something positive away. The film series just ran through the holidays at Sony/Pureflix and again I so appreciate all the fan mail letting me know how much you enjoyed our stories. It is humbling and powerful what can be done with a story.
- SMOKE & MIRRORS – This early 1900 short tale is getting the final touches. Maybe we’ll cut some teaser in the coming weeks. It’s spooky. It’s kookie. Wait a minute! It’s a really fun little film that was derived from one of my feature script. This will make a great feature film. All in good time.
- SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA – We’re making great strides on all fronts. Last week we announced Garry Nation and David Reardon coming on board. Our German casting is almost complete. Discussions with the art departments has started in earnest as we prepare to create the world of 1944 Algona. This week we should start in on our sponsorship endeavors. We have a lot of excitement in these circles and we’re excited to align with these brands. To do what we do at these modest levels requires the assistance of the community and our sponsors. Thank you to all of those supporters past and present. And here is an additional cheers to our future ones! This week we should roll out two more of the great talent associated with this film. I’m beyond excited to tell this story. If your company or business wants to support this based on true events WW2 home front drama please reach out.
- TRIBE CDI – The biz of the biz, I had a VERY productive week working with Bank of America to streamline our fleet of films. All this is to help streamline our inner workings. This all can make a days work only a few hours. Also had a good meeting with another one of the team (Tiger) who oversees dispersement amongst a other things. We will be prepping some of those to go out in the coming weeks. Thank you. As you all support the films, we get to keep making the films. I’m excited to see in the next decade what stories are brought to life on screen! Thank you also to Dean Teaster (COO) and Gary Davison and his team. David Gries & Carl Weyant who maintain the website. #Tribecdi is not a catching hashtag it really does represent a tribe of artists and the business that supports it.
I just enjoyed a wonderful breakfast bagel with our own eggs and 4H bacon – so good. The yard is really looking good and the warmth is creeping into Michigan. I look forward to having many enjoyable meetings both business and social in the coming weeks. I’m going to end this here with some great new poster art for Lost Heart’s new general release. Be good to one another. Be safe and keep following your dreams.
Coffee Cheers!
DJ
PS: The new trailer is almost done and I really do love it. I could not stop smiling.
DJ Perry's Official Blog 'Clawing My Way to the Middle' 