The great melt is underway here in Michigan. After record setting cold we are now getting an influx of warm air and the white world is giving way to browns and greens. The squirrels are out and about and I’m looking to see if one of the injured in the neighborhood survived the arctic blast. Something had attached it and it was visible injured but he was getting by. He was in a nearby tree as the worst of the snow blast hit us. We even but a box out with cloth and some food but he seems to have made it back to his hidden hole. I’m cheering for him to survive. I want to thank our new readers from Ireland. Let’s take a sip of coffee and see what happened this past week.
THE CHRIST SLAYER – we’ve entered into the season of The Christ Slayer and I could not be happier. We had a delay by a day with our digital purchase site on Amazon. The upload failed during the storms but is now up minus the artwork.
Stay tune for more info as this movie keeps rolling out.
WILD FAITH
We’ll be moving into more promotion on this wonderful film starting with the movie going back into theaters. Shane Hagedorn just did a great podcast that we’ll be sharing along with new reviews.
The theatrical set up is underway and soon I hope to have what cities it will play in soon. Same thing on The Christ Slayer for the Easter event screenings.
MBF: Man’s Best Friend – It sounds as if we are about done with a first cut. They are adding some transitional drone shots and tweaking it. I hope to see the cut by the 15th of Feb so we can lock up the picture and move into music and sound design.
DEVELOPMENT:
We’ve had several talks/meetings with possible directors on our next film LOST HEART. We’ve also been casting for several months and we’ll start to announce some of those talents. We’re targeting to shoot in April in Northern Michigan. It all depends on how fast the business can all be pulled together. That said, the LOI to distribute is in place and we already have some financial commits.
It is serious work to try and match the right project up with the right director. It is also a creative marriage between individuals for several years. So it is not something we take lightly. And sometimes we discover people that might not direct our next film but could be in line for something else in the future.
In a meeting Saturday if was said that the Michigan film community is small and everyone knows one another. I disagreed as when I first started the film community in Michigan was SMALL, SMALL, SMALL and you did know almost everyone. The Michigan community now is actually MUCH larger and I can say that I don’t know that many people in our community. I know some but not all and I don’t have time to meet everyone. I’m friends with film makers worldwide and I guess I know who I know. I don’t have the time to knock around the state at every mixer or function. I have an endless TO DO list but I guess being busy is a good thing. But I believe we meet the people we are meant to meet. I’ve noted before I’m open to select collaboration and work on projects as talent if the project is solid and has funding.
Aside from all this I have been doing the business taxes for the end of the year. What fun all that is:) It is part of the whole so I’ve been smiling and making my way through it. It keeps making the ship more organized and we’ll take that forward into the future.
Have a wonderful day and keep working hard to achieve your goals and dreams.
As promised, I’m here with my trusty coffee beside me. The hurricane is now hitting the tip of Florida. I think every one of us have family, friends or associates in the state. As I stated before, as dangerous as the crisis is at least I see Americans helping one another versus throwing their anger. You know how you defeat hate? By doing acts of love, compassion and caring. I know it’s just starting so I hope that the people who remained can safely ride out the storm.
Today my mind is on the first of our soccer playoff games. May the force be with us:) My alumni school Michigan State University had a good showing yesterday. My brown furry buddy Luke is doing much better and on the mend after a good check up. Another week and they might start to reduce his meds if all stays strong. The office siding is now all up and only the rafters to cover. This week ‘Ida’s Wine’ will likely go to bottle and will be a nice holiday treat. I will also be harvesting the hops either today or tomorrow. So my day-to-day has been productive but let’s look at film.
FILM UPDATES
I’m happy to report we finally have agreed upon our first “Wild Faith” poster. Once they polish that up we’ll roll it out to all of you. I’ll be getting an update on the music this week and that really leaves only the VFX to finish.
“Chasing the Star” is making its way out to audiences. I’ve started to get some really nice communications about the film. The best way you can express your gratitude is to VOTE and REVIEW on IMDB.com and whatever retail site you used. EXAMPLE: Amazon, Christian Cinema…
As THE QUEST TRILOGY gains awareness people are also looking back to FORTY NIGHTS and ahead to THE CHRIST SLAYER. Watching the trailer with all three films is really quite humbling. It represents story ideas that formed in my head and was brought to life by a small army of artists. Please take a look –
This trilogy of films has increased my confidence to tackle another trilogy that is in development. Also the TV series behind “Wild Faith” which I’m in talks on.
MBF (Man’s Best Friend)
Our foundation business is in place and our targeting of cast and locations is almost done. This next film by CDI is one of my scripts and really touches upon some very important themes. We have many military folks involved and with military vet treatment highlighted we’re proud to have them involved. Additionally shelter dogs and the plight of many of them is our other major theme. I’m going to be pushing hard to get our investor commits these next couple weeks so we can hit our window this fall to shoot. I’m most excited because I think I have found the core of my character in the film. He’s a wounded warrior and I have been studying brain/nerve injury. You also know you represent the actual soldiers but unlike “Wicked Spring” (Our Civil War film re-releasing in 2018) those soldiers are still with us. But I put down three sketch reads and I was actually moved emotionally. It is a very vulnerable character and I like it when I’m a touch afraid to tackle a role. Trust me – I was afraid at the beginning stages of “Forty Nights” playing Jesus. So I think I’ve found the heart of the character and I also think audiences will feel for him. I’m excited that Jesse Aragon looks as if he will once again join us as our talented Director of Photography. We’ll be announcing our director this week and from there collecting LOI’s from talent and announcing them. The decisions have been hard as we’ve seen some wonderful performances. Stay tuned for many more exciting developments.
Thank you for your time and I hope everyone has a productive week.
A little peanut butter toast and coffee to greet me on this fine morning. Last night I got to toast my longtime friend and film associate Dean Teaster for his 60th birthday. His property was looking just amazing. You can tell he’s put some serious time into it and it’s a very zen place to chillax. The tree fort is amazing and the cleared forest around it with the strings of lights, looked magical. A classic rock band, catered BBQ and a HUGE bar fueled the gathering into the night. I released my first burning Chinese lantern (pretty cool) and also watched the BIG fight to end my night. I hope my buddy will enjoy many more trips around the sun. A great time was had by all.
This week was full of film developments on many fronts.
The Quest Trilogy –
THE CHRIST SLAYER continues to move down post production looking to release next year. Meanwhile most of the attention is currently on CHASING THE STAR. The official release date is 9/5/17 but a few retailers have released early. Here’s the first Faith and General Market sites that you can rent/buy from.
Simply Grace magazine will run a featured story on Chasing the Star in November and Television On Demand becomes available Oct. 2nd – additionally were once again invited to attend the International Christian Film Festival 2018. We’ll see if we can follow our great 2017 run we had with FORTY NIGHTS. Here are a few of the recent reviews.
The film’s music is being worked on as is the final VFX scenes. The film should be finished this fall/winter and we might do a cast and crew screening before Christmas. In early 2018 we’ll set up theatrical play and were looking at a summer release to national home video. We’re exploring a few other exciting options with this film. Stay tuned.
MBF
So this week we’re getting our summary for our new project MBF out to our past backers. We’re also going to be approaching our many sponsors that have supported our past projects. If you’ve got an interest in learning more on investment and/or sponsorship for your product or service, reach out to me directly at perrydj@aol.com
Additionally we’ve got first paperwork for a new deal on an older film in the library. Can you guess which film that might be? HINT: We’ve had the main theme of the film in our news headlines. Stay tuned!
This week business will continue to charge forward. At home – Our beans are slowing but the tomatoes are coming on fast and furious. My one pumpkin ‘Jack’ that was attacked has turned orange and so we do have one! The rhubarb/mulberry wine is ready to rack to the secondary. After a time in the secondary it goes to bottles. I’m also going to look at when we can do the shake siding on the office/fort. I really put in some time on the yard this past week which included discovering a large ground bee nest. I only got stung three times but now that’s been taken care of. Our furry boy Luke is on the mend and I hope that trend continues. Also today we have one of our last soccer games of our season before play offs. We’re looking like we might have low numbers today but we will battle with whatever warriors show up. Time to refill the coffee cup. Have a great week ahead.
Last night I enjoyed watching a pre-season Lions game while doing some work. This past week was very home-centric since my furry boy came home from the MSU hospital after an extended stay. We held meetings in the house vs the office so I could keep an eye on my buddy. I’m happy to report he had a really good week and is recovering in his own home. It did allow me to focus on the paperwork and get a lot of stuff done.
We’re making a run at setting up a new film to shoot this fall. While the business paperwork has been getting organized our team has been locking locations and doing some initial casting. We’re first reaching out to our large circle of talent and trying to identify the right talent for a part. I’ve enjoyed meeting a few new actors and/or watching their work. The film working title MBF has strong themes of our military vets and shelter dogs. The reaction to the script has been strong and we’ve got our distribution deal in place. I love filmmaking in the fall and we’ll see if we’re meant to go this autumn.
This week I do start a new batch of wine that is bubbling up a storm. It is rhubarb and mulberries I harvested. I’ve wanted to make a wine with rhubarb for a while now since my grandma use to grow and cook with it often. So ‘Ida’s Wine’ is underway. The garden has been giving tomatoes and beans in abundance. Will we see a Green Gobin 3 batch? Perhaps:) The HOPS are also looking really good this year.
The Quest Trilogy
Forty Nights will be pushed with the second film Chasing the Star starting in September. For those outside the business – September is the start of the Christmas push for product.
Here is a nice review for “Forty Nights/40 Nights”
The Christ Slayer – as said above when the title cards read coming Christmas 2018 that means a home video release in September. Before that we’ll do a theatrical run as wide as we can. These films were not set up as theatrical as a business deal but they do play great on the big screen.
Wild Faith
We’ve played with many posters and are getting close just have not gotten the right first image. The music is being composed and VFX is being worked on. It is looking like we’ll finish this film end of the year. If time permits we’ll try to do a cast and crew screening. In 2018 we’ll do some theatrical and lock the home video release. We are in talks on the TV series and so a few things are still up in the air. But the film looks great and I’m excited to show audiences. Our trailer is making its way into ‘western’ and ‘Civil War’ circles of interest. A behind the season teaser should finally be ready to show this week. (Fingers crossed)
Aside from all this business we’re getting ready to put the final top layer of shake siding on the office/fort. It was being painted this weekend (forest green) to match the roof. I have another soccer match this afternoon to battle one of the top teams. We’ve had a good second half of the season with only one loss. I’m looking forward to next week and making some good progress on our endeavors. As a last note it was cool to see “WickedSpring” playing Parables TV last night. We produced that film 17 years ago and to see audiences still enjoying it makes me feel good. I think we’re creating some classics now that audiences will be enjoying for decades to come. That is the conclusion I’ve come to recently. If I’m going to spend moments of my life developing, producing these films I want to reach high for quality. Now enjoyment of a storyline can be subjective but quality of production is undeniable. Okay, be good to one another. Time to finish off the coffee pot.
That first wonderful sip of hazelnut coffee on a chilly morning is O’ so Good!
I returned from our N.C. trip which took me first to the mountains and the second to a city of cement. It was a good trip to take a breath between these films and get a view of where I want to go.
Melissa Anschutz and DJ Perry in BESTSELLER
“Bestseller”
While there in N.C. we saw the start of the national roll out on our thriller “Bestseller” and I encourage you to add this taunt thriller to your collection. If you are opposed to language and intense situations this film is not for you. If being scared while watching a film is your thing…
Following the capacity church event in Yuma, AZ at Champion Church (Seen above) The Good Shepherd Church in Beverly Hills, CA got their 1st watch of “40 Nights” on the big screen. I’m waiting to see how all that went but if it went anything like Yuma, I can imagine the experience. Do you want to license the film for an event? Reach out directly perrydj@aol.com or contact us via the http://www.40nightsthemovie.com page.
Additionally
We had an in-depth review by BIBLE BLOG and here is what they had to say.
This forthcoming week we’re finalizing artwork on “40 Nights” soundtrack. The beautiful score by the amazing Dennis Therrian will soon be for purchase. We’re also releasing a new promotional clip from the movie to help bring exposure. It will be a good week ahead.
“Chasing the Star” the second film in the QUEST TRILOGY
Editing has been underway as we push towards a first cut. We’ve also just reached an agreement to partner with CHOP & HUE to once again provide the opening into for our film. Also a teaser trailer and 1st official photos will be rolling out to social media and such in the days ahead.
We’ve also been having a few development meetings over upcoming projects. We know the third film in the trilogy “The Christ Slayer” will be shooting in the spring 2017. As for which projects move ahead this year we’re close to a few announcements there. It is Mother’s Day and I want to thank my mom for giving this dreamer the best childhood. That is what fueled all that I do now. I love you and I’m so happy to have you. To all of you out there remember those who brought you into this world with a dream of making the world better – we’re trying.