‘Harsens Island Revenge’ Theatrical Roll Out Picks Up Speed! (Plus other CDI updates)
(Owosso, MI kick off at NCG Theaters!)
Good morning to you all. The hazelnut coffee is tasting extra good this morning as I am trying to get the cobwebs out of my head. I was up past my bedtime last night after a fun kick off of the Harsens Island Revenge (HIR) movie in Owosso, MI the home town of the book author. The NCG had us kick off in red carpet style and we had a nice afterglow also. There are some great pics starting to roll in and you can see them on the HIR Facebook page. It will play Owosso until Weds unless they extend it and we hope to travel into other NCG’s. The night before was more low key in Lansing, my hometown due to the storms that still has many without power. We still had a good turnout just no after party as people either had been doing tree clean up or had to the next morning. Not good for food people have in the fridge or freezer. But that is the two local kick off’s with Oscoda and CT theaters playing until Weds/Thursday. Grand Rapids and Muskegon might end after today unless the audiences really showed for them. Next up is Detroit and we’ll start moving into other midwest theaters. The audience reaction has been great with folks really enjoying this story. If you can see it in the theater please do it plays great! Home video won’t be until October so see it when you can in theaters.
(Coming (we hope) to a theater near you!)
OTHER FILM UPDATES!
- Lost Heart aka Bigfoot, UFO’s and Jesus and BEST YEARS GONE have new campaigns underway. If you haven’t seen these two CDI films you should. The latter was also adapted from a Karl Manke book.
- Knight Chills is CDI’s first film from the 90’s enjoying a new HD streaming and Blu Ray release. I want to finish the publication of the script and making of book.
- Ghost Town also got the HD re-release to streaming including HistoryFix and the novel is also close to being ready for a re-publish.
- An Ordinary Killer was also re-released to HD and the book on that is slated to be released. All these will show the rich history of CDI’s storytelling. This film was filmed in the Owosso and Durand area where last night’s HIR premiere was.
- Fan favorite WILD FAITH had audiences asking for a sequel and come November they will get it. Wild Faith Christmas director Shane Hagedorn had great things to report on the music/sound design and also the color correction. That film is going to be another great release!
- The dark comedy ROM COMS MUST DIE is also working color correction and sound design and will start music scoring once Dennis Therrian gets Wild Faith Christmas finished. This week we’ll see a second draft of the movie trailer. This year has several great CDI films rolling!
- Next week I’ll continue my development work. I took a week off to just focus on promotion of HIR but now I’ll get back into prepping our next couple films. Several of the supporters will have opportunities to get involved. I’ll also be working with our team to prepare some disbursements as the circle turns. We are in process of working to streamline the entire CDI biz process as we keep growing. It really does take a team of business folks just like production requires a team.
WRAP UP:
If you have seen Harsens Island Revenge and want to share your good thoughts on the film you can know leave reviews on HIR’s http://www.imdb.com page. Also Google, Rotten Tomatoes and several places allow reviews. If you feel like leaving something please do. My appreciation to Dreamscape Productions helping with our theatrical releases. They have been a joy to work with. All of us at CDI thank you!
Aside from films we did construct a new side coop for the chickens who give us the daily fresh eggs. I’ve got the property looking pretty good and I love all the growth happening and the wildlife that goes with it all. I still have some poles trimming to keep some of the trees from getting too crazy. Soccer season is about to start this week and I’m very much looking forward to that weekly workout. I’ve been training some to get ready and so we’ll see how the season goes.
I’m going to jump off here and refill ye ole coffee cup. We have a flea market down the road and I’m going to go see what props I can find. Tomorrow will start another busy yet productive week. I want to thank everyone who has been supporting all the theatrical releases. It is our pleasure to entertain you. I’ve read each and every bit of fan mail you all have sent and as I said, we so appreciate it. I appreciate all the kind comments on ‘Axel’ my new character in HIR. He’s a pretty cool fella and I’m glad audiences are connecting with him. I hope you all have a great Sunday and a smooth week ahead.
Coffee Cheers!
DJ
Ready For Springtime – Looking Ahead! (CDI Updates)
(Ben Lily in Wild Faith Christmas)
Hazelnut coffee is flowing and so am I. I’ve got to say that I’ve been very pleased with the flow of 2025 thus far. The harsh winter has been the biggest thing I’ve had to deal with. Even I ended up with a short-lived head cold after we wrapped filming on ROM COMS MUST DIE. I spent a nice day bringing out some logs that don’t require splitting and prepping for more fires. I am truly ready for spring to bless us with growth and green again. I’ve got many projects planned and the property clean up will be something to tackle. We’ve had wind storms and the squirrels have found their way into the shed where chicken food is kept. Our chickens have been kicking out the eggs nicely and I’ve been enjoying some nice breakfasts. I am excited to erect the new log rack and do some great yard improvements. I’m even considering a greenhouse where the current wood shed is. I also just bottled up the Paw Paw Rhubarb wine so we’ll see how that mellows now that it is bottled. We just finally finished the last of the Rocking Rhubarb wine. I think I have an Irish Stout to make later in the year. I usually only do 5 gal of wine and beer but it keeps a supply for those occasional celebrations. And what are we celebrating? A lot as of late.
- The hardrive of the final Harsens Island Revenge movie should be arriving at our ‘In the Pines Studio‘ to prep for home video delivery and creating the theatrical file. We are about to release a new trailer and have a 3rd one forthcoming. We also have a music video that might be coming together. We are all excited to start showing this film to the world. We’ll also be looking for those few festivals or events to showcase at but we’re ready for theaters.
- Wild Faith Christmas trailer on the ‘CDI Youtube Channel‘ has been getting lots of praise. Fans of the 1st film are starting to get the news about the sequel. You can read about the new film and watch the trailer here: https://www.prlog.org/13062302-first-look-at-wild-faith-western-sequel.html
- Dennis Therrian will host a Wild Faith Christmas screening this Friday for the post-team. Music work has already started and we’re going full steam ahead to have the film ready to place into theaters Nov 1st with our partners at Dreamscape Productions. Team members are working end credits and I’ve been getting our IMDB database updated. Stop by there to check out our cast and crew.
- The hope is that the TV show WILD FAITH HASTINGS might finally get the traction it needs from this second film. I’m working on the revamp of show 6 of 8. I’ve been reworking them to take place after the second feature film. We might have a few new paths to make this show happen. We will have to see how that all unfolds.
- The 3rd feature film that we just filmed was ROM COMS MUST DIE. I’m happy to say that the 1st edit of the movie is done. We have a meeting next week in two weeks to review with our Director Travis Hayward and make tweaks. Some sound design work is being done at the same time. This film is intelligent, zany and highly entertaining. I really enjoyed this walk back into the genre of horror with a heavy dose of comedy. Tone wise of something like Dale & Tucker Vs Evil, I’m loving how it came out. I think this film will do very well with audiences and it really has a lot to say about our industry. The script I penned came from an interesting place so that really helped.
- I have recently been having folks discover some of the other CDI films like LOST HEART aka BIGFOOT, UFO’s AND JESUS, which is getting a new marketing campaign. Same with BEST YEARS GONE that is getting a new campaign and folks are wanting to watch Shane Hagedorn‘s previous directorial film before Wild Faith Christmas. Also it you like the period piece dramas some folks are finding WICKED SPRING a beautiful and brutal Civil War epic we shot in 2000 and released in 2002. In all these films you will see many of your favorite faces.
- Our friends at HistoryFix will be re-licensing Wicked Spring and I think they will be adding Dean Teaster’s Ghost Town to their line up of great films. KNIGHT CHILLS is now on Amazon Prime in addition to the other platforms carrying it. We will continue to seek licensing deals for the library titles.
- Restoration and remastering of older titles is still underway. CDI has a few titles that still need to be brought current so they can be enjoyed again by the masses. I’m even exploring a re-transfer of the film stock on one project to make the definitive Blu Ray.
- Speaking on Blu Ray which we saw an awesome release for both KNIGHT CHILLS and IN THE WOODS. Soon I plan to try and get IN THE WOODS to streaming but we’re giving it some time. I need to speak with director Lynn Drzick. There is a planned appearance and signing in April in Muskegon that if my schedule allows I plan to try and attend.
- I’m in development looking at the next few projects. As noted I’m doing some writing but a few projects have some growing momentum. I have a new project I’m talking about with ‘Harsens’ director Carl Weyant and a ‘McGraw‘ feature film. I’m also excited about the streamlining meetings I’ll be having soon with our legal/accounting team about bringing some of the projects under a holding company. We are growing and we have to keep up with the growth. It will benefit our investors even more and that is always a goal.
WRAP UP: I’m going to wrap this up. My photo gallery on here took a dump so my photo postings on here have been slim. But it is getting worked out. I’m also looking to have someone help me update the CDI Youtube site to make that even better. We’ll be adding a new content page for Wild Faith Christmas and ROMCOMS MUST DIE to the http://www.cdiproductions.com page. I’m going to get after some of those yummy eggs. I might get a small jump on my work week doing a few things or I might write a bit for fun. Either way I’m going to do something productive. If you make productive a habit you’ll see many things get accomplished.
I hope each and everyone of you have a great week ahead. Don’t focus on things outside your control but focus on what you CAN control. I was excited to get an email about soccer season being around the corner. I’ve recently healed up a lower back, butt muscle I hurt when disassembling the old deck last Fall. Being on sets and horses did not help the healing go fast but I think I am on the other side of that. I might have to start doing my ROCKY training running in the snow. Remember in addition to your goal work spend a good amount of time in nature and get your physical activity in. Mind and Body health is good for the overall Spirit.
Coffee Cheers!
DJ
Starting to Feel A LOT Like Christmas! CDI Updates! December 15th, 2024
Christmas 2024
Hazelnut coffee cheers to all of you my friends! December 15th and we have a handful of days to go before Christmas but really it is the entire season not one day. I enjoyed shopping with a buddy of mine which included a stop for hot tea and appetizers at a Thai place. I’m not against a good glass of red wine with a good piece of meat but I just don’t drink alcohol much these days. My last might have been a tequila toast to our friend who passed away a few weeks ago. Man do I not miss hangovers. I cannot handle that and also I’m on such a good sleep schedule. I go to bed at a reasonable time and I’m up early with fresh batteries. Is that old? Responsible? I’m not sure what it is but it works for me. I would not change any of my days of ‘priming’ before going into bars. Edward 40 hands, 3- Man, quarter bounce, beat the clock Jack at the Sleazy D, $1 pitchers at Ricks and I could go on and on. I have lots of great stories to reflect upon and amuse myself well into old age. My shopping buddy was one of my Viking drinking buddies and here we were drinking tea. Drinking heavy is a young man’s game. I’m not sure if it is as popular as it once was but I suspect on many college campus’s the tradition lives on. I still do enjoy making a run of beer and wine each year and it makes for a special occasion. Do be careful if you are still in the game. Have fun and be safe. Running the streets is never 100% safe that is part of the adventure.
(The most recent CDI adventure – Alpena, MI)
Filmmaking also has dangers from mild to severe. The only safe way is to not do anything. What is the saying, boats are safe in the harbor but that is not what boats are meant to do. So preventative becomes the main goal when we go on filmmaking adventures. You want to limit dangers to a small finger cut, a stomach bug or a nagging cold. Anytime you bring a large amount of people together for an extended time you increase your risks. But you have to go on the adventure to get the gold. In our analogy the GOLD is the footage. I’m a bit of a Bilbo Baggins if left to my own devises. I like to ticker and putter around the property enjoying nature and put some order to my surroundings. But thanks to filmmaking I’ve gone on many adventures to distant places. I’ve met and shared with good people from different lands. We’ve captured gold with amazing backdrops for our stories.
The adventure of filmmaking – photo by GW Burns
I had a very good week of working to wrap up end of the year action items and prepare for the new year. I’ve said before how much easier it would be if it was just SHOW, SHOW, SHOW but it also includes BIZ, BIZ, BIZ. I’m awaiting breakdowns from legal to write out checks to investors. I’m preparing to enter end-of-year taxes which includes more work for projects shot this year. I have to deal with all the aspects of running these projects. I have a great team behind me including our bankers, accountants and of course our producers. We were having some good talks about the future of CDI and growth. We’ve come so far from a few friends playing with a camcorder. I hope all of you are having a great season and enjoying some time with family and friends. Let’s look at some of the updates from the week.
- KNIGHT CHILLS, CDI’s 1st feature film fulfilled something on a bucket list last night. It played in Brooklyn, NY at the Spectacle Theater as a midnight movie! When we use to go see HEAVY METAL (My fav) or ERIK THE VIKING at our midnight theater I dreamed of having a film play to a rowdy late-night audience sipping on 40’s or paperboy wrapped whiskey pulls. Last night that went down. They have one more 10pm showing on Tuesday. You can buy the book and Blu Ray on Amazon and on 1/31/25 the film starts streaming! Ride on Sir. Kallio!
- Staying with theatrical our WW2 Holiday drama SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA has been playing theaters in Iowa. It just finished an extended run in Algona, Iowa and next up is a one night event in Boone, Iowa on December 16th at 7pm. Our theatrical partners at Dreamscape Productions have been doing a great job of getting it out there. Follow our FB page for this and all the CDI films to see new showings and updates. Also INVITE your friends to follow the pages so we can increase our reach.
- HARSENS ISLAND REVENGE is getting close to being finished. The film is being polished up looking for any technical tweaks and to fine-tune the mix and color. I have meetings next week over theatrical and home video. We are planning a series of premieres and a few event showings. We’ve had a few offers to show the film in event rooms with large but not theatrical screens and surely not theatrical audio. After the theatrical run we will do some of these but not until audiences can experience the film in the best format. We have to do everything in an order of business so please have patience as the film is coming and it will be worth the wait. It truly is epic and I’m excited for Karl Manke to see his book come alive. The Purple Gang is large and in charge and a small group of WW1 veterans make a stand. Action, drama and romance await!
- WILD FAITH CHRISTMAS – Shane Hagedorn has been assembling daily the puzzle pieces from our shoot. Here is at 41 minutes solid and working towards that 45 min/half way point. In the new year we plan to have a teaser poster and first teaser trailer. I’m also happy to say that the new film has created a lot of interest in the original film. For some it is a re-watch after several years and others it is finding it for the first time. The film is among the most popular of the CDI films. It is a truly beautiful film and this follow up with also be another of the same quality. I’m also working on polishing up the 5th of 8 shows in the proposed TV series.
- AN ORDINARY KILLER is suppose to go live on The ROKU CHANNEL and XUMO today. I’ll be keeping a look out this week and next week will provide links. If you see it appear anywhere else please do send it over. This based on a true event was the 5th CDI film directed by Anthony Hornus and Jeff Kennedy. It details the hard work of several generations of detectives to solve this cold case.
- I mentioned that the Knight Chills book is now available on Amazon. I’m going to be writing a new intro for the re-release of the Ghost Town book. It is the novelized story to go with the movie DEAN TEASTER’S GHOST TOWN now playing with Ammo Content on several platforms including TUBI.
- Going to the CCC or Classic CDI Collection you can buy the FIGURE IN THE FOREST and HEAVEN’S NEIGHBORS DVD plus various other merchandise. Look for more to keep adding to the EBAY site. HERE: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?item=356365913024&rt=nc&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l161211&_ssn=collectivedevelopmentinc
- On the upcoming ROM COMS MUST DIE a comedy we’ve cast two more actors almost rounding out our cast. We need to look at shoot dates for Jan/Feb and get a few more things lined up but it will be a cool experimental feature using one of these new LED walls for part of the shoot.
- We will be doing a few updates to the CDI website (www.cdiproductions.com) and adding a new page for HARSENS ISLAND REVENGE and adding the new Ebay link on there. I started a CDI instagram page #tribecdi so you can follow along there as well.
- DEVELOPMENT – I have Carl Weyant reading a script for a possible shoot this year after ROM COMS MUST DIE. Also we have a new battle plan coming together for Curran Jacob‘s GOTCH project. We were looking to film in Iowa but the cost there for us is higher with transportation and lodging so we might film a bulk of it here in Michigan and just do some final pick ups in Iowa. We tried to engage the community there associated with Gotch but they’ve had community issues with flooding. We just could not get the support there we needed but we’re adjusting and already have some funding commitments to film here in Michigan.
WRAP UP: I’m very proud of the accomplishments we’ve had in 2024 and 2025 could be even better. I know some in the community have been concerned over the New Multimedia Jobs Act in Michigan to try and fire up the film scene. The first round of incentives did not really benefit us and the one project ran under it was messy to be kind. I’m about outside projects being attracted because it gives cast and crew some experience even if it appears Michigan folks get the crumbs. Vendors and support businesses can really benefit from them. I like more of the internal film grants for longtime residents of the state. We’ll be making films incentives or not. Just like when they had the big election this year. We’ll still keep making films in either environment.
Off topic – I do find all this UFO/UAP/Drone stuff interesting. I’ve enjoyed all the ‘unknown mysteries’ since I could read. NOTE our film BIGFOOT, UFO’S and JESUS streaming now! The fact that they have government committees investigating and the FBI is asking for tips…mighty strange. I enjoy watching it all unfold. What use to be elementary school playground talk is now mainstream news- crazy. We’ll boldly step into 2025 and see what the new year brings. I do know it will bring a few of our movies to all of you.
(Part 3 of CDI’s The Quest Trilogy – The Christ Slayer. Part 1 is Forty Nights, Part 2 Chasing the Star)
Back on topic– I think I mentioned on my FB social media that I had my first ever paid offer to star in a stage play in another state. I humbly passed as it is happening in a busy month and during one set aside for ROM COMS MUST DIE. I’m in the process of becoming Amos Edison, filmmaker. But I thought that was a cool first and again I appreciate the offer but filmed narrative is my medium. I did finish voice over narration for my last book in an audio book series. That has been fun to do so thank you Ronnie Lee. I’m going to finish up here and get some breakfast on with some fresh eggs. We went from bitter cold to a melt down today. We’ll see if the cold kicks up again or not. I’m going to play elf and do some wrapping of presents. I’ve been enjoying the season and you have to take those moments to be grateful for the people in your life. I’m grateful for all of you readers too. Many that I’ve never met but I still appreciate your time. I hope you can take some gems of info from these writings. I’m excited to talk this week about a new CDI Highlights Reel also. Who knows I might even get around to updating a few acting reels. Last week we discussed my tech handicap when it comes to certain things. The coffee cup is low so I’m going to coffee cheers you with the last sip and go make some breakfast. Have a great Sunday and a wonderful week ahead of you.
Coffee Cheers!
DJ
DJ Perry's Official Blog 'Clawing My Way to the Middle' 