‘Silent Night In Algona’ Release Talks and More…
Good morning. I’m sipping my hazelnut coffee and enjoying this brisk morning. A welcome change from the 90 degree days we’ve had lately. My soccer game on Thursday resulted in a loss but the battle was good in the scorching heat. I’m worried that I might not have drank enough water. It was 92 degrees and I have to say I play much better in the cool Fall from my school days. My whole system felt off for two days after the game. Add day two soreness to the equation and poor sleep one night and I had a rough go Friday night. Usually I sleep very soundly and I’m a person who must get at least 5 hours to perform properly but usually get about 8 solid hours. Saturday was as close to a sick day I’ve had in a long time. But most of it was the sleep deprived from the night before. So I’m going to ramp up my water intake for sure. I slept good last night and things seem almost back to normal. But rest and hydration is a much needed element to being productive on the highest level. I use to be a night owl but now I’m a 11-7 sleeper and I enjoy the early rise. We have roosters in our neighborhood that helps with this early wake.
The property has gone full blown with everything growing and blossoming. I’ve started a batch of Mexican-style beer which I’ll be bottling this week. I’ve been harvesting rhubarb and almost have enough to do a batch of wine. I’ve been doing a run of beer and wine each year and it makes for a fun sip at meetings. The hops are growing like crazy and we’ve got several plants gifting us herbs and soon veggies will follow. I love tending to all this while still carrying on my creative duties. I’ve been cutting freshly cut logs to dry and splitting older logs to fill the bins for the coming Fall/Winter. The wood stove is getting a rest from its duties of heating the office. All of this is a good connection to nature and trust me that throwing the axe and hammer around is a hell of a work out.
June is now upon us and that is my birthday month (June 23rd) and I’m not sure if I will do anything special. I am often fine with just a nice meal and the company of family. I can’t believe how the years have gone by. But I feel very blessed to be able to do what I so love- storytelling. Shall we look at a few film updates? Okay we shall.
SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA- The film and elements have been delivered and are being checked by our distributor. We are still in that process so we don’t have solid home video release dates yet but the talks are going on now. It was proposed to release the DVD and transaction digital around Labor Day (Sept) with subscription video on demand and ad based video on demand around Thanksgiving. We are approved to return to the Fridley theatre in Algona for a FOUNDERS DAY run. So if you did not see it in the theatre, here will be your opportunity or if you want to see it again. The home video version has added sound design and visual effects and so that will also be a great new way to enjoy the film. We’ve had many people want to purchase a keepsake DVD and share this film with family across the country for the Christmas season. People will surely have that opportunity. I’m thinking that the museums in Algona might start carrying the DVD’s also. The current theatrical is just ending but with another showing run in July I guess it is not done. In theaters from Dec 9th to July is a pretty good run.
HARSENS ISLAND REVENGE is heating up with the official production script now formatted and we’re awaiting the schedule for producer approval. This will also give us the day-of-days which tells us what actors, boats, cars and such are needed on what day. This will allow us to move to the agreement phase with talent. I’m going to be putting our VFX deal together this week with McGraw Multimedia. I’m looking forward to working with old friends Eldon and John McGraw on bringing a handful of VFX scenes to life on screen. This will include a cool WW1 scene, two boat scenes and a plane sequence. I’m excited to bring this story to life. We’ve been working on the hard parts of the production which is lodging and catering. I’ve also been in talks with several companies about sponsorship aligning their brand with this film. In Sept/Oct we’ll capture this story and have the Fall/Winter to put it all together.
MISC. DEVELOPMENT
As noted in previous blog entries I’m working to bring some of the older films into the new age. This will include HD enhancement on some. Others will have extras such as ‘Making of’ books and merchandise. And in a few situations it could include a sequel or reboot. We’ve also got some serious development underway on a new Iowa-based film and the WILD FAITH tv series HASTINGS. It is a balance of past, present and future endeavors. I don’t feel like going too far in depth right now on development but we do have many fun projects underway.
ACTING – In part because of the new acting role in ‘Harsens Island Revenge’ and part because of soccer season and the heat, I gave myself a haircut. About 8 cuts of the shears and I’m now sitting much cooler with shorter hair. It was about to the middle of my back. It grows like a weed. This next role in a hardened and experienced ex-officer from WW1. I was watching a doc show of actual life at the front lines in the trenches during WW1 and it was an eye opener.
I found myself thinking about an opportunity to work with an agent again and I’m conflicted. When I was actively seeking roles I had a high booking rate. But taking outside roles does take away from my development of CDI projects. But it is nice to sometimes just go an act versus running a circus. I’m not against considering roles but it has to be something special. At this point in my career I’ve played a lot of roles. I demand a lot from a story/script. Many regional castings are poorly presented and if unpaid have to be a pass. I’m not against those doing unpaid films as it will allow some new talent a chance to showcase on passion alone. I’m just at a place where I cannot sacrifice my routine of doing for free. Also I need to read an entire script. I turned down one project this year because free and fun are just not enough as I mentioned above. Another turned down my inquiry because they were eyeing another name talent. But I do have a great role ahead of me and I’m excited to become this man. I believe in the overall rule that I will do the projects I was meant to do. I know that I still love it though. I could not just produce without the acting. I could write without either of them for someone else but I would still miss acting and producing. Again, I will do what I’m meant to do. The thing about working for others just acting is when the character becomes lost because a story is never finished. I have 5 films I’ve acted in that never finished and four of them were features. I was paid for my time and it took me to places like Miami and Las Vegas but the hard work has never been seen. This always makes me think hard when taking on an outside project. All actors have these stories.
WRAP UP-
My growling stomach is telling me it is time to feed. I see eggs and bacon in my future. Today might include getting some veggie plants and flowers. I’m going to stay better hydrated and get ready for a great week ahead. I hope you all have a great week also. Brick by brick – build towards your goals.
Coffee Cheers!
DJ
NEW ‘Harsens’ CAST Announced Plus March Film Updates
After a few mild days where Spring was pushing with little sprouts of green and birds returning. I’m sipping the hazelnut coffee and I want to welcome all our readers including our new readers from France, Ireland, UK, Russia and Saudi Arabia. WELCOME! Also thank you for the wonderful comments. It is the season to watch THE QUEST TRILOGY and I’m humbled by the comment that I was someone’s favorite performance of Jesus. That is a compliment as many great performances of the man has been done. If you have not watched them all together, you should. They trilogy is shown below in order and also a few other good watches for a cold snowy day (In Michigan) like today.
Author Nancy Gideon, ordered up the MAKING OF ‘In the Woods’ that we talked about last week. A great recalling of the massive effort that went into making a movie on film with limited experience and funds. This was my first starring role and Co-producing effort almost 25 years ago. The film is getting a new campaign and the book was just a start. A new transfer is underway going all the way back to the original film stock. So a blu-ray and new streaming in HD release could be coming later in the year. Add in some badass merchandise and you got a fun new push. So you wanna see baby DJ fighting monsters, this might be your movie. Buy the book and enter the crazy world of IN THE WOODS. Will the world see Alex Kerwood, monster hunter again? Never say never:)
This film has continued its trek across the midwest theatre to theatre traveling to where the people have called their theatre and requested it. Thank you so much to all those who actually reached out and brought the film to their town. We are booked into April and we’re exploring either expanding with a 3rd party theatrical distributor based off our current efforts. We also might look at a big final event showing just before the home video kick off this Fall. We have a few possible paths to consider. We are already getting theatrical booking requests for December 2023. Crazy. But not really. I think this film will become a Christmas classic. It is a truly unique story based on actual events which is different from most Christmas fluff.
This weekend the film opened in a few new cities. We had a beautiful note last weekend sent to our director, it noted that at one of these showings that audience gave a standing ovation. That’s at a normal showing not a premiere or event. It was very touching and we love that people are connecting with the story. We were nominated for several awards at our first festival/award submission.
We are still looking to showcase overseas and our distribution will license to foreign territories as we get further down the road. Congrats to all the nominated artists and films. This theatrical is just the tip of the spear and wait until we get to the home video making the film available to millions of viewers.
HARSENS ISLAND REVENGE
This film is next up for #tribeCDI and things are really falling into place. Thank you to those who sent their reels DM on the CDI Facebook page. Also thank you to those who got right on their reads. We are closing down roles quickly now This week we welcomed Michael Walton, Martez Moore, Adam Towner and today we’ll be announcing David Gries. We also have been crewing up and this week we welcomed several folks onto the next project. We are moving from department to department and having deep discussions about each. We only have so many crew slots and so I know some will not be able to travel with us. Some folks have other scheduled endeavors and so they will not be joining. We are very excited about this new story. Many departments are getting up and running and we’ll be doing another scouting trip the end of next month.
I actually chopped down the Winter beard and I’ll be looking to get my hair trimmed closer to the period. Plus I have soccer season and getting my hair out of my eyes might be helpful. Our director will start doing reads with some online and we’ll likely do a read through in Michigan, which will be fun. The cars, the clothes and the overall vibe of the era is quite amazing. Also the impact of the war on the soldiers is something to note. Look below at this picture of the soldier before and after the war.
The effects of war on these vets is striking and shows you the damage. Those that did survive WW1 wanted to live peacefully. These were not the men the Purple’s wanted to push. We’ll be reviewing more incoming reels and locking in more roles this week. Thank you to all of you have have put yourself forth for consideration.
DEVELOPMENT WORK-
SPIRIT LAKE MASSACRE, will be undergoing budgeting work. The response to the script has been strong. We will see how fast it all comes together. This endeavor is larger and requires more production elements with horses and possible builds.
SHJ – This developing project is looking to be moving in a positive direction. Once we get the intent to fund we’ll put the in-association deal in play. CDI will be producing and we have many exciting things lining up for this supernatural thriller.
FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH 2 – The operational agreement will be in place end of this week. Talks have already started to put the funds in place for this follow up doc film. We hope to have this funded and cameras rolling this Summer.
KNIGHT CHILLS– I’ll be reaching out to co-writers Jeff & Juanita Kennedy about doing an updated interview maybe from the Kennedy ‘Dungeon’ showcased in the film. I also sent out emails and texts to our cast about recording a video interview. It will be cool to have them recall a few memories and let people know what they are doing now. The extras have to be turned in by June. I’m told the new transfer and up Rez is looking great. I want to do a Making of book like what Lynn Drzick did with IN THE WOODS. Maybe a script and a bunch of extras. Thoughts?
WRITING– I’m working on two stories for an upcoming book. I want to finish up a few of the scripts I have in progress. One a comedy ands one a SciFi film. Currently I’m doing a clean up on the Harsens script.
(Dennis Therrian aka Tricky T, will be again doing music and sound design on Harsens Island Revenge)
WRAP UP:
I’m happy to report the chickens are back to full production on eggs. That might be what is next on my list. Today I think I’ll get at some desk work today to get a jump on the week. Next week is St. Patricks Day and so who knows, green beer could be in order. I’m also starting to reach out to sponsors on the new projects. We have some cool, fun tie in’s that will work really well for our next 1920’s story. If you have a service, product or just want to align yourself with these films and reach millions, reach out.
I hope you all have had a relaxing and recharging weekend. Here is a big coffee cheers to us all having a good week ahead. Make your TO DO lists for the week and get after it. Everything is built brick by brick. I’m sure I missed a few updates but I hit upon many of the major ones. Be good to one another. Have a wonderful Sunday.
DJ
NEW Theaters, Director’s Screening, NEW Development 2023
A beautiful light snow is falling in Michigan. I’m sipping on my hazelnut coffee and reflecting upon the past week. Again, a kind lady, a friends mother that I’ve known since I was 5, passed away. She was 94 and did many great things in her time with her family being her pride. Her son who was one of my oldest friends, passed away unexpectedly when I was out filming THE CHRIST SLAYER. It was nice to see so many people I’ve not seen in many years. It is sad that is often takes a tragedy or loss to bring some folks together. I was happy to hear all these beautiful comments about the films we’ve done. The lady who passed really loved Man’s Best Friend. Several talked about The Quest Trilogy (Our three part biblical adventure). Many wanted to know what the latest and greatest was- that is SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA. Some saw it in our home town but the film was extended for two weeks and we were not told. We could have promoted the added two weeks more had we known. But the film did quite well, hence the extended screening.
My own family has not seen the WW2 drama which is marching all across the midwest as people request the film and bookers are reaching out. We’re heading into Nebraska and soon Minnesota – also in the director’s hometown of Owosso, Michigan we’ve secured a run with the NCG theatre. We are pushing to get it into N. Lansing at the NCG in February. Dates TBD. We’ll be starting the Owosso, NCG run on Feb 4th (Sat) with screenings at 4:00 and 7:00 and the film will play until Feb 9th playing at 4:00 and we’re trying to get a second show during the week for those who work. The photo banner will be up on the 4th and our director Anthony Hornus will be welcoming folks to both shows. After the 7pm show we’re going to go to Romas next door to meet and greet with guests. I’m giving the advanced notice here and on Monday we’ll start releasing PR about the showing.
It doesn’t matter what state you are in – contact the managers and request their bookers bring it in. We’re having classrooms of kids, retirement home trips and church groups, all going to the film. Many are seeing the film more than once and we’re getting lots of requests for DVD and streaming which will be 4th quarter of the year after we’ve marched around the country doing screenings. We are trying to get it to a major military base theatre in Germany and are looking at select festivals to play.
BEST YEARS GONE – This is our previous comedy drama and we’re looking at some comedy fest and also a few cool marketing ideas. I still want to look at sponsoring a race – The Gilles Cup:) If you haven’t had a chance to watch this film, please do. I think you will laugh and find some sweet moments in the film.
DEVELOPMENT
Harsens Island Revenge – is in full on development and will go into pre-production next month for a post Labor Day shoot. Cast and Crew discussions will begin soon. Location scouting has already begun and another scout trip will be in order soon.
For the Love of Catch: Battlefields is the second collaboration in a series of doc films focused on the grappling arts. We’re in the budgeting stage and talking to potential donations as the project is produced through the Red, White & Blue Non-Profit with CDI supervising the production. If you or your company have interest in supporting this project via donations please reach out.
SHJ – The meeting for the in association film went really well. The biggest issue is schedule which needs to land after Harsens Island Revenge. This film is an action mystery thriller with a supernatural twist to it. I’ll have follow up meeting this week to iron out more details but things are looking very promising.
SPIRIT LAKE MASSACRE – The first draft of the script is done and I had a select group looking it over for historical tweaks. It is not a biopic but historical fiction. If the script gets approved, I’ll fine tune the budget and we’ll look at the builds we need done this year before 2024 proposed shoot. The key is not too many cooks in the kitchen. CDI is excited to tell another Iowa-based story. I will be looking to see how many 1800’s cabins exist still in the Algona, Iowa area. Stay tune for more updates.
WRAP UP–
This week I will continue to feed our accountants the information they need to do end of year taxes. I have started working on personal taxes and will have that material pulled together very soon. I know that the CDI website is about to get a few updates to it. If you haven’t visited our website – http://www.cdiproductions.com
We are going to be discussing merchandise for the lead up to Christmas 2023 but SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA, posters could become available for sale in Feb if things go right. They might be for sale at the Owosso, MI afterglow. What CDI merchandise would you like to see?
Lastly, we’re moving towards a SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA, final film to deliver to the home video distributor. It’s now like a 4 piece puzzle that needs to be put together. On the big screen we were able to see a few polishes needed either to the color, VFX and subtitles, in a few places.
In addition to all this – I do have a few writing projects I’ll be returning to. One is a comedy and one a Sci-Fi piece, I do love writing. I’ve got many sponsors to touch base with to discuss the home video release of SNIA and also discuss them coming on board Harsens Island Revenge. I’m going to have some company later so I’ll be getting the wood stove roaring. I hope you all have a recharging weekend and prepare for a productive week ahead.
Coffee Cheers,
DJ
NEW ‘Silent Night In Algona” Screenings, Updates and Improving by Review
Good morning! I hope your 2023 is off to a great start. I’m sipping the hazelnut coffee while reflecting on the very full week I had. We have had a few peeks of sun but it has been bitter. The Christmas tree and decorations are down minus the few outdoor things, but they’re next. I’ve been making great progress getting all the end of year stuff around for the accounting firm.
- These are the most updated list of theaters playing, SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA. We have more theaters opening this week and a slew in Feb. thanks to all of you reaching out to your theatre houses, speaking with management and requesting our film. Bookers have been reaching out to our FB page and we’ve been processing those. Right now, we’ve got about 40 cities we’ve played and the number will increase. The new theatrical division of CDI is thriving and should provide a nice advance revenue flow. We are working hard to set up a special Owosso, MI screening in the coming weeks. It is the home town of our director, DP (Camera) and young male lead. I’ve got family that has been waiting to see it on the big screen. We are also trying to get it to the Detroit area, where we have many fans. We’re also preparing to pull the film together for the home video release/delivery prior to the run up on the 2023 holidays.
2) FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH – is now starting to appear on ad based video on demand, also subscription based video on demand. Meaning you can watch it free with ads or with certain subscriptions. TUBI is carrying it as is ENCOURAGE TV and more. WATCH HERE: https://youtu.be/GLjMjIxZuk0
3) Harsens Island Revenge – Next month we’ll be putting the foundation business in place on the project. We’ve started adding this into our weekly meetings. We will be preparing to start looking at actors and keys in the coming weeks. We are all very excited to tell this story right after Labor Day. We have started our search for certain period needed props and vehicles required to make this film soar.
4) Spirit Lake Massacre – The first draft of the script is complete and it is being reviewed by a few historic sources. If the script gets final approved we’ll put the agreement together and start into serious development including some possible builds in 2023 prepping for a 2024 shoot.
5) SHJ-Development Talks – will take place today! The film is to discuss a project that would be an associated film. I’ve said before that the film is a supernatural thriller/mystery. Today, we’ll discuss just how that collaboration would work and discuss timelines and more.
6) FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH 2 – A new documentary direction has been set and we will meet Monday to discuss this project more in depth. It will be done again with the Red, White & Blue Project Inc. non-profit. Fans of the first film will really enjoy as we go more in depth on various topics covered in the first film.
THE CDI TRIBE– I like to say that it is easy to be happy with team performance when things are going really well. But it is how your team handles issues or crisis. At CDI we pay people to solve issues and handle crisis quickly and quietly. Read those lines a few times. In all walks of life/business you have “loud workers,” who work loudly, and often in a distracting manner. Why is that person scowling? Talking loud on a phone. Many think that this behavior demonstrates, look how hard I am working. What it really says to the people who evaluate and hire, might be a totally different thing.
We had a great producer/director debrief on the entire SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA, shoot. We look at what can be improved without casting blame. As the supervising producer I take accountability, so now let’s just look at how we can run even more effectively going forward. People. Pressure. We all occasionally colored outside the lines, I had one apology I made on this film, for communicating something poorly. Most issues can stem from communications issues. If you can improve on those issues, everything improves.
I’ve been made aware on a few occasions, because of the “work quietly” policy, that many don’t see the real work we do. It often starts a year or two in advance. We as a team make it look easy, when it truly, is not. CDI, has a very good team and it shows because the proof is in the pudding. But lots of prep and hard work go into trying to provide a smooth production. Many crews don’t even realize the work unless they themselves have tried to do even a short film. 97% right and 3% off and some want to focus on the off. We do, to improve and correct. But, some point out the obvious. If you know of an issue, we usually know. Although, I can only think of one situation whereas the truth on a damaged grip van came to light a few years after. I wish someone would have spoken up sooner on that one. Thing sayings come to mind, Karma is real. You can’t squeeze blood from a stone. And, it’s fear that makes us lose our conscience- it’s also what transforms us into cowards.
This takes my mind to key crew members- soon we’ll be in discussions about various keys to approach. Directors have some input in crew with producer approval. Producers place certain crew because they have become pillars of success. People who really know me, know I like to develop people but they have to want it. Growth. It has been said, I work people hard. I work hard. That is how I got where I am starting from ground ZERO. I’ve dedicated my life to being a storyteller, and I expect dedication to the project while we are working on it. If you don’t work hard you will not be able to keep up with this team. But once the final project is seen, most are happy to have pushed themselves. CDI does historic pieces and so many of our artists need to be on top of their research. That is like an actor, who preps first by immersing themselves in the time period. How did they dress, slang, haircuts…At CDI on both sides of the camera are great artists. I feel as though we focus that energy and collectively create something greater than ourselves as individuals. That is pretty amazing.
One film is fresh out of the gates, playing more and more theaters and we’re starting to plan to produce even more. We have a great library of films to explore by this creative troupe of artists. I’ve gotten a good amount of fan mail over the films. Yes. Paul Landings is still in serving time. Ben Lily is still lost in the woods. Niles Cass is still hunting Bigfoot with Chip. But seriously, I do so appreciate and love how the millions around the world have embraced our little stories. We cannot give enough heartfelt thanks. I’m going to go let the chickens out and start to get ready for my noon meeting. I hope you all have a refreshing and recharging Sunday allowing you to get after the new week.
Coffee Cheers!
DJ
SURPRISE Early Post- End of Year Wrap Up (Thank you!)
I’m sipping my hazelnut coffee on a VERY snowy Michigan day. Negative degrees outside and blowing winds. But we will most definitely have a white Christmas. When we all left off, I had the premiere of SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA, in Iowa. It has performed beyond expectations with several extensions (Algona until the 29th) and expansions into other theaters. (Follow our FB page) I did not attend the Michigan kick off at Celebration Cinema, as I was attending a funeral and memorial up North. My week stayed very busy with trying to deal with family things. Working with our team on prepping materials for the upcoming releases. It looks like we were able to get the film to a downloadable link for theatre owners. I was reporting and prepping for end-of-year check dispersement on the movies, which will happen next week. Lastly, was trying to get the Christmas stuff around. So, this Christmas is a bit chaotic with the death in our family, the blizzard and our film’s window of release.
Once we have this delivery of the film process set up, we’ll turn to looking at film festivals and a German screening. There is even talk of showing at one of the US military bases in Germany. This film will have an exciting journey ahead of it. The film has definitely gotten the positive response from the people I care about most with this story. I had an opportunity to speak with several elderly people and they gave high marks on the re-creation of the time. The regional people were so proud of this story and it is resonating with people everywhere. The film has already generated some heartfelt fan mail that is just humbling to read. That is the power of storytelling. Thousands have seen the film and many have seen it multiple times, taking friends and family. In Michigan, we’ll be looking at doing a special Owosso, MI screening and also a run around Detroit, MI in the new year.
Our battle plan with SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA (SNIA), will continue through 2023. I’ve been re-reading a supernatural thriller for a possible CDI associated film. Also in 2023, we’ll get the foundation put in on our next CDI feature film, Harsens Island Revenge. We have already started scouting and we’ll be announcing our director early in 2023, as we enter the casting phase. So again, update those reels. I was able to take a few good meetings while attending the SNIA premiere. I’ve finished the first draft on the SPIRIT LAKE MASSACRE, and some development actions will be underway in 2023. If all goes as planned we could be rolling cameras in 2024.
REFLECTIONS AND GOALS –
Every year, I do deep reflection on the past year. Success, failures, trials and tribulations, all equaling growth. This year has had great harvest being the biggest release year I’ve had since 2005. We saw BESTSELLER, BEST YEARS GONE, SMOKE & MIRRORS, FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH and SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA release. Has anyone reading here, seen all five releases?
I set business and personal goals. I set goals on home fixes or improvements. I set goals as an actor, writer and producer. I set goals for/with Collective Development Inc. (www.cdiproductions.com) – new projects. New divisions. New endeavors. New collaborations.
This year saw a few music videos release under CDI’s production. As someone who was there when MTV started, I loved working in that medium.
OFF TO THE RACES from the movie ‘Best Years Gone‘ by Vertical Bridge
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=393380005705951
LOVE these guys. From our state of Michigan! And these gents are also from MI and really, really kick ASS.
REVOLUTION by the band DeepFall
This year full of releases and we did produce and prep several projects. HOT ROD LOVE, the CDI racing comedy set in the 1970’s went back on the shelf this fall. We had some funding. We had some sponsors. We had some participation from track owners. SOME, doesn’t cut it in filmmaking. It is truly one of the funniest ensemble comedy scripts sitting at CDI, with Caddyshack being the tone inspiration. Everything in its own time. I had to finally let go of a look I was developing for my character in that film. I am setting my “acting/producing” sights firmly on 1926 with WW1 veterans going head to head with the Purple Gang mafia.
This past year, I did turn down two different acting roles. I usually do so for one of three reasons. One. Not connecting with the role. Two. Not connecting with the story/script as a whole. Three. I cannot give the project the due attention I put into all my roles. I don’t phone anything in. I take each and every role very serious. That is why once business is out of the way, you get 100% effort, no less. $200 or $200,000 will get you the same performance. With acting performances, audiences got to meet Mark Franklin, Gil Gilles, Mr. Hosworth and Col Lodell. Vastly, different gents. have you met any of them?
The last gent was an honor and a very complex character to play. Let’s talk, Col Lodell. First the name of several characters based on actual camp assigned people, were altered. The events are true cut the characterizations are just that, not meant to be a biopic. That said, the camp commander that I portrayed, took his internal motivation from his faith in ‘The Golden Rule’. To treat others (Captured Germans) as you would want your PW boys treated. The filming was cold and rugged and that plays on everyones face in the film. A grit that cannot be manufactured on a stage or with a LED wall. We’ve been experimenting and will use LED walls in future VFX but there is something about a wild wind in your face, eyes near watering, and experience something closer to what these actual men did. We get to hear CUT and go back home. Every perspective has a story and they all dance closer and closer to a true event that helps to restore a touch of the humanity we all seem to have lost. Unity. Love. Even with a world at war. The fallout. The anguish, shame and soul crushing heartache.
My backstory was after serving in combat in WW1, Lodell, is pulled from academia, back into action as a camp commander. Seeking out Nazi-rot that grows inside the camps threatening lives and a PR nightmare should an escape happen. A majority of the PWs are farmers taken in desperation and forced to fight. Surrender came fast, not willing to fight to the death for Hitler’s war. Real threats. But like a needle in a haystack. The heaviness of supervisions production in many ways mirrored Lodell’s challenges. I channeled much of my real heaviness of responsibly to my performance and it works.
EVERY soldier just like the prisoners of war, missed their own bed, toilet, lazyboy, pet, family. I love a scene in SNIA where Col Lodell is just watching a Christmas scene of Santa and his nurse ‘elves’ giving children presents. He is the man with the most medals and he is as sad and homesick as the lowest prisoner. WAR hurts us all. I think that is why many SPORTS came about so that things could be handled more easily for both parties.
I’m happy that people are enjoying the film. Lodell, had to be the Col Potter of MASH. Leadership on screen or in real life takes many qualities to do it even semi successful. Lodell, has the secret to leadership but you’ll have to watch the film. I got to get more clean cut and play in the world of my dearly departed grandfathers. Burt Swope, in the Navy and Robert Emerson flying cargo in the Pacific, I believe in the Army. Air force was started in 1947. Anyway. This film captures everything that is nostalgic but also makes you feel as if you are living in it. Not some black and white flicker, cold and distant but in living color. If you can see SNIA on the big screen do. Otherwise, after running our theatricals into March or so, we plan to screen in Germany and a few film festivals. It will start DVD and home video around Nov 1st is my best guess. Meeting next year will tell. TRIVIA: On that scene above, my face got so cold I blew a take unable to fully pronounce my words. I asked for a moment, gave the face a rub down and a few good smacks before ACTION nailing it.
I think the performance will open a few new doors. I always tell actors, don’t get frustrated by people because they don’t see what you don’t show them. This is usually followed by, I don’t get a chance. The 14 year old filmmaker in my rolls his eyes. Almost everyones phone is a studio, where you can work a monologue a thousand times. Comedians and magicians work their craft over and over. If you get the slightest bit off when a camera comes close, you need to work on that. That camera should be that old friend, never glanced at- yet always embraced. Being natural leads to comfortable which leads to the environment to make interesting. In 2023, don’t get in your own way with doubts and ‘cannots’ and all that negativity. See dead ends, as paths of the maze mapped and now known. The true path becomes closer.
WRAP UP –
I truly do LOVE winter. I always have. It teaches you a healthy respect for nature. You admire the beauty of pines that thrives under the blankets of snow. Crackling fire, destroys the old leaving nurturing ashes to sprinkle for the spring plantings. Writings and new ideas like to seep into the pondering mind. A season of hardship and helping where you can. When everyone does a little the world is a better place. We here at TribeCDI are resting and rejuvenating with our loved ones. But rest assured the call of the storyteller rides these cold Michigan winds. Tomahawks and Tommy guns. Hot Rods and Painted Horses. I want to thank all our cast, crew, sponsors, supporters, families, friends and FANS. Tom T. Hall use to have a song, I wish I had a million friends – and I’ve complained about Facebook ‘Friends’ vs acquaintances – but with so many of the films being seem by tens of millions and I’ve been blessed to read your notes of encouragement and connection. I do feel like I have millions of friends, because you accepted our stories, our characters, into your homes. You’ve hunted Bigfoot with Niles Cass in Lost Heart. You felt for Paul Landings and his terrible loss in Man’s Best Friend. You’ve laughed with Ben Lily in Wild Faith. You’ve taken comfort during the holidays watching a relatable Jesus, in The Quest Trilogy (Forty Nights, Chasing the Star, The Christ Slayer) And I could go on- my point is thank you. Sincerely, from a childhood dreamer who started with my friends and a VHS camcorder, thank you.
Next up New Years Day! So Merry Christmas to you all and a Happy and Healthy New Year.
DJ
‘Silent Night In Algona’ Theatrical Listings to Date and Forthcoming Venues – End of Year Thoughts
Good morning! It is an absolutely bitter morning here in Michigan. I’ve got my hazelnut coffee by my side to warm and wake me up. It has been a crazy couple of weeks working hard to finish up the SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA, film. We’ve been working to remove any glitches from the mastering and encoding. The idea is using the theatrical showings to make a list of any final adjustments before we go to home video next year. Yes, we were fighting for 10 secs or under corrections that most don’t notice but we artists do. We were kind of caught off guard by the amount of people attending. It started with adding extra theaters and extending the playtimes. In Algona State 5, people are attending the Fridley Theater screening and the museums in town that pertain to our film. It is playing until Dec 29th unless they hold over again. In Iowa, it will start playing in Fridley’s Carrol, Waukee, Marshal Town and Pleasant Hill. It is also playing The Forest Theatre in Forest City, Iowa and the Fremont Stuart. In January, The Riviera and the Windsor Theatre along with showings to be announced in Fort Dodge and Mason City. We’ll also be showing in Owosso, MI in the new year but people can see the film now in Granville and Lansing, at the Celebration Cinemas until next Thursday. More are contacting us everyday as far away as Hawaii, so don’t stop reaching out to your local theaters and speaking with the managers. If you’ve seen the film and want to share your thoughts, you can go to http://www.imdb.com search our film and leave a review. The joy and appreciation shown by the Iowa people, has been amazing. I am happy that we’ve brought the film to our home state and on Friday people in Michigan got their first watch. I was not in attendance at the screening as a close family member/mentor passed away two hours before the Algona, Iowa premiere. We had a beautiful service up North with family and did a good send off. I will try to go see the film this week at some point. Please do take advantage of this opportunity to see this film on the big screen. We’re working at setting up a better system for getting theatrical materials out to all the various venues. We have started to be invited to a few film festivals and so we’ll meet over that soon. We’re also going to try and have a special showing in Germany. We have some exciting plans in the works for the home video release next year.
DEVELOPMENT
I’m also going to need to get back after the final script polish on Harsens Island Revenge. It will be slowly ramping up development this winter with casting.
There is another project, Project SHJ, on the board that I will be meeting over first of the year. It’s a supernatural thriller, that was written some time ago. I need to take another read on it.
Spirit Lake Massacre – I had some great meetings over this project which we’re looking to film in 2024. But to do so we’re exploring the building of a few period cabins that could be used to film and after will have education and practical uses. I will likely do one final polish before calling it a final first draft. It truly is a powerful story that the CDI Tribe will bring to life on the screen.
There’s always more development underway but these are the front runners.
Location Scout for ‘Harsens Island Revenge’ – shooting in 2023
END OF YEAR & GOALS
This is also the time of year to establish new goals for the coming year. To update materials and organize. I’ve got a new back up hard drive to organize my materials. I’m also working to get disbursements out on several of the films. I’ll be entering into another conversation with our home video distributor. This year came with hard fought victories and some unexpected losses. It is why you should keep living your best life. Laugh with family and friends and focus on the positives not the negatives. Christmas is a little off for us this year but we’ll still make it merry. My next blog will likely be in the evening since it will be Christmas Day. I’m going to get some things done while watching first the World Cup finals and after the Detroit Lions. The Lions, seem to have turned things around and are really looking good.
Happy Holidays!
DJ
SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA, Premiere and Theatrical Updates – End of a Journey
Good morning. It is early on the 4th of December, and I’ve gotten up a touch earlier to get this blog written since today will be a full day. Yesterday, we had our post team assemble to marry the audio and visual halves of the film. That is completed, and today they will add the final subtitles and credits. I saw a message this am that one extras name was not added to the end credits. Sadly, not sure it was caught in time for the final rendering. I’m sure even after dozens of watches on the credits, we’ve also misspelled someones name. Know it is never on purpose. It happens with so much data moving about, one of the many challenges. I also know that we have a few ‘Easter Eggs’ in the film. By Easter Egg, I mean small things, that were not quite the correct period, oversights by the art team. But those are few, you can find those oversights in nearly any period film, as films are truly an illusion. In any film there are always a few things you wish would have been slightly different but that is the filmmakers picking. Even George Lucas was unhappy with a few aspects of his original Star Wars. Audiences only know what they are given and they’ll never know what was never presented to them. Most minor flaws never seen.
This film has been a wonderful beast and is one of our most advanced films. Today, we’ll watch the fully assembled film before the DCP is made for the theatre. The file will be tested tomorrow at the theatre before it travels to Algona, with us on Weds. I need to recognize our post team, Dennis Therrian, Nathaniel Nose, Adam Towner, Eric Bilodeau and Dany Boivin. Of course led by Anthony Hornus, our director. Another post person to recognize is Irene Krautner Bookman, who served as our German to English sub-titler. She was born in Austria, moved to the US at age three. Fully fluent in German, she is also an inspiring writer. She hails from our director’s home town of Owosso, MI and that made things easier.
ALGONA ‘SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA’ IOWA PREMIERE – If you were an extra or directly involved with filming, you should be on a list for a ticket at the premiere showing Friday the 9th at 6pm at the Fridley Algona theater. Donna Kitzinger and/or Julie Murphy will be at the Fridley theatre at 5:00 pm with our invite list and tickets to hand out. Those wondering if they have a ticket can email Donna Kitzinger at bdkitzinger@netamumail.com – The public can buy tickets for a 9 pm show on Dec 9th and it plays all week. I hear they might expand into more theaters. We have new theaters approaching daily wanting to show the film.
SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA, Michigan Premiere will be a yet to be announced afterglow in Lansing, following the Celebration Cinema Dec 16th showing. It will play for a week both in Lansing and Grand Rapids.
In Jan 2023 we are planning an Owosso, Special Directors Screening with an afterglow and Q&A with our director at the NCG Theatre but that deal is still finalizing.
There will be more theaters joining in the release. Others will be expanding and that is because of you all reaching out to the theaters and requesting the film. Thank you!
HOLIDAY WATCHING–
Tis the season! As it gets cold and people gather with their families and loved ones, we have many films at CDI you can enjoy. The Quest Trilogy, has become a classic watch for folks during the holiday. Also WILD FAITH, MBF, LOST HEART, ASHES OF EDEN, WICKED SPRING and more…
WRAP UP REFLECTIONS
Our job as producers is to try and see problems before they happen. Being aware, is good but obsessing on what might go wrong or could go wrong, can become STRESS. Being prepared, is the best defense. Being organized, allows you to trouble shoot. You can never totally eliminate worrying at big events, but you can control and contain it. Concern over technical aspects is only one part, the artists also sincerely hope that the people enjoy the story. I’m confident that the masses will enjoy our next film. It’s a film about love, joy, healing and unity and it is based on true events.
Being that this is also the Christmas season, our job is a touch more complicated. I have our first Christmas gathering a week after returning from Iowa and our MI premiere the night before one of our gatherings. Luckily, I’ve done a bulk of my holiday shopping online. I will get a few Christmas shopping days in here and there. But one giant gift to the world will be this next film.
I’m going to wrap this up so that I can eat something and get around for our in studio wrap up. I enjoyed all the time spent in studio tweaking scenes. I’m excited to see it all put together in just a few short hours. I might have to take some of the Frankenberry wine out for everyone to toast.
I’m also going to go make the hazelnut coffee. I also like to add EggNog sometimes to my coffee. Try it sometime. I got up early to write and didn’t want to use the noisy coffee bean grinder. But the house is now up and awake, so time to grind the beans. Next Sunday, we’ll be on the other side of the Algona, premiere. I’ll have a lot more to say. These films are hard work and that is why I carry a certain respect for anyone who can make and distribute a feature film.
I will talk with all of you on the other side of this final push!
Soon-to-be Coffee Cheers,
DJ
Mastering Pressure vs Stress (Five Updates-including ‘Silent Night in Algona’)
Good morning! The hazelnut coffee is flowing and so is the rain. I will say, yesterday we had a 55 degree beautiful day when we went to harvest a Christmas tree. I love pine trees and having one in the house is something we all enjoy. This is our first Christmas with Luna Mae, our newest member of the pack. We adopted her shortly after Daphne, passed away. Finn, has enjoyed having a sister. We had a lost cat hang with us for two days until the owners were found. Thanksgiving, was a nice small gathering having had the moms over. Now that is behind us, I need to get a bit more aggressive with my Christmas shopping. I’ve been busy on several film fronts. If you follow my blog, you know many of the updates but I’ll recap the top five.
- SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA, is closing in on being done. I was treated to see some of the “in progress” CGI FX, wow! Tomorrow, I’m back in the studio to watch/listen to music and sound design. The week will be spent tweaking and adding any nuances. At the end of the week our editor/VFX supervisor will be in to help make sure everything is implemented properly. The German subtitles are almost complete and will be dropped in this week. It has been a beast, but this will be a beautiful film. A handful of the producer/actors and director, will be heading to Iowa, for the Dec 9th premiere screenings. Two showings on Dec 9th, will be filled with many of the folks that participated in the film. Public showings will start that night with at least one public showing. But the film will continue to play for as long as the demand stays strong. Once the film is completed we’ll start looking at the other theatrical showings. We also want to look at showings in Germany, Hollywood, and a few other select runs. I really had a chance to reflect this holiday season at how blessed I am to do what I love with people I love and admire. If you get a chance to watch this in the theatre please do. It will release on DVD, streaming and broadcast in the later part of 2023, for those unable to attend any theatrical showings.
2) The great holiday tradition of watching “The Quest Trilogy” continues! I’m thrilled at how many people continue to journey and experience the three films. I’m humbled by all the great fan mail that we’ve received on these films. Shot in the “heroic” style made popular with the Star Wars films, these films are for anyone to enjoy. Lotta gems to be found in these stories and I was told with every watch you pick up something new. So take your first of tenth watch, but just watch them and introduce them to someone else. Happy Holiday Season!
3) I need to try and schedule some meeting time this week to keep on our writer/director polish of the Harsens Island Revenge, script. This story will take place in the epic 1920’s in Michigan. Once we have SNIA (Silent Night in Algona) completed, we will start focusing more on this projects pre-production. I want a teaser poster completed and we’ll start talking with sponsors in the new year.
4) The script I was working on SPIRIT LAKE MASSACRE, has a first draft and I’m starting to examine for a polish before proposed cast and crew get to take a read. The story is very powerful with many lessons to be learned. I’ll have some meetings over this project when we’re in Iowa. If all goes well, some developmental construction might start in 2023 and filming in 2024. Yes, this is how far out you need to start the development work on a film project. Often the development can take years. I want to have a teaser poster but together in the new year.
5) FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH – Get the DVD! It will make a great stocking stuffer for Christmas. I will take the time here to note something. Our director, Curran Jacobs, a 2X Catch-Can champion is also the young male lead in SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA. I’m so very proud of him and Cassie Dean, who plays his wife, as the young lead. While being known as an elite grappler, it will be nice to see him get recognized as a storyteller actor, also. Both of those actors had smaller parts in other CDI films. This was a great opportunity for these two, well earned.
WRAP UP: Today I will likely finish up some online shopping and maybe do some in-person shopping. It was nice to take some time the other day to watch the World Cup USA vs England. Now, if they beat Iran on Tuesday, they will move forward. The turkeys and scarecrow decorations will soon give way to our snowmen and Christmas decorations. I think we will get snow again mid week, so I’ve been putting even more yard stuff away for winter. I also spent some time cutting and sawing wood for the stove.
I’m trying to remember some of the good talks this week, which might provide good lessons for us all. I know I have more reviews before me with the end credits. Like, I’ve said, we’ve missed names before and misspelled even more. Often it is from the bad handwriting of our extras, not always. I will make several more passes on it before it gets rendered this week along with the German sub-titles and the front credits. Our Algona coordinators, will be reaching out this week to our final people on the Algona, premiere invite list. We are trying our best to put on this showing a state away, while finishing the film. If your name gets missed, misspelled, please know, we have no bad intent, just a massive undertaking. If you don’t make it onto the guest list or if you can’t bring certain family or friends, please go again to a public show with them. We just have very limited seating. Even the night of the premiere, I think they might only have 1 screen open. Tickets should go on sale soon and you’ll even see the trailer start playing in front of other films.
Editing of scripts and studio time – it will be nice getting together with our tribe of artists at CDI. First, to finish some work in studio with my friends and after, enjoy the work, again with friends. Or enjoy the reaction of people who watch the films. Cue, the Christmas music as I’m going to just roll with the holidays. We are artists who take great pride in our work. You want to allow yourself to FEEL the pressure but not allow it to twist into STRESS. I always liked the saying that pressure will make the three pointer at the buzzer and stress will result in the air ball. Embrace pressure, that can make diamonds but resist feeding into stress, it does nothing positive for you. So as you navigate the holidays, pressure is fine just don’t allow it to become stress.
Have a great week! By next week when I type, we might have a finished film.
Coffee Cheers!
DJ
Refuel, Relax, Rest – Much to Be Thankful For – FILM UPDATES!
The hazelnut coffee, is tasting great on this snowy Sunday. I see where many folks elsewhere got 5+ feet of snow! Parts of Michigan, saw a large snowfall and even here in Lansing (Center of the State) we got a good amount. It is pretty to watch fall and it makes everything bright, which has been nice. But, it has been bitter cold for sure. The several days of arctic freeze gave me the time I needed to start catching up on all my biz paperwork.
SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA – We have been working on getting the end credits around and from the list we’ll be double checking against our Algona, premiere list. This week, we’ll get a chance to review the film, with most all the elements inserted. The film will release first in Algona, Iowa on Dec 9th and the Fridley Theaters. Our hope is that they will open the film in all the cities they’re in. We are looking to see when the show times will go live, so folks can start getting public tickets. The trailer will soon be playing in front of other films. We plan to show the film into 1st quarter of 2023 in the theatre chains. We hope to have it expend across Iowa, and the midwest. An LA/Hollywood and German showing via theaters or festival is also being planned.
We also have some exciting things coming together for the 2023 home video release. I really do think that this film could create a “Field of Dreams” effect – whereas once a year the film returns to Algona, theaters and people travel to the town of Algona, to see the museums. We will also be working on the Michigan premiere, that might happen first of the year, due to all the crazy Christmas hustle and bustle. Many will have to have patience, if you miss the select theatrical showings. But come, the run up to Christmas 2023, the film will be getting a major push. Between the theatrical and the home video, we hope to show it in Germany/Austria. Thank you to everyone for your support.
We’re also going to be working with our sponsors and product partners, moving forward. Note, the period wraps on the Spam, Hershey’s bars and more. We are honored to have such wonderful partners in storytelling. We have had many great companies join us over the years. I look forward to many more, as we move ahead in our storytelling adventures.
DEVELOPMENT WORK!
Silent Night in Algona, will be the 5th release this year. Who has seen all five films? Who can name all five films? OK. It’s early and the coffee is still kicking in for folks. 1) BESTSELLER 2) BEST YEARS GONE 3) SMOKE & MIRRORS 4) FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH 5) SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA – if you end up watching all 5, you are truly a CDI fan. I’ve had someone talking to me about a CDI fan club. You can SUBSCRIBE TO THE TRIBE at http://www.cdiproductions.com and we’ll be doing some updates there soon. I use to have a wonderful fan club ran by a fine lady named, Pepper. I think she is still with us, loving her dogs and spreading joy. She and several friends, use to travel to different CDI premieres. She did interviews and highlighted co-stars and leading ladies. She reviewed films and really did many great and wonderful things. Her health, hasn’t allowed her to keep up with the webpage and it went down several years ago. I will check in on Pepper, over the holidays. I hope she has been doing well.
Once SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA, is finished, we will be all caught up on production. We have been slowly prepping 4 films in the CDI library, for re-release with BMG. In 2023, we hope to bring KNIGHT CHILLS, FIGURE IN THE FOREST, AN ORDINARY KILLER and GHOST TOWN to the marketplace. Two are in the wrong aspect ratio and were shot in standard def so they’re all being digitally enhanced to HD. I will readdress all this once I get this current film locked.
But, I will say- I’ve seen the first draft of the new uprezed trailer for Ghost Town, and it looks beautiful. I need to watch and provide some notes. We are also working to get distributor back ups of all the films. KNIGHT CHILLS, we are trying to get the best source version. But this will get done. We are also working on a few cool extras, maybe even an interview from our director Katie Hicks. I might do a sit down, with Jeff Kennedy, to talk about those days. The sequel and video game became even more exciting, when I got to check out some of the new software and LED walls. Not only, will CDI keep working to enhance of VFX sequences in our films, we will be doing some films that are completely animated films. I have a few people in Michigan, I’ve been watching, about some possible collaborations. Ideas-forming.
Harsens Island Revenge – Get those acting reels together. Yes. CDI is an acting troupe of actor/producers, but we have several friends of the tribe, that we often collaborate with. Like, many projects, we have many more friends of the tribe, vs roles open in a film. But, we have some time, so we’re going to really use the time to cast, and look at talent for future endeavors. I use to travel to more film gatherings, events, networking. Oh, I feel a ramble coming on…
The truth is, with how busy my film work is, my daily hours are pretty full. I unwind, mediate, visualize, the week ahead. Refuel, relax and get good rest (Three R’s) to attack it all again the next day. Staying out late partying, isn’t really on my planner. Now, let me say for the record, I’ve certainly been there, done that and got that tee-shirt, but I’m at a different place on the path. I have a domestic life, that brings me peace and balance. It allows me to better focus my energies, achieving dreams. But, just like at one time, I knew every bar in my town, now, I do not. I was a work-a-holic, binge drinker, in my youth. The binge drinking (Viking drinking) was taught to me, from those glorious nights out, after games in Hornbaek, Denmark, playing soccer as a teen. What a great time that was for three summers. I love those good folks to this day.
Okay, back at it. So, I had unrealistic dreams (Acting) but, once I set my sights, there was no plan B. I worked, and lived in studios, we made our hours, working for days on end. Sometimes forced to using TV stations in the middle of the night to finish films. Often jumping on a jet planes, with my amigos, to go pitch ideas and finished films, around Hollywood for a couple weeks. Days full of 405 driving to meetings, parties in the hills. Hard partying, after, hard work, to try and turn our obsession off. But, the tequila would often just spur even more exciting dreams and ideas. I LOVE those days. The CDI crew was like pirates, we rolled hard, building. But, the journey will burn some out. I’ve seen so very many break, and fall. If I could have made myself fall into regular steady employment, I would have long ago. But, my simple mantra of putting everything into the film I’m working on, so it results in one more opportunity to tell a story, remains. So far, that has worked. I think because, there are so many stories, in every town, in danger of fading away, gone. But, a group of artists like CDI, can bring a story to life, for generations. That is what we do. That is what we are doing.
And back to development- this week saw a few really great steps. The script for Harsens Island Revenge (HIR) is going through that writer/director phase. Each character, action and line, discussed. I can say, every scene improved through long conversations. Motivations. Moments. I love this process with directors. All directors who have directed a script I wrote, have been through this process. It is fun, playful and enjoyable. We got through another 25 pages in a session and have likely 1-2 more sessions to get all the way through. Once the script is locked, the writer part of me steps back. All work from there will be between actors and director. But once you leave the director at the end of the process, they should have a deep understanding. It is an exploring, something even more important with period pieces.
HIR, will start looking at cast and crew, with our director, over the winter. We have a good idea of the look, tone, work flow and our scout trip has us all very excited. So, wrap up your year by getting your highlight reels together. CDI is mostly all actors, so pick and lead with your strongest material. If something is subpar consider leaving it off. Less can be more. At the same time, if someone is interested, they will watch a lot of your work. Especially if they are thinking of working with you.
SPIRIT LAKE MASSACRE – After nearly two full days of polishing, I ended my week, with my first draft of the new Spirit Lake Massacre. I’m very proud of the final piece. I’m going to do even more research to add a sprinkling more of the historical gems, to this already powerful piece. In December, I’ll be able to have some more discussions on the locations for this 2024 project. Next year, might consist of some construction, and some prep work.
CDI HOLIDAY WATCHING – With snow and cold, forcing many inside- it’s a good time to watch some of the CDI classics with your family and loved ones. WILD FAITH, MANS BEST FRIEND, LOST HEART, THE QUEST TRILOGY! Encourage TV, Tubi, Amazon Prime, Google Play– check your platforms. I’m going to go do some holiday shopping both online and at the store. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving week. I’m always happy when I get to see family and friends. We are all thankful at CDI, to all of you fans.
Coffee Cheers!
DJ
SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA, Updates and More-
Hazelnut coffee cheers. Welcome new readers from Spain, Portugal, Philippines and more. We are into November and we had a run of warm above average days. But now, the cold winds have started to blow. We are due to see snow today so I’ll be getting the wood stove in the fort going. I spent some time chopping some wood this past week getting ready for these cold days ahead. We’re also entering the Christmas season, so I’ve been looking at a few love gifts here and there. Thanksgiving is not far away, but with our family stretched, it can be a task aligning schedules. Also with the Algona, Silent Night in Algona, premiere, lots of time being taken the planning. I want to again say, thank you, to all our veterans. CDI has a good reputation for tackling stories with soldiers at the heart of it. Take a watch on them, and let us know your thoughts.
TOP SEVEN UPDATES:
- This week started off with a ZOOM meeting with our partners in Iowa, helping to set up the premiere and theatrical showing in Algona and beyond for SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA. We are working hard on credits but some of those will be spelled wrong if your handwriting is poor. There is no changes once it is all locked up. But between us all, we should get our premiere night list pretty close. If we do miss anyone or you don’t qualify, they will have public showings starting that night Dec 9th at Fridley. I thought we were running two weeks and I also heard someone was told one week. The truth is that as long as a demand is there the supply will keep flowing. So don’t wait, really hit that first week playing at the theatre. I heard companies planning to buy blocks of tickets for employees. We had schools do that for WILD FAITH, taking middle school history classes. That would be a good idea here also. The film is not yet rated but would be PG. 2 hour and 20 min runtime. While not one of these Marvel four hour marathons, it is a full story that moves right along with the pacing. The new trailer was released and my home video meetings for next year went very well. The release plan is to play in several cities on the big screen after Algona, Iowa. If you want it to play in your neck of the woods, contact your theatre and request it. After that we’re working to set up the Michigan and midwest showings that will run into 2023. Discussions for a German showing is also underway. The final run will be the home video build towards Christmas 2023 for DVD and streaming. This week we’ll be watching a mostly complete film with several VFX scenes dropped in. EXCITING!
- Harsens Island Revenge, is in pre-production with our first step being the polishing of the script by the writer (me) and the director. Our director has asked to not PR anything yet as he is working to finish up a previous pair of features and we’re trying to stay focused on locking the script. We are 1/4 of the way through and should be close to finishing this week after another fun day of working the script. A few super sleuths have been digging, but we will not do things out of order, so early inquiry’s become just a distraction. Every move, is discussed in our development meetings. Once we have a locked script, and announce our director, many more people will get to see the script. Casting will be over the winter and crew talks will begin first of the year. We will film in Oct/Nov 2023, but this is another period piece that requires much advance planning. Our scouting trip was extremely helpful and this will be another great story featuring a piece of Michigan history.
- Speaking on development, I was engaged to research and write another epic historical that takes place in the 1800’s, SPIRIT LAKE MASSACRE. At the end of the week, I finished my first draft. I now need to get in there and smooth and expand certain scenes. I plan to have a few meetings at the end of the year on this powerful story again taken from true events.
- The previous releases this year BESTSELLER, BEST YEARS GONE, SMOKE & MIRRORS and FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH, have been finding their audiences. We have a few more reviews coming on these films. I love all the good folks who have reached out about enjoying the films. If you’ve watched any of them, please go to their IMDB or Amazon pages and leave your thoughts.
- I’ve been slowly, pulling elements together for some of the films in the CDI library, being prepped to release back into the marketplace. GHOST TOWN, KNIGHT CHILLS, AN ORDINARY KILLER and FIGURE IN THE FOREST, we’ll see how many we can get out next year. Also, THE PATCHWORK GIRL OF OZ, CDI’s first feature length animated effort, is being rendered to HD for an upcoming release. I would love to do more animated projects and we have several things in development.
- We’re prepping to do an end-of-the-year dispersement on the films before I start 2022 business taxes with our team. Associate Producer, John Mashni, who helps oversee this process, also will play a large part in areas of CDI moving forward. One area is soundtracks. I would love to have a few LP’s manufactured and of course streaming. What soundtracks would you want? I’m thinking an LP with the best of The Quest Trilogy. Have you seen the trilogy of biblical adventures? FORTY NIGHTS, CHASING THE STAR, THE CHRIST SLAYER, are all available to watch on various platforms but Encourage TV is free with ads. The 1st film just passed 2 million views on Encourage TV, so thank you!
- LOST HEART, also released as BIGFOOT, UFOS and JESUS, is gaining strength. The film is approaching its first million views on Encourage TV. I think after the holiday season, we’ll exceed that milestone. On a personal level, I will look to cut an actors reel from my ‘Niles Cass’ footage. I loved working with everyone on that film, but especially loved Ponceman, Josh Perry. He is pure magic in the film.
The end of the year will be full as you can see. I sill look forward to some celebratory family time. The next couple years is being planned. Discussions on a few projects to add to the slate are underway. We will only consider funded projects at this time, but the tribe gets it done. If my polish on the scripts goes well, I’ll focus on a few other screenplays I’ve been working in my down time.
Acting has been part of conversations as of late. I had such a busy year, business-wise, I turned down two roles this year. I do enjoy the no stress of going and acting on someone else’s story. I don’t take a role just to take it, it must ring true. I will say the one role I have lined up for 2023, in Harsens Island Revenge is a good role. It is not the starring role but it is solid, a good role for me to play while producing. I’ve thought of looking at representation again, but getting someone up to speed is always a task. We’ll see, things are moving forward and I’m just gonna roll with it.
I guess I’ll wrap it up here. The LIONS play again soon and let’s hope they have a good game. My alumni MSU has been playing better so maybe a bowl game awaits. I’m looking forward to the World Cup starting this month. I’ve been healing up well from my soccer season and soon might start some indoor training. I hope all of you have a great Sunday! I’ll talk at you next week and we’ll share some new updates.
Coffee Cheers!
DJ
SNEAK PEEK B4 PR RELEASE- Official Pre-Production, Updates (Silent Night in Algona) and more…
Spain, Ireland, Iraq are where some of our readers hail from. Hazelnut coffee cheers from chilly Michigan. Fall is in full effect and I’ve been working to get the property ready for winter. I’ve been using the wood stove for meetings already so chopping and cutting wood has been a priority. I’ve been trimming the mulberry trees which grew out of control. Last night I used the smoker and cooked venison steak and acorn squash. The steaks were awesome and there is much left over which will be used for steak and eggs and/or venison steak chili. The egg production has slowed but not stopped as the weather has gotten colder. I had the pleasure of watching my niece and nephew play another soccer match together. They are getting the basics of the game down and it is fun to watch them. I will likely do one final mow of the yard once the leaves all fall. They are still hanging on and many changing into beautiful colors. I truly do love this time of year. My alumni MSU is having a hard go of it this year in football. Let’s see how the Detroit Lions do this week. Okay, onto some film updates.
FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH – We had a most excellent premiere showing in the NCG theatre in Owosso, MI. After was a great fall afterglow at Romas. Excellent pizza and hard cider were on deck. Some pictures were taken and everyone really seems to have loved the film. It played awesome on the big screen. 10/4/22 is the date when home video could start releasing. The DVD pre-sale site for 11/1/22 is up on Amazon but we are waiting for the streaming rent/buy link to go live. Several DVD pre-sale sites are popping up at many other record/DVD shops, just search “For the Love of Catch” and “DVD” and BAM! If you had a chance to watch the film at the premiere feel free to post a review on the http://www.imdb.com (For the Love of Catch). Hoopla which is the national library system for streaming films is carrying the documentary. We have been waiting, not-so-patiently for the Amazon release.
Another great update is that we met the other day about what will be next for the FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH, and I think we have a great idea for the next documentary film. I’ll be gathering a few choice sponsors over the winter and we’ll plan to shoot in the Spring. Who knows, documentary might not be the only thing we are planning. Stay tune and definitely check out the film when time allows. You will not be disappointed. Educational and entertaining to be sure.
SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA – One more film to release this year. Our WW2 Christmas film is now in music and sound design. The color grading is complete and the VFX are still be worked on. We’ll see a hint of that VFX work in the new theatrical trailer, being edited. We’ve been working on setting up the premiere in Algona, Iowa, the 2nd weekend in December. We plan to have a special premiere screening in Owosso, MI again at the NCG Owosso. Likely another afterglow although not on a patio, a tad cold by that time. The Iowa showing will have the theatrical run starting there immediately after the premiere. We plan to meet and greet folks at the VFW and share in their excitement.
I plan to start looking at a few event showings for the film. A few select festivals, but some might not like that we’ve played, or we are playing in theaters. I really want to see it play in Germany. We’ve been having the German dialog translated for the subtitles. I got some of the best news possible by the older German folks helping with this task. The thing is that for many Germans, that time period is not something they enjoy watching. Over and over they’ve been painted as all being Nazi’s which is not true. This film doesn’t sugarcoat anything but it also gives a fresh and new perspective. But the film brought tears to our translator and that speaks volumes about the story we have.
We’ve been in the studio enjoying the new sound design and music which just takes everything to another level. It is truly amazing that we took history and we truly bring it to life. In mid November our editor/VFX supervisor will be coming into Michigan to work with our team in assembling the final film. We will book into as many film theaters that will have us and once we ride that into 2023, as we said prior, we’ve play a few festivals. After that, it’s the big run up to the home video 2023 release. A truly powerful film that will likely become a classic.
WILD FAITH – Speaking of classics in the making. We’ll be announcing a new benchmark with our family classic Wild Faith. In 2020 we tried to work with the distributor to add up/estimate the number of views (minus broadcast TV which is in full swing). They estimated 20 million views, with the distributors Encourage TV having about 4 million views itself. Well that number now is 6 million views! So just that one platform has been getting about 1 million views a year. If all these platforms increased we could be looking at 40 million plus. We will continue to try and put the pieces in play for the WILD FAITH: Hastings TV series, but we’ve got several projects lining up in front of us.
THE QUEST TRILOGY (Forty Nights, Chasing the Star, The Christ Slayer) – Speaking of classics in the making. Starting Nov 1st we’ll be pushing this amazing series of films. The three films have been growing year by year increasing their audience. They are not preachy and just try to give a unique perspective to events often described in a few short sentences. They are inspirational and uplifting and provoke us to deep thought and contemplation. For many the watching of the three films has become a tradition. Make it one of yours.
This is also down syndrome month and I’m so proud of my brother from another mother Josh Perry. You can see him in THE CHRIST SLAYER where he is absolutely a gem. And as if he couldn’t get any better, BAM! LOST HEART also known as BIGFOOT, UFOS AND JESUS really showcases the comedic talents of Josh Perry. If you have a child with Down syndrome I would advise watching these films. I’ve seen the look in the eyes of a young child with DS admiring Josh and his work. You can see the mental limitations melt away and that is a beautiful thing.
Thank you to the fans of MBF: Man’s Best Friend who have made their love of this film known. To answer a common question I get- Will there be a sequel to MBF? First, I’ll say with how we left Paul, he’s just doing his time and it is not on the books. I’ve only played one character twice and that was JESUS in Forty Nights and The Christ Slayer. But, I will say that a rough treatment for a sequel does exist. Currently, I have my hands full with writing endeavors and CDI is about to officially announce the pre-production of our next feature film.
Here is the advance promo teaser for CDI’s next feature film. Adapted by your’s truly from another truly special book by Karl Manke. We will be releasing this pic and PR about the new project. Our team is location scouting this next coming weekend. I just might have some great pics to share next Sunday. I won’t write too much here and just leave it as a tease since we have PR releasing this week.
SPIRIT LAKE MASSACRE – This is the powerful story I’ve been researching and putting into script form. I’m well into the first act of this story and I’m very happy with how it’s flowing. A few scenes so powerful, I had to walk away for a bit after writing it. I’ll be looking to have a teaser poster created for this project so I have a battle flag of sorts. It is just such an honor to be able to save this event in history and ultimately bring it back to life on the screen. I’ll be done with a first draft in a few weeks. I’m just really enjoying the journey.
WRAP UP – I hope you all continue to enjoy the fall season. We’ve had several folks respond to the CDI treat, not a trick- of the full short SMOKE & MIRRORS, being gifted to all of you. Take a watch and let us know your thoughts. It will be a great feature film in the future.
I’m going to go do a few things around the yard. We are planning to attend a flea market. Watch the Lions battle. Maybe some more writing on Spirit Lake Massacre and a locations list for Harsens Island Revenge. It’s the full moon so watch out:) I’ll chat with you all next week. Until, be good to one another.
Coffee Cheers!
DJ
Fall Welcome! Gifts, Premieres, Development Updates – the Art of Visualization
I’m sipping on the hazelnut coffee on this chilly Michigan morning. Thank you to all our international friends stopping by to join us. The journey of an artist is not always easy but it is fulfilling for the heart. I had many great meetings this past week. Things have been so busy I’ve been purposely trying to stagger some of the PR announcements.
SMOKE & MIRRORS – As a gift to our #TribeCDI loyal we’ve released our short film to kick off the fall season. If you like old creepy houses, seances and ghosts – this might be of interest. It is a free watch and will also allow you to subscribe and also watch some of the other CDI behind the scenes, teasers, trailers, interviews and other fun stuff. Read about it and watch free here – https://www.prlog.org/12933702-collective-development-inc-gifts-smoke-mirrors-to-open-the-fallhalloween-season.html?fbclid=IwAR1lkaiYFTtMYzztYdZcrSABPo7QSgy9OILLH3h1w5ihU1iDn2ctPJaGFCs
You can go to the http://www.imdb.com page for this film and leave us your thoughts. We will turn it into a feature one of these winters.
PREMIERE!
CDI’s 4th release of the year is upon us with our feature length documentary film, FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH. It is playing two shows one night only at the Owosso, NCG theatre at 6pm and 8:15pm with an afterglow at Romas restaurant next door, following the 6pm show. It will release to home video via Deskpop Entertainment on 10/4/2022 on Amazon Prime and several other streaming platforms.
This is in director/host Curran Jacobs home town of Owosso, MI and we’ll be there to meet and greet. After I would advise adding this DVD to your collection. Also feel free to go to the http://www.imdb.com page and leave your thoughts.
SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA – We’ve been working hard to set up the premiere and following theatrical runs starting in December. We are going to have the first showing in Algona and have been working to land the right place. The local theaters would be the best showing and we’re working on that avenue after the largest seating venue was shown to be lacking in the proper equipment to screen it. We want to have a nice night for those involved and after the general public will start getting their first look.
Music and sound design is fully engaged and this week will be checking on the German subtext and VFX progress. A theatrical trailer is being worked on and should be complete mid October in time to start playing some theaters and to screen at AFM in November. So many things to pull together and luckily we have great help and support from our friends in Iowa. COMING SOON!
HARSENS ISLAND REVENGE – This is the film that I delayed PR on but you’ll get your fill soon enough. We’re meeting weekly on this next film shooting in Fall 2023. We’re planning some scouting trips and we’ll be sitting down with various keys in the coming months. It is nice to have this extra time to plan and we’ll be using it. The roaring 20’s in Michigan is about to get the CDI treatment.
SPIRIT LAKE MASSACRE – Included in the forthcoming PR is the announcement of my new script assignment. This story again focuses on a real event in 1800’s Iowa history. FADE IN – the script is underway and I’ll be completed by the years end. I’ll have a first draft before that but I like to really polish a story up. This is looking to film likely in 2023/2024 timeframe after the filming of Harsens mentioned above.
As the cold settles in, more film watching will happen. As the holiday season looms more CDI films will expand into new networks. The Quest Trilogy, MBF, Lost Heart, Wild Faith and now Bestseller, Best Years Gone…how many have you seen? A favorite? How many times have you watched it? Thank you for all the fan mail. Keep it coming. We love to hear from you, the audiences.
I can say with CDI taking a break from production to get all these films released proper – I am missing in front of the camera. Doing a few days or a week here or there might be fun but the role has to connect. I turned down a few roles this year. It is important that I connect with the character and I want the quality of the project to be there. So, my energy will be focused on finishing, pre-production, development and screenwriting. But it does have me thinking on agents and managers. I’ve had several over the years from the top agencies to the smaller boutique agency. Results and understanding you as an artists makes all the difference. We’ll see said the wise man.
I did have a good talk last week that could have me helping to produce a few new music videos. We had a few that we did this year (Vertical Bridge – Off to the Races & Deepfall – Revolution) check them out on Youtube! I still want to explore releasing LP albums on some of the soundtracks. I just bought another one yesterday at a sale – CASINO ROYALE (James Bond).
Visualization – I meditate and practice visualization of goals or guidance. One of the fun things I collect is HAI KARATE aftershave and such from the 70’s. It is what Gil Gilles splashes on his face before trying to get his Sylvia back in BEST YEARS GONE. Anyway, I’m at an estate sale where I like to seek props. I came up from a basement that was like a time capsule. I ‘felt’ something and was drawn to the back of the house. There in a bath was a brand new Hai Karate 3 piece gift pack! I need to visualize on something greater perhaps but what JOY I had. I love to visualize with fire, be it a candle or a fire in the stove. Tonight. There will be fire!
Another HUGE update was dear friend Dane who took a day and helped install a new bath floor, toilet and vanity with new sink and fixtures. We were about to do all this when Covid hit and we started to try our luck but…electricity and water are two things I don’t like to mess with. One day with a Shepherds Pie lunch and that bath got done. A foresee a little something extra special for Dane this year at Christmastime. Here is my public thanks to Dane. We all have skills and handyman is not my strongest.
I’ve got some business underway in Yuma, AZ area as the first of the CDI library is being prepped for 2023 release. Ghost Town, is being digitally enhanced and we’re prepping for a very special release with Deskpop Entertainment in the near future. But we also had several conversations about some collaborative projects to shoot once again in AZ.
Knight Chills is the other film about to be digitally enhanced for a special Blu-ray release and a streaming release again with Desktop Entertainment. FIGURE IN THE FOREST and AN ORDINARY KILLER will be on the list to enhance and re-release to new audiences.
There you have it. Some of the weeks best updates. I’m excited by the week ahead. My alumni MSU made a poor showing yesterday in football. My hope is the LIONS can pull another win today. Some more great meetings this week including friend/co-star Taylor Nichols. Come Sat of next week I’ll be watching FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH on the big screen followed by a tall Killian’s Red. But for now, coffee cheers! I’m going to get a refill and get some things done on this wonderful Sunday.
Until next week, be good to one another.
DJ
Premieres, Casting, Birthdays and More…
Good afternoon! I’m sitting here about to watch our Lions play football while filling all of you fine people in on the new develops. Last night we watched my alumni school Michigan State University fall short against Washington. Man, they had a hot quarterback who had his career best game. I hope todays outcome with the Lions is better.
FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH is having its premiere at the NCG Theaters in Owosso, MI on October 1st at 6pm ands 8:15pm with an afterglow that will likely be at Romas next door. This awesome project started with discussions around the table about the fighting arts and our director Curran Jacobs competitive runs both in MMA and twice capturing Catch-Can World Championships. What is Catch Can you say? That is why you need to watch and find out the common ancestry of many of the arts. You’ll learn about legends by legends of the grappling arts themselves. I’ll be attending with several of the CDI tribe to support the launch. If you want top see this on the big screen and meet the filmmakers, please do join us. Tickets will go on sale soon at the NCG Owosso. If you are unable to attend, the film will stream on Amazon Prime and likely Google Play, iTunes and more. CHECK IT OUT! Let us know your thoughts on our http://www.imdb.com page – See you there.
SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA – Following the 4th release this year (For the Love of Catch) our WW2 Christmas film will premiere. The film is coming along great. We watched the second half of the film with the cleaned up dialog and the start of sound design. Music is going to start this week and that is one of my favorite parts of the process. The new theatrical trailer will start this week also. The premiere set up in Algona is coming together. They are limited in the area for places to show several hundred people at once. The one place that does seat a sizable number is lacking the right projection and audio equipment. The theatrical run will happen very soon after the Iowa premiere. We’ll be having a Michigan premiere also – we’ll focus on that once we get the Algona one finalized. It is all very exciting!
TOP TEN UPDATES
- A PR release will be going out about the slate of historic films CDI is involved with. Silent Night in Algona isn’t our first period film by any means but it will start a string of productions taking place at different times in our history. HARSENS ISLAND REVENGE is up next for CDI in 2023 taking audiences to the roaring 20’s smack dab in the middle of the prohibition. We’ve already started breaking in down and we’re starting select talks in advance of meeting with our keys. We’ll be posting casting notices later this year. It is a very cool time period to bring to the screen. I enjoyed adapting this script from the book of the same name.
- I’ve started writing on SPIRIT LAKE MASSACRE, which tells of the true events surrounding on-going conflict between the Iowa pioneers and the local Native Americans. I love writing in the 1800’s and I’m approaching this project with great reverence like all my stories. Between now and Christmas I’ll be writing this powerful drama. I LOVE this time period and couldn’t think of a better fall/winter project.
- SMOKE & MIRRORS, is our short concept film derived from the feature script. I think our plan is to put this up on CDI’s Youtube site for free as a thank you to all our fans. We’re looking at the autumn equinox Sept 22nd as a possible release date. It is so much fun and it shows how fun the feature can/will be. SPOOKY FUN
- BESTSELLER and BEST YEARS GONE going to Roku and Tubi has already increased the fan response. DOUBLE FEATURE! Enjoy! And thank you for all the great comments.
- I did a great interview with Bay Ragni last week talking all the films – please do take a watch/listen – https://youtu.be/GS7kg9Nf6fo
- The season of THE QUEST TRILOGY (Forty Nights, Chasing the Star and The Christ Slayer) lie just ahead. We’re soon to be celebrating one of the platforms Encourage TV racking up 2 million views.
- We are starting to put things in order for a special release of Ghost Town next year with Desktop Entertainment. The film is being digitally enhanced and we’ve got some fun things planned for the new release. Filmed at the world famous Ghost Town in the Sky.
- I need to circle back and see how progress is coming on the digital enhancement of KNIGHT CHILLS which will have a special Blu Ray and first streaming release in 2023. The video game is moving slowly but it’s moving. With all the 3D printers I need to see if I can do a 3D print of Sir Kallio from the video game.
- I’m happy to report that on the home front I was able to harvest all the hops. We also just brought in all the squash although a few got taken by the squirrels. I trimmed up the apple trees and have started in on the mulberry trees. I also got after some logs with the axe and my hammer/blade set up. What’s that, you say? It’s a large iron ring that surrounds a wide blade. You but a log down inside the ring on the blade and hammer it down like THOR! Let’s just say, I got one hell of a workout. My hammer and axe skills are better because of it.
- Last week we had a pair of birthdays we celebrated, Dennis Therrian and Melissa Anschutz who share a birthday. Fun note: Shane Hagedorn and Anthony Hornus share a birthday also. I had a few close childhood friends (Q, Big J) get a bit older. We are busy and that’s how we persist to push forward but we do take the time to enjoy the journey. Laughter is healing and health is wealth!
I’m going to work in the yard some more once the Lions finish their game, which so far they’re ahead 15-0. Go LIONS! I’m going to re-organize, re-charge and re-focus so we can have another great week ahead. We have some great meetings this week and I’m looking forward to a few scouting trips. I also know a few folks out there going through some hard times. We all take turns dealing with the hardships of life. So try to have more patience in dealing with people in your day to day. If you’re not dealing with anything heavy at this time be grateful. Pay attention to driving NOT your phone. I’ve seen way too many people way distracted. It totaled a neighbors vehicle but luckily did not badly injure or kill him. Leave earlier or arrive late but no need to push it. It can have bad repercussions. Okay. Enough warnings and sounding old- get off my lawn! Talk with you all next week.
DJ
NEW Nominations- Updates, Advice and Observations
Hazelnut coffee cheers! I want to once again welcome all our readers worldwide to our short visit. I’ve had numerous business endeavors underway. What I’m facing is one of the most busy release seasons CDI has had in a while. So far this year we’ve seen the home video release of BESTSELLER (NEW review here – https://www.joblo.com/bestseller-review/), BEST YEARS GONE, about to play another event in Cleveland Ohio next weekend. The event is the 27th Indie Gathering International Film Festival and our film is an award winner. We’ve also been nominated for BEST ACTOR (your’s truly) and BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY (Travis Hayward).
Last weekend our concept short SMOKE & MIRRORS played the Motor City Nightmares in Novi, Michigan. The feature-length doc FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH will premiere October 1st in Owosso, MI likely at the NCG theatre before the wide Oct 4th home video release to DVD and streaming. Our WW2 Christmas drama, SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA just moved into music and sound design. We’re working towards a December 10th premiere in Algona, Iowa followed by a midwest theatrical run. Several of these will have members of our team in attendance and we still might be announcing a few more events. All these positive things pose issues with shooting a fall film.
With five films rolling out and there is a lot of work between all these releases. The question is pertaining to our upcoming slate of films. I’m mostly talking the development of HOT ROD LOVE. We’re still in talks about major locations and we still have investors to bring on-board. We’ve got set time-lines to meet with all these tasks in order to film this year. The issue is that next year might be already full of projects, but HOT ROD LOVE could possibly move to the other side of winter. I’m ready and wanting to film but we’ve got so much business around these film roll outs. It might be better to focus on the releases first and start clean in the near year. Our producers will have some important decisions to make in the coming weeks but it’s all good. But these are the things I deal with. My personal goals usually take a back seat to the TribeCDI needs, and I don’t mind. We’re seeing the success of the other CDI films, as our audience circles grow. I’m excited about the future of all these projects and proud of the artists and supporters who made them happen.
THOUGHTS/ADVICE – At least twice in my film news watching, I saw posts that I almost commented on but I don’t engage on walls. Sometimes, I’ll direct message but I don’t ever post to get attention save purposeful PR posts. I’ve seen people take film jobs only to complain about them on social media. Often broadcasting blunders like being late or just complaining in general with some weak justification. This doesn’t encourage hiring or rehiring. I get it. Movies are hard to make. Our journey is not for everyone. On the indie level where many of us live and create, it can be even harder. If you find yourself overly unhappy in filmmaking, consider something else.
Paying your dues is real. I’ve seen discouraged actors unhappy with paying their dues, threaten to quit. People often will rush to try and support them, but the truth is many who get ahead do so on persistence where others fall. Success is often built upon other people failing and quitting. The “Oregon Trail” of actors and filmmakers. Climbing atop the bodies of the fallen to get higher. Every major acting hub has the “actors ghettos” where failed birds of a feather flock together to complain about their stagnation and set backs. Usually they have many other people and things to blame. While I have talent, I also earned, often via sacrifice, the ability to develop my talents. I’ve outworked many people and continue to do so today. I tip my hat to the others also fighting for their art but the harsh truth is, if you don’t have persistence, you will likely fail. Success in this business needs a severe dedication and that is not for everyone.
Lot’s of interviews, reviews and PR releases ahead on the slew of projects coming to or now in the marketplace. If you have any of these podcasts, fanzines and whatnot and wish to interview any of our folks reach out. If you’ve streamed and seen any of the films please do review on the film’s IMDB.com page or the platform page like Amazon Prime. We’ve got a few cool ones lined up and I’m sure we’ll do more. Maybe even a few more fun video PR releases like we did with BEST YEARS GONE. Next up will be several of the CDI team going to Ohio next weekend. I will note that I’m looking forward to seeing ASH & BONE written by Bret Miller (Chasing the Star) and produced by a product outfit outta Detroit led by Harley Wallen. I’ve had the pleasure of sitting down with him on a few occasions and I look forward to celebrating with him and his team. Erika Hoveland, co-stars in both the films and so that has to be exciting for her. ASH & BONE, plays shortly after our own film and it’s great to have two Michigan film companies represented. Their projects keep getting stronger, much like our own, because they keep earning the opportunity to grow. Did I mention persistence? It is key. We’ll be celebrating soon. My team is on me about savoring and enjoying the wins. To stop always jumping right back into the TO DO and take a few moments to appreciate the HAVE DONE’S. They are right and I will work to get better at it. I also don’t always like the spotlight only on me. I know that the direction, my co-stars, the camera work, the music and the value of having flowing coffee on cold nights- all played into me being able to BECOME the role. But I am appreciative and I’ll take the time to soak in it for a few moments. We all have things to work on.
MORE MISC UPDATES & BIZ
I’m about to start work on book 8 of an audio book series this week. That is always fun because it’s just me and my coffee. After last weeks soccer match win our team has one more game before playoffs. We earned our solid 2nd place and we hope to make it to the finals and beat the one team who has beat us twice. Our chickens are doing great. The garden plants have taken off. The hops are massive this year. I might try to finally bottle the FRANKENBERRY wine just in time for fall. I also have everything for a new beer run- yes I make beer and wine.
I’m looking to seal up some paperwork on another script writing/producing project very soon. Maybe even this week but these things often happen in their own time not our desired time. But I’ve been gathering research material in prep of this next writing endeavor. I’m very excited about the subject matter but will wait until the ink is dry to talk about it.
I’ve also been prepping some of the past CDI films for streaming and home video release next year with our friends at BMG/Deskpop Entertainment. That is always a task when added onto all the other things we’ve got in motion. But it will all get done. We chip away. We take a few more steps. Success is a process. And with that final nugget of wisdom, I’m going to say goodbye until next week. I will be getting back to Michigan late on Sunday next week so I’ll be posting next week on MONDAY. I’ll be reporting fresh from the Ohio Indie Gathering, which will be fun. I have a memorial today for a friend who passed and after I will be spending time with some family and friends. Appreciate your family and friends and live each day as full as you can. Until next week, coffee cheers!
DJ
Home Video Release Dates, Festival Premieres and More…
Hello my friends. I’m writing a bulk of this the night prior due to an out of town family breakfast. The picture up top is from SMOKE & MIRRORS. It is a fun steampunk, Houdini-inspired short film taken from a feature script. It reunited director Nathaniel Nose and Director of Photography Jesse Aragon from ‘The Christ Slayer, ‘ shot in Yuma, AZ. This upcoming weekend Sat 30th, it will play as part of a block of shorts (Will start 5pm or shortly after) at the MotorCity Nightmares convention in Novi. It is a cool film and gives a wonderful preview of what the feature film will be like.
SPEEDING into lap 3 (week 3) and BEST YEARS GONE seems to be picking up speed. Today was yet another great character interview featuring the one and only Melissa Anschutz. She is talking ‘Mandy,’ and her experience in filming. If you liked her sass in “Lost Heart” you will definitely enjoy Mandy’s um… toughness.
Join us on Facebook and watch all the interviews – here’s Melissa
https://www.facebook.com/Bestyearsgonemovie/videos/3373143639674946
Alright – more updates…it has been a busy week.
FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH – we are still hoping for the Toronto Film Festival premiere. But while we wait I can tell you that a hometown showing in Owosso, MI is in discussion after the Toronto dates. But for those who won’t be able to attend our handful of event showings we have good news. Deskpop Entertainment has confirmed that the Transactional VOD (buy/rent digital) date is Oct 4th, 2022 on Amazon Prime and many major platforms that we’ll announce in the coming weeks. Ad-based VOD starts Jan, 02, 2023 which is like Tubi and other watch free with ads. I need to circle back about DVD’s and see what the plan is there. But, very soon the world will see an entertaining and highly informative documentary featuring true pioneers, diverse, but united in their love of the art of PUT UP or SHUT up. The fragmented history of grappling is pieced back together and will be used to preserve the tradition and history for generations to come. I am very proud of this project. Poster art for the release is also starting to be discussed.
BESTSELLER – Join us at the Facebook site – this film holds a special place for anyone who has written and worked the steep slope of mainstream submissions and literary agents. That is the only hint I will give but it blurs the lines between protagonist and antagonist. This is a watch a night film, enjoy. Amazon Prime easiest place to watch but several are out there.
https://www.facebook.com/BESTSELLERTHEMOVIE
If you watched the film leave a review at http://www.imdb.com page or the platform (Example: Amazon)
MAN’S BEST FRIEND and WILD FAITH have been adding new platforms such as PeacockTV. I’ve had questions on sequels to both films. Speaking of MBF I think I will be seeing the one and only Austin Two Feathers. He played my cell mate Buddy. He’s a brilliant actor and a great friend. WILD FAITH will likely experience a sequel as a TV series, WILD FAITH: Hastings. We’ve had some initial interest and are in talks on how all the pieces would work.
SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA – The film is looking so incredible. I’ve been working to digest everything after watching the director/editor cut of the film. After very few notes, we’re soon to head into a final polish before we have a picture lock. What this means is that the timeline of edited scenes is locked so that music and sound design can begin. Color correction can begin but we might wait until the VFX scenes are complete. My exact words were, “I’m impressed, but not surprised” -upon watching the film cut. The dedication that went into every performance and crew best effort could be seen on screen. I felt on the edge of emotion in several places (Bohdi) and laughed often, but beyond that, I saw real history being passed down, recorded within a story.
As the screenwriter it was one experience – the pride of capturing this town’s wonderful event. Also enlightening Americans and Germans alike to the history of the PW’s in the heartlands. As a producer, you work with your team tirelessly. Most times, cast and crew busy capturing the onset magic don’t know of the problems solved, nor should they. Distractions equal time wasted and when fighting for daylight- giddy up. Listen, our CDI crews from what I see, are proud of our stories. They’re proud to have participated in that particular adventure in storytelling. Our artists work hard, mentally too because we’re often creating other time periods. You have to be part historian not just an artist. As an actor, I saw my dad, in my role. My hair is now longer and my face shaggy, so the clean-cut, example-setter for the PW camp, Col Lodell, was quite shocking to me onscreen. But EVERYONE really brought their characters to life on-screen. I love watching actors soar. They need a strong script, good set environment and they need equally dedicated and passionate artists to live the scenes with.
The crafting of the scenes is where Nathaniel Nose and Tony Hornus get all kinds of credit. The story is moving, powerful in its exploring of emotions from the perspective of the town, the guards, the PW’s and the Tietz family. I WISH Rance Howard could have been here to see this film done. Heck. He never saw the final THE CHRIST SLAYER. But what I always felt was a powerful story, a strong script – well executed under harsh conditions by an incredible crew. Daniel Chipman, gave us some amazing images, capturing those powerful performances. I will say that when I watched it, I was again proud that we’re going to release another CDI film with a lot of heart, truth and beautiful style befitting the times presented. We are looking at a December 10th theatrical premiere in Algona, Iowa. We’re working to extend the run at that chain and others across Iowa for the weeks that follow. We’ll likely do a theatrical run in Michigan also and beyond that we’ll have to see. It will play theatrical and festival for a few months into 2023 and we’ll start to prep it for a Christmas 2023 home video run up. Which usually means Nov 1st as soon as those ghosts and goblins kick off. I’m so tempted to share the official theatrical poster now but that will come this week with a press release. I’m going to call it good perhaps having missed an update or two. Today following last nights storm and no morning power put me behind. But have have a great week and we’ll have more to talk about next week.
Coffee Cheers!
DJ
Whirlwind of Activity- Ride the Synergy
Hello friends,
It’s the beautiful eve of July 9th and it has been a busy yet enjoyable week. We launched right off July 4th, into the July 5th home video launch of BEST YEARS GONE. It is making its way into living rooms across the country. I’ve had people send pics of their DVD either purchased online or I’m told certain Walmarts. Like the cool ones:) I really enjoyed hearing the laughter in the showings of the theatrical run. It is why we charted a course with another comedy HOT ROD LOVE, gunning to film this fall. If you take a watch and have yourself a few good laughs, leave us an amazon or imdb.com review. I enjoyed some many aspects of this film and I truly did a few firsts in this film. You will have to watch to find out.
Via some little promo videos we’ve gotten to know some of the cast and their characters. So far we’ve gotten to watch Dean Teaster and Erika Hoveland.
(Dean Teaster)
https://www.imdb.com/video/vi2597044761/?ref_=ttvi_vi_imdb_2
(Erika Hoveland)
https://www.imdb.com/video/vi2731393561/?ref_=ttvi_vi_imdb_1
This week I think we’ll be seeing the twins and others talking about their experience. So to all those taking their watch this first weekend, thank you.
I’m trying to make arrangements to break away Saturday for a few hours to come tour the convention and watch the festival premiere of SMOKE & MIRRORS. (Sat. July 30th) I’ve never been to the festival, this will be my first. I’ve heard good things about it over the years. I’m actually going to return to my revamp of the feature script after we shot the short concept film. I love how it came out and really painted a stronger visual in my head for the new version of the script.
I’m happy to say that my previous writing project is complete. I’m so excited about CDI telling that story next year. It’s called HARSENS ISLAND REVENGE, and it will have CDI storytelling in the roaring 20’s. We have some advance location scouting underway but this will just be some early development work. I have had the pleasure of living in my imagination in the post WW1 world for several weeks. Again, a great time period for the CDI artists to story tell within.
Currently, our WW2 Christmas story SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA, is marching towards a locked picture. We’re close to a director/editor cut review. Any suggestions will be made and a final edit pass will be made before we lock it up. From there it will be to Dennis Therrian and post production work. He’s already playing with arrangements and building his sound FX library. A new poster version is almost complete and discussions on the theatrical trailer have begun. We released a cool video last week of the model building. We’ll be showing more of the VFX work in the weeks to come.
BESTSELLER, our mystery thriller, released May 31st – I’ve had some fans of the film comment on the “masterful mood” that it invokes and the “unexpected intensity” on display. I don’t want to give anything away on this one but if you like the hair-tingling, heart-thumping, edge-of-your-seat movie rides, this might be for you.
I’ve had a noticeable amount of fan mail increase on MAN’S BEST FRIEND and WILD FAITH, telling me the NBC Peacock Streaming crowd have joined the viewing audience. It’s an honor and we do hope their audiences will get to watch more TribeCDI films. To answer a few questions I received-
“Yes. I was a martial artist before I was a professional actor. That scene in MBF was a thrill, to finally showcase some fighting arts. The actors I worked opposite off did a great job. I’m proud of that scene. ” (Man’s Best Friend)
“No I’m not a method actor to the point that ‘Ben Lily’ actually manitou’d in his buckskins. Note: In the film, Ben, is an idiot, and isn’t using the word ‘manitou’ properly. (Wild Faith)
THE QUEST TRILOGY – I’m excited to be working on a new way to present the trilogy during the holidays. Having someone intro each of the films and talk a little about each one. I also had a good development talk with one of our past backers and they want to reengage on some additional biblical stories. I have a few great one’s on deck- another trilogy perhaps?:)
LOST HEART – One of our co-stars in this movie got complimented strongly by their peers while at a signing convention. By peers I mean, other legends. It was nice to hear that they really enjoyed it. That’s how our circle usually gets larger because friends of friends, become fans the stories and want to explore participation if a certain story calls for it. We are working on some new marketing angles for this film and its alter ego, BIGFOOT, UFOS and JESUS.
MISC THOUGHTS/UPDATES-
I made some progress in pulling deliverables for a slate of films from the CDI vaults that will be making its way out via Deskpop Entertainment and BMG. I also have been exploring some additional business in audio books having enjoyed the process on the series of audio books by author/musician Ronnie Lee.
For the Love of Catch – we’re still waiting to hear from the targeted festival, Toronto. We are also awaiting home video release dates from Deskpop Entertainment. I’m waiting word on several endeavors and we’re all excited but trying to have patience. It can be hard, but just like the long anticipated releases, the day will come.
We had the week off from soccer for the holiday week. We’ve been having berry explosion here in the yard. That means fresh berries on everything and I eat 60-100 mulberries a day off the trees. We have wild squash and pumpkins from the garden days growing strong. My hops are growing mighty – just a great year for all the plants! The chickens have been roaming again now that the bird flu subsided. They LOVE the mulberries. But so does the wild birds, squirrels and everything else. Blueberries are new this year as it takes a few years for them to start kicking fruit.
I’ve been putting this together tonight because tomorrow is a full day with a morning flea market and my dad’s bday dinner later in the day. (It was on the 8th) But, I’ve enjoyed the vibe of this cool summer night catching up with all of you. I hope you have a productive week. I have several meetings as per normal, but will also be attending the 4H auction where we get our pork for the year. I hope you’re all having a good balance in your day to day of fun and productive. Life is about the journey, not just the destination. Thank you to everyone who has been reaching out. I appreciate you all. Have a great night. A peaceful Sunday and a week of achieving goals.
Coffee Cheers, (In the morning)
DJ
The Loss of a Lansing, MI Artist plus Updates on “Silent Night in Algona” and all the CDI Projects.
This morning as I awoke and looked out the window I half expected to see a witch flying on her bike or a flying cow. Okay those are old references to the Wizard of Oz and Twister. I heard Iowa got a few bad tornadoes. The world watches on the Ukraine invasion by Russia. Battle on the soccer grid, at the Olympics or even the boardrooms of business, but why an invasion? This feels like more of Putin’s war versus a Russian war. But I do think that Putin did unite most of the world against him. It is nice to see our government born from a similar desire to have and maintain freedom, be reminded. You want to think our leader(s) would be in the trenches fighting any US invaders but would they? Or would they jet to one of the isolated US territories? I sincerely wish this conflict to be resolved quickly but I don’t know. But if a friendly country asked for help in protecting their airspace after a country has already declared themselves at war due to the sanctions, sounds reasonable. As for the rattling of sabres over nuclear weapons, not reasonable. Radioactivity goes into air, water, food and few creatures can survive in that toxic environment. I’m going to hope that the internal government in Russia finally has enough of Putin trying to capture some last glory and ends it. Let’s all hope peace comes soon.
FILM UPDATES:
SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA
Our WW2 Christmas drama is in post-production with a first cut of the film due this month. From there our director and editor will work to chisel out the best performances and scenes. In Canada model building is underway and soon we’ll have our story. But instead of just giving you an update I’m going to give it to you right from the – editor’s mouth. Nathaniel Nose had this to say about the footage being cut together.
“The raw footage always tells the story of not just the script, but also what happened on set. This set had a group of passionate people. Both the performers and the crew clearly cared a great deal about the film they were making. The most enjoyable projects to edit are the ones where passion, decency and goodness went into the production. It is evident in the footage that the people who made this film embraced those virtues.” – N. Nose
Many of you watched the BTS video and now we’re starting work on the first official teaser trailer. Still photos continue to roll out and showcasing the beautiful work but our camera, grip and electric team.
BEST YEARS GONE – Our next to market film is being presented this month to licensing platforms around the world. We’re awaiting word on a few festivals selected to possible showcase our fun film. I’m excited to see the film start appearing in advance marketing. June is when the DVD and digital purchase happens. Sept 1 will be digital streaming and broadcast TV. I hope that folks really enjoy this film we labored to make during the Covid crisis between the two Michigan lockdowns.
BESTSELLER – Some may recall that CDI stepped in to reboot/reshoot the thriller based on the book of the same name by Michigan author Christopher Knight. I’m happy that now the film is getting a full worldwide release with Deskpop Entertainment. This film will also do a digital release Sept 1st along with Best Years Gone.
FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH, our feature length doc on the history of grappling is completing distribution paperwork and we’ll start delivery of it this week to Deskpop Entertainment, releasing it worldwide. We’re also exploring a Las Vegas World Premiere likely in July/August timeframe.
Staying with the topic of Deskpop Entertainment we’re looking at deals to release AN ORDINARY KILLER, a former Vietnam vet turned detective works to solver a small town murder. This film is based on the true story which was one of the longest cold case files solved by DNA. This film’s management is being transferred to the Red, White & Blue Project Inc. so that more veteran needs can be met. This amazing non-profit previously documented the plight of the Afghanistan children in OUTSIDE THE WIRE: The Forgotten Children of Afghanistan. We plan to remaster the doc and re-release it. Also it looks like KNIGHT CHILLS, FIGURE IN THE FOREST and GHOST TOWN will get converted to HD for re-release. We’ll take the steps one at a time. All of this takes work and it is very satisfying to see these titles get a second or in some cases third life.
For the Easter season I would ask all the fans to watch our three biblical adventures, Forty Nights, Chasing the Star and The Christ Slayer. Help make these three films part of your traditional family watch. I received word one of our fine actors passed away.
Also new promotion on WILD FAITH as we make a push to launch the 8 show season one of WILD FAITH: Hastings. LOST HEART and MAN’S BEST FRIEND are building their worldwide audiences and I am thankful for all the nice notes from fans.
WRAP UP:
I want to thank everyone for all the kind words on the passing of Daphne, our 14 year old doggie. Finn our little boy has always had his sister. He also has dealt with anxiety and fear issues (big trucks, fireworks) but has gotten steadily better. He was not doing great alone and was taking a few steps back. Well, we have a new loving member to our family pack Luna Mae. This beautiful girl had a few bad hands dealt in her life but now is settling in nicely. She had to learn some of Finn’s quirks but is helping to balance him out. She is very easy going and loves her new house and yard. She also loves hanging at the office with her new daddy.
We spent all yesterday putting outdoor Christmas stuff away and cleaning up the yard. We have a good ways to go with all that but we got a nice start on it. Last week we had some great meetings with several of the CDI Tribe. Much discussion in on our newly announced film HOT ROD LOVE. We’ve started investor and sponsor talks and are excited to pull this all together. This film will be 70’s summertime fun and already we’re getting some great attachments to the project. Reach out if you want to be involved on the business front. We’ve started to reach out to a few agencies on our Native American casting needs. A great piece of Michigan history plays into our story.
I also want to take a moment to recognize a very special father and son filmmaker team (Michael & William “Pops” McCallum, from my home town of Lansing, Michigan. Sadly, Michael lost his father. I’m not close with Michael, but I do admire his drive, tenacity and his past relationship with his dad. In our one sit-down years ago I stated that the films he made with his father will always be special. I think many of us artists who have locked horns with our parents admire/envy this relationship they had. So to my fellow Lansing artist Michael – my thoughts are with you. RIP to your Pops. And Michael, keep on being you with all your fire and passion. Your dad is surely very proud of you. From reading your story, your Pops had a heavenly reunion or two in the making with some very special people. He left you with all the tools you need to be the best you. With that I’m going to go make some eggs, bacon and refill the ye ole’ coffee cup. Have a great week ahead and be good to one another.
DJ
Getting After That ‘TO DO’ in 2022!
We have all made that move into 2022 and for most of us it means just wanting the new year to be a bit smoother than the previous. This new world of social distancing and masks comes on top a world that was already distancing via technology. I see more young people who’s interactions are on headsets only or choosing to shotgun social media posts versus socializing in person with friends. With only so many hours in the day and days in the week social media has allowed some people to stay in touch that normally would not have that option. Also for the elderly and those lacking mobility it can help make them feel connected to the world. I had a fan club for many years ran by a kind woman “Pepper” in a wheelchair. But she also got out and about as she often appeared at premieres. She became fans of many of the fine actors in our troupe and loved to do interviews and reviews. After a while she was given the VIP treatment at CDI events. To be fair I have to say that she was first the Terence Knox fan club president. I went off topic a tad but I think what I was trying to say was that while technology can make many things easier it can also rob you of some in-person interaction. I’m happy that while we still use technology we also make the time to meet around the table. Many great things have been hatched first as ideas and later as operations around the table. So in the new year don’t let technology steal all your personal interactions. Spend time with and appreciate one another. Even with the amount of face-to-face meetings I have I still miss many people. During the 1st Covid lockdown I got in the habit of picking up the phone everyday and calling someone to catch up. Daily laughter really helped the situation.
2021 set many good things in motion. Seeds were planted and in 2022 we harvest. A lot of casting and development work finally allowed us to film our WW2 home front Christmas drama, SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA in November 2021. It is now in post, our editor just finished marrying the audio and visual together. Model building in Canada is also underway and just as a nice tease here is a text I got from our editor on Friday –
“Been through all the footage now. Really good performances…excited and this weekend we’re going to really get going.” – N. Nose
And we are going – strong. We’ve been rolling still photos out and we’re about to get a Behind the scenes video with Adam Towner. Following that we’ll be cutting our first teaser trailer. We are all very excited about this film and so stay up to date on all the developments.
Just prior to the Algona shoot we finished, premiered and have done a few regional theatrical runs with BEST YEARS GONE. This film was really amazing to watch play in the theaters. So much laughter and you could feel the room when the drama hit. When I was going to do that film and play the Gil role many questioned if you could sell him a protagonist. Like you’ve heard – we are all the protagonist of our own life drama. Even the bad guy or antagonist often looks at themselves as the hero. Either way with the good direction by Shane Hagedorn and the amazing cast, it all works. I’m awaiting the streets days for release from our distributor and want these dates before we do a PR release. But I do have the DVD/streaming poster art to share.
I hope that during this cold months whereas people turn to the storyTV to help pass the time – you will sit a spell and watch a few tribe CDI projects. The Quest Trilogy (Forty Nights, Chasing the Star and The Christ Slayer) have been getting a nice push over the holidays. I did my traditional watch and I really enjoyed it. It is an amazing amount of work in three feature films. The Yuma DESERT stripes. WILD FAITH continues to do very well climbing to almost 5.5 million on Encourage TV and countless millions worldwide.
These numbers are helping our endeavors to launch the TV spin off. WILD FAITH: Hastings will be launching a development FB site for fans to follow the development from an official source. I will say with our new pitch deck things are looking good. I’ve had several good talks with interested parties but it is about creative control. If you want to repeat success you can’t change too much. I will say that fans of the film will be fans of the TV series. The same magic is there. We will know in a few months if that series will go this year or have to be pushed into 2023. If that happens a second feature film will go up in the 2nd half 2022. We plan to shoot a funny, cool “1975 American Graffiti” in the Spring in Michigan. The name of the film is…we have a logo title being worked on so you’ll have to wait. Also we are in active development on the 1st CDI animated feature. This is another extremely exciting project for me and something we’ll talk about more as it comes together.
Goals for 2022 – Stay Healthy. Stay and Promote Happiness. Create meaningful art
This morning started with a wonderful breakfast sandwich thanks to our hens. The hazelnut coffee is still hot and I’m gonna go get a refill. I need to look at fixing a few of the axes. We had a day of wood chopping on a very cold day and we loosened a few axe heads and splintered a hickory handle. So repair and replacements are needed. I’m going to do some screenplay writing while watching the LIONS. It’s their last game of the season and I hope we get a win. I hope everyone has a good week ahead. I’m just trying to leave 2022 closer to the present. It is hard to try and look ahead too far with so many uncertainties looming. But at the same time it’s my job to try and look ahead. I’ve found a good balance of not focusing too much on what I cannot control. Have faith. Having faith in your path can also give you comfort. I feel like I’m doing what I was suppose to do and that is a blessing.
Have a great week!
DJ
NEW YEAR 2022 In Focus
I’m sipping my hazelnut coffee and also working with a Santa gift which happen to be reading glasses with blue-blocker to reduce eye strain. I think my eyes get a little worse on me every few years but these glasses seem to really help. I can’t attest to long-term. Since the Christmas week of activities we’ve gotten a nice white snowstorm. Our New Year’s Eve included an Uber-cozy eve with a sip at Midnight but bed shortly after that. I did not enter 2022 with any hangover or dehydration. I’m not into the dance party thing unless you count my listening/air MC at home to Beastie Boys or Public Enemy. I recently was in Iowa with a circus full of people and so I’ve enjoyed the slower, quieter pace of getting things done. 2021 had myself and CDI being very productive and we’re looking to do more of the same in 2022. I have to note turning on the TV and seeing Darby Hinton in a Christmas Hallmark film something with mistletoe in the title. Back to our updates:)
In retrospect and in no order some of the good, bad and ugly of 2021. The first is the sad loss of many good friends and family during the past year. That is something that I hope we don’t heavily repeat. And 2021 went out with the passing of Betty White at 99. I love all the fan flair especially the one claiming she sacrificed herself taking 2021 with her. She reminds me a bit of Rance Howard (RIP friend/costar) who worked right up until he died. Same with Bill McKinney and many more artists I’m sure. Age will continue to give you a unique perspective through your entire journey. But growing old can be a privilege.
SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA – Filming this safely in 2021 was a major highlight. This highly ambitious home front drama was many years in the making. It is in the wonderfully creative hands of our editor and I’m excited to see the scenes come together. I’ve almost got the business all caught up and we’ll be putting some advance promo together. From there we’ll enter into some additional marketing/product talks with some of our sponsors and those coming on board. In Canada we have model building underway. I’m just so happy that we have all these puzzle pieces and can start to assemble. It is going to be amazing since all the artists gave everything they had. We’ve been releasing stills on our Facebook page so follow along.
BEST YEARS GONE (BYG) – This breath of fresh air which we filmed between the 1st and 2nd Covid lockdown of 2020. Shane Hagedorn and I shared a motto to have fun while filming. Everyone had been kept uncertain and in self-isolation and smiles and laughter were much needed. This film might be just what many people need. The humorous abilities of the CDI Tribe can be seen in several CDI films including strong moments in WILD FAITH and LOST HEART but BYG really takes it to another level. Adapted by yours truly from the book HOPE FROM HEAVEN by Karl Manke. http://www.karlmanke.com if you want to explore his works. I think another collaboration is on the horizon but right now we are discussing which book to bring to the screen. Any favorites? Lastly, I’m hearing that the film has been chosen as a participant in a London-based festival. That PR will be forthcoming once I get more info from our director Mr. Hagedorn.
Speaking of films that sprang from books – BESTSELLER is finally getting a home video release this year. The book written by Christopher Knight is a twisted tale of a tormented literary agent played by Melissa Anschutz. CDI was the producing entity and I’m happy that our existing relationship could give this film the deserved send off. In May the film will be ready for home video audiences and will widen the release in September likely to hit the prime October window for thrillers. This film is beautifully shot and showcases Michigan’s beauty. I’m excited to see new poster art and trailer for the home video release. I would love to turn another Chris Knight story into a film. We shall see…rumor is he also writes under another name also…
BEST YEARS GONE and BESTSELLER are not the only films rolling out in 2022. SMOKE & MIRRORS short just had a final tweak and is being prepped for a few fun festivals. The CDI/Red, White and Blue Project documentary film FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH just finished last week. Directed by Curran Jacobs, edited by Adam Towner, mostly shot by DP Dan Chipman – this feature length doc is being hailed as the best of its kind by wrestling historians. I’m proud to have been involved producing on this wonderful piece of history that was in danger of fading, lost to the past. That will not be the case after this film. Thank you to all the interview participates who made this work so special. We cannot wait to show the world this entertaining and informative film. We are looking at doing another documentary film in 2022 stay tune.
BIGFOOT, UFO’S & JESUS – Our inspirational film has found a great main stream audience under the alternate title by which LOST HEART appears on some platforms. Here is the amazing Josh Perry inviting you to watch. If you did not you should. Click below to watch on FB – I hope my linking here works.
WRAP UP
2021 had us filming music videos, releasing into theaters, traveling to Algona, Iowa and more. As noted earlier some friends and family like CDI’s Pappy won’t be traveling with us anymore. They are RIP and not dealing with the waves of life. These deaths, like the childhood neighbor remind us of the precious value of time. Spend time in good company and working towards goals that mean something to you. Life is short so commit to making steps towards whatever your creative endeavor is.
If you want to hear about our new year development we discuss that quite a bit in the previous few blogs. I want to film WILD FAITH: HASTINGS and while this endeavor is mighty we’ve been chopping away at it. Giddy up. A new CDI animated feature, a new dramedy, sequels and more in development as we enter this new year. I need to look over the CDI website and see where that needs to be updated. I want to once over the FB pages and see where I can enhance. End-of-year taxes for the projects is at hand but I have the best team ever for all that. I will spend the month also finishing the script I’m working on now. I’m in talks with a few projects to script write in Feb which is when we’ll also pull the business together on the first spring CDI film. I’m here in the 2022 and ready to march so put down the Christmas cookies and party hats it’s time to get after it.
Have a great first week of 2022!
DJ
Tis the Season: surviving, striving, thriving and creating
Welcome new readers from Bulgaria, Netherlands and more. Our viewership has been growing in great numbers. Thank you to all the new people stopping in to visit. I’m sipping the hazelnut coffee and reflecting on a busy week. Maybe 2022 will be the year of the coffee sponsor. Maybe I’ll start a coffee review section? My thoughts are with all those dealing with the terrible tornado damage in the South. We had high winds in Michigan but it seems once again the surrounding Great Lakes helped us to avoid any major storms. I’m under a week before our first Christmas gathering and a week after that is Christmas Eve/day. I’ve loved having the Christmas tree and the festival vibe about as I tried to play catch up from our SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA (SNIA) film shoot. Let’s talk about that-
SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA–
I’ve almost got everything caught up on this project. Final catering, port-a-johns and more – the budget dwindles but as we move towards zero the film will get closer to being complete. The drive has arrived to our editor and the supply check for the model building was also sent off. Our VFX team from THE CHRIST SLAYER (part 3 of The Quest Trilogy) will bring some exciting work to our feature. Once we get past the clean up phase from principal photography we’ll move into promotion. Our DP Dan Chipman is color correcting the first batch of photos. I’ve only released one still previously featuring one of our amazing period vehicles at one of our amazing locations. It was the car driving down the “tunnel of trees” so here is that same picture now color corrected. We also have a logo that will adorn the upcoming stills. Here is an example of a color corrected still from the actual film.
As we move down the road of post production we plan to start releasing stills and also will work on both a BTS (beyond the scenes) video and a teaser trailer. This year we’ll continue to have some great announcements for all of you.
In the meantime enjoy the Christmas season. Recently Melissa Anschutz and I did a promo for our distributor’s EncourageTV that allows people to watch our films for free whereas we get paid by ads. So if you don’t mind the ads take a watch for free. Click below to see the ad and please do help make The Quest Trilogy a holiday tradition. All three tell a greater story and I hope your families enjoy the experience watching FORTY NIGHTS, CHASING THE STAR and THE CHRIST SLAYER. If you watch/subscribe to ENCOURAGETV please do travel over to the film pages on http://www.imdb.com vote and leave us your thoughts on the trilogy.
https://www.facebook.com/BMGEncourageTV/videos/230655172526254
Once you watch the trilogy feel free to watch the other CDI films including our recent LOST HEART or BIGFOOT, UFO’S and JESUS which is really doing well for us.
BEST YEARS GONE and BESTSELLER will both be getting a home video launch in the near year. Shane Hagedorn our BYG director has been selecting a few comedy festivals to submit us. The thriller BESTSELLER had a theatrical premiere run but now will see a new campaign push from our distributors general audience label DESKPOP ENTERTAINMENT. I should have those dates soon plus we’ll be releasing the new DVD/Poster art for BYG. More on these dates very soon and we might have word on a few other CDI films getting a new push. Some have never really enjoyed a streaming release. So in our last meeting with our distributor we discussed several of these titles. What ones would you love to see come back strong to the marketplace?
2022 LOOKING AHEAD
So I’ve spent some good time contemplating, meditating and focusing on the future CDI endeavors. We are planning a Spring feature to shoot in the March/April timeframe. I’m not yet ready to talk about the project but this one would be a Michigan shoot. I’ve also been working on the rewrite of the OF SMOKE & MIRRORS the feature length version of SMOKE & MIRRORS. This cool turn of the century short assembled from a commercial project will get some festival release in 2022. I would like to shoot the feature at the end of 2022 or early 2023 pending our schedule. In that back half of the year we’re working hard to launch the WILD FAITH: Hastings TV series. It would bring 8 more ongoing stories of some of the endearing characters audiences met in the feature. Tens of millions of fans can’t be wrong. I just need to make the best deal for the project. Saying yes to something that ultimately could hurt the story is not what we want to do. How many Michigan, 1800’s expert executives are there in Hollywood? Exactly my point. Script notes should come from a sincere place not just someone trying to contribute. Sometimes the best thing you can do is NOT contribute. Anyway, we have some great meetings ahead on this TV series.
We’ll be watching the surround sound mixed version of FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH very soon. It has been getting the clean up and mix treatment from our post audio master Tricky T also known as Dennis Therrian. We are looking at doing another documentary film in 2022 as well as a CDI animated feature film. Overall 2022 will be a busy year as is every year. This year has been a year of wins and losses. Several of the losses come from friends and loved ones no longer with us, no longer to struggle in the world. Our time here is beautiful, wonderful and it moves at a good clip. It all makes me more determined and appreciative of my path. I love being an artist and storyteller. I feel as I will continue to do so until I become the sad news, no longer surviving, striving, thriving and creating. Keep doing you and never give up your dreams. With hardworking, patience and persistence you will make your mark.
Coffee Cheers!
DJ
Kung Fu, Respect and Loyalty. The Tribe Looks Ahead to 2022!
I’m sitting and sipping hazelnut coffee while admiring the Christmas tree from last week’s harvest. I just realized when cleaning out my email messages that I missed a Christmas event/party I had planned to attend. DOH! I’m finally well-rested and attacking my TO DO’s with strength. It took a good part of a week to get caught up on my rest. I got most of the production totes stored and everyday we work hard to tie up the production loose ends from our previous SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA (SNIA) film shoot. This week will also be full but I hope to get some more winterizing done. Several things in the yard need to get put away for winter. One of the nice refreshing things from last week was spending an afternoon with my dad and meeting my cousin for lunch. We meet so that I can pick up venison which is one of the main meats I eat. I actually made some venison steak chili yesterday that turned out great. My cousin and his boys are avid hunters. I enjoy nature and have hunted but I don’t find enjoyment in it. It is a very lean meat and healthy, something that the midwest hunters have enjoyed forever.
As we finish all the wrap up business on SNIA we’re prepping for post. One of the production drives have landed with the editor. We have established a production flow between editor and director. Our DP is doing a first batch of stills to help establish the color palette. He’ll be working with our director and editor in finding certain shots. Meanwhile a few VFX pick ups need to be looked at for a really cool sequence in the film. Dennis Therrian is being prepped on the film as he’ll be doing our sound design and composing our film’s score. Some VFX model work will begin soon in Canada with one of our amazing artists. Anyway the course for the film is being set and I’m excited for everyone to start looking at it.
At CDI we’ve been looking ahead to the future. I’ve been working on the next script for ‘OF SMOKE & MIRRORS‘ my working title on the reworking of the feature script. A short film SMOKE & MIRRORS was finished just as we started filming SNIA. A wonderful commercial piece that we used to do a proof of concept short. I think it does just that- gives a great look at what the full feature will be like. Nathaniel Nose directed the short and he is who we’re eyeing for the feature. The script is the key to everything. This will be a late 2022 or early 2023 shoot from my best estimates.
WILD FAITH: HASTINGS – For those who have seen the feature film “Wild Faith” you’ve been treated to a story for the whole family. Inspirational without preachy just good lessons from a more simple time. Now we have the first season (8 shows) ready to film. It will be part of several talks I will have in the coming weeks. The key with this is CREATIVE CONTROL. We are being selective at how we finance this property so we don’t have strings that will hamper the integrity of it. It will happen and our perfect timeline would be the second half of 2022.
The Spring is always an exciting time coming out of winter. We’ll be doing a feature or two this first half of 2022. We’ve been doing a heavy evaluation of properties and some of these will be included in my distribution talks ahead. But I really think I’ve landed on the right property. It will showcase all your favorite CDI troupe in a great story.
As a side note – this previous news made me think of a recent discussion. The story/script is the most important part of the process. For many filmmakers this is just an afterthought. We need a script and some actors and we’ll get to shoot all this cool stuff. CDI evolved in part because of how poor the scripts/stories were out there. I say this 100% from an actors perspective. That is why I’m always floored by the actors who will emotionally commit before reading a script/story. Anyone can be excited from a good pitch but having that translated to a tightly woven script is another thing. I know many actors who only read their parts and that too is having ‘blinders’ on. I also have told actor friends that you can glean information about their characters sometimes from what other characters say about them. EXAMPLE: You might find out your character has a wife, children or a pet from other character’s dialog. Perhaps gossip reveals that a character previously worked construction before their white collar job, all in the script. The whole story needs to be absorbed from the outside and the inside- internally and externally.
So perhaps a good rule of thumb is A) Evaluate content fully, quietly B) Don’t sign on to anything without reading the entire story and vet the production’s reputation C) Once attached learn the entire story before focusing on just your role’s world/words – important information might exist within the script.
Just my two cents from my experiences. There is a great word EXPERIENCE.
The great GOOD, BAD and UGLY as I like to call it. The goal is to take this accumulated knowledge (Remember Bruce Lee’s – the best way to learn a technique is to get hit by it) EXPERIENCE and translate it and apply it to your situations allowing it to become WISDOM. Now I’ve had my fill over the recent years from some individuals severely lacking experience in certain areas. Yet that want to present from a point of assured confidence that dances in arrogance. Arrogance usually follows someone who has experienced and learned a little yet thinks it gives them license to talk down to someone. A teacher who forgets that he is also a student will be humbled.
From my associates in business I get many complaints about the youth in several areas. (never their use of technology) But I always point out that most of us who have found some success have done so with the assistance of good mentors. For some that starts with a father but not for everyone. It is those special people who come in your life and help shape you. I have had a handful of these people and I’m happy that I recognized by lack and their gain. I emptied my cup and showed patience, listening and learning. I am fond of the old KUNG FU (David Carradine classic) TV show where all the boys have gathered at the Shaolin Temple. They wait and are being watched. Each day they are asked to go home and as time advances and patience is lost – most leave. In the rain those few who remained seem to have the potential for sincere growth. They are invited into the hospitality chamber and served tea. The unmindful who gives into their urges and drinks immediately are asked to “please go home” – shocked the few get up to leave. One is stopped – “Not you, please sit.” When asked why he did not drink he responds that he was respecting the opportunity. He was waiting to drink- being mindful and appreciative of being there. My soccer player/coach, martial arts lifelong student and teacher and a camp counselor all influence how I live. To the frustrated elders know you can influence and guide the youth. To the youth, empty your cup of your perceived absolutes and learn. The journey is a two way street and the glue that binds it all together is RESPECT and LOYALTY. The latter cannot be taught save by example. Those few who observed loyalty and the benefits of the practice and decide to give in to this practice. It is hard for many to give up selfish ambitions mixed with a lack of patience – it often leads to isolation, frustration and hardship that lasts until mindsets change.
“Getting deep, Shaolin Monks, kung fu and drinking cups…What? What?” – Gil Gilles
BEST YEARS GONE has recently finished a second run in Lansing, MI over the Thanksgiving week. We might explore a Detroit area and Grand Rapids showing. Also we’re exploring a few key festivals mainly based on places we would like to visit. I’m in hopes that after my next conversation with our distributor that I’ll have some updated info on our home video release. I’m glad that the films are being met with enjoyment and laughs. I loved one review that likened it to STEP BROTHERS and JOE DIRT which I love Step Brothers but Joe…okay I see it:)
THE QUEST TRILOGY (Forty Nights, Chasing the Star, The Christ Slayer)- is now in season with the passing of Thanksgiving. Our distributor BMG wanted myself and Melissa Anschutz to do a promo inviting folks to subscribe to Encourage TV and watch. We were going to use a few places in Algona, Iowa as the back drop when filming but got too busy. We were going to shoot something at the office by the wood stove but decided we might save that for WILD FAITH promo. We shot in front of the Christmas tree, 3 takes- all funny and DONE. While doing some work last week I did play Forty Nights in the background. It was fun to watch and recall all the shooting we did in the deserts outside Yuma, AZ. Take a watch on all three and make it part of your holiday tradition.
I could rattle on about watching all the CDI films…but I’m sure you will get there in your own time as the nights grow longer and the outside colder. A good night to light a candle or fire and watch a good story unfold. I’ve got some yard clean up and some holiday shopping to do so I’m gonna wrap this up here. It was a pleasure to spend this time with you. Until next week. Be good to one another.
DJ
10 Awesome #TRIBECDI Updates to Kick Off Autumn!
Good morning to all of you and I hope your foray into Fall has been great thus far. I want to welcome the new readers from Russia, Ireland, UK, China and the Philippines. Coffee (or tea) cheers to you all and thank you for stopping by. I LOVE this time of year and I’ve been beyond thrilled to work on the films as the leaves turn and fall. I’m feeling like just shotgunning out some of the updates.
- The NCG Owosso premiere showing of ‘BEST YEARS GONE‘ is over and word has it that it is coming next for a Lansing NCG premiere on Oct 16th with two shows – a 6pm and 8:15pm I believe. You heard it here first. This week an event page and some PR will begin so some of the home town folks can enjoy the film. It has been remixed from the first premiere for delivery to our distributor and for our future premieres. I got a peek at some of the DVD/release artwork our distributor is working on. I think they are planning on a Feb 2022 home video release. Until that release we’ll keep at the theatrical premieres. If you’ve seen the film feel free to visit our IMDB.com page (also has a premiere video there) and leave a few words about your favorite scenes.
- SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA – pre-production is on the final run up. With a home office I get that great privilege of a short daily commute – about 30 or so stone steps. We’ve been doing more in-depth meetings with departments making sure they have questions answered. I was happy that one of my estate sale finds – a $5 military trench coat was the correct period and matched the photo I had. The office has been reaching out and getting crew agreements in line and this week cast will follow our set “day-of-days” coming from the AD department. We’ve had a few changes in cast and crew that happens when life happens. But I’m excited to see many of the Tribe and tell one last great story before we call it a year.
- WICKED SPRINGS HD release should start rolling out this month. That was an epic shoot back when we were rather young. I’m excited to see this rolling out to streaming platforms so folks can enjoy the story in HD.
- LOST HEART/BIGFOOT, UFO’s & JESUS – is starting to really pick up steam as the alternate title works into the marketplace. I had the chance to talk with many who have really enjoyed this film. The laughter and heartfelt messages play well with audiences and that is why we do it. This is true for MAN’S BEST FRIEND which again brought questions of a sequel which I’m not ruling out but it’s not on deck at this time. I was made aware of it playing on various TV stations like Charge TV. WILD FAITH just broke the 5-million views mark on Encourage TV and I’ll be taking more meetings on season 1 of the TV spin off. THE QUEST TRILOGY (Forty Nights, Chasing the Star, The Christ Slayer) is about ready to start its run once the ghosts and ghouls have their Halloween.
- As we follow the tradition of setting up new campaign runs for older films in the CDI library like BESTSELLER and THE PATCHWORK GIRL OF OZ will be getting 2022 release dates soon. We just got everything submitted for one and the other is in the works. We are working to get several more prepped to release. Our distributor now has a general market label which is opening many doors of opportunity.
- SMOKE & MIRRORS our concept short is done. I was exploring how to help the location house with our film. We will look at some festivals also just for fun. The feature script is being retooled and will be great as an extended story.
- FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH – the first in a series of CDI in association with The Red, White & Blue Project Inc. documentary films. The locked cut is about done and so we’re going to master record the narration and do a once over mix/check at the studio with Dennis Therrian to prep the film for delivery. This brand we’ve created has a lot of growth possibilities. We also might look at a December premiere release likely at the NCG Owosso. Why? Curran Jacobs our director/host is from Owosso, MI. A lot of creative individuals from that area.
- I’ve had my second business opportunity in the past two months approach me over screenwriting. When I write to assign to one of our productions I work discounted knowing that the film employs many of our artists. I also produce and often act so there is much more involvement. On these “work-for-hire” projects I’m raising rates and even doing something like a writer/option whereas the script is written for X amount w/ a 50% copyright hold until the script is financed and the balance paid in return for the remaining 50% copyright. So they end up with complete ownership and have to go less deep financially to be able to shop. I still try to work under the minimums suggested by the WGA which I’m not part of by choice, and my cost of living can handle this. That again is what I love about Michigan. You could have a small crap box in LA or a country kingdom in Michigan for the same price. Part of the secret of productivity is being somewhere you like and that gives you peace between your often hectic dealings. I will pick up where we left off on negotiations this week and what is meant to be will be. But I do enjoy all the new writing opportunities. I am still looking at possible representation for the writing and still might try something out for the foreign market.
- As we discuss writing, one of my loves, I must mention a new book coming out. A few years back when WILD FAITH was moving and grooving in the theaters across several states, an author/book running that writes under Callie Smith Grant saw our film. She enjoyed the story/script and that led to an offer to submit stories. That has led to my participation in several of these books. This is the most recent one. Pre-order/order here – https://www.amazon.com/Dog-Who-Came-Christmas-Stories/dp/0800741250 a great Christmas gift!
- Producing, writing and preparing daily to play a new character on screen. I’m playing Lt. Col Lodell a fictional character based loosely on the actual camp commander in one major way. The ‘Golden Rule’ is the basis/foundation used during the operation of the PW camp. This character fit so perfect when I cracked the script back open to look at it. It feels close to where I’m at in my life with setting an example is the easiest way to inspire. Words can be wasted be the speaker or the listener if no action follows it. I just like to keep plugging away each and every day. I don’t feel in competition with anyone or anything. I feel like I’m just flowing like water (Thanks Bruce) doing my best each day. I’m doing the projects I’m suppose to do. So many stories to tell – I’m just very grateful to be able to. I don’t take that for granted. I try not to take any of it for granted. I’m just happy that I evolved to where I am. A place of good balance of mind, body and spirit. Learn to laugh at yourself. Forgive yourself. And wisdom that comes with ‘know thyself’…
(Above ‘Tricky T’ has been working with CDI since film #1 ‘Knight Chills’)
I’m going to wrap this up and maybe go make another cup of coffee. I’m looking forward to the week ahead. Also the old suitcase is going to have to come out. I like to slow pack over a couple weeks. I also have CDI stuff to gather also. This week we touch base with our Algona team. I’m going to go enjoy another soccer game with my niece and nephew playing. An art department meeting that I’m looking forward to. So many good developments on that front. As you study the time period some things seem very old although I’m convinced the black and white photos and footage makes it seem older. Other pictures could have been shot today. How we captured history has a lot to do with how we see it now. Just like old Civil War pictures. Once colorized – man! They really come to life. I love history and the stories that have carried down collectively to all of us. I will continue to try and put some of these wonderful stories to the medium of motion picture. Have a great week and be good to one another!
DJ
Exciting Developments – ‘Off to the Races’ Music Video – ‘Smoke & Mirrors’ & ‘Best Years Gone’ premieres, ‘Silent Night in Algona’…
I’m sitting here sipping the hazelnut coffee on this peaceful Michigan morning. I want to welcome the new readers from Italy, India, Pakistan and more. It is so nice to have an international circle of artists here. The last few weeks have been extremely productive and busy. This could not be more true of the film endeavors we’re working so hard on. Past, present and future all moving forward together. Outside of the film world we’ve been working in the yard with the chickens and the veggies and herbs. This past week I harvested the hops and we’ve been enjoying eggplant and other veggies. Today I plan on grilling up a few venison steaks after a late morning run to the flea market. I think the best way to try and organize the updates are with a bullet point list.
- Oct 12th Nationally this book above will release. I have a story in it about our boy ‘Luke’ who passed a few years ago. I love contributing to these books and if you need a good Christmas gift these books make a fine one to give. Pre-Order here http://bakerpublishinggroup.com/books/the-dog-who-came-to-christmas/401231
- The short film SMOKE & MIRRORS that will condensed from my feature script is now complete. Our producers were reviewing yesterday and it is really good. That ‘steampunk’ era 1900’s setting is so fun to play in. I’ll be looking at at screening to benefit the Dodge Turner house where we filmed. It will premiere and we plan to let you all enjoy it during the Halloween season. We are even cutting a short promo teaser but I’m very happy with our end result. It was directed and edited by Nathaniel Nose who directed ‘The Christ Slayer’ with us.
- The music video ‘Off to the Races’ by Vertical Bridge the winner of the BEST YEARS GONE battle of the bands is done. We’re deciding between two logos but the video is badass and we’re talking about releasing it this week to fuel the hype of our upcoming MICHIGAN PREMIERE! I think we’ll release the music video tomorrow and also if you attend the premiere you can see it play on the theatrical screen.
- The feature BEST YEARS GONE is complete but the last few days have been working to tweak color correction and remove digital hiccups:) The film will be rendered to a theatrical file (DCP) used by the theaters. It will also get deliver to our distributor so their marketing team can review and they can start playing their home video campaign that will have DVD/streaming release in Feb 2022. The premiere Sept 18th at the NCG theaters in Owosso, MI is next Sat with both a 6pm show that is almost full and the 8:15 show that is filling up. Both will be great to attend with photos and meet and greets plus the afterglow at Romas. We have a lot of details to attend to this week in preparation but next Sat the first audiences will meet the Gilles Boys and the madcap adventure that follows. This was adapted for the screen (by yours truly) from Karl Manke’s book ‘Hope from Heaven’ and so you might want to read the book after you take a watch.
- SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA has started assembling crew paperwork which we’ll start dispersing this week. Once our schedule lands in our lap we’ll start doing our cast agreements, travel and such. We’ll be releasing PR on a few more of the German actors plus we’ll be announcing our product partnership with two more major worldwide brands. Those brands being Hormel/Spam and Hersheys, both play into our story. Other sponsors include Smithfield Foods, Lerma Transportation, The Candleberry Company and more in process. It really is great to have these amazing brands working with us. We’re working on a teaser poster along with a hundred other small details. If you want to align your brand with our WW2 Christmas film please do reach out.
- This week I also received a script in the mail (I love that vs electronic) for a future film project to see if I want to act in it. I had a few conversations about upcoming scripts/films to write/produce and we had a good chat at week’s end over the WILD FAITH TV series “Hastings” and we’ll see where that goes.
- In active development is the new VFX division that we’re working to build so that we can enhance VFX shots in our stories and also use this entity to develop our own animated programming.
- FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH our documentary film is now in fine tuning and I think will be the first of a series of films. I had productive talks this past week about another documentary film to shoot next year that will build upon this current one. But ‘For the Love of Catch’ is more than just a documentary film it will be a brand that we can do many things with including hosting, promoting and live streaming a possible event. The possibilities are really exciting. As I said before, if you love college, professional, or any type of wrestling – you will find this doc entertaining and informative. It filled in so many gaps in my casual knowledge of the grappling arts as a martial artist myself. I think this film will become one of the pillars of the grappling and it really pulls the history together so that its not forgotten. It bypasses the typical competitive nature of the different schools and illustrates the common history they all share. And the love expressed by these instructors for their art is apparent in the heartfelt words that are spoken in each and every powerful interview.
- I need to circle around and look at the CDI Classic Double Feature with Knight Chills and From Venus. New artwork and maybe an entire new campaign that could include Knight Chills HD streaming. I see it:) Do you own the 1st DVD in the CDI Classic Collection? Heaven’s Neighbors and Figure in the Forest– which one or both might also get the HD treatment with a new campaign. We will see – I need to get a few things off my plate first.
- I’ve been having a great time immersing myself in WW2 footage and films. IN HARMS WAY with John Wayne and Kirk Douglas is one I just watched. They had access to so many military vehicles like battleships, but it is John Wayne. My short hair helped me start to see my character in the mirror. The line work has been just awesome. I love the things that are said between the lines. Yesterday was Sept 11th and the tributes brought back many feelings and visions of patriotic unity in grief. I think this script speaks in these ways by looking at the examples of the past and we can apply that to our present. I’m really looking forward to telling this story.
If you are in the Michigan area and want to attend our premiere please do attend one of the two shows and the afterglow at Romas. My schedule keeps me working and recharging more than socializing at film mixers so if you and I haven’t met – feel free to introduce yourself. Leave me with a card or whatnot so I can explore your art. I recall leaving a few past film events with a pile of scripts, headshots and VHS tapes of films and reels. Now a card with a link can do much the same thing. We are exploring additional theatrical play as the distributor preps for home video and foreign sales. So if you are unable to attend the film could play closer to your home or streaming will follow early in 2022. But, if you want to meet some of the cast, crew, band members from “Vertical Bridge” the battle of the band winners – this is the event for you!
(Above is from our Algona scout/prep trip- NOTE the cool car we will be using. One of many classic pre-1944 rides)
Okay. Flea market, lawn mow, venison grill N chill and prepare for a busy Monday! MSU had another great game and I hope our LIONS can do the same! I hope you all had a great weekend and stay safe, be kind and chase down those dreams.
Coffee cheers!
DJ
DJ Perry's Official Blog 'Clawing My Way to the Middle' 