What a beautiful Michigan morning. Woke to a local rooster calling everyone to wake up. This was followed by Luna Mae (furry daughter) wanting to go outside and eat. Chicken songs greeted us from the hens before Finn (furry son) did his racing with his neighborhood buddy Jake and ate. Now I’m here with all of you. My hazelnut coffee by my side and Man U playing soccer on the TV. We had our first outdoor soccer game winning 8-3 and it felt great to be outside playing again.
For the second weekend in a row we had a wedding to attend and it was great to be with family for such an occasion. It was an outdoor wedding and was just beautiful and the food was also very good. I had one pineapple drink of some sort and after that iced tea. It is a younger man’s game to drink like a Viking, no more hangovers for me. But I came home to some good news from the RED LETTER AWARDS and I watched some MMA fights before bed.
Let’s get into some of those updates!
The Red Letter Awards announced their full list of nominees and yours truly was added to the Best Screenplay writing. Teyton Colbert our ‘Teddy’ in Wild Faith Christmas joined Dean Teaster in the Best Supporting Actor nomination and Shane Hagedorn got a nom for Best Director. I think we have eight nominations total. We are so grateful for the film’s recognition and we hope our partners at Dreamscape Productions can get in a few more theatre runs before the 11/3/2026 streaming release.
MONDAY! MONDAY! MONDAY! For the first time ROM COMS MUST DIE is getting its first theatrical showing at the Sun Teaster in Williamston. EVERYONE is invited to this one night only showing! Box office opens at 6:30 and show starts immediately at 7:00 (pre-set) so get there and get your tickets available only at the box office for $10 cash only! Many of the cast and crew will be there!
AI JESUS: The Secret of the Kingdom Chip is almost done. Our director Tony Hornus was fighting a cold last week and so his review got pushed to this week. We also need to focus on the end credits and once finished we’ll do a producer watch and show it to Dreamscape Productions to see if they want to take on the theatrical for the film. It is funny, thought provoking and hits hard in a few spots. We will start talking premiere for this film also.
DEVIL’S PASS moved into pre-production and that means more discussions on the cast and crew. It has been a fun process working on the development on this story. We’ll be filming in September and we’re slowly putting pieces into place. I LOVE the slow process of character development be it a piece a clothing, a experimental facial hair trim or a unique tone of the voice. Find our Facebook and IMDB page and you can watch as we add cast and crew.
This month I’m prepping investor dispersement so that has taken much of my desk time but I do plan to get back and finish a couple of the scripts I have in process. If you have a budget and want a strong script feel free to reach out. I might have a script to option/sell or I might consider a work-for-hire script pending. I finished a script just recently and that was RETURN TO ALGONA a follow up to SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA. I encourage you to stream the powerful WW2 drama based on actual events. I’ve talked to a few of the returning actors about the script and they really love the story. Several parties are reviewing the script in Iowa and we hope to lock down the 2nd half of the financing soon. It would shoot in 2027.
The business plan on the film slate CDI has with Katharsys Media is being worked on and we hope to present this year for funding. We have a slate of films being proposed for shooting in Iowa also and we hope to hear something on that endeavor which includes SPIRIT LAKE MASSACRE. We are preparing to make a few pitches on a 3rd Wild faith film or the TV series. Development has to always be underway in order to keep the train a moving. Only so many years to tell so many stories.
Speaking of WILD FAITH, I know that Shane Hagedorn and director Jesse Low were doing a director’s commentary for the original film. We’ve done that for BEST YEARS GONE and plan to do that for several of the films. It is something that many people use to enjoy as a DVD extra and so we’re bringing that back for social media.
WRAP UP: I kind of delved into development in my bullet points so I’m going to skip to the wrap up. I want to send our heartfelt condolences to Shelley Perry our Wardrober on many of the CDI films who recently lost her mother. Many of us are dealing with aging parents and others have lost those loved ones. That is part of the reason that these family events have been special. Same with our CDI events being special. None of us are promised tomorrow.
I’m looking forward to the premiere on Monday and soccer on Thursday. I have meetings with John Mashni next week over the disbursements and I’m enjoying doing things around the property. I have a few serving hops plants after the building of the new deck. I built a structure the vines could climb. I might need a mow this week and not just to mulch leaves. I am going to go eat a few eggs and roll on down to the flea market. I love looking for props and wardrobe at these sales. Next Sunday I’ll be able to report on the ROM COMS MUST DIE premiere. I hope to see some of you there. Until next week- be good to one another!
Good morning and welcome to all our past readers and new readers from Italy, China, France and more. I’ve not gotten into the coffee just yet but might have to take a pause to do that. It has been a whirlwind of activity as we work to finish a few projects and start a few new ones. I have had much to ponder the last week some positive and some negative (for others). Much of it stems from communication and professionalism and timeliness. If you get an email as part of a work flow process you should confirm that the communication was received. If you receive an offer and you are busy you should touch back and let the sending party know that you are busy but can address their communication shortly or at a certain date. If anyone is offering you work even if it (schedule or rate) doesn’t meet your current expectations, politely pass. Adding attitude or commentary that is negative is also foolish as a person could ruin any future opportunities and in several circles. It’s again why we at CDI are all about development of good attitude people. Feature film isn’t for everyone and some work better in short format. Anyway we are almost all crewed up. The cast is also getting down to our last few actors. We’ve started rolling out announcements on the German actors and we’re about to go scout in Algona with our main producer team and director. Let’s do a TOP TEN updates this week.
As noted cast and crew on SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA is close to being a full boat. Also scout trip ahead next week and it will be exciting to start locking some of this in.
We had a first day of filming on the ‘Off to the Races’ music video for VERTICAL BRIDGE getting racetrack and B roll of the smoking fast cars at the track but still need to shoot the performance of the band. That is set up for later this month.
The premiere for BEST YEARS GONE is set for Sept 18th at the NCG with two shows 6pm and 8:15pm with an after party at ROMAS patio right after the first show and past the second. It will be a fun night and we’re excited to show the film that is getting closer every day to being done. We have a FB event page to keep people updated and tickets will go on sale in about a week I’m told. A premiere poster is also being worked on so that will be forthcoming for the theater.
SMOKE & MIRRORS should be complete. I’m reaching out to get an update as the final VFX was being added. Our director recently became a daddy again so their household is adjusting.
FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH documentary should have a 1st edit next week and I’m excited to see it. I’ve been in a few discussions over this amazing piece and it will find a great home. Anyone will interest in grappling will enjoy this history lesson right from the mouth’s of some of the greatest in the art.
WICKED SPRING which was a film we shot back in 2000 is getting a new campaign release now that the distributor has converted it to HD for streaming. It is all done by cloning pixels, pretty amazing. But this film is over two decades old and still finding audiences. I will let everyone know where the HD film is streaming once I’m informed.
I had another great meeting over the WILD FAITH TV spin off HASTINGS and our next steps is to have a 3rd party discussion with the studio. The plan is 2022 filming so we will see!
MBF: MAN’S BEST FRIEND – This past week or so I’ve had no less than a dozen people in conversation tell me how much they enjoyed MBF. It is a touching and emotional film and I’ve also been surprised that many of the comments are from burly, tough guys. Dogs are a man’s best friend. Girls can keep their diamonds. I jest as several of the people saying how much they loved the film were also women.
These week we spent some time working to get BESTSELLER materials to the distributor with author Christoper Knight. I’m excited to see this film move out into the market – beware it is a bit scary.
LOST HEART/BIGFOOT, UFO’S and JESUS and our biblical trilogy THE QUEST TRILOGY keep gaining new audiences. If you’ve seen any of the films and enjoyed the story consider leaving us your thoughts at the film’s IMDB and Amazon pages.
This week also included a great soccer match, some yard zen, hops are almost ready to harvest. The garden has been putting forth veggies and the egg laying ladies are keeping at it. We had a Perry reunion this weekend and it’s nice to touch base with folks and we had some great food. This cooler weather is so much nicer than the humid heat. I know what lies around the corner. Today we’re going to the flea market and see if I can take a few items off the ‘Algona’ prop list.
This week will be a short pack for the ‘Algona’ scout trip and also resume talks with sponsors, vendors and final castings. End of the month I want to see paperwork start to go under cast and crew. We are almost ready to begin doing that. Once we get back on the 23rd from scouting we’ll start that process in earnest. I’m going to tag this up and upload it – I hope:)
Until next week when I update you all from Algona, Iowa – be safe and work hard.
DJ Perry's Official Blog 'Clawing My Way to the Middle' 
Prepping for the ‘RCMD’ Premiere and Multiple CDI Updates!
What a beautiful Michigan morning. Woke to a local rooster calling everyone to wake up. This was followed by Luna Mae (furry daughter) wanting to go outside and eat. Chicken songs greeted us from the hens before Finn (furry son) did his racing with his neighborhood buddy Jake and ate. Now I’m here with all of you. My hazelnut coffee by my side and Man U playing soccer on the TV. We had our first outdoor soccer game winning 8-3 and it felt great to be outside playing again.
For the second weekend in a row we had a wedding to attend and it was great to be with family for such an occasion. It was an outdoor wedding and was just beautiful and the food was also very good. I had one pineapple drink of some sort and after that iced tea. It is a younger man’s game to drink like a Viking, no more hangovers for me. But I came home to some good news from the RED LETTER AWARDS and I watched some MMA fights before bed.
Let’s get into some of those updates!
WRAP UP: I kind of delved into development in my bullet points so I’m going to skip to the wrap up. I want to send our heartfelt condolences to Shelley Perry our Wardrober on many of the CDI films who recently lost her mother. Many of us are dealing with aging parents and others have lost those loved ones. That is part of the reason that these family events have been special. Same with our CDI events being special. None of us are promised tomorrow.
I’m looking forward to the premiere on Monday and soccer on Thursday. I have meetings with John Mashni next week over the disbursements and I’m enjoying doing things around the property. I have a few serving hops plants after the building of the new deck. I built a structure the vines could climb. I might need a mow this week and not just to mulch leaves. I am going to go eat a few eggs and roll on down to the flea market. I love looking for props and wardrobe at these sales. Next Sunday I’ll be able to report on the ROM COMS MUST DIE premiere. I hope to see some of you there. Until next week- be good to one another!
DJ
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May 17, 2026 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: Ai jesus, Anthony Hornus, BEST YEARS GONE, blog, CDI, Chasing the star, chickens, coffee, commentary, crew, Dean Teaster, Devil's Pass, DJ Perry, dogs, Dreamscape Productions, DVD, family, film, Forty Nights, horror, Iowa, Jesse Low, Katharsys, loved ones, Man U, Michigan, MMA, movies, Red Letter Awards, Return to Algona, reviews, Rom Coms Must Die, screenplay, Shane Hagedorn, Shelley Perry, Silent Night in Algona, soccer, Sun Theaters, Teyton Colbert, The Christ Slayer, The Quest Trilogy, tribe, Wild Faith, Williamston, writing, WW2 | Leave a comment