“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ― Sun Tzu

Posts tagged “European Union

Music Videos, Morels, UP TV and Updates

Hazelnut coffee cheers! What a week it has been and the weekend has been full also. I want to welcome our new readers from Brazil, Germany, European Union and more. Please do invite folks to follow along with our little weekly break. We’ll discuss more of the business aspects here soon but around the property I’m trying to keep up with mowing. Yesterday did some major trimming to a lilac tree and we constructed a cedar arbor that was from Christmas. Luckily it was not too hard to construct. We still have a planter with a built in trellis to build. The hops is growing like mad but I worry about their health this year as they climb up the deck. This Summer we’re going to bite the bullet and have a new deck built. It is needed and will be greatly enjoyed. It will also create a space under the porch too which one day will house the hot tub I want to soak my bones. UPDATE: After weeks of morel hunting and finding nothing I had pretty much given up. This morning as the window curtain was being closed what do you think was so big it was seen from ten feet away? MOREL! A closer look outside found a half dozen mushroom trees! One had to be sacrificed to the bugs. But they were so big and heavy they were drooping over. The largest morels I’ve seen in the wild top date.

In a bit we’ll be walking the flea market close to us. Last week we went to one and all I got was a door mat for the office. It was a Bigfoot mat which puts a few smiles on faces. We went to a living estate sale yesterday of someone we know and it was a fun adventure. I got some great cast iron hardware for gates and such. And also a large collection of high end tea blends. I’m a tea drinker starting about noon. So far my favorite I’ve tried was a Scottish blend. Malty with a unique taste that brings about thoughts of peat bogs and bagpipes. I really do enjoy such little treasures. I will be trying different teas for several weeks. Let’s take a look at some bullet points of top developments in the film world.

  1. Post Production has been working to get all the software aligned for the Harsens Island Revenge sound work. The cut is locked and we’ll evaluate progress end of July so we can more accurately predict a finish date and plan a premiere. We all want Fall versus Spring but that will all depend on how the next few weeks go. A trailer preview is almost half way done with its edit and a theatrical poster is being discussed.
  2. The deal was signed on THE RED WHITE AND BLUE PROJECT charity release of AN ORDINARY KILLER. A based on a true story crime drama of a two decade plus cold case solved by persistent detective work led by Vietnam vet Lynn Kendall. The podcast Two Average Joes Media had the film remastered and is coming out on a dual layer HD DVD. We’ll be doing PR once we have a place that you can buy the DVD. Also thinking of doing a return to theaters special showing whereas DVD’s can be purchased after. We will see but this film is returning and this time for a good cause- helping military families. We will looking at streaming maybe mid December.
  3. The Smoky Mountain western GHOST TOWN has also been remastered and is returning to the market. We’ll be announcing some streaming release platforms in the coming weeks. A new 2024 trailer has been released and we might also do a few special event showings in N. Carolina, we will see. We plan to do some great retrospective interviews and stories in the media in the coming weeks.
  4. A new deal between CDI and a publisher has been made that will output our novelization and scripts/making of books to Amazon in soft and hardcover. Both the films above have books and we’ll likely do making of/script releases also.
  5. KNIGHT CHILLS which was remastered and is available on BluRay is being prepped for streaming release this Fall. The book and script/making of are being assembled and will also be rolling out. We are working on a new trailer and poster art.
  6. SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA is starting to see the flow from home video and we want to thank all the good folks out there who actually bought the DVD to own. We sold over 2,000 DVD’s right out of the gate launching us past our marketing cost and into profit. We know streaming is even stronger and so we look forward to see how the flow increases in the coming year. The film is also getting ready to start its UP FAMILY & FAITH TV run which will bring the film to even more audiences. The film is currently being shopped in Cannes France and we hope many countries will get the chance to see this powerful WW2 drama based on a true story. Thank you to all of you who have shown your amazing support for this film. We will also explore putting it back into theaters for this upcoming Christmas season.
  7. Speaking of the Iowa based film SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA we are working to develop two other Iowa based motion pictures. One based on the Spirit Lake Massacre and one based on the state hero Frank Gotch, world champion wrestler. We are making some progress but not as fast as we would like. We wanted to film next year but that is all dependent upon funding. Development is one step at a time.
  8. I’m about a third of the way into my third script in the last three months. We’ve been working at the development of our 70’s film and have some of the funding in place just not what we require. We’re going to give it a few more weeks but are prepared to produce 2-3 smaller scope films if needed. I’m really enjoying this third writing endeavor as its a sequel film to one of our very popular films. We’re getting ready this week to start processing payout back to our investors which might encourage a few of our art loving supporters to jump onboard these new stories. I was delayed by 2 weeks waiting for checks on three of the films to come in. They were all sent the same time but the US postal service was a tad slow. But they arrived on Friday and so we’re good to start that process.
  9. We did the second music video for the same band last week at Golden Hour Virtual Studios. It was a great place ran by nice people. We really enjoyed working in the space and we’ll be using it again. The previous video is releasing end of the month while this video moves into post production. I’ll wait for them to release their own PR before talking about it too much. But I will say that it absolutely ROCKED!
  10. I’ve submitted my new headshots to Treasure Coast Talent Agency and I’ll give folks a link once it is open and available. I’m going to try and finish narration work for a book series I’ve been doing. I am getting a tad excited to get back in front of the camera and create a character. With a bit more work I’ll be able to bring you a few new roles.
  11. An interview for a new CDI associated documentary film was shot this Saturday and discussion on another are soon to happen. It is another class of filmmaking but one I also enjoy. What are some of your favorite documentary films?

WRAP UP:

I’m going to start to wrap it up now. I’ve got some screenwriting underway and some PR I could start outlining. If the rain holds off I might do a bit more outside work also. I’m excited to see where all the pieces fall in development. I know that Harsens Island Revenge is going to be a great story enjoyed by many. My flea market treasures included a few books, a CD Best of THE DOORS, and a LP of an old rap group 2 LIVE CREW. SCORE! I hope you all have a great week and make some serious moves towards your personal goals. I look forward to us communicating again next week. I’m going to go make a tea and do a bit more work here to get a jump on next week. I think if the rain holds off it will be grilled pork chops and morels. Until we meet here again be good to one another!

DJ


Mother’s Day Wishes and Stacking the CDI Slate

Hazelnut coffee cheers and welcome to all our new readers from the France and the European Union. Let’s also start by wishing all the mothers out there Happy Mother’s Day. I sent my momma good wishes this morning and will drop off a gift later and spend a few moments with her. We’re now several weeks into this stay-at-home order and I’ve been extremely productive. My entire neighborhood has been working on their yards building, trimming, raking, grooming and it’s a good use of energy. When I get my fill of computer and calls I go work the yard. I’ve been prepping the garden. A few potted plants are already in and the first rhubarb stalks have been harvested for upcoming wine making. I need one more things before I can make a batch of beer. Funny thing is I haven’t had anything with alcohol since our shut down of state a few months ago. But I will look forward to raising a few glasses once we can socialize again. Let’s see…

Momma and me

Momma tribute – I’m so appreciative to have had the attentive mother I had, unless is was General Hospital time:) She was active in all our school activities and taught us many life lessons. Love and appreciate any of your mother figures in your life.

FILM UPDATES:

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BEST YEARS GONE – This ship is fully financed and sitting in the harbor waiting to sail. We’ll make an assessment on Friday and communicate with our cast and crews. I believe our targeted window to shoot will be August but that depends also on the state of things. But our director Shane Hagedorn and DP Travis Hayward can work on their shots. We producers are working on setting everything up including some final casting and crewing. The character prep has been great fun and I’m so looking forward to telling this funny and heartfelt story – soon:) We will be announcing a few more actors and crew in the coming weeks. We’ll be ready to move ahead soon using common sense and safety as our guide.

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LOST HEART – This amazing tale filled with humor and heart is nearing the finish line. The music, sound design, VFX are all coming together and very soon we will have a finished film. I love comedy and I’m excited that this film We’re in talks to add some additional drop music to Dennis Therrian’s incredible score. Also have a fun cameo from another star. I will know more about the release roll out very soon.

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MAN’S BEST FRIEND keeps expanding and the reaction by the fans has been humbling. If you have not seen this film make the effort. It is a good representation of the challenges many of our military veterans deal with. And dogs:)

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THE QUEST TRILOGY – FORTY NIGHTS, CHASING THE STAR, THE CHRIST SLAYER – I did a great in-depth interview for ‘Faith on Film’ due out this month. These films are good watching at anytime but our strongest window is Thanksgiving to Easter. These films are expanding into more foreign territories. If you see them in your country send me a pic of the poster art of DVD covers, trailers. It is great to see them in all different languages.

WILD FAITH – This mid-western just keeps growing an audience. We’re in talks on the TV series with many entities and even in discussions about starting a western studio. The TV show HASTINGS will follow the on-going adventures of the Murphy family and friends. I’m excited about this TV series and I think we’ll have more to report soon.

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ADDITIONAL DEVELOPMENT 

We have a 2021 WW2 project that is coming together nicely. I had talks with a foundation that is going to be financing part of the budget. I’ve already had a few people step up and want to be involved as an investor and we haven’t even approached them yet. I will be doing the writer (me) and director (Anthony Hornus) process in the coming weeks. This is another beautiful story and will allow the CDI artists to play in yet another time period.

A documentary film and a few other features are in development. The animation division is being geared up and we are evaluating our scripts and looking at teams of animators. If you have strong animation skills feel free to drop a line. I’m moving forward in my writing on the developing SciFi film and maybe a few other pieces:)

I wanted to also put a shout out to musician/writer Ronnie Lee whose book ‘For Generations to Come’ will be releasing later this year. I gave some feedback while working on the audio book version and endorsed this artist. I’m reading an authors copy and it is such a great read. It make you feel like your are there. It has lots of pictures that helps bring things to life.

Our merchandise part of CDI will be growing this year also. Looking into drop-shipping on eBay and more. I’ve even got a call this week with a puzzle company to talk collaboration with CDI product. I’ve used all this time to get caught up, organized and prep to move ahead. We’ll have a few film projects lined up and ready to go.

I’m going to get on with my day. As always I’ve enjoyed my time with all of you. Again much love to my mother and to all the mothers out there. Stay positive and lean on love vs hate.

Coffee cheers!

DJ