Using the 10% Success to Create Momentum
(2025 is underway and CDI is preparing to shoot our first feature of the new year)
Hazelnut coffee cheers on a beautiful white snowy Sunday. The air is bitter and crisp as we venture into our new year. I’ve been moving things right along in with end-of-the year things I’ve got to do. Business tax wise I just have a few things to get over to the accountants. I have yet to tally the data for my own personal taxes. I use to dread or at least look upon these tasks semi-negatively but have adjusted that to just be a thing. Just another TO DO that has to be checked off to keep everything moving. I thanked the great team I have around me last week. That makes it easier and enjoyable. I’m really appreciative of the relationships I have with people.
(Pre-production during a MI snowstorm)
Before we get to deep on the exciting developments I do want to say how heavy my heart has been watching these LA fires. I’ve spent lots of time there in my early years of getting established. We use to take 2-3 week-long business trips out there to set up distribution, launch projects and network. I’m not a big city person but always preferred LA over NYC. I’m not a person who likes crowds. You won’t find me at too many giant concerts, festivals or sporting events. I don’t like traffic which exists in all big cities. I do like the dry heat versus humid heat. But I did/do enjoy my visits to LA. Mainly because of the friends and the long tradition of our film business there. I have been concerned for many years about their increasing wildfire breakouts and decreasing water supplies/levels. It’s just hard to watch people who have lost everything. What do you grab or take in such an emergency. The landscape of LA/Hollywood will be forever changed. How it will effect the movie business I do not know. But many in that industry will be focused on rebuilding their lives. Again my sincere thoughts are with all the people there. The air, water and more now toxic- and their hearts heavy with loss.
(Adam Towner enjoying the synergy)
Longtime labeled the “backwoods’ here in Michigan when it comes to our industry. But I can say for many years that this has been the foundation to build upon not a temporary stepping stone. I don’t and haven’t ever been one who longed for a Beverly Hills address or to work tethered to the west coast studios. I’ve been creating, growing and enjoying the artists I’ve been blessed to work with. 2024 was a great year of doing and prepping and now 2025 will see the manifestation of many of these projects. Other new endeavors will begin to flourish in 2026. This past year saw some of the older films remastered and brought to market. Book division launched. New merchandise store launched. We will continue to grow these fun extra divisions also. Let’s look at some of the exciting things coming.
- Harsens Island Revenge – as with any of the films where we build a “world” or in this case a time period. We’ve combed through to fix anything that is out of that time period. Like any of the films produced by us or others you can and will find misses. Like we say, if you are just looking for misses and not engaged in the characters and stories we did not do our job with you. But for some that is something they like to look for usually after the 1st watch. Our film is done. We found in the last proof a pair of glitches and a pair of format issues with end credits. That is fixed. We found a few out of period, hard to notice “misses”. We fixed what was fixable without adding great expense of time and/or money. Most will never see anything since movie making is like the magician, a master of misdirection. But there might be 1-2 “time travelers” or there might not be. Maybe I just want to encourage you to watch the film several times. WHAT IS NEXT? Our theatrical rep and our home video distributor have had the screening review link. We’ll circle back this week and look to put pen to paper on our deals. Once that is locked we’ll set of premieres because in most cases we want to premiere to be the launch of a theatrical run. The questions are a platform (all same release date) or a roll out (different release dates) and do we push for one weekend or week only to create urgency or allow the film to play in a territory as long as it will justify screening. We’ll also look at a small group of festival showings which we will coordinate with our director. I know many are eager to see the film and trust me when I say we are eager to show it. We just have to follow an order of business but the film is exciting and it is coming! We just wanted the best product possible!
- Talking about releases we have a tight post schedule if we want to get WILD FAITH CHRISTMAS onto movie screens Nov 1st, 2025. I’m proud to report that our director Shane Hagedorn has only 4 scenes left to edit. That was as of yesterday and so even as I type that number may be less. Shane has an awesome level of discipline and has been getting up early 5am almost daily to edit for a few hours. That got us here as quickly as it has. Once the 1st cut is done he’ll work a second pass polishing and working on transitions. A good secret to a smooth flowing film is to pay attention to transitions as a writer, while filming and in editing. It can be with visuals or dialog. EXAMPLE: A teapot blowing steam transitions to plumes of smoke billowing from a train engines smoke stack. Transitions can make a film stronger.
- As of Friday our next film ROM COMS MUST DIE passed the point of no return. All paperwork signed and all funds collected. The account will be opened on Monday and that will also be the day our final schedule and agreements will start to get sent around to cast and crew. This is going to be the first feature length film directed by our friend Travis Hayward. Travis started his journey sometime around FORTY NIGHTS, the first in our biblical trilogy filmed in Yuma, AZ. He was the 2nd AC and I recall him struggling a bit from his sinus allergies and working into a full size crew. The first DP gig was when I put him on a concept film WASTELAND we shot in The Valley of Fire, outside Las Vegas. As he worked his way into performing as a director of photography on several CDI projects he was also directing short format projects. The first for us was the OFF TO THE RACES music video for the winner of the Battle of the Band (Vertical Bridge) for BEST YEARS GONE motion picture. Now reunited with CDI’s John McGraw who will take on the DP/editor duties on RCMD, Travis will sit in the director’s chair and we’re all very proud of Travis and his journey. Cameras roll towards the end of the month. It is also our first test of partnering with McGraw Multimedia shooting some of the film on location and some in-studio. LIGHTS. CAMERA. ACTION!
- Talking of early CDI beginnings, the first feature film we did was KNIGHT CHILLS. Shot in 1998 it was a beta cam film about folks playing a Dungeons and Dragons like game. The 25th anniversary Blu Ray was released and can be bought full of extras. But for the 1st time ever the film will be streaming as of 1/31/2025. The film was remastered and remixed and we even just re-released the book on Amazon. If you want to see the humble beginnings of CDI we encourage you to take a look.
- Two of CDI’s past films DEAN TEASTER’S GHOST TOWN and AN ORDINARY KILLER (AOK) can be watched streaming now thanks to Ammo Content. The 1st being our Smoky Mountain western available on Tubi and other platforms. The GHOST TOWN IN THE SKY theme park DVD can be purchased at the EBAY STORE website on the http://www.cdiproductions.com website. AOK is on The Roku Channel and will expand to more in time. That film was remastered to help The Red White and Blue Project, a non-profit that benefits veterans and their families.
- Following this trend we are going to have our friends at McGraw Multimedia see what they can do to help in the restoration of the remaining CDI Classic Collection. Those remaining three being FROM VENUS, HEAVEN’S NEIGHBORS and FIGURE IN THE FOREST. These three films were directed by CDI partner Jeff Kennedy. The last two can be purchased as a double feature DVD at the CDI store mentioned above. All three need to have work done to counteract the film look filter from all those years ago before they are uprezed. Fingers crossed and we might have these three back into marketed enhanced by year’s end.
- We have two films in active development to possibly shoot if we can get all the funding pieces in play. One is A CHRISTMAS SEANCE and the other the biopic on turn of the century Catch-Can wrestling champion GOTCH. We have also had some discussions on HOT ROD LOVE, our 70’s racing film that we had some traction but not enough. It happens. A film will often launch when the time is right. I have just two more WILD FAITH HASTINGS TV shows to adapt over to taking place after our sequel film. I think once the promo starts heating up on that film we’ll make a go at launching the TV series to film ideally in 2026.
(Travis Hayward has climbed the CDI ladder and is about to direct his first feature film)
WRAP UP: I’m going to wrap this up as my coffee cup is getting low. I’m going to go prepare some eggs for breakfast. I’m happy to say our hens have been producing well. I’m looking to have a strong kick off to the week. As noted opening our account on the new film with some rehearsal work to follow. We’ve been gathering up props which is always fun. I don’t know what else to add except maybe review those 2025 goals again. You made your list if you followed my instructions a few blogs ago. Start to look at a plan or a series of short goals to get you to your larger goals. Everything starts by taking steps. I conversation from this week just came to me.
(Some of the prep team for the next CDI feature in association with McGraw Multimedia)
Stay focused. Have patience. And again keep hitting those small goals. Stop looking for quick short cuts. Focus on the small wins as they all add up. Pretty soon you look back and see your half way there. Don’t quit. Don’t get impatient with progress going slower than YOU wanted it to. STAY THE COURSE. Persistence is a quality that gets many things accomplished. The field of dreams gets smaller as people get discouraged and give up. I’ve said it before, much of what I’ve done has been built off 90% rejection and 10% success. The key is perspective of looking at the forward movement/momentum. Shane Hagedorn sent something to me this week that again reinforced these values. If you dwell on the rejection your momentum slows and may stop. Stay excited by the 10% success and that % may increase or accumulate at least. Another saying that has been in our industry a long time was “if it was easy, everyone would do it”. I’m here to tell you it is never easy. Being that it is the arts it is actually harder. But the reward is so much sweeter. The friendships. The journey. The long fasting fruits of the labor. It is not for everyone but if you have no choice, start leaning into that 10% success and build. Coffee’s gone. Meeting over. Until next week my friends!
Keep on keeping on.
DJ
Set Construction, More Casting, Premiere Updates and More…
(Looking forward to working with these two dear friends and our entire creative tribe!)
A very good morning to you all! It was a damp but cooler morning here in the Michigan. I’m sipping my favorite hot morning beverage – hazelnut coffee. I was alerted here that many new readers have been joining our circle. I saw S. Africa, Ireland, India and more joining in on the reading. I’ve had a great week on several fronts which we’ll discuss here. The plants in the yard are really doing well. I harvested more herbs this weekend and I share those with many friends. I might package up some as little Christmas gifts. I sip some herbal tea daily usually in the later day to early eve. I also love to read on each one that I’m drinking. You will be surprised at the health benefits of replacing sugary processed drinks with a healthy earth-grounding tea that often strengthens the immune system. Fresh eggs have been coming in on a regular basis and I’m appreciative for that. I enjoy watching them move around the property doing their thing. I was surprised it brought out in me the little kid who loved dinosaurs. I’ve also been prepping for the old deck to go and a new one to go up. We had to change course and look at a few other options but we’re getting closer to moving on that. Always projects but like many folks I have to tackle them just one at a time. I would love a covered front porch with mud room and a carport but all in good time. Speaking of building let’s get into some movie updates!
WILD FAITH CHRISTMAS – The secret is out and folks now know that the follow up sequel to our popular WILD FAITH movie is happening. We are in pre-production and we just about have our crew in place. We’re using a few more crew hailing from the area we are shooting in for cost reasons. Casting is well underway and we announced on IMDB.com some of the returning characters from the first film and the first new character. That character being Dugan Dunkirk played by East Coast actor/producer Sean Ward. He is the owner of the Dunkirk Mining Co that plays heavily into our story. We’ve had a team of construction artists led by Mark Balko building the mine set. Heavy equipment and a lot of dirt moving. We have lots of pictures of this process up on our Facebook site. Actually all the CDI films have a Facebook site and that is a great place for updates, behind the scenes and release information. So seek those out! I think this is the Wild Faith Christmas one here: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61563211191981
Harsens Island Revenge – We are targeting a Nov 1st cast and crew premiere in Alpena, MI followed by as many days run as the community will support. Due to smaller theater size we might have to have a day of premiere showings with a near all day afterglow. We have some amazingly cool things planned but nothing is cooler than the film itself. I have my big debrief tomorrow with our director but I have been meeting with our composer and post supervisor Dennis Therrian. Music is full speed ahead and we’re polishing/mixing the sound design as we move forward. I know we have two “telephone” calls that need to be recorded and put into the film. I think we’re done to working on one tricky VFX scene and color correction should be getting close to done. After the Alpena theatrical we want to explore one near Harsens Island itself. One in Karl Manke‘s home town of Owosso, MI with our friends at NCG. And Lansing’s premiere will be either the NCG or Celebration Cinema or both. We will work to get this film into many of the theaters across the midwest who enjoyed our last showing of SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA.
With Christmas season fast approaching our best window for SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA is approaching. We are so proud of this film for many reasons but the fact that it is a true story is surely one of them. We did not go back into the theaters last Christmas because it would have conflicted with the launch of our home video. But know that it is out there to rent/buy at home we might do an event screening just before Christmas with all the theaters who showed our film previously. That will be part of our discussion moving forward. Mid 2025 the film will go to ad-based video on demand where you can watch it for free with ads. That is a popular distribution avenue right now but because of our TV/broadcast deals those ad-based platforms are on hold. This story can be enjoyed during any season but it is extra special to watch around Christmas. Anthony Hornus directed a great follow up movie to his previous MAN’S BEST FRIEND (MBF).
The above mentioned MBF was recently watched by a career actor whom I respect greatly. He has worked with the likes of Denzel Washington and Kurt Russell. He first reached out wanting to know where he could watch the film which is pretty much all streaming platforms. A few days letter he sent a note saying in was one of my very best performances. “Flawless, understated work…No false moves…Congratulations.” It really made my day. I’ve said before that Paul Landings in that film was one of my hardest. It was also hard upon wrap of the film because I got to return to my life and other wounded warriors do not. Matter of fact we still lose 22 vets a day to suicide. I’ve been asked about a sequel to this film and if I ever do it will be for those warriors. I’m thankful for my involvement in Anthony Hornus‘ non-profit to help veterans and their families. Check out The Red, White and Blue Project Inc. online.
To comment further on the above non-profit our 5th feature with CDI was AN ORDINARY KILLER. It is getting a special new release to benefit this non-profit and their mission. I have a podcast on Tuesday with TWO AVERAGE JOES MEDIA to discuss this and make a few announcements. I’m proud that this gifted film is now being used to help military families. For those that don’t know FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH the doc on the history of grappling was also produced with this non-profit. Check out the documentary film and in a week or two the podcast will release with some exciting news on AN ORDINARY KILLER.
From the classic CDI films (The first 6) #1 KNIGHT CHILLS has been remastered. A new trailer is done and a new poster for streaming is being worked upon. Artwork and restoration work is being done on #2 FROM VENUS, #3 HEAVEN’S NEIGHBORS and #4 FIGURE IN THE FOREST. AN ORDINARY KILLER is #5 and DEAN TEASTER’S GHOST TOWN is #6 and is re-released in HD with Ammo Content!
Our collaboration on the animated feature THE PATCHWORK GIRL OF OZ has been remastered to HD and is up on Encourage TV on Youtube! Watch it free with ads now! We would love your support as we explore further animated content and video games. Stay tuned!
ADDITIONAL NEWS/WRAP UP:
ROM COMS MUST DIE is being scheduled and casting is still underway. A few decisions have been made already. Once we finished shooting Wild Faith Christmas and enjoy the holidays we’ll move right into filming Travis Hayward‘s debut feature film! I would love to do a holiday table read so we’ll explore that as we get a bit further down the road.
I’m excited about getting a promo copy of my first starring role in a feature film. A creature feature classic called IN THE WOODS. It has both the HD classic version and a new director’s version. Both have fun commentary if you want to watch it and learn to trials and tribulations of indie film making. And talking of table reads, I’m told a read of IN THE WOODS 2 is right around the corner.
I forgot to mention up top that the WILD FAITH TV series HASTINGS is getting a new boost. I’m in the process of adjusting the season one to go after the second film versus in between them. The series was meant to take up one year after the original but it is easier now to put it in the wake of WILD FAITH CHRISTMAS. But I’m almost done with show number one and it is going great. I forgot how powerful the shows are and audiences will love to keep the story of the Murphy family and friends going.
I’m going to get into some breakfast now after refilling ye ole coffee cup. The Detroit Lions pre-game season starts this week which will be fun. We had a bye week in our soccer so this week is our final regular season game and after the playoffs. It has been a fun season and whipped me into great shape. I’ll have to look into indoor play over the winter. I want to wish happiness and strength to all of you struggling to follow your dreams and urge you to just keep moving forward. I went through a short season of mild frustration trying to make things line up. But once you get to the other side you’ll be happy you persisted. Hard work done smart pays off. Work smart. Work hard. And the fruits will come to you. Funny note: I had a conversation last week with another friend close to my age with a blog. Is CLAWING MY WAY TO THE MIDDLE as my blog name fit? It is funny and clever but I do feel upon reflecting that I’m past the middle. Any good ideas? I leave that right there. Coffee cheers my friends!
DJ
DJ Perry's Official Blog 'Clawing My Way to the Middle' 