It’s Starting to Look a bit like Christmas! CDI Updates
Hazelnut coffee cheers. I do have my new computer mostly set up but I’m using my phone to post this. I want to thank my readers from dozens of countries around the world. It goes to show how storytelling is important to the entire human race. I’m at that end of the year place of evaluating the past year’s journey. I’ve had a balance of prepping for the new year and taking care of business in front of me. I’ve had a few minor frustrations usually surrounding tech as I try to set up my new systems for 2026. Streamlining and starting new work flow operations with dispersement and management of incoming funds. Let’s look at some of the updates.
1) Harsens Island Revenge which is just starting its home video run on dvd and streaming set records at the distributor for ad engagement which we hope will translate to views. A wonderful story ripped from history and adapted from Karl Manke’s book of the same name. Check it out on Amazon!
2) While ‘Wild Faith Christmas’ has been releasing in multiple states we’ve had many family, friends and fans who want to enjoy the much anticipated follow up to our ‘Wild Faith’ film six years ago. The film picks up five years later and so far audiences have loved it. But this showing tomorrow at Celebration Cinemas in Lansing, MI plays at 6:00 (few tickets left) and 8:15 (tickets available but going steady). It will be a great gift to our loved ones and town. We hope to see you there!
3) Rom Coms Must Die: This dark comedy that makes fun of the film industry is in final mixing of audio. We will have a premiere and go to theaters with it first of the year. It will release to home video Q3 2026.
4) Working its way down post production is AI Jesus: The Secret of the Kingdom Chip. This thought provoking film has comedy and real emotional impact. The edit is close to a lock. VFX is being worked on and will be dropped in the first of the year before music and audio work begins. It will go to theaters before enjoying a Q4 2026 home video release with Wild Faith Christmas.
5) A few developmental projects both commercial and features are moving along nicely and hopefully that will plan the course of action for 2026. Businesses wishing to get involved via sponsorship or investment feel free to reach out to have discussions. CDI has been growing steadily and we’re always looking for the right partnerships.
6) CDI website and new highlight reel is in the works. Next year is our 30th anniversary at CDI! Look for some exciting stuff to emerge that celebrates this milestone.
7) I will soon be setting goals for 2026 as something I do on a weekly basis both personally and for CDI. I encourage you to put your own goals down in writing.
Wrap Up: I’ve got some Christmas stuff to wrap up for our three family gatherings. I also love the small CDI gatherings with our folks. I’ve already had some wonderful ones. I appreciate our people deeply and love to watch their growth. I know many are struggling to find their balance personally and professionally. It is not easy being an artist. It is way more than just playing. It is creating within business perimeters. We do just that and so our growth has been steady. I’m going to wrap things up here. I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas! I’ll speak to you before the new year. Be good to one another. Coffee cheers! DJ
CDI Updates – Success is rarely an accident but often a result.
I’m sipping the hazelnut coffee like I always do but today our little chat is being done on my new work computer. It is a Mac Air and so far so good. My Movie Magic software is up and running and I still need to adjust a few things with my Microsoft Office. How the time flies when you just keep moving ahead. I thought the old computer was not that old but when programs started being limited or not working it was because it was from 2012 and had reached the final operating system it could handle. The old computer might get dedicated to photo management or something of the sort. I’m going into the end of the year with good tidings and joy. I’ve been working to try and round out my holiday shopping for gifts. I do love giving little gifts not just at Christmas but all year long. Much of what I purchase I do so for other people or for the movies will tell. (Props/Wardrobes) I’ve turned the fort office into Santa’s workshop jamming tunes and wrapping presents. I have to do some clean up before my brother and a few amigos come to visit tonight. I might need to split some more wood but I will wait until it warms up a tad. I went out to let the chickens out and it was FROZEN out. Back to the hot hazelnut coffee, see how that comes full circle?
WILD FAITH and WILD FAITH CHRISTMAS – The top picture is of Emmett, Ben and Hester in the original film. (You can stream on dozens of platforms) In theaters now is the sequel and it just returned to Alpena, MI where we filmed on Friday for another week of showings. It also opened in several new states from Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire you can see a full and evolving list on our FB page for Wild Faith Christmas. We also are excited to have it playing in CDI’s home town of Lansing, MI at Celebration Cinema on December 22 at 6:00 and 8:15. Being a Monday it should not collide with many people’s holiday plans. This franchise and the second film is getting great reviews from audiences. Laughter, tears and a film that really captures the holiday spirit. I could not be happier. I do have an idea for a 3rd film which I may or may not have started. I also have the eight 44 min TV series season one written. If I can find the right funding without too many strings we just might tackle that series.
Harsens Island Revenge – CDI’s second adaptation of a Karl Manke book. The 1st was Best Years Gone from the book Hope From Heavens directed by Shane Hagedorn (Ashes of Eden, Wild Faith Christmas). The 1920’s historical drama pits WW1 vets versus the Purple Gang. It is full of action and style and you can buy the DVD or stream it on Amazon Prime.
SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA is CDI’s previous Christmas story based on a true event during WW2. It might be returning again to the Fridley Theaters in Algona as the people do a yearly watch of the film and visit the two museums in town. (Nativity Scene, PW Museum) It is also streaming and for sale on DVD for those who do not want to brave the cold. Iowa folks are a hardy lot.
THE QUEST TRILOGY (Forty Nights, Chasing the Star, The Christ Slayer) are a series of Christmas adventures worth watching at any time but even more so during the holidays. Beautifully shot in Yuma, AZ from the rugged desert to the awestruck date farms, this film will make you think and entertain the whole family. I am exploring a blu ray for all three films next holiday along with a retrospective coffee table book on the making of the three films. Interesting enough a new CDI film is a loose follow up to this trilogy and that is the upcoming AI Jesus: The Secret of the Kingdom Chip. The film picture is almost locked and in Jan 2026 it will move into the music and sound studio. This powerful and heartwarming film will again promote much discussion as we move ever deeper into the age of technology. This film was directed by Anthony Hornus (MBF, Silent Night in Algona).
LOST HEART, ASHES OF EDEN, MAN’S BEST FRIEND, BEST YEARS GONE, WICKED SPRING, DEAN TEASTER’S GHOST TOWN, AN ORDINARY KILLER, KNIGHT CHILLS, THE PATCHWORK GIRL OF OZ are all good cold weather watches from the CDI library. We are still working to try and update a few of the older CDI Classic Collection and we hope to bring a few of those back to audiences in 2026.
ROM COMS MUST DIE is a dark comedy that really makes fun of our obsessive film industry. It is in final mixing before it will do a run in theaters before releasing around Halloween on home video. Comparing RCMD to say Lost Heart is like comparing an apple and a screwdriver but if you like horror films and dark humor you will enjoy this very unique take. BESTSELLER is another dark film adapted from the book by Chris Knight and is a good late night watch. I’ve also acted in a handful of scary films having gotten my start with them starting with IN THE WOODS (New Blu Ray out).
DEVELOPMENT: There is several active and passive development underway. It is somewhat limited by the fact I’m still in talks with backers on the few remaining investment units on AI JESUS. Once that is finalized I will be more aggressive in my development. We do have possibles on several fronts. I’ve got several scripts I’m working on including a few sequels to fan favorites.
WRAP UP: I got the final distribution of returns out to our investor pool and we are in the midst of streamlining CDI product making it better tax wise and easier to write out checks to investors. Right now some investors are getting 3, 4 or 5+ checks which would be easier with one check and a broken down control sheet. Many thanks to our legal John Mashni and our accounting firm Davison & Associates CPA for assisting in this process. CDI is growing and might soon make some big leaps in production. You have to be ready for success. Success is rarely an accident but often a result. With that I’m going to wrap this up. This is my first business on this new computer. It really is nice. I often work something until it can go no more. That is how I’m sure I will live my life. I will work until my body can go no more. Unlike several friends entering retirement I feel like we are just getting going. I have business mentors in their 80’s+ who are still creating and making things happen. Those are my role models. CDI will do a big SciFi film my love letter to the original STAR WARS. I have other storytelling goals and with the CDI TRIBE we will make them happen. We bring in new tribal members every year. Find people who fit with you and watch the achievements thrive. Avoid negativity and drama that I hear about and occasionally see but we work hard to eliminate anything like that. At a certain age you want to have fun and create. That is what we do at CDI and I’m proud of that. I’ve said it before, I’m not trying to get to any top of any mountains where only the backstabbers and climb steppers exist. I don’t envy others work but I will admire a job well done. I hope you all have a safe and happy holiday season. I will be back with you all next Sunday to report any updates. I’m working with Adam Towner trying to put together a CDI 30th Anniversary highlight reel. I am working with David Gries also to update and give the CDI website a facelift. I’m excited for 2026 but I’m going to savor the last of 2025. Coffee Cheers my friends be good to one another!
DJ
Catching Up on the CDI Tribe!
Winter is here in full effect and while occasionally troublesome it is refreshingly beautiful. Yes. I’m sipping my hazelnut coffee and looking forward to reflecting on the busy happenings of the previous week. It has had a few downs but more ups. That is life and much of it is what we choose to embrace.
I was recently shocked by the passing of an old friend and was looking forward to paying my respects. Next thing I see it was done. I watched a video of the memorial and all is good but they are gone too soon.
There is a lot of negativity floating out there in the world. That is where the flood of negative news via social media can be unhealthy. I’ve had to do lots of PR lately for our releases on many fronts. It is there I occasionally soak in negative news and so I stopped the scroll. Find better use of your time and energy and you will reap more abundant happiness.
I’ve been fully in on the Christmas spirit with music and our tree which isn’t decorated but smells and looks so nice. I’ve spent a large portion of the week writing residual and ROI checks but that is done I just need to get them sent out.
I had a nice lunch this past week with my cousin and dad while picking up some venison for the freezer. Dinked with tire pressure with the jeep due to the freezing cold. A touch of holiday shopping was achieved and tomorrow I receive my new computer so I should be doing my next blog on there vs my phone. I hope my transition is smooth.
Let’s look at some highlights.
1) On Dec 5th Wild Faith Christmas started playing many theaters in several states. Please follow the Facebook page for the film, we try to keep the play dates updated. Michigan, Iowa, Nebraska, Massachusetts and more.
2) Harsens Island Revenge is streaming and available on dvd with Amazon being one. Travel to the 1920’s and enjoy the adventure.
3) The Quest Trilogy is right in season and if you need some uplift to your spirit and mood a watch on these three biblical adventures might be the ticket. Forty Nights, Chasing the Star and The Christ Slayer and the follow up AI Jesus: The Secret of the Kingdom Chip which almost has a locked picture. Vfx are underway and it will move to music and sound design first of the year.
4) The above film will be coming into music and sound design as Rom Coms Must Die exits. Next week I will review the film with full music and sound. This dark comedy will go into theaters first Q 2026 and home video Q3.
5) Speaking on releasing Q4 next year will see both Wild Faith Christmas and AI Jesus release. AI Jesus will have a theatrical run prior to home video.
Development: I have been doing some script writing and that has been fun. Winter is my favorite season to write in. My coffee and imagination and off I go.
I have recently parted from my previous acting agency and might look at literary representation but I’ve been at no lack of projects. So I might just ride solo until a right fit presents itself. I do need to update some personal reels and material but my busy schedule hinders that. I think that is good being too busy with work to update your work seeking materials.
We are planning to update the CDI website and a new CDI highlight reel is being planned. Next year will be 30 years for CDI. I am proud of that fact but also shows how fast time flows.
I’ve had several great meetings over projects in development for a handful of years. I think between these few development fronts CDI could be setting the stage for the next 10 years of production. I tend to keep quiet on development because until it happens it is just talk. But as CDI’s resume shows we do get it done.
Wrap Up: I’ve had to think deeply on a few fronts because of others actions. We work hard at CDI to stand alone by our actions not our claims. We follow through and we finish. We have a great team of CDI producers and talented keys that you need for a smooth work flow. If you want the CDI dependability you must go through the CDI tribe.
Selling yourself on work you did not do will show your desperation to the experienced, maybe trick the inexperienced and always put you in a place of liability for your false representation.
Example: If I acted in a non-CDI film, I cannot use that film to try and raise money by saying I produced that film. Clarify your involvement and while it might take you a bit longer to reach your goals it will be honest. Standing in truth without smoke and mirrors or false hype and statements is how you will achieve long term success.
Same principles apply to actors, so don’t fudge skills or credits. A manipulated imdb rating doesn’t make you a star it makes you a liar. I recall an extra trying to sell themselves as a star talent. We requested a “Reel please” – and they don’t have one but look at my imdb score. Same thing with number of followers. It’s nice icing on a cake but you better be a great actor or the door is closed.
Small injustices can stick with me because to me it is disrespectful. Takers. Takers. Takers. They say you are wealthy by what you can give. Seek to be a giver in life vs just a taker. I really do love giving when it is earned and appreciated. I’m not going to stop being kind even when at times it can be a weakness. I do have lines in the sand that once crossed halts business. I said business not necessarily friendship but often when the business tap dries up so does the friendship. I’m at peace with that because for the few lost I have many other solid friendships both inside and outside our business. I bet many of you can relate to this wrap up.
Find your tribe but choose wisely. Laughter. Joy. Creating with a purpose that isn’t just ego driven but is about legacy. I watched The Quest Trilogy while doing work yesterday and what a beautiful legacy just those three films are. Yuma. The friendships and memories making art in the desert. A new phase is upon us and I’m excited about what we will create going forward. Be good to one another and coffee cheers. DJ
Snowing Wonderland and End of Year Updates
Hazelnut coffee cheers my friends! I have awoken to a winter wonderland not just the cold dusting of yesterday. I have been bouncing between film work and end of year winterizing. That includes log chopping, stowing of yard stuff and other cold weather prep. Yesterday we travelled out and harvested our Christmas tree. It looks and smells so great and the energy of the tree adds so much to the house. I know many of us struggle with loss and set backs but gain and success are also part of that cycle. I feel the joy of the season and Thanksgiving was a nice rest. I saw our step sister and hubby’s new home. It was a wonderful time even with the Lions coming up short. (Football) I really do appreciate every gathering and get together. With the unpredictability of life you should celebrate every day as if it could be your last. Let’s move onto movie updates.
1) Harsens Island Revenge is available to everyone either on dvd or streaming. Watch it and leave us a review at Amazon which is the best place for that Watch: https://youtu.be/7MuZzSjwCQI?si=a2vML5a4gAIyRQrS
2) Silent Night in Algona is a great Christmas watch. You can watch here and again leave a review. http://www.imdb.com is another great place to review it. https://youtu.be/mOzU-3AEdoc?si=fAoUUCXdVQQzTuR5
3) Tis the season for The Quest Trilogy which is our spotlight on three very ignored perspectives of the bible. Forty Nights is part 1 watch here: https://youtu.be/E52EV2FPT2I?si=IyzYwxPcRqg0aozG
Part 2 Chasing the Star watch here: https://youtu.be/em6JOnNDC9c?si=gX9Q0tl2xhKYH9wC
Part 3 The Christ Slayer watch here: https://youtu.be/Jd5z9yJ5hVw?si=TuNioGGCk7Zj4MkY
And a film in post due to release next year loosely fits into this trilogy of films above. It was recently announced as AI Jesus: The Secret of the Kingdom Chip. You can read about it here: https://www.prlog.org/13113059-collective-development-inc-mcgraw-multimedia-announce-full-title-for-upcoming-feature-film.html
Many are enjoying a first or returning watch on Wild Faith here: https://youtu.be/g0LCdlq-BK0?si=uOzLJNL9O3ThRrEU before you watch Wild Faith Christmas in theaters over the next few months. This week our rep should announce several new screenings. Once again we indie films have to deal with the studio glut of holiday films. But call and talk to management and request Wild Faith Christmas.
With all this momentum I will be looking to see if the tv show could launch. The original film has been successful and the sequel should hit or exceed those viewership levels quicker. If the eight shows of season one can be funded we’ll do that otherwise it might be another feature.
The music and sound design on Rom Coms Must Die, a dark comedy should be done by year’s end. We’ll do a theatrical run before a 3rd Q home video release.
AI Jesus will be looking to do a close to final edit this week. It will go into post music and sound right behind Rom Coms Must Die. I need to explore the first AI Jesus teaser trailer also.
Development: I ran into one of our extras yesterday at Sam’s Club and they wanted to know when is the next film? What is the next film? It always depends on funds. I’m still in talks on the last few units on AI Jesus. Once completed I will turn my attention forward.
I will say that I’ve been working on the script for MBF2. I also had a great catch up with Austin Two Feathers about his character Buddy that would play a big part in the follow up story. I’m taking my time as the script has big shoes to fill with the first film. Watch it here: https://youtu.be/afDYPOiL5pY?si=2TuNZo5mHrIBZ87_
I’ve also read a half dozen scripts that are in development from other folks. The script is the foundation and needs to be solid.
If you want to watch CDI’s first feature you can watch Knight Chills streaming here: https://youtu.be/ognETSVqirE?si=oqyiHyNr8NpbWFPw
Knight Chills was made with more passion than money in the 90’s. Everyone starts somewhere and this was our first step. The other three films in the classic collection (From Venus, Heaven’s Neighbors, Figure in the Forest) need restoration work which is being discussed. Film look from back in the day burnt in is causing issues. Knight Chills has a Yule holiday theme so it might be a fun watch. Also if you like role playing games like Dungeons and Dragons.
Wrap Up: I just had eggs and bacon with sour dough toast and I’m ready to attack my day. This week I’m going to start working on end of year final dispersement to our investors. We are stream lining the company flow working with legal and our accounting firm. This will direct more revenue to our investors which is always a good thing.
As we collectively enter the final month of 2025 do so with grace and joy. Be kind to others and generous with your time and patience. I feel the great losses and successes of 2025. Keep your focus on your personal and professional goals. I will speak with you next week. Enjoy the spirit of the season! Coffee cheers! DJ
Laughter, Love & Gratitude- Looking Ahead at CDI
Good morning to you all! I woke up to a slightly frosty morning with a beautiful sunrise breaking the freeze. I got the coffee started and took care of the dogs and let the chickens out. I was tired at week’s end from film business and wood chopping. I want to thank you all for joining me including my Chinese followers showing up in force. From the Chinese philosophers to the martial arts and tea, I’m one who enjoys that culture. Below is a great interview I did for The Intense Life with friend John Mashni. Click below to watch.
https://www.facebook.com/share/1E5C2QCp4Y/?mibextid=wwXIfr
I want to thank Das for the fine message on Forty Nights and hope he enjoys part 2 Chasing the Star and part 3 The Christ Slayer. I think all fans of the CDI tribe should take a watch. Tis the season and these films are very unique in their perspective.
I’ve been promoting Harsens Island Revenge now streaming. Don Most did a Q&A in CO at a screening last week. I’m getting hammered by people wanting to see Wild Faith Christmas, especially in our home town of Lansing. The film will start announcing more dates as our rep locks them. I was out to the Pines studio overseeing the work on Rom Coms Must Die. It is coming along great and I hope to have a finished film by year’s end.
The Secret of the Kingdom Chip is going to be announcing the full title this week. AI Jesus: The Secret of the Kingdom Chip is the full title and the film is close to a locked picture. It will go into music and sound behind Rom Coms Must Die. The AI Jesus film had more backers come onboard and we will assign the last few units of investment for marketing in the coming weeks. The movie is very funny with powerful heartfelt moments. We have a teaser trailer in works that maybe we’ll release around Christmas. But getting the film picture locked is our priority.
Development- I want to get the final biz on The Kingdom Chip completed but we have several projects in process for a possible 2026 shoot. One meeting went great and if funded by end of Jan 2026 it will shoot that Summer. Another Iowa film follow up to our Silent Night in Algona, a great holiday watch streaming now, is making steady progress. It is the Spirit Lake Massacre, the state’s story of the last conflict with the Lakota. Our proposal was given to the governor and several officials. We will see said the wise man. Another project has some funding but the script needs work. It is a hard conversation sometimes over creative endeavors but direct can be the best way. The issue also lies in the momentum we have with Wild Faith. The launch of the tv series would be ideal but a third film is also possible.
I’ve had a half dozen script writing projects in negotiations but none have finalized. On the acting front I’ve separated from Treasure Coast Agency. They are reducing their roster with casting costs rising. I’ve always done my best castings direct. Being a producer who hires directors, I network better in the above the line realm. My reels need updating but I’m busy working so I spend more energy on projects vs casting materials. But I will get some updated reels from these recent films. I might look into a literary agent to sell a few scripts I don’t plan to produce.
In wrapping up my talks here I wanted to mention that with the gains comes loss. Recently a few wonderful people have passed away. That is always a wake up call to enjoy each day. Also take care of yourselves by laughing, loving and letting things roll off versus getting overly stressed. I hold people accountable but I also understand when I see folks struggling or failing that is just where they are. We’ve all been there. I’m loving the occasional Christmas shop between tasks and I’m looking forward to a few festive gatherings. Try to give people grace at this time of year where hardships can be worse. I’m enjoying the end of year wrap up and I’m preparing for another good year. We will see more films release and more get filmed. We have seen the tribe growing in size and strength as more artists bring their projects to CDI. 2026 will be 30 years for our company developing and creating meaningful content. Until next week I hope you have a productive week. For those who participate in Thanksgiving, use the time to reflect with gratitude on your life and all the blessings. Be good to one another and coffee cheers! DJ
Happy Holidays from CDI – Film Updates
I’m up on a beautiful Sunday sipping hazelnut coffee and looking at all the joy from Alpena, MI audiences who started watching Wild Faith Christmas yesterday. We had a fun premiere on Thursday with only a last minute time change from the theater being the only small issue. People don’t always realize we don’t control the theaters. We can’t make a theater play us but your voice means dollars to them so they listen. The night before the event was wonderful due to one of our sponsors taking us to a great place for fish. I enjoyed some walleye. Also got to play some old school pinball which was fun. The night of the event was so enjoyable to me. We saw the impact of the film out west with western genre fans we did not know. Thursday we got to share with many of the good folks who helped on the film. From the first laugh to the last joyful tear the audience made my heart soar. The hugs, handshakes and words of endearment reminded me why I do this. It is hard at every phase from funding to final credits where names can be misspelled or accidentally forgotten.
The film will play until the 20th unless they extend it. We will start getting other theatrical dates soon. I will enjoy watching and listening to the audiences where I can. Don’t forget if you want more Emmett, Edmond, Ben, Hester watch the first film they were featured in Wild Faith. Tens of millions have enjoyed the first film and I believe they will love the second one.
If you want more holiday viewing from CDI you can stream Silent Night in Algona, a beautiful based on the true story drama set during WW2. Also CDI did three biblical features Forty Nights, Chasing the Star and The Christ Slayer. Watch in that order. You will get to see me play a camp commander and Jesus. Harsens Island Revenge while not a holiday film is a great watch and it just went to streaming and dvd.
Post work is underway with Dennis Therrian working on the musical score for our dark comedy Rom Coms Must Die. Also the final edit and special fx on The Secret of the Kingdom Chip are being worked on too. So 2026 will see two more CDI films released and more production is in the planning stages.
This week I have several development projects underway. Our film mentioned above The Secret of the Kingdom Chip is still in talks with a few final funders but I plan to wrap that up by the years end. That will allow me to focus more on new production. So if you want to discuss involvement feel free to reach out. That goes for businesses and products wanting to join our long list of sponsors and product partners.
Wrap up: I’m going to sip some more coffee and maybe unpack my luggage from my trip North. I might do a little yard clean up now since more leaves have fallen. Thanksgiving is right around the corner and I have much to be thankful for. I’m thankful to all of you around the globe who stop by to share time. We reflect upon the art of the world that we watch and create. In a time of year that can be stressful give each other grace. We are not perfect and never will be. Remember friendship and family are valuable gifts and health is always wealth. Take care of yourself too which can often be by not stressing the small stuff. I look forward to the next premiere of Wild Faith Christmas. I look forward to some end of year meetings at the office fort sitting by the wood stove and sipping something warm. Until next week be good to one another. Coffee cheers! DJ
First Snow – Coffee Thoughts and Updates
We awoke to a world of white, bright and beautiful with that brisk chill. I spent the last few days prepping for the freeze bringing in garden hoses and such. A few days ago was doing some organizing in the basement and heard a faint drip only to find the water heater leaking. A builder friend was sending out a fella the next day to quote me on some construction and said he could send his plumber in his team with a new unit. Next day it was done and reasonable too. I admire the trade work immensely and wish my skills were stronger. But water, gas and electricity are areas I like to call in the pros. The previous tank was 30 years old and we got our worth out if that one. My shower was the hottest shower I’ve had here. I still need a Viking Day splitting some wood soon. Winter is upon us.
Movies- It has been a productive time as I work with our legal, accounting folks to prepare CDI for the future. We are streamlining so we can direct even more returns back at our investors lessening the amount spent filing tax returns. We’re preparing to send another 2025 return to investors as the movies continue to find their audiences. Let’s look at some of the updates.
Updates:
- Working backwards- in post Rom Coms Must Die our dark comedy is having a riveting score done by the brilliant Dennis Therrian. The idea is theatrical in early 2026 with home video release 3rd Q 2026 for Halloween season.
- The Secret of the Kingdom Chip has a second edit after some studio sessions. This week we are going to study and evaluate the new cut. The vfx work is being added and we are very happy with the direction of the film. The only people happier would be our distributor. They see big things for this film due to the subject matter. I’m still aligning the last few sponsors and investors that will be for final post and marketing costs. This film is a stand alone follow up to The Quest Trilogy. That is a biblical series of three films which you should watch in advance of this new film. Forty Nights is part one. Chasing the Star part two. And The Christ Slayer part three. All are streaming now.
- New to dvd and streaming is Harsens Island Revenge. This action packed romance set in the roaring 20’s is appearing on many streaming platforms including Amazon Prime. I was disappointed because an associate of one of our producers bought a dvd and tried playing it on a poorly set stereo tv system. They were upset that they thought the dvd was defective and ran to spout off on Amazon with a review. They do QC before all printing and so why these folks would first assume operator error first is beyond me. But they got it to work and last I checked we live with a rush bad review that was their error. I do hope they remove it. People can be have negative knee jerk reactions in this day and age. Sad if you ask me. But the dvd is great and would be a wonderful keepsake or holiday gift. So if you watch and enjoy please go to our imdb.com page or the Amazon page to vote and leave a review.
- Harsens Island Revenge does have a special CO theatrical showing Nov 20 at the Lyric Theater with Don Most there for a Q&A.
- Wild Faith was the first film we did which found tens of millions of fans. It led to a sequel Wild Faith Christmas shot in Alpena, MI. It premiered at the worlds largest film festival winning 7 awards including Best Western. It will know premiere in Alpena this coming week. We have a private cast/crew screening Thursday before it opens to general audiences on Friday for a run. I will be attending and I’m so proud of the work our tribe produced. It will start booking down state and other states for the next several months. It will release on home video 4th Q 2026 likely Nov 1st 2026. I would ask everyone to go watch or rewatch the original Wild Faith. You can enjoy the second as a stand alone but will enjoy several inside jokes if you watch both.
- Development- I’ve read three scripts recently to see what involvement myself or CDI might want to have. As a writer I know how sensitive it can be to receive feedback. But it is also important to have a great blueprint which is what the script is. I’m evaluating a few book to script writing opportunities. I have a few ideas on possible next films but I’m still dealing with investors on our most current film so until that is complete I cannot fully look ahead. But I am weighing several options.
Wrap Up: I’m feeling very optimistic with all the momentum we have at Collective Development. We have worked hard to set ourselves apart from many companies who wing it or fly by the seat of their pants. No thrown together scripts or rushed timelines. It also takes our entire tribe to deliver the quality we have gotten known for. On a few occasions I’ve had to ask associates to clarify how they present our films. If they misrepresent as if they were responsible for a film’s production they open themselves to fraud. Our directors are “work for hire” so make no mistake that CDI produced these films. Hiring a director we’ve worked with will not get you the same product. Same as trying to hire one of our producers, even me, will not get you the same end product of our team of producers. On this same line of thought- if we are asked to join a project that we don’t control $ or has variables we would not have used such as director, keys, script, cast – the quality will most likely fall. So even projects with partial/all funding if burdened with variables that are not something we would do need to be looked at hard. We could do the extra work and fund the project and align the variables in the way experience has taught us. It will almost always result in a smoother work flow and stronger project. I do love to collaborate but it has to make sense. These films are hard to make. It is hard work to make a bad film. Even harder to make a good film. You cannot always control the end result you can control the journey and that often affects the end quality. So as we wind down 2025 I am excited about 2026. We will have to see what the forthcoming journey will reveal. Off to refill the coffee cup and eat a few eggs. The dogs enjoyed the new snow but the chickens not as much. Coffee cheers! DJ
November is Here! Updates!!!
This has been a full year thus far and I’m filled with gratitude. I’m sipping the ole hazelnut coffee and pondering. It almost seems like not too long ago we were watching the ball drop entering 2025. Despite fears and worries by some no end of times or alien invasions. The beautiful world of nature has kept my year simple and serene. The clover and milkweed feeding the bees and butterflies. The growing of veggies and herbs now ready to give warmth to my winter tea cup. The new deck is now sealed and stained and already giving us joy. We’ve fostered many cats/kittens this year and enjoyed our own fur pack. These things bring that love, wonder and joy. Keeping your hands in dirt will keep you grounded.
Two of the four films are finished and being enjoyed. Harsens Island Revenge had a modest theatrical release. We felt the shove of studio films taking the summer space but we took our share. The film is now on dvd (Christmas gift?) and streaming. We just had the first festival premiere of Wild Faith Christmas and we’re booking our first theatricals. The film took 7 awards in Tuscan at the Wild Bunch Film Festival. Soon fans of the first film Wild Faith can enjoy the sequel. Alpena might be the first screening with a premiere on the 13th followed by a run at their Sanctuary theater. I’m hearing of a run post Christmas in Rogers City. We are working on Owosso, Lansing, GR and Detroit. Minnesota is gonna play both Wild Faith films at the Wells Flame I’m told. Follow the FB page to get all the updates.
Rom Coms Must Die is in the sound/music studio and coming to life with Dennis Therrian creating a stylish score. Tomorrow we are in another studio starting the fine tune editing on The Secret of the Kingdom Chip. Yes. There is a secret. Soon. I’m still wrapping up some paperwork and talking with the last backers to help launch this into theaters in the Summer. It will release to home video 4Q 2026 with Wild Faith Christmas.
As you can see it has been a busy year and this momentum will roll right into 2026. I’m still finishing some biz on The Kingdom Chip but my mind is slowly moving to production 2026. I’m about to read a third script to see if CDI wants to participate in some manner and for acting. It can be awkward if a script is not landing right with you. Sometimes it is the overall unique catch versus stereotypical. Sometimes too many characters dilutes the drama. Sometimes it is the flow and transitions between scenes. What I have learned is that usually to have a shot at making a good, award-winning film you must have a great script. When you don’t mediocre is where you often land. The worst is made up or thrown together scripts. I’ve had people brag on that but you can tell. As Rance Howard said, if it is not in the script it won’t end up in the movie. So one secret to success is go into the journey with a strong script.
I’m going to keep working our releases and post work while prepping for our last of the year investor payout. That ties into preparing the end of year tax work with our accountants. We are working to streamline that process even more this month. I’m so appreciative of our executive team and we have some great business folk joining the tribe. They see the growth potential and with their involvement CDI will see new growth.
I’m going to refill ye ole coffee cup and make some eggs. I might do some more winter prep as the wood stove is starting to get a workout. Might watch some Lions football in between my tasks. I hope you all have had a productive year. I know we all have ups and downs but stay the course. Welcome to November the month of gratitude and I sure am. Until next Sunday – coffee cheers!
DJ
Focus, Finishing and Following the CDI Updates.
I’m sipping the hazelnut coffee in the early morning and everything is so perfectly quiet. This week saw more advances in projects but also saw me begin winter prep in earnest. I did an end of year mow but still need to do some tree trimming. The harvest is almost all in and soon I will do some additional wood splitting. The deck was a big add this year getting it sealed and stained with the rugs and step covers.
With the office, I might still try to have the rafters enclosed. The quote was a tad higher than I expected so we will see if I can pull that together. I also have been computer shopping and think I’m close to picking the replacement. Always something to address to keep the wheels a turning.
Updates-
- Harsens Island Revenge is now on dvd and streaming on Amazon, Vudu and more. If you have seen it leave a review in the platform site and/or imdb.com – I had a good catch up with our director Carl and we will start some talks about development of a follow up project.
- Wild Faith Christmas has folks returning to watch the first film, Wild Faith. The sequel will premiere in AZ at the Wild Bunch Film Festival end of the month. Our partner/theatrical booker Dreamscape Productions is already in talks with theaters for November and beyond. Giddy up!
- Monday we start plotting the musical score for the dark comedy Rom Coms Must Die. I am looking forward to a watch and getting that ball rolling with Dennis Therrian.
- The first rough edit of The Secret of the Kingdom Chip is done. All I can say, it’s everything we had hoped for and more. I’m still placing the final backers and negotiating with a few additional sponsors so not too late to get on board with this film. We will start the fine tune of the edit and start placing VFX shots in come November. The film is a beautiful story of science and spirituality that can be embraced by everyone. But it will make you think and leave you feeling good.
- If you want to get a jump on the ‘feel good’ watch The Quest Trilogy by CDI. Part 1 is Forty Nights, Part 2 Chasing the Star and Part 3 The Christ Slayer. The Secret of the Kingdom Chip is a loose follow up to these films. It can stand alone but also have several ‘secret’ tie ins.
- As the weather gets colder it is a good time to settle in with a good story. At CDI a good story is always our goal. We have many great stories to suit your mood and taste.
- Development- I’m focusing on getting all these projects caught up and aligned. End of year business lies ahead along with an end of year dispersement for our investors. Following that we have end of year taxes which all happens earlier for corporations.
- Final thoughts- It is hard to let people you care about make mistakes but sometimes that is how they grow. You sometimes have to remind oneself that you too made missteps. I think in film you have to have the ability to prep, execute and finish. That first one affects your entire process of execution by having you run in emergency reactionary mode or in preventive mode. The latter has everything planned for done and allows all hands on deck to handle any new issues. Emergency mode can prevent finishing where the other almost always assures it.
Someone else spoke into it saying the unfocused mind craves the next new thing, something shiny. This prevents finishing which is an important skill in all areas but especially directors. If they cannot focus all the way through a project they are not meant to be a director or let us say ready. Will they ever be ready? Hard to say, but you have to get behind those artists who can ride the process to final delivery. Anything else is unripe fruit. It is why some lucky enough to direct a first feature never direct a second. Most actors have a few lost projects whose leadership failed and so the hard work never gets seen. I think I have 4 projects like that. One film I text almost yearly to check in on but the others are lost to the universe.
Wrap Up- I’m finishing my coffee and thinking about the nice evening we had last night. An actor artist friend of many years tied the knot yesterday. It was a beautiful place and the festivities were on point. Today is one of the last flea markets with the end of season one next week. I’ve already started with my holiday gifts for some folks. I’m looking forward to a great holiday season. I’m looking ahead and we will see what 2026 will bring. Already several films will be releasing and talks are well underway for new projects. I’m looking forward to some more winter writing. Until we meet again for a few sips of java and some real talk on art, biz and life – coffee cheers!
DJ
October is Underway! Fall Updates in Film and More.
Good morning I’m back to using my iPhone to write my blog. I have been looking at new MacBooks and will get one soon. So this week was again a strong reminder to appreciate every day. I went to a memorial of life for the younger brother of a dear high school friend. He was only 51 years old. Another CDI amigo lost a friend only two days after talking with him. Health is wealth and kindness is how you should approach each day. There has been lots going on with our creative endeavors. Here are some in no particular order.
1) Harsens Island Revenge releases streaming across the USA in 10/6/25 and we are all excited for everyone to see it. Amazon, Vudu, Google Play and more. DVDs are also for sale so you can own it. Order here: https://a.co/d/3yNyOtu
2) Nov 20th in Fort Collins, CO at The Lyric, Harsens Island Revenge will play with Don Most in attendance for Q&A.
3) Wild Faith Christmas is being pitched to theatrical bookers. We will travel end of the month to Tuscan AZ for the 10th anniversary of The Wild Bunch film fest. We close the festival and are up for 14 nominations. Oct 26th is when we play if anyone wants to join us.
4) Rom Coms Must Die is in post music. I will be dealing with that this week with our director and composer. If you have not seen the first trailer look on the film’s page on http://www.imdb.com
5) The Secret of the Kingdom Chip is in post undergoing editing. I’m wrapping up paperwork and bringing on the last few backers to round out our post and marketing costs. We had some timelines with location and a few key crew that required us to shoot a touch earlier. But we have all the gold. I’m so proud of the smooth process and we really put a great team together. No drama save what unfolded on camera. We had some wonderful sponsors that helped make the journey more enjoyable. If you want to be part of this project please do reach out.
Development-
- This week I had several biz calls over one of our Iowa films. Museum directors, biz leaders and even a Senator. Spirit Lake Massacre is making moves and we just might get this off the ground in the near future.
- We have some things developing with the film Gotch that is a Curran Jacobs vehicle. I need to read the new draft of that script.
- I got a first read on the first draft of a sequel to my first starring role, a creature feature called In The Woods.
- I’m about half way through a sequel script to MBF2. I am not in a rush to film it but I get asked often enough that I decided to get a first draft done.
- Wrap Up: The full moon is Monday and I’m harvesting herbs for my teas. Lemon Balm, Sage, Mint and more. I’ve bought my first Christmas presents so that season is coming. I need to finish these current films while prepping for winter. I’m very happy with how 2025 has gone and 2026 will see more releases and more filming of stories. Thank you for bearing with me as I poke out these blog entries on my Iphone. Until next week, hazelnut cheers my friends! DJ
Movies, Life and Everything In-Between- CDI Updates!
Ah…the sip of the hazelnut coffee. It was actually a chilly morning. That means fire season is not too far behind. Today is also my furry son Finn’s 7th bday. It is hard to believe that since he still acts like a puppy often. I’m sipping the coffee and thinking back on my week. We’ll get into the movie biz developments soon enough. In the yard the berries are finally coming to an end so I’ll be trimming back those trees. The apples are getting ripe but most are squirrel food. We are still harvesting veggies and herbs. Today should be the last day of stain and seal on the deck. I did the touch ups and now a finally coat on the steps and we can call it done. The new gazebo will be going up once we find an outdoor rug we like. The chickens have been kicking out the eggs which is always good. The outdoor zen has been in full effect.
We had our first play off soccer match and won 1-0 in another epic match. The other team fought right to the last seconds. I was a tad stiff in the legs yesterday but I’ll be ready for our next match on Thursday. I love the intense workout and I’m in really good shape here at the end of the season. I really do love the game and so happy I am still able to play at the level I am. My next big work out will be log splitting, moving, stacking and such. I’m also looking into having the outdoor rafters at the fort enclosed to keep birds out and finish it off properly. Okay, now onto movie updates!
- Harsens Island Revenge (HIR) is now playing both the Emagine Macomb after they had some first night tech issue but that has been resolved. And the Riverside Cinemas where those from in and around the actual Harsens Island can watch this throwback in time movie of the Purple Gang trying to put their thumb on a group of WW1 vets. We hope that Emagine will move it around to other theaters in September we will see.
- Home video release for Harsens Island Revenge will be 10/6/25 and we have a marketing meeting this week. Also in the planning are a few event showings w/ dinner and mixer after the home video release. We will have some cast on hand to sign DVD’s posters and such. These will be fun to put together. We will keep you posted on when and where.
- HIR will be playing one night only at the Forest City, Iowa location on September 19th where part of SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA was filmed. We are still trying to lock down a booking for Algona at Fridley’s so CALL the theater and request Harsens Island Revenge. If you did see the film please feel welcome to go to our http://www.imdb.com page and VOTE (10 is best) and leave a review of what you enjoyed in the film. This helps us overall.
- Wild Faith Christmas is in the final polishing stage and once we do a big screen check we’ll master it for the theaters. We are looking to start rolling it out in November starting in Lansing, MI and up to Alpena, Owosso and across the state before expanding to other states. The film is exciting and heartfelt and it just might be the jump start we need to produce the eight shows for season 1 already written. Again we will see.
- ROM COMS MUST DIE the dark comedy about filmmaking has headed into the studio in the pines to start work on the musical score. I think we might do an end of the year premiere or two before we start rolling to theaters first of the new year. This film is a true joy to watch and I think it will be well received. The trailer was meant to be out by now but the last few tweaks are being done on the preview trailer.
- We are in pre-production for THE SECRET OF THE KINGDOM CHIP. We are still assigning the final investment units and bringing on board sponsors. We have some great brands joining us in telling this story. Many are following the FB page and watching the art team developments and the addition of cast and crew. We just added a great talent after she read and loved the script and that would be Mary Badham, nominated for an Academy Award for playing ‘Scout’ in the classic To Kill a Mockingbird. I enjoyed our conversation over the story which is unique and powerful. I loved when she compared my writing to Rod Sterling of The Twilight Zone. So this week will be more follow up as we pull all the resources together to film later next month. If you want to explore getting involved as a sponsor or backer please do reach out. Beyond production there is always marketing and various ways to assist.
- I love to write especially in the winter time but I did get inspired and I’ve been working on a first draft to the sequel to MAN’S BEST FRIEND. I get asked about this film often and what happened to Paul the lead. It is probably the most requested sequel behind Wild Faith, which fans will get in a few short months. I don’t have any immediate plans to film MBF2 but I’ve had the story for a while and so I’m getting it out of my head. I have some other writing projects looming for the winter.
(Inside Emagine Macomb sent by one of my cousins)
WRAP UP: I want to thank all of you who help support these film endeavors. Funding is not easy. Production is not easy. Delivery is not easy. Promotion is not easy. But if it was easy everyone would do it. A phrase we’ve used and I recently had told to me. I have to keep seeking storytellers at heart to help us move these stories along. We have a few remaining weeks to hit it hard and pull everything together for The Secret of the Kingdom Chip. We’ll be positioning Wild Faith Christmas to follow HIR into theaters right after HIR has moved into streaming and DVD. It is a wheel or creating art and keeping it moving. I was having a day where I wasn’t happy with the productivity for the day and I realized how well we are truly doing. Three films moving down the pipeline with another soon to film. Everyone of them a handcrafted story made with love and care.
Today I’ll do a bit of work on the film stuff along with some property work. Tomorrow I’ll be hitting it first thing and ready to have a great week ahead. I do have a funeral to attend for someone in our family circle who went too early to a horrible disease. That is why I don’t take any of it for granted. It can all change fast and for now I’m doing what I love and what is in my heart. I hope I can do it for many more years. But do use the losses in life to help yourself be fearless. Don’t fear failing fear never trying. I love our tribe of people and we’ll keep on telling the stories. I hope you keep after your dreams as well. As these last days of summer draw to a close embrace them. Soon the leaves will fall (some already are) and the cooler weather will be upon us. Until next week, be productive and be kind to one another.
DJ
The Battles to Create Art – Updates and Release Info!
Announcement art for ‘The Secret of the Kingdom Chip’
Hazelnut coffee makes me smile. It was a wild week but much good to report. I am trying to think where to start. Yesterday at a family trip I had BLT pizza and it was very good. A local place makes a Reuben pizza we like but this was also VERY good. We had our final regular reason soccer match against a strong team who had beat us previously 5-2. We battled back from being down 4-2 to tie it and took the lead 5 to 4 before they tied it 5-5. And we got the winning 6th goal with just minutes to go. It was a great battle and my favorite game of the season. We finished the season in 4th and now we go into the play offs. With property/yard updates the deck stain and seal is almost done. A second coat on the stairs and a little trim should finish it off. It looks great. The berries are starting to slow and the other veggies and herbs are still kicking. Fall will be right around the corner. I was reminded of that with-
Wild Faith Christmas! We did a listen at the studio of the next CDI film releasing into theaters and it was awesome. Our artists did a great job and the world comes to life with great performances throughout. It reminded me that Christmas is around the corner. How the wheel turns. But the music was just incredible and brought even more to powerful moments. As I fight the battles that all the films bring it was good to see the sum of the hardworking there right in front of us. Now a big screen watch before prepping for the theaters. As it moves out of the studio- ROM COMS MUST DIE (RCMD) moves in!
RCMD was looked over for dialog and audio and now will move into the studio for the musical score! In a few weeks we’ll be sitting down to look over this feature film! It is comedy and pokes fun at our own industry. The actors, the filmmakers and all the struggles it takes willing a film into existence. The HD trailer is almost done and we’ll look at the best time to release that but it will be soon. I have not seen a watch through yet that doesn’t include a lot of laughter.
THE SECRET OF THE KINGDOM CHIP – Casting is close to done and crewing is on-going we added an artist or two. We worked to get our insurance quote and art department work continues. I’ve been pulling in all the business paperwork now that our account is open. Communication can be an occasional issue with people’s busy lives but we have timelines we need to stay on so that can sometimes provide an unwanted challenge. But we also have sponsors starting to really flow in and help support this story. We’ll be announcing some more in the coming weeks and we are appreciative to the ones already onboard. I love the statement I heard this week and we say it often, “if it was easy anybody could do it.” But we know it is not easy and not everybody can do it. We have a month plus before we roll cameras and we will be ready. Several awesome updates but a few I cannot mention until we get the PR approval.
Harsens Island Revenge will play next week both at the Riverside Cinemas and Emagine Macomb Aug 22-28 both in the Detroit area. I don’t know if it will expand into more in the Detroit area but I can assure you it will be worth the drive. The Purple Gang vs WW1 vets! Iowa it is coming your way next. Friends in Algona now is the time to start calling the local theater. We played great there with Silent Night in Algona and I’m sure they will enjoy this film as well.
WRAP UP: I’m ready to hit it hard again this week on all our fronts. I’m going to try and make the Emagine Macomb kick off showing on the 22nd. I’m going to keep on all the business for The Kingdom Chip and be ready to tell that amazing story. I appreciate all the help I’ve been getting from our team. We’ll be pushing the showings of Harsens Island Revenge and getting it also ready for the 10/6/25 home video release. Wild Faith Christmas will look to premiere in Lansing followed by Alpena ands Owosso along with as many theaters nationwide that we can book for the next 5 months or so. This winter will be a Wild Faith Christmas tour!
I’m going to wrap it up so we can hit a breakfast before the local flea market. I will have my brother and a few friends about this eve before I hit the ground running for another week of film work. The chickens have been doing their job and the eggs have been plentiful and yummy. I’ve also been doing a touch of developmental writing here and there. I will lean into that more once I get more off my TO DO list. I hope each and everyone of you had a recharging weekend and have a productive week ahead. Until we chat next week be good to one another and keep following those dreams.
DJ
Movie Updates from the ‘CDI Tribe’ – ROLLING!
Hazelnut coffee cheers! I’m a touch slow moving today as we had a physical yet fun soccer match on Thursday losing 4-2. But even in a loss it is a win by way of workout. Also we have been putting in the time every day sealing and staining the deck and will likely finish up today save a few touches here and there. I was on the ladder doing karate kid paint the fence last night after we worked in one of our upcoming film locations. More on that in a bit. So I’m a touch sore and we have a make up game on Monday from a rainout and again a game on our regular Thursday. Also I have to tell the story of the ‘Black Mamba’ for those who don’t follow my two social media sites. I am not a big car person and it is a way to get from point A to B. In 2010 I bought a Saturn Vue in slick black hence ‘Black Mamba’ as the name. I paid it off in 2012 and drove it until last week. The muffler dropped from MI winter salt that finally caught up to it. I had it in the shop for a fix up when I got the call. The frame and such had some intensive rusting and the car was unfit to drive. It would be too costly to fix versus the price of the car. So looking at the two closest car lots three vehicles that interested me were found. In 24 hours I traded in the Saturn Vue and was in a beautiful 2017 Trail hawk Jeep. The name is still yet to be revealed but many people gave some great suggestions. I really do LOVE this new ride. Enough you say of these car ramblings. We have many movie updates underway. Let’s look at a few-
MOVIE UPDATES-
- Working backwards, Monday we open the official account for the new movie, The Secret of the Kingdom Chip. We’ve been gathering up our paperwork and funds for deposit. We have been adding sponsors and yesterday we had a team working in one of our prime locations preparing it for filming. It went great and with the help we made great progress on the location. This week I started having talks about the remaining crew and those will continue this week. A few last castings and we will be good to go. We should be locking our actors schedule this week and getting that distributed. But the ball is rolling and we have some other great developments that I cannot yet talk about but will once I am able. Again if you want to align your company with our project and other great brands please reach out. You can follow along on our Facebook site just search the movie title.
- ROM COMS MUST DIE our dark comedy thriller has all the VFX inside of it and the sound design and dialog was checked at our studio by Dennis Therrian who will be doing the music, mix and help deliver. It will be awesome to see the music bring more life into this film! The trailer is forthcoming and I’m trying to get a status report of where we are at with that.
- Speaking of Dennis Therrian we are doing a listen through and watch of the final Wild Faith Christmas movie this Friday at the studio! After we will do a watch on the big screen and start our theatrical meetings. We are in talks with a few possible collaborators to help this heart touching film get seen in more theaters. The original film WILD FAITH is still going strong on all the platforms with tens of millions of fans. We hope they enjoy this new installment and that it opens the opportunity for the TV series to launch.
- Harsens Island Revenge will be playing the Riverside Cinemas and Emagine Macomb from Aug 22-28th! The real island is buzzing with excitement and we are happy they will get to see a movie on their history taken from the book of the same name by Karl Manke. I know we are about to release some Iowa dates so we will be promoting those soon. I know Forest City but I don’t know if it is one night only or a run of days. Algona Iowa should do a run we will see. Meanwhile we are preparing for the home video release on 10/6/2025!
- If you want to watch the last Karl Manke book to film we did and the last film Shane Hagedorn directed, take a watch here and let me know your thoughts in the comments. Best Years Gone WATCH HERE: https://youtu.be/U4lxhZ2CQkc?si=pWzggmWvb4oEyQ78
- Many people are asking about the CDI films here are several of them that can be watched free with ads. WATCH HERE: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2Tn2MhKrkFOCsmKZaxoZCT1R5GEOEL3E
WRAP UP: These movies take a lot of hard work and they are hard work by a lot of artists. We have a good tribe of artists at CDI. I’m excited for this next role (The Secret of the Kingdom Chip) because it will be a lot of motion capture type work. I play an Avatar of sorts and I’m looking forward to that process. We will see if we can get the deck completed today. What is done looks so nice. We have been harvesting tomatoes and herbs from the garden for fresh eating. The mulberries are still kicking and are at their peak sweetness.
I hope you all have a great week as you move ahead on your own ventures be they personal or business. I’m ready to tackle the week ahead and keep the creative ball rolling. It was such good energy yesterday to be with good folks all working towards the common goal of telling a beautiful story. I might have to put a few eggs down before jumping into some work. The chickens have been doing great with everyone getting along and producing eggs. Until we speak again next week where I’ll be able to comment on the Wild Faith Christmas watch, be productive.
Coffee Cheers!
DJ
New Theaters for ‘Harsens’ and New Updates on Development!
Hazelnut coffee cheers! I’m sitting down after a long and busy week to sip a little coffee and chat with you all. I had to take a bit of my own advice as to not riding the rollercoaster. When trying to put this big projects together with moving parts you have highs and lows. I had a few of both this past week but overall it was still a win. Let’s take a look at some of the new developments.
Harsens Island Revenge – We’ve been waiting for the studio films to clear some so we can get some dates. This week we’ll be announcing the film is coming to Riverside Theaters in Michigan not far from the actual Harsens Island. Aug 22-28th is what I’m being told. Also our director spoke to the owner of the Emagine Theaters and if their booker doesn’t get back to us by Tuesday he will get involved. The city of Detroit will really love this story. It has been long enough now that I’m ready to watch it again on the big screen. We’ve been doing some planning for the home video and have a marketing meeting next week. I know they’ve started having discussions on key art and that is always exciting. So stay tune and we hope to break the ice and having several showings you can attend. I know Iowa has some screenings coming up as well. I’m also going to turn my attention to planning a few dinner/movie showings. I want to discuss with our team if that would be better once DVD’s are released so we could sign and sell them at the event.
Wild Faith Christmas – We are already in the planning stages for the theatrical and home video is working on a poster for both theatrical and home video. The plan is for it to hit theaters in Nov 2025 and home video likely Oct of 2026. In between will be some festival showings to get the market ready for this powerful tale. If you were a fan of the first film you will really enjoy this one. If you haven’t seen the first one WILD FAITH take a watch! We will be having our producer watch through and we are doing some final touches on the end credits.
ROM COMS MUST DIE – I’m in studio this week to do my little ADR pieces for the film. We are close to locking that film up and moving it to Dennis Therrian for musical score and mixing. This has been such a fun project and McGraw Multimedia has been a true joy to work with. Adam Towner just got the color corrected 4k footage so we can get the trailer into release shape. The idea is we hope to have a fall premiere and do some festival showcases before a 2026 theatrical and home video release.
The Secret of the Kingdom Chip has been the rollercoaster as it always is in pre-production. My goal is to have the whole business foundation in by the end of the month. So about 11 days. We are working to get those final pieces in play and I had some great talks this week. A few set backs in a few areas but also some huge leaps in other areas. Again we have partner with McGraw Multimedia and I’m happy to announce Haptix Studios which may be changing their company name. But either way they will be handled all the VFX work and the Real Engine management. This is the software that controls the images on the LED wall screen. It is a good thing that we are constantly learning this new tech as it will be an even bigger part in the years ahead. We plan to release some PR soon on Haptix or whatever name they land on. We are still reviewing a few reads for casting and next month once the business is in place with the bank account open we’ll start to fill in the rest of the crew. A few already had some schedule conflicts but that always gives opportunity for new growth. Where we are heading we will need many artists. Follow our FB page for some fun weekly updates.
Looking ahead-
As I’ve noted we have several other projects in the development process from Spirit lake Massacre to Gotch to an undisclosed Shane Hagedorn project. This past week was getting some film disbursements out the door and thanking our supporters. People have busy lives and don’t always understand the film deadlines we are under. The “boat” aka film doesn’t move on a dime so you need to start things early and time is your friend. We have a few interviews that will be coming out such as a good one with Shane Hagedorn and Tony Hornus. If you review films or have a podcast reach out and we’ll try to work something out.
WRAP UP: I’m almost through the coffee and after I will go eat a few eggs. One of the new chickens is now producing. The berries have been bursting and I eat several dozen berries a day off the tree. Everything is growing like crazy and so come Fall a harvest will be had for sure. I also might stop down at a flea market and see if I can find any treasures. I’m going to keep the faith and keep putting one foot in front of the other. We have a train of great stories rolling down the tracks with some new ones in development to boot. I hope you are all working hard to follow your dreams. I appreciate each and every one of you. We’ll chat next week and I should have even more exciting updates. So until – coffee cheers!
DJ
Dream, Devise, and Detail plus Chickens, Bees and Butterflies
Good morning good people. I’m once again here sipping the hazelnut coffee. This morning I was looking over some questions on schedule with our developing film. Pieces fit. Pieces don’t fit. Readjust. It fits! This is what I do. I dream. I devise a plan. I work with others to detail the plan. From the plan comes the budget. From the budget comes what is needed. Time windows. Trying to get everything to meet at the right point in time. Every film is hard work and that is why so few can actually achieve it. It is also a reflection of my life aside from the precious moments spent with family and friends. I am discussing with others the merits of these stories from preserving history to a unified endeavor that brings together artists for a short period of time. Only so many a year and only so many in a lifetime. This is what I do. This was the answer to my meditation this morning.
This past week was nurturing several projects in post production and putting pieces together for the upcoming. This coming week I’ll also be writing checks to the investors/supporters of the previous CDI films. We have a great group of supporters who help make these endeavors happen. For some they go without a new ‘toy’ in order to make these project happen. They want to be part of a positive, powerful story that will live on beyond them, me, us. On the new SECRET OF THE KINGDOM CHIP, I finally released the PR on my own involvement acting wise. I’ve got the long hair and beard in this humid heat and it is truly suffering for your art. You can read about it here: https://www.prlog.org/13086932-ai-jesus-movie-moves-into-production-this-fall.html – I’m excited to tell this story. The script alone has created so much energy and feedback. It will be a worthy addition to the CDI group of films. We ended the week with another step towards full financing but still have a little ways to go. The goal is to have it completed this month and we are on course to do just that. We’ll be opening the LLC and bank account soon. The business paperwork will soon be drafted and we’ll be starting the more intense pre-production work. This week we are also going to start fishing for product placement partners and sponsors. We’ve had many large and small who are just as important as our investors. They help with the unseen issues. They help make the ride a little bit more special and memorable. Let’s look at some of the other developments.
Harsens Island Revenge – I’m told that we have dates for Riverside Cinemas by this coming Tuesday. It is close to the actual Harsens Island and should be a great showing. Also Forest City in Iowa is looking like September and I’m guessing Fridley’s in Algona and other Iowa locations. I think we’ll start booking and finish the Summer strong. We are putting things in motion for the home video release on 10/6/2025. They are also working on DVD artwork which will be exciting. This is a special movie and we’re so happy to be ever-expanding our audience.
Wild Faith Christmas – The film minus a few tweaks and a few VFX shots plus final end credits is about done. Director Shane Hagedorn and composer/sound designer Dennis Therrian are extremely happy with the story we have. Very moving and the beautiful score just magnifying powerful performances. We have a date for a producer’s watch through. From there we will start our theatrical planning which will be here in no time. Holiday 2025 will be theaters and holiday 2026 will be home video. This is a follow up film to CDI’s successful WILD FAITH. Please do watch that film or rewatch it to get ready for the sequel.
ROM COMS MUST DIE – This dark comedy is also powering towards a finish line. VFX and sound design is being laid atop the color corrected cut. I watched it just recently and loved the flow. It is so funny and makes fun of our beloved industry. The idea here will be a premiere. A few festival showings. Theatrical followed by home video. The trailer is waiting to swap out the shots for the best res and color corrected shots. I think folks will really enjoy this film that surprisingly somehow has you cheering for the bad guys. Go figure.
DEVELOPMENT – We talked about The Secret of the Kingdom Chip which is a stand alone film but has loose tie-in’s to CDI’s biblical trilogy part 1 Forty Nights, part 2 Chasing the Star and part 3 The Christ Slayer. If you haven’t seen these three films they are also worth a watch and it will give you some background information.
The SPIRIT LAKE MASSACRE film developing in Iowa behind our SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA is gaining more supporters. I have to set up a few calls this week about this project. It would be a powerful, ‘based on a true story’ historical drama. Also I’m exploring a few avenues with the GOTCH biopic also to be filmed in part in Iowa.
I teased that I had started on another sequel script to one of the films. This film I’ve been asked about sequel more than any of the others. I don’t have any plans for active or immediate development but I wanted to get the blue print where I like it. In the original film the protagonist was left in jail heading to prison. Any guesses?
WRAP UP – Once in a while I feel the difficulty of managing all the variables but with a team many things can be achieved. I also am a diligent worker putting one foot in front of the other. You have to have faith in yourself, your team, the story and the life path you’ve chosen. I had a great talk with a VERY successful 88 year old businessman this week. Neither of us truly believe in retirement. There is always something to create. He had some wonderful things to say to me and I was appreciative and humbled. I have faith that this week a few more pieces will fall into place. I have some great meetings being set up this week.
On the personal we are back at soccer after a rain out and two weeks off. We had an off game and lost but the battle is the reward. I like that pushing oneself to the max. As for the homestead – we keep waiting for a time to seal and stain the deck but we keep getting rain. The plants are growing like a jungle and I’ve kept it more wild because of the chickens, bees and butterflies but I think another mow is on deck. The berries are at their sweet peak and we’ve got tomatoes about to ripen soon. The herbs are really growing and I need to step up my harvesting. I will keep working to keep up with it all. I have several friends with more property and that must be a chore to keep up with.
There is a flea market which I might attend. But I think today I will focus on taming some of that yard stuff I mentioned. I will end with a little story that I’m sure many artists deal with or have dealt with. I was looking up some of the ad-based video on demand platforms now carrying SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA like Tubi, Roku, Xumo and Encourage TV. I saw someone from our state being negative towards the film. While I’m not sure I have the resources to ever make a film that is a 10 I can say that even if something isn’t your cup of tea we’ve never created a 1 or 2 rated film. But when people trash a film 9 out of 10 times jealously is at the heart of it. They want to know why their script, their team, their film never gets made when others do. We simply out work people. It is that simple. It is always hard work and even our crew members never know all the work that goes into a project months or years before ever hitting set. But this individual was checked by one of our past crew members. They have moved onto some full time endeavors but it was nice to see the gesture. It is like that saying of what people do or say when you are not in the room. I’ve done horror films, action films and what some might consider ‘cool’ films versus our positive, heart felt films. That feeling of healing ala helping people cope with issues they have is hard to beat. Those films give back to the storytellers and is a real motivator. I’m not against a good scare film or taunt thriller but I’m also about character development. I’m about unique perspective and stories. If I just wanted to make genre fluff I would be missing something. Anyway, I commended this past crew member for his words in defense of 200 plus artists. A story that captured a true story from history so it would not fade away. An endeavor that had our cast and crew in another state fighting the elements and the day to day issues of production. Many truly love the film and it plays yearly in theaters. Many people travel to the museums that hold the remaining history. The film will have a special place at the museum as big things are being planned. Or we could have made a film of teenagers poking around in a scary place and random psycho with this or that mask kills them one by one maybe leaving one alive for a sequel. Been there. Done that. Got that tee-shirt. Nothing wrong with those films they are early proving grounds for storytellers but try creating a new time period and that is challenging.
I’m off to make some breakfast. One of the new chickens has started kicking out eggs. I hope you all have a great week ahead and wish me luck as I try to put the remaining pieces in place on the new film. We are close as I mentioned, and once we get this schedule worked out we’ll be locking in the final cast and crew. We are awaiting some cast reads and some of the crew are already planning ahead. You only have this one life so don’t be afraid to go after your dreams. I’m living proof that you can achieve it.
Until next week, coffee cheers!
DJ
Post 4th of July Updates- Back to Business!
Good morning! I’m back to sipping the hazelnut coffee. I do enjoy the coconut flavor as a change but it is so nice to be back to my true love. It has been a crazy week with a lot of good business. The heat has been hindering at times but the plants love it. I feel bad for the victims of the floods and having been a camp counselor in my past I relate. A time meant to be a fun memory becoming a nightmare. The 4th of July Celebration is great as I do love and appreciate where we all live and call home. I use to enjoy fireworks as a child and young adult so I try to be understanding. But my reality now is having one dog who fears the loud noise. Once they start sometimes before the sun goes down my furry boy Finn is done going outside. He is restless in bed with several nights the huge BOOMS going until the wee hours. That also means him wanting to get up really early to go potty. So I’m up late and rising too early. I don’t love fireworks like I once did. Snakes, sparklers, jumping jacks, M-80’s, Roman Candles and more have been replaced by major explosives. I got out of the game with all my fingers, toes and both eyes so I’m good.
Harsens Island Revenge
Currently we are in a holding pattern with Harsens Island Revenge to see if theaters will give us dates. We just finished a run at the Wells Flame and are ready for more. We are still waiting on dates from Emagine and Fridley who ran SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA. We might start planning some dinner and viewings that a few places offered but we wanted audiences to see it on the big screen first. We know 10/6/2025 will be our home video release on DVD and buy/rent streaming services.
We received word from the Red Letter Awards that I talked about last week saying that in the last category of Best Supporting Actor we had two nominations. I received a nod for playing WW1 veteran Axel and Dean Teaster for playing ruthless Abe Axler. Those two characters are polar opposites and even have a run in at the climax of the film. I think Axel was a cool cat and I loved the role and he was an extreme version of myself. As for Dean his role was way outside of his true personality and add in the accent. I would love to see Dean win for the role but I have no control over that. Matter of fact you can just run down our cast list for people I believe could have been nominated for Best Actors or Actress but I am biased. I love the Best Film nomination because it reflects on everyone. Any selfishly I do hope to win Best Writer as it is something I truly love. I even had talks this past week about agent or management representation for literary. I would love to sell off a property a year.
Wild Faith Christmas
Now that the holiday is about over director Shane Hagedorn will be getting together with Dennis Therrian for last listens on music and sound design. The VFX are being dropped in and we are working on end credits. This film will be wrapping up soon and we’ll start to work on the theatrical placement for the run up to the holidays. For those eagerly waiting theatrically will be the only way to see it this holiday season. 2026 will have the film releasing to home video with the theatrical window running into 2026. Again if you have not seen the first one join the tens of millions who have and meet some of the characters in advance. I’m excited for a listen through that will be forthcoming.
ROM COMS MUST DIE – Monday we have a studio watch through to do last looks on the edit, color, VFX and sound design. Once we lock it up we’ll prep it to move over to Dennis Therrian’s studio for music and mixing. This film is just straight up fun and pokes fun at ourselves as filmmakers, actors and artists. I think the goal here will be to do a premiere in Oct. maybe even an event at the McGraw studio or in a theater. After we’ll run it in theaters for 2026 and end with a fall 2026 release to home video. We might do some horror fest showcases in-between.
SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA – Many have been stopping at one of the ad-based video on demand sites like Encourage TV, Roku, Xumo, Tubi, etc…to watch this WW2 home front drama. I did a watch on the 7/1/25 the release date and it was pure joy to watch this story again. This was directed by Anthony Hornus who we are about to talk about in development. Yes. He is getting back into the director’s chair to tell a very unique and timely story.
DEVELOPMENT:
THE SECRET OF THE KINGDOM CHIP – While this film stands on its own it also falls into a story that fits after The Quest Trilogy. For those unaware of the trilogy they are biblical adventures told with a Star Wars-like vision. Good vs Evil and the Heroes Journey play into the three films FORTY NIGHTS, CHASING THE STAR and The Christ Slayer. I really thought that I had put on the robe for the last time as I’m not funded on the level to tell of the return of J.C.. But this story pulled from the news and given a SciFi (For now) spin is a great follow up. The film has been hailed by several readers as the very best of my scripts. I’m not sure on that but I’ll take it since most all the others have been recognized for the script and/or film itself. I always say that the script is not just a box on a check list of development it is EVERYTHING. We are still in talks over the last few pieces of the funding but the finish line is in sight. We are almost done with the casting save a few that we will be doing some reads for. We have the development crew in place and the schedule is being worked on. We’ve landed on our locations and I’m very excited about the shoot end of September.
Misc. Development-
We have a handful of other film projects that are coming together. That can include script, rough schedule, concept art, budgets and such. I will be following up on more of these projects as we get others out the door. I will say that I did over the weekend start work on a highly anticipated sequel script. I’m in no rush but if it comes out how I imagine it will be very powerful. A hint can be found in a short video segment I posted this weekend. I even put a little Metallica music behind the clip for fun.
WRAP UP:
I see almost daily of artists taken while still in their prime. I’m painfully aware of the friends I’ve lost both in the filmmaking world and outside of it. It makes me really appreciate each day as a gift. The sun, rain, birds, squirrels, my loved ones and my beloved work family. I hope I’m blessed with good health to keep doing what I do. I hope my friends and family also enjoy this good health. Even watching some of Black Sabbath and Ozzy perform one last time due to Ozzy’s health issues made me pause. What if I could no longer do the things I love? I would hope I would find new interests and purpose. I joke when I get frustrated about our biz that I want to go bartend at the Moose Lodge down the road and just tell stories. But I know I would miss storytelling on the grand level that we have taken it. I was doing accounting breakdowns this weekend preparing to report and do payouts to our investors. I really appreciate all those good folks who have supported storytelling and the arts. I’m going to wrap it up here. This week will be fun with birthday gatherings, film mixing and more. I hope you all have a great week ahead. Thank you once again for stopping by and sharing a few moments with me.
Coffee Cheers!
DJ
End of June Updates! Half Way Through 2025!
Good morning my friends. I’m sipping some coffee but with coconut vs hazelnut this morning. I’m glad the humid heat broke somewhat allowing a good mow on the property and some tree trimming. Everything green is growing like crazy with the rain and heat. I’ve been harvesting some herbs and berries for future wine. I’ve been balancing the work flow and trying to stay on top of everything. I’ve discussed this before but communication is so very important when you have projects with so many moving pieces. If you ever want to see your productivity grow focus on your team’s communication. I’ve still got a few folks that I’m working on. I had a good talk about this yesterday that when you are accountable you need to be in the knowing.
Harsens Island Revenge – Funny story. So from those asked to go to IMDB.com and vote and leave a review we had a 9.1 of 10 ranking. I had someone reach out happy about that and I replied “Our haters haven’t caught up yet.” This person said that this stat was posted because of joy and pride in the work. The very next day someone voted a 1 and the ranking fell a touch. So many jealous people in this world who just want to poop in the pool. They have been around since the beginning but to me it is sad and predictable. Another artists distraught that they cannot pull something together and so they lash out. Don’t hate, create. You think or know you can do better, do it.
We have two more nights of shows at the Wells Flame Theater in MN. I’m excited to see where we go next. We have been working on the Emagine/Detroit area now for a beat. If it takes much longer we’ll bypass the chains for now and go to the individually owned. It is a great Detroit area story and the people want to see it. Any way you cut it on Oct 6th it will release to DVD and streaming but it is something to watch it on the big screen. Texas just played Doc’s Drive in and that must have been cool. So keep calling your theaters and we will keep pushing on our end.
I will also drop some PR in advance of next week’s releases. The Red Letter Awards has almost released all the nominations for 2025. The awards show outside Nashville will be on Sept 13th. We have been nominated for Best Film (The Team!), Best Writer (DJ Perry), Best Actor (David Reardon) and Actress (Cassie Dean), Best Supporting Actress (Melissa Anschutz), Best Director (Carl Weyant) * PR coming and for Best Supporting Actor (DJ Perry & Dean Teaster) * PR coming. I think Axel is one of the coolest roles I’ve played in a while. Axel is the reluctant helping hand while Dean Teaster played a truly scary and dangerous character in Abe Axler. While I love the nod the role is a few steps from myself with some 1920’s filters. Dean on the other hand is the nicest person and his role is so far outside himself accent and all, that I believe it to be the better performance. But the great scenes we both had with the leads both nominated and the cast shows how important everyone is to a story. We had so many actors and actresses that were worthy of being nominated. A big thank you to the Red Letter Awards.
Wild Faith Christmas – My updates from director Shane Hagedorn and composer/sound designer Dennis Therrian let me know we are close to a finish on the audio elements of the film. VFX and credit sequences are being looked at. We need to review and add final end credits which is on my TO DO list. This film is going to be an amazing follow up to WILD FAITH. I will start having some conversations about the TV series and see where that goes.
ROM COMS MUST DIE – The first week in July we are set to have a final review of the picture cut, color and VFX that is being put in now. Sound design is being done and after it will be moving to Dennis Therrian’s studio for music score and mixing. The 1st trailer is roughed out but trying to get a few things lined up with that before a release. This comedy thriller (horror) will be a fun one and we will look to have a premiere in October. After maybe a few festival showcases but it will release to theaters and release to home video in 2026.
Development/ Pre-Production:
The Secret of the Kingdom Chip – Anthony Hornus, the director of Man’s Best Friend and Silent Night in Algona is stepping back into the director’s chair. Please do watch the previously mentioned films to get a taste of the powerful stories “Tony” loves to tell. This film almost has all the investment units assigned and once that is complete we move to official pre-production. We have our shoot dates and locations in place. We are filming again in association with McGraw Multimedia (Rom Coms Must Die) with John McGraw as the director of photography. We have been doing preliminary casting and crewing and reaching out for a few reads. This film is really special in that the story is a follow up to The Quest Trilogy, biblical series we shot in Yuma. If you have not watched these three films FORTY NIGHTS, CHASING THE STAR and THE CHRIST SLAYER do so! This is a story set in modern times. It is SciFi and spiritual mixed and the script alone has spurred so many great conversations. This film will leave you talking for sure. The film is also a great dose of positivity something badly needed in these days. We have a social media Facebook page feel free to leave your reels on there. Also looking at crew in the Lansing, Owosso area of central Michigan. We’ve already got art team working on breakdowns and conceptual work. Cameras will roll in September and we’ll have this film ready to release in 2026.
MISC.
We do have additional development underway on a few other films. We just had a camera team shoot promo for a music festival. We also hope to have the most recent music video from Shallow Rising release in the coming weeks. I do have a few script properties I am working on. But nothing we need to talk about now.
WRAP UP:
This week I’ve had some great formal and informal conversations on life, projects and more. We have several requested reads coming in for the upcoming film and those will be fun to review. We already have seen some amazing reads and are excited for the cast line up. I have a few more meetings set up to discuss potential crew. We will likely use a good amount of McGraw’s team as our associated partners. But will be bringing in our own folks too. John McGraw is an OG of CDI reaching back into the earliest days. It is such a joy having him back in the mix of things.
I was happy to finalize the end of year tax pay off which took a while but is now crossed off the list. We’re now moving to some disbursements which I plan to have done and out in the next 2-3 weeks if not sooner. I talked with a few folks about how much work goes on behind the scenes for months before shooting and years after shooting. If it was as easy as just playing with the camera. We all started that way but doing it as a profession is a whole different level.
I’m going to wrap things up here. On the home front we have two new chickens including one that did an escape on day one leading to a chase like ROCKY BALBOA. Our one sick cat is home and on the mend. Two of the foster kittens entered their new home yesterday. We are still awaiting a run of dry days to seal and stain the deck. Enjoying the days of Summer but we can do without the crazy humidity. I think it is time for a few eggs so I’m going to wrap things up here. Thank you all for stopping by and having a cup of coffee or two.
Have a great Sunday and week ahead!
DJ
Reflections on War, Birthday and Future Projects
Hello. I’m sipping my coffee and sitting down to share a few thoughts with you. My thoughts the last few weeks have been on the subject of peace. This morning the news was filled with the briefs on the US strikes aimed to remove the nuclear facilities from Iran. My mind reflects upon how that frightened pets, wildlife, families who are stuck dealing with the decisions of the leaders. I think we all agree that nuclear war is not good for anyone and I love the idea of the reduction of those such weapons. I truly hope that we can get back to a place of peace. Real peace. Is that possible because of the way we humans are wired? I don’t know. This is just one example of several on-going world issues. I’ve spoken so many times about communication. It’s so key to everything. The US is also divided whereas every difference of opinion is amplified and weaponized by activist, politicians and media who feed on the conflict. I wish I had a solid solution and even if I did I don’t know how you would ever implement it. In every conflict there are grieving families. For every father, brother, family member killed in conflict the trauma ignites hate and violence within what was once just innocence. I did not want to ignore these world events. I’m just a storyteller. We can tell stories of joy, love and pride as well as sorrow, shame and caution. Let us all hope that balance, harmony and peace can be restored to the world as a whole.
FILMS UPDATES:
Harsens Island Revenge– This amazing 1920’s action drama is on the last day of showing in Rogers City, MI to packed crowds. One more day, today! I believe Buda, Texas is next at the drive in location. I know talks are underway with Emagine to play several of their locations. Same with Iowa, Nebraska and Minnesota where we play soon at the Wells Flame Theater. We’ve entered at least one festival and may enter a few more just for the fun exposure. I have to review the paperwork but I think our home video date will be 10/6/25 but I need to confirm that. We have marketing meetings coming up for that but until we want audiences to experience the big screen thrill. For those that have seen the film thank you for your support!
Wild Faith Christmas – Music and sound design is getting close to being done. The VFX shots are being worked on and will be the final pieces color corrected. We’ve started the difficult process of creating the end credits. I’ve said it before someone always gets accidentally left off or a name spelled wrong usually from bad handwriting by an extra. This powerful and beautiful film will grace theaters this holiday season. After maybe a few festivals before it starts the 2026 holiday run on home video. Shane Hagedorn did a wonderful job directing and Dennis Therrian is weaving his musical magic as we speak.
ROM COMS MUST DIE – The rough trailer is cut and it just needs to be polished up. The film is also at a place where the edit and color correction are about a lock. One more good pass is needed. The sound design is in a good place and the plan is to move it into Dennis Therrian’s studio to compose the score once we can lock it. 2025 in October it might be cool to do a premiere at one of these festivals but we will have to see how the work flow moves.
The Secret of the Kingdom Chip (TSOTKC) – This uniquely crafted story pulled from the headlines and given a SciFi spin (for now) is still bringing the last few investment units on board. That said, the interest in the story has been powerful and I’ve been humbled once again by the scripts feedback. Having been nominated for ‘Best Writer’ on our current Harsens Island Revenge release makes me smile. Several of the films have garnished those nominations and wins and often have left to Best Film, Most Inspirational and so on. I’m a firm believer that the script is the key. You have to have a powerful blue print to make a powerful film. I’ve had a half dozen talks this past week over the impact of folks reading the script. One trusted friend said that he has been enjoyed many great scripts from our camp but this one is the most profound. I know we have a great blue print. Our director Anthony Hornus has been working with our team on casting and locations. We have a few crew attached that need to start doing mental work and once we lock down the final few financial pieces we will reach out to more crew. It looks like it will be shot in Lansing and Owosso and will film end of September. Right now we will keep some of the project ‘Secret’ like the title suggests but soon enough we will have a lot more PR.
Other Development-
We have several other projects in development. We have someone traveling to Chicago next weekend to talk on a project. I’ve been in talks with folks from Iowa, mostly the Spirit Lake area. We have projects to consider for sure.
Birthday Reflections- I am on the eve of my birthday. My 55th but I really don’t feel that way physically just in accumulated wisdom. June 23rd, tomorrow (Monday) is that day. I’ve always been a dreamer and I’ve had many thoughts leading up to this new birthday about my journey. I had a great question asked to me by my mother. She in turn was asked by a few friends of hers. Why did I never go to Hollywood? Wouldn’t my career be further along if I have moved to Hollywood? I have many friends in Hollywood and love my visits like visiting Las Vegas. Everyone buzzes about the biz and you don’t have to worry about boring people with film talk. BUT…I love my family. I love my friends. I love playing soccer with my brother and team mates. Several years ago I had to really think about that and for me I cannot be one of those people who only gets to visit with my family a few hours a year. See my brother and his beautiful family once in a while. To see dear friends I have had from age 5 or 6 on only every couple years. Add in that I absolutely LOVE my state of Michigan and my town of Lansing. I’m a small town guy not an LA, NYC or any major city type of guy. I choose to take the long road and be content with wherever that took me. What could have developed if Hollywood was my home base? I might not ever get to any top of the mountain but I love my family, friends and my film tribe. I love the stories we’ve told. I still chase larger budgets only to compensate our artists better but that is always a difficult climb. But one I do happily because when I have a set back or a frustrating challenge I have family, friends and our tribe to fall back on. So if you want to do me a birthday solid watch a CDI film. SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA goes to ad based free watch with adds on 7/1/2025. Here several of our films can be found free with adds- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2Tn2MhKrkFOCsmKZaxoZCT1R5GEOEL3E
So I’m happy with not being the king of the hill. I don’t need to be anything but me and I love our stories. I’ve been humbled by the tens of millions who have watched our films. I’m not trying to buy mansions, cars, clothes or anything of the sort. I work every day to make that one film story that turns someone into a fan. To turn and touch one of the ‘haters’ out there with a film story that hits truth with them. That would be amazing. I’ve said before that most of the ‘haters’ I’ve ever had were just frustrated artists. It must be easier to direct that at someone else versus take some sort of accountability. I’m a semi-reformed work-a-holic and that is why I’ve done more than some. Nobody is going to be everyone’s cup of tea. I go to an art gallery and see things that make me wonder why it is taking up space while someone else expounds upon the brilliance of poorly arranged soup cans and string. OK. I just don’t get it but that is okay. We’ve told many kinds of stories so I hope we might have a few that you truly enjoy.
WRAP UP: I’m going to wrap this up. Go pick some berries for future FRANENBERRY WINE. Have a few eggs. I sadly had to bury two of the elderly chickens but in the circle of life we have two new ones arriving Weds. I’m having a lunch with my dad today and seeing some friends and my brother tonight. Tomorrow another birthday lunch/early dinner with family. Next week I’m going to work hard to give myself the birthday gift of finalizing the business on TSOTKC film. I hope each of you have an equally amazing week. Our soccer match last week got rained out and I hope they reschedule that soon. Rain is also called for again this week so I hope we don’t have to reschedule that one too. Stay hydrated in this heat and we’ll talk again next week.
For peace.
DJ
Every Task is a Test!
Good morning all my artistic minded friends. I’m sipping the hazelnut coffee and sitting down to review the week and to look ahead. It is June 1st the first day of my birthday month. I sometimes get a little edgy during my birthday month wanting to get things done. Now I’m looking at not our 1st film of the year but film 2 and 3. And as for releasing we are releasing film 1 of 3. Lotta that number 3 floating about. We have had two soccer matches where we lost 3-2. But I have to say my recovery during week 2 here has been much better. My body has that good sore that those in sports know very well. I’m happy with my play and endurance and last Thursday I was pushed to my limit and it felt great. Sadly, one of my dear friends broke a bone in his leg and will have some recovery time. It might be a season ending injury when you count rehabilitation into the equation. I’m wishing him a speedy recovery. Others on both teams made minor injures including one guy on the opposing team took a friendly fire shot to the head. He was dazed hard and it just goes to show soccer is truly a full body battle. We don’t have people taking dives and magic mists and water bottles like on the pro stage. These are aged warriors battling it out. I love being back at it.
This last week was horrible for communication. I’m trying to excuse some of it with everyone coming off the holiday. But that is hard to do when we have individuals who are solid, regular communication. We are in an age where you can whip off an update via text or even hands free with voice command. If you have a deadline and you are going to miss it you better follow up with an explanation. Every task is a test. You might be handling a small but important part of the greater task. But you are being evaluated to see if you are ready for more. The goal for an individual is to become known as reliable, dependable and someone who always gives a best effort. These are the things that lead to major roles on feature films. These hints work for both sides of the camera. I have one individual I’ve been trying to communicate with on some business but I also had something greater in the back of my mind. But bad communication takes them off that casting or crewing list. Communication amazingly seems more regular when you are offering something versus asking. I worked some hard to build my career with professional, prompt communication. I just can’t wrap my head around it all. I know the opportunities a person had within their grasp but they lost those opportunities by painting themselves unreliable.
But in the spirit of competition everyone trying to get ahead counts on people self destructing themselves. I’m thanked often by executives at our accounting firm, distributors, etc…for my prompt response. So when people wonder why do I get opportunities that others don’t I have things like those examples to point to as an example of why. I work with a handful of the younger generation trying to teach what has worked for me. You won’t find anyone with their nose buried in a cell phone at one of our meetings. That amazing tool is a pacifier for many people. You add up your hours wasted and compare that to presentations, pitches, scripts and more that I fill that time with. Now again I’m not saying this to hold myself higher but I am suggesting to others a better use of time and communication. But again when others don’t display the same level of professionalism that is why they aren’t entrusted with capital. Ultimately that works out in our favor but I still work hard to try and streamline our work flows and communication is that key.
Let’s move into some discussion on our CDI films.
Harsens Island Revenge (HIR) is in somewhat of a holding pattern with several of the chain theaters. We are waiting for the summer glut of films to lighten so we can get some dates. We were tentatively given last Friday as a release date for HIR at Emagine in Detroit. But in the lead up the communication to solidify the run dates when quiet. So we’re looking at more mom and pop theaters while waiting on the chains. We also might open up a couple opportunities for dinner shows at a pair of event halls wanting the film. We are also doing the marketing prep for home video (DVD and streaming) that launches in October. In the meantime we hear you and want you to be able to see the film on the big screen. CDI and our theatrical partners at Dreamscape Prods are working hard to lock in those showings.
This past week Melissa Anschutz was nominated for ‘Best Supporting Actress’ joining noms for Best Actor (David Reardon), Best Director (Carl Weyant), Best Screenplay (DJ Perry) and Best Film! More to come who knows we might receive a few more. We are grateful for the recognition.
Post Production:
Wild Faith Christmas music, VFX and color corrections are underway. This is another very exciting film that continues where Wild Faith left off. I might look at a producers rep to work with CDI on the TV series set up. We’ll be preparing this film to hit theaters in November.
Rom Coms Must Die is locking up color correction and the VFX list is being prepped. Sound design is underway and the last step will be moving this over to Dennis Therrian for the score and final mix. I was promised a look at version 2 of the trailer this weekend so we’ll see if that lands today.
Development:
The next film up looking to film this Summer is THE SECRET OF THE KINGDOM CHIP. This will be the second CDI collaboration with McGraw Multimedia. The Director of Photography will again be John McGraw. We are just starting to look at key cast and director. Also we are rounding out the funding with half of the funds committed. I’ve had a few conversations and will be putting some materials together to present this coming week. The second project being looked at for Fall/Winter is looking like- (one announcement at a time:)
Writing:
I was pleased with my Harsens Island Revenge script nomination. I’ve had many and won several over the years. I do love that this part of my skillset has been so active the last decade and a half. Script-wise I am working on a few projects but one treatment/script that I’ve been working on is a sequel to a CDI favorite. I have a great story in place and I just need to work it all into script format. If you are looking for that original script or book adaptation feel free to reach out.
Misc:
- I had some great conversations this week catching up with some filmmaking amigos like Terry Jernigan and Taymour Ghazi just to name a few. I love catching up with their newest projects and talking about possibly collaborations.
- Great meeting with ‘Tiger’ this week (John Mashni) about the evolution of CDI work flow.
- Set several meetings this week to advance certain projects on several fronts.
- Setting a few PR podcasts and such which will be fun.
- I need to work with Dean Teaster and get our next literary project (Ghost Town book reissue) out to market.
- We are starting to prepare the dispersement/returns for investors on the various CDI films.
- I have to check and see when the release on the music video “Blizzard’ by Shallow Rising is due to drop.
WRAP UP: I’ve been processing wood for next winter. I’ve constructed a new wood rack and I’m slowly dismantling the old wood shed. Much like the turning of seasons you have to always be prepping for the seasons ahead. I’ve been loving working outside whereas my work breaks are business calls. The office and surrounding area are my good zen. In those quiet times with the birds and squirrels I’m able to see where I need to put my next efforts.
We ended up getting the sealant/stain for the new deck and soon that task will be up. You always have the small fix-its to do. So I’m going to wrap things up here. I want to try and get some of those fixes done. I also have a few catch up biz calls I want to make. So I’m going to thank you all for stopping through here and having a coffee, tea…whatever and share a read. I hope you have a great week ahead. Welcome to June! May it be productive for us all.
DJ
Memorial Day Weekend – Updates on Releases, Post Work and New Films at CDI!
A hazelnut coffee cheers and a happy Memorial Day weekend. It is a day/weekend of remembering the fallen and CDI has a great number of films that recognizes the sacrifices made by soldiers. Wicked Spring, Wild Faith, Man’s Best Friend, An Ordinary Killer and more focus on what the loss often does to those who survive. So please do take the time to be thankful for the peace and security many of us live within thanks to their sacrifice and efforts.
On the home front I’m happy to report that our soccer season kicked off on a wet and cold Thursday. We outplayed a rival team in my opinion but lost 3-2 due to the factors that happen in a game. But above that it felt great to be pushing myself to the limit and to be in such competition. The next day I got up stiff but did a full property mow and trim but that led to a nap that lasted 3 hours. I usually do a 30min to 1 hour nap tops but my body and mind must have needed it. I woke feeling great! But my day two stiffness was pretty complete and today day three is better so it is something I’ll have to go through. But I feel so good now that my body is getting that “battle” on a weekly basis.
This week saw the announcement of Carl Weyant nominated for Best Director and myself for Best Writer (screenplay) at the Red Letter Awards for Harsens Island Revenge (HIR). More individual nominations will continue to roll out. Here is the announcement – https://www.prlog.org/13077745-red-letter-awards-rolls-out-new-nominations-for-harsens-island-revenge.html – The film concluded runs this week in Oscoda, Owosso, Lansing, Muskegon and Grand Rapids Michigan and in Middletown, CT. We are battling with the summer studio films for space. We have a June run in Rogers City, MI set and we are trying to confirm the run at Emagine Theater in Macomb. But people and their communication can be lacking. We want to form an event page and start some promo for the first Detroit area showing but they don’t make it easy.
You who have seen the film can make it easier by voting and leaving a review at https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21062442/reference/?ref_=fn_all_ttl_1 and also at Google, Rotten Tomatoes and more. The first hater came along on the review boards. I’ve seen lots of films and I know what a 1 or 2 film looks like even subjectively. Harsens (HIR) might not be everyone’s cup of tea but when we see a person who created an account to rate a 2. (Note on IMDB 1 and 10’s are not given the same weight as 2 and 9) plus a review that almost always traces back to a disgruntled actor, writer or filmmaker who cannot get their dream project off the ground. Jealously is never a good path and it makes me feel sad for them. There are many who work with budgets above what we can pull together. And in turn we have budgets better than many others but even more-so we have the #tribecdi team that can actually make it all happen. There is so much to filmmaking beyond what the hobbyist see’s. So when you see success on our end you are seeing a lotta hard work by a lotta talented and driven people.
So do review, vote, promote and call your theaters and request the film. But know we don’t really have any power of the set up. The theater is entering into a business arrangement and they have to be open to it. Open can also mean schedule with so many studio obligations whereas you must take these films in these many theaters and play them for this long. So we will be giving our best efforts to get the film into theaters before our Oct 1, 2025 home video release to DVD and streaming. Our friends in Algona, Iowa have been asking and so far the Fridley wants to play us in the fall which means likely Sept if at all. Forest City, Iowa we are trying to work that out. We do have some theaters asking us in Iowa, Nebraska and Minnesota. Harsens Island Revenge is a good historical drama follow up to Silent Night in Algona.
Speaking on Silent Night in Algona it will finally go to the last phase of release which is ad based video on demand or free with ads like TUBI in July. It is one of the most popular stages for audiences well because it is free to them and advertisers pay the filmmakers. This is another film on Amazon and various platforms great for a Memorial Day watch. While on this film I will say we have a few Iowa-based film projects in development. We would really like to return there and tell a few more stories. We are in the funding stage and that is always the real trick.
Post Work is continuing with Wild Faith Christmas working on the final music and VFX. The color correction minus a few tweaks seems done. And ROM COMS MUST DIE is working down the post production path also. Color correction is about done and the picture is a lock. Sound design and VFX is underway and music will be the last step before an overall mix. I think with Rom Coms Must Die we will do a few months of festival showings before going to theaters. We are preparing marketing clips now and it will be fun to promote that film.
DEVELOPMENT– Now that theatrical is off and running and post work is moving smoothly along we are looking ahead. With the busy year of releases we’re going to tackle two smaller scope films meaning fewer locations, cast and not as epic in the world-building. Next up for us appears like another CDI/McGraw Multimedia collaboration follow up after Rom Coms Must Die. The film is a SciFi/Tech script with some religious themes called THE KINGDOM CHIP. The second project is the feature version of SMOKE & MIRRORS the Victorian turn-of-the-century who done it. Discussions have been underway for key players in these two projects. We will start to get more solid with these two projects in the coming weeks.
As I was waiting for a few book to script projects to solidify I wrote The Kingdom Chip script that is the right scope and uses the McGraw studio. We are also going to try and get a few more of the literary releases out the back half of the year. Also we will resume tests on the final three CDI classic films we are trying to bring up to HD. I recently did a Voice Over job for my alumni school Michigan State University. I am also looking at a few acting opportunities but it needs to make sense and I need to connect with a story and role. If you have interest in cast, crew, funders feel free to reach out. We keep a file of all those interested because sometimes schedules don’t work out for folks.
WRAP UP: I just had some eggs and things are doing well there. One of our fur babies has had upset stomach for a few days. She is slowly feeling better but you hate to see them off. It could be eating something in the yard from poop to a bad plant to water out of the bird bath. Either way we are helping her to slowly feel better. The yard is in good shape but I might work on the dismantling of the old wood shed and a retaining wall under the deck. We need to pick out a stain and get that done also.
I love all the green growth in the yard and I think some flowers and herbs will be bought today and planted. I do have some already growing and even tasted the first mint of the year. I do love working the dirt and watching things grow. That is kind of like the film projects. Nurturing brings about a final product/harvest and other people get to enjoy it. I’m really feeling so good now that Harsens is launched. Now it is giving best efforts every day to allow folks to see it. And come October it will roll out to the millions we do not reach.
I saw that LOST HEART which has a new campaign along with BEST YEARS GONE rolling out is gathering a new audience. Lost Heart almost has a million views on Encourage TV and exceeds a million when you add a few of the streaming platforms. Both of these are wonderful films again worthy of a watch by all of you!
I’m going to see my brother later today and some of my friends. Tomorrow we will enjoy another day of holiday. But know as soon as we get our full run of dates from Emagine Macomb we will spread that PR around. I don’t like that we don’t get a lot of lead up on some of these releases but others like Rogers City, MI we do. You just gotta roll with it and know that good things will happen. I hope you all have a safe and relaxing few days. Remember to be good to one another and we’ll talk again next week.
DJ
Trust in the Process! Welcome to May!
Germany, Finland and Ireland are where most our readers were from last week outside the US. Today is a touch chilly but the sun has been out and color from flowers blooming are everywhere. Violets, tulips and apple blossoms are among the many flowers. I’ve been cleaning herbal grow beds and planting some seeds here and there. Sun flowers and green beans are some of the seed planted. I mulched up all the leaves and also started some test sanding on the deck. It only needs some spot sanding and so I’ve decided to do it all myself. After will be a seal and stain but already the railings on the stairs is nice and smooth. I need to get things ready for some grilling which maybe I’ll do today. The deck is waterproofed with metal sheets underneath that run into a gutter and out into the yard. It makes the under area so nice. This week I’m going to work on rebuilding a retaining wall but it makes such a nice space behind the house.
This week was full of movie work with release promotions, post production work and development for the next couple of CDI films. I’ve been having scripts read by some of the key folks we are considering. I’ve been working on budgets also which is a lot of number crunching. We’ve already got some folks ready for the next couple adventures but I have to make sure we are ready to make it happen. Who, what, where, when and how are the basics. We can discuss more on the new projects later. Let’s take a bullet point look at some of the developments.
- Harsens Island Revenge was held over for a second week. Alpena and the surrounding area have turned out to support this wonderful story. The shows have been selling out and many people have seen the film multiple times. Four times might be the current record. I’ve been getting some great fan mail on the movie itself and the character of Axel. A heart-felt thank you.
- Here is a great review from the Alpena News READ: https://www.thealpenanews.com/life/2025/05/step-back-into-the-1920s-with-harsens-island-revenge/
- If you go to the Harsens Island Revenge Facebook page you can see updates on new theaters and great pics and videos from people watching the film.
- Next up will be NCG which we’re trying to get it booked beyond the Owosso screen (Starts May 17th) so if you have an NCG in your area call them and request Harsens Island Revenge!
- Our previous period drama SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA was the kick off film for Iowa’s 3rd annual Farm to Film Fest at the State Theater the oldest continuing operating cinema in the world! If you have not seen this film you can rent/buy it on Amazon and several platforms. Directed by Anthony Hornus this WW2 drama will educate and entertain you!
- I hope in the tradition of spring all of you had a chance to watch THE QUEST TRILOGY the 3 biblical adventures consisting of Forty Nights, Chasing the Star and The Christ Slayer. Available on many platforms just google it up!
- I want to explore WILD FAITH going back into select theaters before our sequel Wild Faith Christmas releases into theaters this year. The post work is coming along great and I’m excited to have this follow up story release. The TV series is still a hope and we’ll see what opportunities open up. Music is being composed and I’m looking forward to a listen through soon!
- Rom Coms Must Die the Travis Hayward directed comedy/horror film is close to a lock picture. We will review on Monday to also sign off on the color correction. Sound design has been underway and we’ll do another spot on that. We will also be reviewing a first trailer cut so that will be exciting to see.
- I’m told that Dean Teaster’s Ghost Town is now playing HistoryFix a subscription based site that runs quality historical films. It is also where you can watch it in 4k!
- CDI’s first film KNIGHT CHILLS is now available on TUBI for lovers of that platform. Actually CDI has several films playing that service you can google the titles from IMDB or just search ‘DJ Perry’ or one of your favorite CDI actors and their films should come up.
MISC.
I think I’ve mentioned before that The Red Letter Awards nominated Harsens Island Revenge for Best Picture. Previously our WW2 drama Silent Night in Algona beat several million and tens of million dollar budget films for Best Picture. I also was nominated and won for Best Screenplay. I believe in part that is why we could knock off bigger films. It has to be captured and performed at a high level but it all starts with the script. I love that over the last decade plus my writing has been recognized. I use to play it down so it didn’t eclipse my acting but I don’t hide that anymore. I celebrate it because to have a chance at a good film you need an excellent script.
I’ve been evaluating two books on request to possibly turn into screenplays and likely produce. I will work on a script that CDI doesn’t produce. Some organizations have many things going in the right direction but a poor script will hurt everything. I got into writing as an actor wanting deeper more powerful stories. I’ve had to have a few conversations about scripts that isn’t always easy. But write, write and rewrite can help improve your skills. Many directors aren’t as good of writers as they are directors. Hey, I don’t direct. We can’t all be good at everything. I recently challenged a friend to dive deeper into a script they are developing. I also have a call this week where I was asked to evaluate a film and the weak point was the script. And the company owner is the writer so again I’ll have an honest conversation. It all starts with the script.
Development: I’ve got the two active developing scripts and we have at least three passive development scripts. Active could be shot this year and passive is more likely next year even if funding pops now. Locations, casting and many things directly affect the development of a project but ultimately it is funding. Over the course of the month we’ll be running accounting to prep for new dispersement of revenue from our films. Peaks and valleys as often films go on and off certain platforms and catch an audience here or misses there. We’ve got some new campaigns to push certain films into new circles.
I will say with two of the CDI films MBF: MANS BEST FRIEND and LOST HEART I get asked often about a sequel Both have sequel outlines and both have had some script work. But the audiences need to get behind the originals. We have loyal fans for both those films but share that love with others. I might work more on those two scripts in my free time. But right now we have a good amount of development work underway. I will be approaching some of the past EP’s to give them first opportunity on some of the new films. I would love to film one this summer and one this fall.
WRAP UP:
My week was made by the smiling faces and the great responses to the new HIR (Harsens..)release. I hope to have some promo art underway this week. I know the film is being delivered to NCG this week for testing. Also home video will be getting the film with a few format corrections for the Oct 1st DVD/streaming release. I’m just tickled by all the joy I’m seeing. That is so much better than anger, division and hate.
I might finish sanding the railings on the porch today and do a bit more yard work. Tomorrow I look forward to being in the studio with Rom Coms Must Die. We are working with our Dreamscape Prods partners to get more theaters on line. You calls help this process. Work hard towards your goals but also trust the process. That is also a way to practice patience. If you’ve done the work sometimes you must wait and trust the process. I’ve talked before about this as a PULSE versus a RAY. The latter can be draining and as we know sometimes the watched pot never boils.
With that it is time to refill the coffee cup and soon make some eggs. I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday. I look forward to sitting down and sharing with you again next week. If you saw any of the films and want to drop a note here please do. If you want to have a film play near you make the calls. I will be attending the Owosso, MI May 17th screening and look forward to shaking some hands. I hope your May continues to be a beautiful one.
DJ
‘Harsens Island Revenge’ Has Roared Onto The Big Screen! (Plus other CDI Developments)
(Graham Turner showcasing one of the cast/crew mugs from our Reinert Pottery sponsor)
I woke to beautiful sunshine streaming in the window even though the outside is a touch chilly. We have flowers blooming and trees are budding and everything is starting to take on a beautiful green color. This past week I finally did my lawn mow and mulch. I finished my trimming of the apple trees and the mulberry trees might be next. I’ve loved that I can disconnect from the desk at times and go tinker on the property between business calls. I hope everyone had a nice Easter and carry that good feeling into the spring. We lost one of our hens to an illness and I buried her. The next day my lil mouse Jerry who I had been working to live trap and relocate got hung up on a sweet potato bag. When I say hung I mean just that found him dead. Poor lil dude was still warm I cut him free and tried to rub some life into him with gloves on but no dice. So another day and another burial amongst the raspberry bushes.
(The film is bringing family and friends together!)
Okay let’s talk movies! Friday up in Alpena the classic cars were out and the flapper dresses and soot suits made an appearance for the kick-off showing. Of what? Harsens Island Revenge of course. An afternoon showing for cast and crew and the public got to see the first showing Friday night! A packed house and that carried right into yesterday and I’m going to guess today. I know folks who have seen the film three times already. It plays great on on the big screen and I’m excited to see it play Owosso, MI starting on May 17th! That is the home town of the book author Karl Manke and fellow actor/producer Anthony Hornus. There will be an afterglow party there also. Lansing, Grand Rapids and Detroit bookings are underway. We will try to hit as many as we can put people need to reach out to their theaters and request it. You can see some great pics from the Alpena showings by going to the FB page of the same name. Also if you saw the film and what to talk about it you can put your review comments on http://www.imdb.com (Harsens Island Revenge)
The next film coming down the pike (funny term) is WILD FAITH CHRISTMAS. We are seeing a nice surge in viewing of the original film WILD FAITH. The sequel has a first pass on color correction and music has started as well as the opening credit sequence. This film will bring some of the favorite characters back to the big screen in November. The Season 1 that I have written might find its funding/footing we will see. I think fans of the first will really love this follow up and first time viewers will love the film. But they might be inspired to go back and watch the first film. Either way this amazing film is moving down the post process with Dennis Therrian’s music being currently created! Follow this film’s FB page for more updates.
ROM COMS MUST DIE the dark comedy about filmmaking and the first feature by Travis Hayward. On Monday we’ll watch the film on the big screen and see if we want any adjustments before we lock it. We are going to also look where we can add additional sound design. I completed my Voice Over work on Saturday so that will be laid into the picture. We’ll also discuss any tweaks to color correction and next week I should see a first trailer cut. This film is wildly unique and I think will be well received especially by artists. Follow this film’s FB page for more updates.
MISC.
- I did a VO for an MSU promo piece which was really cool because it is my alumni school!
- A new music video for SHALLOW RISING should be coming out soon!
- I sent the new Semi-Sci-Fi script THE KINGDOM CHIP to a few individuals for feedback. I’ve gotten some great feedback on the script and some input that had me tweak the dialog a bit on a few scenes and I like the flow much better. This is sitting with one of our directors and I’m awaiting their feedback.
- After ROM COMS MUST DIE (RCMD) will decided to do a few of these lower-budget films giving some new opportunities to artists. I have two scripts being evaluated and I’m working to identify directors and DP’s (Camera). While releasing these two big films it might be a good breather to do the smaller scope films for a beat. We had so much fun with RCMD.
- Last week I did a newspaper interview and two podcasts. Here is the Alpena newspaper interview– https://www.thealpenanews.com/life/2025/04/harsens-island-revenge-opens-tonight-at-sanctuary-cinema/
- Here is the ESPN podcast with 3PP – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kr55Z78nMpo
- The other podcast is THE INTENSE LIFE and I will post next week once it goes live.
- Collaborations – I have a few follow up phone calls on possible collaborations. In these situations they have their own funds and want it done properly. A few of these include scripts already written and in development. In a few others it could have me writing the script. It all starts with the script.
- This week I talked about the post film work but it will be diving deeper into the development. Even typing here has helped me put everything into perspective. I think I know the direction I want to take. I’m anxious for some feedback this week that will help influence those decisions.
- Again if you have a theater near you and you want the film to travel to your back yard please contact the theater management and request the film. If you can pass on the contact info I will put that into the hands of our theatrical booker!
WRAP UP: What a week! I want to thank all the wonderful fan mail I received for the performance in Harsens as ‘Axel’ the WW1 vet who assists our lead Frankie (David Reardon) in his situation with the Purple Gang. We will try to get some more reviews done and announce some new theater dates! In the meantime the film will play in Alpena for at least the week maybe longer. A trip to Alpena would be fun and you could see a film too in that beautiful Sanctuary Cinema. Thank you to our friends there! I’m off to make a few eggs and work in the yard today. It is really looking good and soon the summer zen will be upon us. Until next week be good to one another!
Coffee Cheers!
DJ
DJ Perry's Official Blog 'Clawing My Way to the Middle' 
Mother’s Day, New Theatrical Releases, Post-Work Updates, Development and More…
(Me and my beloved momma)
Hazelnut coffee cheers to you all! Let’s hear it for Mother’s and to those who mother. I’m blessed to have my momma healthy and still with us as we journey through this life. Today we have a planned picnic at a park we use to go to as kids. It will be fun and I’m looking forward to some good family time. I have soccer on the telly which is getting me excited for our season that will start in a few short weeks. To say that things have been busy would be a major understatement. Let me jump into some of that.
As we have just completed our first theatrical run of Harsens Island Revenge in Alpena we are beyond thrilled. The audiences showed up in force over two weeks with many sold out shows. I was blown away by the people who went and saw the film three or four times but they said they saw something new each time. Our director saw a few things that others did not pick up that he wanted to adjust and so he did. Now we are in a crunch to move this new version down the work flow line to be ready for Celebration Cinema’s release in Lansing (May 16th- 21st) Grand Rapids (May 16th-18th) and Muskegon (May 16th-18th) and NCG theaters that will release May 17th-21st in Owosso, Michigan. We have our first Detroit area dates for the end of May but want to firm up the run dates but know the film is coming!
So many moving parts where one email that someone isn’t CC’d on or an updating text or phone call can disrupt the flow so easily. Everyone wants to create the best experience for the audiences. An afterglow will happen after the Owosso first show on the 17th announced at the show. Lansing’s kick off on the 16th will likely have an afterglow at the Midtown Brewing Co as one of our sponsors. And I would not be surprised at other pop up afterglows. Alpena went all 1920’s with their dress and that too is welcome. We are working on many out of state showings and we’ll be rolling this film out into theaters until Oct 1st!
If you have seen Harsens Island Revenge and want to help you can leave reviews at places like ROTTEN TOMATOES, IMDB, GOOGLE and LETTERBOXD. Also you can request the film at your local theaters and if you can get a manager/booker contact we will try to set up directly. The film has been nominated for Best Picture at Red Letter Awards. We’ve had several nominations and wins over the years most recently was 2023 SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA won Best Screenplay and Best Picture beating out some heavy competition. They have also started to roll out individual nominations and David Reardon has been nominated for Best Actor thus far. I’m sure we’ll have more nominations as this film really did all come together in a powerful way. We are not all about awards but it is a wonderful thing to have all the hard work recognized. This train is moving and just getting started!
Wild Faith Christmas is deep into music and color correction with our director working on an opening credit sequence. This is another beautiful film sequel to our very popular WILD FAITH movie. Watch the first film if you are interested in getting to know some of the characters ahead of time. I do want to explore putting the original back into theaters for a few weeks before we release Wild Faith Christmas into theaters. We planned the trailer in front of the ‘Harsens’ movie in Alpena and we will see if we can do that for our other releases. If you are reading this and own or work at a TV station/platform and are interested in the TV spin off reach on out. We have a season one scripted and ready to film.
ROM COMS MUST DIE – This comedy-thriller post work kicked off our week in the McGraw studio making some final adjustments and notes to the edit and the color. We are experimenting with credit sequences and a first trailer is being cut. I’ve been having fun learning some AI and creating comic panels of our characters in the film. You can see them on the Facebook page and on CDI’s Instagram page. Once we lock the picture all final VFX and sound design will be finished. Once Wild Faith Christmas is done we will have Dennis Therrian do the musical score and mix.
Development:
Three films moving right down the line 1, 2, 3 and meanwhile I’ve been having development talks over a few of our scripts looking to film this year. We are exploring the main actors, directors and DP’s and I’m having talks with funding folks. I try to match the films up with the right folks and give first rights to participate to those who have supported us. But we have turned funders away on the last few films because when we have what we need that is all we require. But we also have a growing list of sponsors from over the years.
I do still have a few possible book to script projects. Until you have a real solid script it is hard to do any real development. It is a busy time and getting some call times set up has been challenging. But I’ve always lived by “one film getting one more” and so if that continues to hold true we’ll be making another three films in the not too distant future.
The Week Ahead:
WRAP UP: I could wax on a while on everything underway. I had some great talks this past week with folks we’re working with. I love people getting opportunities and growing in their craft. I was lamenting a few folks who’s communication is sub par to severely lacking. People outside our immediate circle seem to respond better when we’re casting, crewing or generally giving. I am thankful for my old school friends from before all the movie madness. They keep me grounded and appreciate me for me. Many of my feelings about our industry I put into the writing of ROM COMS MUST DIE. The desperation many have to succeed that twists them and haunts them. I feel super lucky to have been born before technology ruled people’s lives. When I see pictures of people gazing into their phones I see a mirror. Mesmerized by vanity. Identity and self worth tied to their likes, follows or comments. 90% of the social media seems like poison. Peddling fear, insecurity and such to be able to sell a cure. Like Public Enemy says, Don’t Believe the Hype.
The property is looking beautiful with grasses, flowers and clover starting to grow. Dandelions and Violets everywhere with busy bees hard at work. Waking to birds is one of my favorite things and watching the squirrels play and carry on with their business is amusing. With the deck we’ve decided to tackle it ourselves. I’ve been doing a light spot sanding focusing on the railings and imperfections. A new chicken coop community center is about to be constructed. I’ve been working on a retaining wall for the underside of the deck. I have plants growing all over the place and friends already excited for herbal teas. Just having my hands in the dirt is really helpful to balance all the desk work. I’m going to wrap this up to actually go tend a few things in the yard. After I have to get things around for the picnic and before that a stop at the flea market. I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday and recharge. I’ll be ready to hit the ground running on Monday. I was up early today and enjoyed my peaceful quiet time with that first cup of coffee.
Coffee Cheers!
DJ
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May 11, 2025 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: 1920's, AI, Alpena, Best Actor, Best Picture, Best Screenplay, BEST YEARS GONE, birds, blog, books, CDI, Celebration Cinemas, Chasing the star, chickens, coffee, comedy, comic, comments, coop, crew, dandelions, deck, Dennis Therrian, development, eggs, fear, film, follows, Forty Nights, ghost town, google, Grand Rapids, Harsens Island Revenge, haunt, hazelnut, herbs, horror, hype, IMDB, insecurity, knight chills, Lansing, Letterboxd, likes, Lost Heart, McGraw, Michigan, Midtown Brewing Co, momma, mother, Mothers, movie-review, movies, music, Muskegon, NCG, oscars, Owosso, picnic, plants, Public Enemy, Rotten Tomatoes, sanding, script, Silent Night in Algona, soccer, technology, The Christ Slayer, The Quest Trilogy, theaters, thriller, Tubi, TV series, twist, VFX, violets, Wild Faith, Wild Faith Christmas, Yuma | Leave a comment