hazelnut | DJ Perry's Official Blog 'Clawing My Way to the Middle'

NEW Screen Captures, Updates and Inspirations

Good afternoon! This morning I’m fueled up on hazelnut coffee and we went to the first flea market of the season. I love the energy and the nostalgic aspects of it all. I only found a wood sign that I liked for the office but breakfast afterwards made the trip worthwhile. I often find many film props or wardrobe pieces while on these hunts. I saw the vendor who sold me the 1940’s phone we used in SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA in my office scenes as the Colonel. I told him he would have to watch the film on Amazon and see his antique phone.

I spent a good part of the week buried in numbers balancing accounts and writing out checks to the accounting firm who keeps us moving forward. I’ll have a few days rest before the next quarter of profit checks start coming in and I’ll have to process those. Again the unsexy side of filmmaking but the part that makes it all go round and round. We’ve been engaged in several conversations to bring investors and sponsors onto our next film project HOT ROD LOVE. We’ve also been putting financial pieces in place on several other films for 2025. I’m ready like many filmmakers to dive into locations, cast and the artistic side needed to bring a time period to life. This next film will be in the very cool 70’s. The music, the fashion and the vibe is just groovy. We’re making good progress on the investor/sponsor fronts and I think many folks just wanted to get past end of the year taxes. I’m getting excited to refocus on the pre-production on a new film because our current film is about to move to the next phase.

Harsens Island Revenge (HIR) recently gave folks a look at behind-the-scenes with CDI. Adam Towner did a wonderful job. This week we’ll be watching the 3rd and likely final pass of the film. We call that a picture lock which allows us to start really working dialogue, music and sound design. I’m told that several if not all the 61 VFX effects will be inside the film this week when we watch it. I love the phase of hanging at the studio and reviewing, suggesting and enjoying the progress. Our director Carl Weyant released another batch of screen captures which you can watch on the HIR Facebook page. Once the film goes into picture lock we’ll release a BTS of the VFX work. Followed by a theatrical trailer and poster. In July we’ll take an assessment on our post process which will help us solidify the premiere process. Much more to come on this amazing film.

We continue to push the many films in the CDI library and appreciate all the new fans. We are also in the process of remastering the earlier CDI Classic Collection. AN ORDINARY KILLER is being prepared for a new launch in the wake of a lot of new interest in the case the film is based upon. Watch the podcast TWO AVERAGE JOES: https://youtu.be/JAEjJFQ77N0?si=ZvlmCwwaCIvr5J8B

This podcast on true crime did a new updated special on our Making of this film. Even more exciting is the upcoming release of a special presentation – a remastered version of the movie exclusively with Two Average Joes as part of a fundraiser for The Red, White and Blue Project. A non-profit that benefits veterans and their families. Subscribe to the pod cast and get all the updates as they happen.

We are also getting close to relaunching a newly remastered version of GHOST TOWN also. A new trailer from our talented friend Brett Frame will likely launch this coming week. New poster art might also be in the works although we do like one of the posters from the original park release. We are still aligning all the business behind this film but it is returning! RETURN to Ghost Town!

Several other films such as KNIGHT CHILLS, FROM VENUS, HEAVENS NEIGHBORS and FIGURE IN THE FOREST are all being worked on for re-release after being digitally remastered. Some of the films have novelizations with them that will be getting a release. Also some of the scripts with fun extras about the making of them. I’ve seen some fun peeks at new artwork from Tom Miller who did the great Blu Ray art for KNIGHT CHILLS. My goal is to get them all remastered and streaming! It will be done. The theatrical division of CDI made a big jump with SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA and we’ll be prepping the entire library of theatrical event showings. A midnight movie screening of FROM VENUS? KNIGHT CHILLS? Even some of the associated CDI films are in talks for fresh distribution. But we’re going to get the CDI collection finished first. But after that…

WRAP UP: I’m going to wrap this up here. As I noted before I spent a lot of time last week behind this computer and working the phones. I hope you all enjoyed the screen shots from our upcoming Harsens Island Revenge. If you’re new at discovering the films from our collective, creative tribe – treat yourselves. BEST YEARS GONE, LOST HEART, THE QUEST TRILOGY (FORTY NIGHTS, CHASING THE STAR, THE CHRIST SLAYER) WILD FAITH, MAN’S BEST FRIEND, THE PATCHWORK GIRL OF OZ, FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH, SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA, BESTSELLER, ASHES OF EDEN…a good list to get you started! How many have you seen? Which ones have you watched the most? Favorites? If so tell folks about it. Word of mouth really works and we have millions of views to prove that. Enjoy the emerging springtime by working in nature and after unwind with a story, a CDI story.

Until next week! Be good to one another!

April 21, 2024 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: 1940''s, 1970's, accounts, Adam Towner, Ashes of Eden, BEST YEARS GONE, Bestseller, blog, Brett Frame, BTS, Carl Weyant, CDI, Chasing the star, coffee, crew, David Reardon, dialog, DJ Perry, energy, facebook, Figure in the Forest, filmmaking, For the Love of Catch, Forty Nights, From Venus, ghost town, goal, groovy, Harsens Island Revenge, hazelnut, Heavens Neighbors, Hot Rod Love, hunts, inspirations, investors, job, John Mashni, knight chills, lab, Lost Heart, Melissa Anschutz, Michigan, millions, music, nature, non profit, nostalgic, phones, poster, props, Silent Night in Algona, sound design, sponsors, The Christ Slayer, The Patchwork Girl of OZ, The Quest Trilogy, The Red White and Blue Project, Tom Miller, trailer, tribe, Two Average Joes, Updates, vendors, VFX, vibe, wardrobe, Wild Faith | Leave a comment

Thankful For the Journey Thus Far – Embrace the Past That Created YOU. Oh, and Film Updates!

(Done with the clean shaven for a while, snow is about to fly in the Michigan)

I’m sipping the hazelnut coffee and sitting down with you all on this fine Sunday morning. I want to welcome all our new readers from Norway, Germany, Saudi Arabia and more. We are expecting snow here in Michigan today and the bitter chill is a precursor. Only a few more things in the yard to stow away until the springtime. This past week was a busy one with Thanksgiving falling on a Thursday. We went up North and spent time with family. Friday and Saturday were getting things ready for Christmas. I was happy to spend a little time with Dean Teaster who came to pick up a few of his props. He had several period phones that we used in Harsens Island Revenge. Saturday we got supplies for the chickens and also went and cut our Christmas tree. It is up and awaiting decoration which will happen over the next few days. I’m feeling thankful at this time of the season. I’m trying to slow my roll from the active year and recharge. I’ve had several great meetings last week both by phone and in-person. The fire at the office is a great place to sit around and throw ideas. Let’s look at some of the meetings and developments from the week.

The top news is the special screening of SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA for one day FREE w/ ads at Encourage TV. It is free to subscribe and plays on Youtube, Roku and various platforms. Read all about it here: https://www.prlog.org/12995184-silent-night-in-algona-one-day-free-screening-on-encourage-tv-before-release-to-home-video.html and watch the interview here – https://www.facebook.com/share/v/MgHsnnVRqwsR6SVF/?mibextid=hubsqH
On December 1st the film SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA will start its DVD and Video on Demand run. A great family watch or a holiday gift for lovers of history. It can be found on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Silent-Night-Algona-Anthony-Hornus/dp/B0CL7DFYSK/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1WMZK4FVE00Y7&keywords=silent+night+in+algona&qid=1701008715&sprefix=silent+night+in+%2Caps%2C212&sr=8-1
Got word that SAVAGE, a Bigfoot story that I wrote and developed with director Lynn Drzick (In the Woods) was sold and script was produced. It is now making its way to digital home video on Jan. 1st. Read about it here! https://www.horrorsociety.com/2023/11/20/savage-the-bigfoot-legendlives-on-digital-platforms-jan-1st/
This is AWESOME – Encourage TV has given CDI its own Playlist so you can watch all the family films playing on Encourage TV. You can now do a marathon of CDI films at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2Tn2MhKrkFOCsmKZaxoZCT1R5GEOEL3E
Harsens Island Revenge is full speed ahead on editing. We are looking this week at a possible model boat explosion. I need to speak today or tomorrow with our director Carl on that front. Our Production Designer Greg Burns (GW) has created a group of Christmas cards using our locations and vehicles. If you are interested in these you can reach out to GW at gwburnsphotography@gmail.com (See the Harsens Island Revenge FB page to see pics)
Knight Chills is performing well with its new Blu Ray release. I will be looking to get our materials back and set up the film in 2024 for streaming. Here is where you can buy the Blu Ray- https://www.amazon.com/Knight-Chills-Tim-Jeffrey/dp/B0CJ5WBSZR/ref=sr_1_2?crid=VH32AUSX4DRN&keywords=Knight+Chills&qid=1701010903&sprefix=knight+chill%2Caps%2C267&sr=8-2
WILD FAITH is about to cross another mark on Encourage TV, EIGHT MILLION VIEWS! This will happen in just days and that number is increasing at all the platforms. We will be working hard to position the TV series HASTINGS for production. The demand is there we just need to get the right partners lined up. Creative control has been the biggest thing to deal with but we are making progress.
DEVELOPMENT – This is a great time of year where we are planning the next several years of projects at CDI. I’ve got some good script writing on deck and we’ve been making moves on positioning other films to launch. We mentioned Hastings above and we’re actively looking at a primarily location for HOT ROD LOVE. We’ll be updating some of the materials soon which will also include the addition of Pepsi to our package as a sponsor. We will be approaching other sponsors and funders in the new year with the hope of rolling cameras in the summer 2024.

In wrapping up this blog, I reflect the sentiment of the recent holiday, appreciation. I’ve been enjoying meeting with so many of you as we prepare to celebrate a NEW release as our holiday WW2 film hits the market Nov 30th. We will be enjoying behind the scenes, posters and trailers for Harsens Island Revenge as we enter 2024. Our back up system for the CDI films is being build now and we’ll soon have easier access to footage. I am planning to release a 2024 CDI highlight reel on New Years Eve we will see. I was reminded by a friend that I need to enjoy the victories and not just jump to whatever is lagging or under performing. In time, but again I’ll take the moments to celebrate those wins. And I will say that this blog and all of you are part of that win. I appreciate those artists who’ve reached out and expressed how the blog has helped them. Sometimes it the stimulating of an idea that can be implemented into your own endeavors. Sometimes it is just the comfort of knowing that struggling is just part of living. If you picked the arts you’ve chosen the harder path. But I have been rewarded by the places I’ve been, the people I’ve collaborated with and the creation of stories into the world that would not have been there otherwise.

(Always the dreamer – I’ve done some biographical writing over the years and one day it might make a good book)

Off some recent conversations – For those just starting out. There is no shame in doing other work as you build a foundation. Writers pull on those early jobs. Remember write about what you know. I use to go home from my first job at PONDEROSA steakhouse with a pocket full of napkins full of my scrawling for script and movie ideas. When I managed a fitness club it also became my office. This was at a time of using calling cards for long distance so having phones set up for free long distance was a plus. I had a mail system which made send outs easy. But I also lived in Kinkos for several years – I remember having to go up there to get my Scream 2 sides faxed. That audition is what took me to Hollywood for the first time. Everything leads to something else. Embrace your journey. Patience is a hard thing to master and you might spend a lifetime trying to tame it. Faith that everything led you to where you are is also nurturing. Any variance or change could have affected many outcomes. Be mindful of the past and note the future but really do focus on the present. I’m spending this winter reflecting, recharging and refocusing – when the new year comes I hope to bring some hard fought and earned wisdom to the next leg of the adventure.

Coffee Cheers! Maybe 2024 will be the year of the full time coffee sponsor!

Be good to one another, DJ.

November 26, 2023 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: 2023, 8 million, ads, bigfoot, blog, Blu ray, cards, CDI, Chasing the star, chill, Christmas tree, coffee, crew, Dean Teaster, development, digital, DJ Perry, dreamer, Encourage TV, family, fax, fire, fitness club, Forty Nights, friend, funders, future, Germany, gift, GW Burns, Harsens Island Revenge, hazelnut, history, holiday, Hopllywood, Hot Rod Love, Kinkos, knight chills, locations, lovers, Lynn Drzick, meetings, Michigan, New Years Eve, news, North, Norway, Nov 30, office, Past, patience, Pepsi, phones, playlists, plays, ponderosa, precursor, present, props, recharge, Roku, Saudi Arabia, savage, Scream 2, screening, script, sponsors, steakhouse, subscribe, The Christ Slayer, The Quest Trilogy, trees, vehicles, victory, Wild Faith, WW2, Youtube | Leave a comment

NEW ‘CDI’ FILM UPDATES! – November 19th, 2023

This is a truly chilly Michigan morning. Thankfully I was able to get a hot pot of hazelnut coffee flowing. I want to welcome my new readers from India, Philippines, Bangladesh and Canada. I’ve been busy getting things rolling in promotion with SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA and we’re also chugging along on HARSENS ISLAND REVENGE post-production. I’ve had several meetings over the course of the week. MSU, my alumni actually won a close football game yesterday and we’ll see in the Detroit Lions can keep their momentum.

This week I kept up with the winterizing of the yard. We’re going up North on Thanksgiving so we’re having a holiday gathering at my dad’s today. We enjoyed watching the SILVER BELLS holiday tree lighting fest here in Lansing. From our house we could watch the drone show and the fireworks show put on by one of our “Harsens Island Revenge” sponsors, ACE Pyro Inc. It was a great display.

Met with our BMG Global team on the roll out of PR leading up to the December 1st DVD and streaming release of SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA. I know Amazon Prime and Vudu are a couple of the streaming sites that will carry the film. Many more streaming platforms will be releasing it I just need to track those links down. It will make a great gift and shared watch with family. PRE-ORDER the DVD here- https://www.amazon.com/Silent-Night-Algona-Anthony-Hornus/dp/B0CL7DFYSK/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2OKCPJN0M4XQ&keywords=silent+night+in+algona&qid=1700399845&sprefix=silent+night+in+algona+%2Caps%2C94&sr=8-1
I met this week with an old friend discussion charity work with CDI. It is something we’ll move into more of as we continue to develop and grow the company.
I also had a meeting with Adam Towner this week over our CDI back up RAID that is being assembled. Once that is active we’ll have easier access to our footage for promotional work. One of the the things I want done is a Behind the Scenes video for Harsens Island Revenge to release in December and a CDI highlight reel to drop on Jan 1st, 2024.
I also took a meeting over a possible CDI associated TV show. It was more consulting at this point but it could turn into something more solid leading into 2024.
Met with our production designer GW Burns over CDI merchandise. One of the cool first run items is a collection of Christmas cards featuring locations and vehicles used in Harsens Island Revenge. You can view the cards and order from GW directly at https://www.facebook.com/GregWBurns
I also met with our John “Tiger” Mashni, our fellow producer to prep for end of the year tax work and also film dispersement to our backers either in Dec or Jan. This also includes state filing fees and other business to-do’s.
A beautiful thing is that BMG Global/Encourage TV has created a PLAY LIST for those wanting to watch one CDI film after another. We will be adding The Patchwork Girl from Oz to the list also. Here it is! https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2Tn2MhKrkFOCsmKZaxoZCT1R5GEOEL3E&si=KgpKfZOfJOAc91Ne
And while a tad different, the animated CDI associated film THE PATCHWORK GIRL OF OZ is a wonderful watch for the entire family. It features many of your favorite characters. WATCH NOW! – https://youtu.be/qLaw6zOAsw0?si=ThELZd33DsDJqXJv
Climbing in the ranks of films is CDI’s maiden voyage film KNIGHT CHILLS. It actually has a YULE time plot line which I will not give away. The film has been brought into high def and the audio has been remastered. Also many great extra features old and new. Give the gift and maybe a red rose;) BUY NOW! https://www.amazon.com/Knight-Chills-Tim-Jeffrey/dp/B0CJ5WBSZR/ref=sr_1_2?crid=BFQA5294BLA6&keywords=Knight+Chills&qid=1700401692&sprefix=knight+chills%2Caps%2C133&sr=8-2
HERE is the final SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA home video release trailer from BMG Global – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_D35qZCUlc

WRAP UP: So as you can see from above it was a busy week. While all this is underway we’re taking a hard look at development. It is nice to just have a clear head without any character building currently happening. I do love that process. But right now after months of keeping myself more or less clean shaved, I’m enjoying the wild beard. Plus it is helping with the cold for sure. I’ve been getting after log splitting and tonight I’ll have the wood stove kicking.

The fort’s fireside provides a great place to brainstorm and to move business along. I’m looking forward to many more over the winter as we find the spark for new upcoming projects. We have several properties in development. We’ll seek to capture that momentum from our upcoming releases and exciting post production updates. Who is excited to see a Harsens Island Revenge behind the scenes video or teaser trailer? They will be coming. In the meantime you watch follow us on Facebook and watch all the great photos rolling out.

As it gets cold it is a great time to revisit your CDI favorite films like The Quest Trilogy, Lost Heart, Wild Faith…If you want to watch director Anthony Hornus’ last film before SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA releases watch MAN’S BEST FRIEND. I’m going to finish off the coffee and look at getting into some bacon and eggs. I hope you all are having a great harvest season. We are reaping the rewards of past efforts and it feels great. I want to once again thank all our backers, cast, crew and sponsors and most of all, our fans. Have a great week and we’ll chat next week. We might actually get some snow mid week so get out those warm clothes.

Coffee Cheers!

November 19, 2023 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: Ace Pyro llc, Adam Towner, Anthony Hornus, backers, bacon, Bangladesh, beard, blog, BMG Global, BTS, Canada, cards, cast, CDI, charity, Chasing the star, Christmas, coffee, cold, crew, December, Detroit Lions, development, DJ Perry, drones, eggs, Encourage TV, family, fans, fire, fireworks, Forty Nights, gift, GW Burns, Harsens Island Revenge, harvest, hazelnut, highlight reel, holiday, India, knight chills, locations, log, Lost Heart, love, Man's Best Friend, Mashni, merchandise, Michigan, momentum, MSU, Philippines, playlist, production, projects, promotions, RAID, reap, Rewards, rose, Silent Night in Algona, Silver Bells, spark, sponsors, tax, Thanksgiving, The Christ Slayer, The Patchwork Girl of OZ, The Quest Trilogy, trailers, trees, vehicles, warm, Wild Faith, winter, Yule | Leave a comment

Quiet Sunday Reflections – Enjoying the Journey

Hazelnut coffee is flowing on this chilly November morning. I want to welcome our new readers from Italy and Canada among others. It has been a very busy time for myself and CDI. CDI http://www.cdiproductions.com is our production company. I’ve gotten lots of winterizing down this week including closing the fountain down and storing some of the yard decorations. CDI totes are also packed away awaiting the next big adventure.

For those that know that I make beer and wine – the newly bottled ROCKING RHUBARB was tried by myself and Transportation Capt. Dane DeFord and it got the thumbs up. Crisp and cider like with a tart bite followed by sweetness. Nature provided and it will be enjoyed over the winter months. I’ve had a steady stream of meetings by the fireside wood stove. Many project plans start around that wood table and around that dancing fire. Many have manifested into full flown completed projects.

Let’s look at the two projects front and center right now.

SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA for some reason continues to be work getting it to market. It was a very technical films with two languages being used and many VFX including a child’s multiple dream sequences. We’ve made hundred of adjustments and our hope is that everything locks into place and stays. We just had a new round of QC questions. But we started to drift from technical to subjective. We did not use some cold computer translations we used translators. We tried to translate as they would have in the 20’s versus modern. We condensed and summarized some translations so they fit properly on the screen without distractions and yet give time to read them. A few singing places we did not translate because artistically it worked better.

Like all things creative it’s trying to mind your boundaries. If an occasional “Easter egg” intentional or unintentional (EXAMPLES – In Raiders of the Lost Ark – R2D2 and C3PO can be seen drawn on the walls in the Well of Souls. In Star Wars – You can freeze frame a scene and see actor Kenny bake inside the R2D2. Not QC’s place to call these things out. Mind your boundaries. I enforce that with our team working with marketing. They know their marketing job better just as content creators know more about the production. So this week we’ll do a last look at the file that has been assembled and it will be heading out to streaming platforms to prep for Dec 1st. DVD’s will also start to be created and ship to warehouses. It has been a long journey and it is almost over. Once in the marketplace it will be there for many years to come. I want to thank everyone involved. So CLOSE!

We also are going to talk with all our Algona business friends. A DVD would be a great holiday gift for employees, members of organizations, gifts for volunteers and such. Also we want to help get the DVD’s for sale into the museums, Fridley concession sales of the DVD? Grocery stores and more in the state of Iowa could carry the DVD. I think this film could be a new Christmas classic. You can help make it one!

PRE-ORDER here: https://www.amazon.com/Silent-Night-Algona-Anthony-Hornus/dp/B0CL7DFYSK/ref=sr_1_1?crid=JXJ0SGCXBS0W&keywords=silent+night+in+algona&qid=1699798050&sprefix=Silent+Night+in+%2Caps%2C229&sr=8-1

I’m loving the bi-weekly marketing meetings and so appreciate the BMG Global team for all they’re doing to make this film live up to its potential.

Actual Old Club as it appeared in the 1920’s

Harsens Island Revenge – The updates for the week include an awesome report on editing. Several scenes are cut and our director is thrilled. We’ll do a watch once the 1st half hour or so is edited. The Harsens Island footage is being reviewed and we got some good pieces for one of our action sequences and some good establishing shots. Many modern things had to be shot around or disqualified a place for use in the film. I discussed in my past blog why we did not use more of the island. But those who didn’t understand just don’t understand filmmaking and that is okay. I don’t fully understand many other vocations. We are looking to shoot our 2nd VFX piece and I’ll be talking more on that. It includes a few of our model boats. I’m also lining things up for our one WW1 pick up scene.

We have been having fun releasing official pics of several of our actors. We will also be picking our some TOP photos to offer for sale. It can be printed to canvas or on mugs or whatever one wishes. That will look to go live this month. We might start work on the BTS with our own Adam Towner. Advance discussions on a teaser trailer that will be cut by our director. The theatrical poster using our new elements might also be put into motion. 2024 will be an exciting year for this film.

(Should CDI make another biblical trilogy?)

DEVELOPMENT – I’ve spent a good amount of time in study, thought and in talks about developing properties. This can take years and even once a green light (GO) prep, shooting and post can take two years. Six months to prep for release and release – it is a journey. So we’re looking at projects that are already underway and some are just beginning at the script stage. I’ve discussed some of these projects in past blogs. While CDI makes it seem easier to fund and launch, they are all difficult. Funding is always the hardiest part for most projects. But that said, we have several avenues we’re working on.

(Brainstorming at the CDI Fort/Think tank)

WRAP UP: The season of holiday watching has started. I’ve already fielding several new fan emails about BIGFOOT, UFO’s and JESUS, WILD FAITH, FORTY NIGHTS. BEST YEARS GONE – Can you believe a Gil Gilles fan club has been started. Look for it on FB it is there. This is a great time to watch or re-watch your CDI favorites!

(Have you met Gil in BEST YEARS GONE?)

I’ve got some busy work this week as our distributor is moving from checks to direct deposit. I am not a tech fan and sometimes begrudge change but I’m trying to roll with it. A small effort and this will save me deposit work later. Tax season is around the corner and so we’ll be prepping for that.

I’m going to wrap it up here and do a little advanced work for next week. I just had some of our eggs and a nice breakfast scramble. Might have to refill ye ole coffee cup. I want everyone out there to know that every week of your life will bring TO DO’s. There will be TO DO’s in your box when your time is up. Enjoy that journey again. I truly do enjoy all the good artistic folks we have on these amazing endeavors. I also sincerely appreciate all of you out there. Thank you for supporting what we do here. Until next week – be good to one another and keep chasing that dream.

Coffee Cheers!

November 12, 2023 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: Adam Towner, adventure, amazon, BEST YEARS GONE, Bigfoot UFOS Jesus, blog, blogs, BMG Global, boats, boundries, BTS, c3po, canvas, CDI, Chasing the star, checks, child, Christmas, classic, coffee, crew, Dane Deford, DJ Perry, dream, DVD, Easter Egg, edit, eggs, employees, fanclub, FB, fire, Forty Nights, fountain, funding, Gil Gilles, Harsens Island, hazelnut, holiday, Iowa, journey, marketing, Michigan, modern, mugs, November, Old Club, organizations, photos, posters, QC, R2D2, Raiders of the lost ark, reflections, script, season, Silent Nightin Algona, singing, souls, Star Wars, study, Sunday, talks, tax, The Christ Slayer, The Quest Trilogy, thought, Time, VFX, volunteers, Wild Faith, wine beer, wood, yard | Leave a comment

Movie Meetings, Music Videos and Memories-

Good morning to everyone out there! I’m sipping my hazelnut coffee out of a beautiful mug gifted by our upcoming ‘Hospitality & Health’ crew member Mollie Davis. I’m super excited about the #cditribe we’re bringing together for this next storytelling adventure. I want to thank all the artistic folks from around the world who stopped in for a coffee break and read. I’ve had an extremely busy week full of positive developments. Some are pertaining to past projects and others to future endeavors. And of course we have the adventures that are right in front of us now. Staying with crew- I met two of the new crew folks we’ll be working with yesterday and a music video shoot. Having done two small film projects at the Turner Dodge house it inspired me to pitch a ‘Scooby Doo’ type story video to the director and in turn the band. They loved it and so yesterday we once again did some shooting at this beautiful historic house. Everyone did a great job and we made our day. I look forward to working with these humble and hardworking gents on our next feature. It’s a multi-layered rock song with an amazing singer, slashing guitar rifts and driving drums delivered by famed drummer Chris Adler (Lamb of God). He and his wife are in from Richmond, VA where we once produced films like WICKED SPRING. (You can watch on Amazon) We knew lots of the same folks from that community and even shared experiences in travel. In between shots we all shared many great conversations about the difficulty of maintaining creative groups and trying to keep that synergy together. We compared hardships of being away on tour and on a film set. I just really enjoyed the artistic talks shared by all. I will be excited to share the music video in a few weeks.

Harsens Island Revenge – We are growing closer to our on-set pre-production and film shoot on the next CDI film. This past week was proofing all the agreements before dispersement. The schedule is finally all set and we had one of our producers up North securing even more pieces of the shoot. I got my 1920’s haircut and that has helped me seriously get into the mindset. I’ve been pulling together elements of my wardrobe and having fun creating. We are working hard to fill the few cast and crew positions available. The schedule caused a few changes but that is to be expected. We’ve been having different department talks also, weapons, vehicles, catering and more. We’ve added the Michigan Community College Association on board as a sponsor. Several more will be aligning their brands with our film. A Michigan story and it’s getting some great support from Michigan companies.

SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA – We are all very excited to see this movie release to the mass audience around the world. I had a great talk with our distributor. They are working on key art for the DVD and streaming release. We’re being told mid October for a release but that is not official yet. We are still working on our few technical tweaks. The theatrical release is closing with only one unpaid theatre so we’ll likely do our theatrical dispersement this coming week. I talked with some from our collaborating Foundation about the recent special theatrical encore in Algona. Again they expressed how happy they were with the final film and the reaction by the community. That is a big congrats to our entire cast and crew.

DEVELOPMENT – I had a great talk with our distributor over several points including the status of our current projects. We also talked about which projects are still moving with strong momentum and the few that could be made stronger with a bit of re-branding. In our biblical trilogy the 3rd film’s sales are lagging behind the first two. It is not the film itself and you could argue that after the experience of the first two, the 3rd may be the strongest production value. But the name itself which is completely on point (pun intended) is turning some away from a watch. THE CHRIST SLAYER has many themes to it and the title plays into one of the themes brilliantly. The distributor brass loves the title as we do but it could be losing some eyes due to the title. We are considering a title change on some platforms to see if it helps. We have another project that we want to change the key art on. We did that with MAN’S BEST FRIEND which was doing well but did even better after a new poster was created. The first was more artistic and the second more straight forward. Actually on the distributors streaming platform ENCOURAGE TV we are growing close to crossing our 2 million mark. Stop over and watch free with ads and you can be one of those helping to cross this mark.

I also had a great pitch meeting as we talked future collaborations. The WILD FAITH: HASTINGS tv series is still gaining momentum as sales are staying strong and growing. I had some talks also over SPIRIT LAKE MASSACRE looking to be our second film in Iowa. I have some talks over that project this week and we’ll see if we can move that forward on the development board. There was also some good development talks on a few genre projects and even a possible romantic comedy. Development can take anywhere from a year to years plural so you always have to be working it. I think that is one of the mistakes young filmmakers make is far underestimating the time it takes for certain tasks or processes. Patience isn’t a strong suit for many folks and so it makes it even more torturous.

WRAP UP AND RANDOM FINAL THOUGHTS-

This week we played a soccer match in some brutal heat and we lacked subs. The other team had a full squad show with a good supply of subs. At half we had held it all to a tie but second half they started to take advantage of cracks and lack of gas. That game left me so exhausted by soccer gear bag felt like 200 lbs. I was EXHAUSTED at the end of it but there are good things to be said about pushing yourself to those limits. I woke up the next day and felt pretty darn good. Day two a bit sore but by body is really adjusting to the grueling games. I love the competition and it really resets the mind and body.

The yard is in full grow with a daily picking of herbs, tomatoes and more. The chickens are kicking out the fresh eggs. The hops are all turning to cones and will be ready for picking in a few weeks. On that note- people have been really enjoying the Mexican-Style Chili beer. I’ll likely go to bottle with the ‘Rocking Rhubarb Wine’ in a few weeks also. People do really enjoy the handcrafted goods.

I also finished reading the book THE BOYS written by Ron and Clint Howard. It was all about their life growing up and how their parents helped navigate Hollywood after coming from small town farm community. For me it was spending a few moments with my old friend, co-star and mentor Rance Howard before bed each night. I think I’m going to write Ron and Clint a nice letter after finishing it. It was enlightening, inspiring and also made me very appreciative of my own journey. To bring it full circle, that is what my onset conversations did for me. I would not have had many of the adventures I did if not for my career path. Here’s to several more!

I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday morning. I’ll be ready to hit it hard tomorrow which includes an art department meeting. Weds is a directors meeting and Friday the producers meeting. Thursday will see our team back on the soccer pitch. On that note I see that Sweden beat the USA women’s team in a shoot out. That is how it sometimes goes. Congrats to Sweden! Thank you all for stopping by and I’ll look forward to chatting with you next week.

Coffee Cheers!

August 6, 2023 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: beer, biblical, blog, body, CDI, Chasing the star, chickens, Chris Adler, Circle, Clint Howard, coffee, comedy, crew, DJ Perry, drummer, DVD, eggs, Encourage TV, farm, Forty Nights, game, genre, Hastings, hazelnut, herbs, journey, key art, Lamb of God, life, Man's Best Friend, Mexican, Michigan, Michigan Community College Association, mind, Mollie Davis, music video, posters, rhubarb, Richmond, rom com, Ron Howard, schedule, Scooby Doo, Silent Night in Algona, soccer, soul, Spirit Lake Massacre, streaming, Sweden, The Boys, The Christ Slayer, The Quest Trilogy, Turner Dodge, VA, vehicles, wardrobe, weapons, Wild Faith, wine | 2 Comments

End of Month (July) Updates- Mysteries, Goals and Making Moves

A beautiful morning in Michigan that has that slight chill I love. I’m sipping my hazelnut coffee and looking forward to sharing with all of you. Thank you to all the new readers. Do share the blog with artists who you think might enjoy the weekly read. I’m still hearing and reading many expressing their fear over the new emerging technologies. I had an interesting talk with a doctor friend of mine recently. We talked about the developments in medicine that may change how we treat disease and the social issues that could go with it. Imagine if suddenly we were not losing millions of people a year to cancer, heart disease and more. What if they could slow or stop cellular degeneration, aging? How would things change if 120-150 years became the life expectancy? Population is already an issue that is devouring natural resources. Housing, social security- I could go on but I think you see the issue. That is why I love the space race that our billionaires are engaged in. We will need to start living on the moon or other planets to survive the rising population. The wild fires in Canada sending smoke down into the USA gives a hint of how horrible things can be when air quality goes South. What if it was volcanic ash or worse nuclear fallout. AIR, WATER effects FOOD supply and in turn HEALTHCARE. These things should live outside politics. No lobbying should allow the pursuit of short term profit doom long term health and happiness. I think our advances in medicine are coming but the issues of millions extending their lives by decades will come with issues to consider.

This week saw government talks on UFO’s. Yes. I know they have different names for them now but I’m old school. We as kids loved the mysteries of ghosts, UFO’s, Bigfoot and Loch Ness monster. Never in my imagination would I have thought these fringe topics would be mainstream. Maybe the many tv shows proves how much we all love mystery. It is just incredible to watch it all move out of the shadows into the light. I think the public is more than capable of handling the truth. Science continues to push the boundaries as we can see farther, smaller and into areas that before were hidden. Even ground sonar is finding ancient structures that were hidden by nature reclaiming them. But with several “news” outlets reading more like the National Enquirer it can be challenging. It will be interesting to see what will be revealed in the next decade.

Let’s get back to discussing movie updates-

HARSENS ISLAND REVENGE – We’ve moved into the final six weeks of off location pre-production. The schedule was released and we do have a small adjustment coming whereas one of the characters was missing from a scene so that is being added. We did have a few shake up’s due to the schedule. This happens every film, every time. When we look back at picture wrap we can never imagine it being any way other than how it went down. One actor we switched roles and one had to drop because of being out of the country. This past week I did all the agreements for crew to be reviewed and dispersed and this week will be the cast agreements. We are closing in on filling the small handful of cast and crew needed. Things like catering, insurance and lodging are getting solidified. Friday is our new meeting day and it was great to do an end-of-the-week recap. Jersey Giant joined Lerma Transportation as a sponsor and we have more to announce. Independent films are made with the assistance of many and we due provide visibility to tens of millions worldwide. We’ll be announcing many more in the coming weeks.

On a personal level I’m now at the point with my character of breaking down wardrobe for each scene I’m in. I always like to have a say in my props and clothes as the role. I run stuff by our wardrobe professional and it becomes collaborative. I had to get all my measurements for some pieces of clothes I plan to purchase. I’m still tweaking personality traits for the role and studying daily the world in which this character lived in. I still need another haircut to get it closer to period. I’m excited to soon be telling another story. I also love being with all the artists. Some I only really see while filming and so that makes it pure joy. More on this film as it develops.

SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA – My hope is that our few visual fixes will be done and we can move the new master film file to our distributor and their third party to fix a pixel drop. Something the eye doesn’t catch my the QC software did. So we’re going have that fixed that in prep for the run up to DVD and home video. The theatrical run has concluded and we’re only awaiting payment from one remaining theatre. After that we’ll be doing dispersement back to our backers. We are all so EXCITED to have people around the globe see this film. It is as powerful of a film as we’ve ever made. I’ll look forward to all the communications from fans over this film.

DEVELOPMENT WORK – We’ve got a TV series and a new epic film in development. Our pitch decks are complete and we’ll be approaching folks over the next few months. Things take time so they have to start many months/years ahead of actual production. That is one of the things I often encounter is people having unrealistic timelines. We make it look easy but it is hundreds if not thousands of moves on a chessboard of development. I know we could move faster if we were willing to sacrifice creative control which I’m not willing to do. When we don’t have the reigns that is when things can get messy. Many in my position might agree to whatever terms but experience shows that creates turmoil and often failure in such endeavors. So sometimes the longer road is better than the perceived short cut. Remember that.

WRAP UP– The hops are blooming into cones. I harvested more rhubarb for future runs of wine. The herbs have been in full swing filling the air with sweet scents. The eggs are coming daily from happy chickens. My furry son had his first run in with a “white-striped kitty” resulting in a needed, unscheduled bath. The trees are full of apples which may become hard cider or just be squirrel food.

We had another soccer match whereas this time we came up short but again I just love the hard-nose competition. I love how strangers can just collide in brutal fashion, fighting for space and to move the ball towards the opposing goal. I’ve been enjoying watching the women’s World Cup matches while doing work. I still love the game and I’m happy to be able to still play at the level I do.

I’m going to conclude this post and get to finishing a few projects around the homestead. I hope you all have had a great weekend. I hope that your week ahead will be productive and move you closer to your goals. It is important that even when you have a major goal sitting in the distance that you also focus on all the smaller goals that will help get you to that major goal. Proper evaluation is very important. Hard work can be wasted if it is not directed in the proper way. The smarter versus harder is true. Pressure needs to be applied in the right place to get your desired outcome. Do evaluate your plans and see if you are doing things in the correct order of business. Again, I see so many people do what they WANT to do or what they deem FUN but ignore what NEEDS to be done. Fun will follow when things are done in the right order. When they are not you don’t get fun as a result you get frustration.

Keep following your dreams! Coffee Cheers!

July 30, 2023 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: air, ancient, bigfoot, blog, business, cancer, CDI, cellular, Chasing the star, chess, clothes, coffee, crew, development, DJ Perry, endeavors, food, Forty Nights, fun, Ghosts, goals, haircut, Harsens Island Revenge, hazelnut, healthcare, heart, Jersey Giant, joy, Lerma Transportation, locations, Loch Ness, medicine, Michigan, moon, mysteries, National Enquirer, needs, news, professional, props, Silent Night in Algona, skunks, soccer, social security, sonar, space, sponsors, The Christ Slayer, The Quest Trilogy, theaters, TV, UFO, want, wardrobe, water, Wild Faith, wine, world cup | 1 Comment

SPRING CASTING NEWS and FILM UPDATES

Good morning and welcome our new readers from S. Korea, Bolivia and Norway! I’m sipping the hazelnut coffee on a chilly Michigan morning. Our weather has been bouncing between warm (including record highs) and cold. But I’ve gotten some good clean up down in the yard and my clover planted is starting to come up. The new hops are already growing and many flowers have come up adding some color. I’ve got a few things that I would love to do including privacy fencing, tree trimming and lastly a new deck. I think we have an idea of what kind of patio deck design I just need to do a blueprint.

The birds and squirrels have been busy at work and I love to watch them. Our chickens are producing eggs steadily and so that means wonderful breakfast meals. I love watching the interactions between all the birds and watching them has become a fun pastime. As a matter of fact I’ve used ‘birdwatching’ as part of the back story of my character in our next film. Our dogs have been enjoying the Spring allowing them to explore and enjoy the outdoors.

Before the heavy heat of summer I will be working on splitting and stacking wood to prepare for the winter ahead. I also need to rebuild our compost bin which is made of pallets and has seen better days. I’ve also got some plant seedlings germinating but need this cold to pass before planting.

On the personal – I’ve been working steadily while occasionally dealing with a tooth pain. I’m a person who stays up on all that even doing dental cleaning three times a year vs two. I had a few bad days and was happy when the dentist found the crack. It was on the backside of a back tooth. You think you’re tough until you get tooth pain. It can be very humbling but I’m happy to report the fix has happened and all seems well. Just in time for soccer season! Soccer and martial arts have put me on the receiving end of a few blows that could have caused damage. Or less thrilling it could have been a seed or nut. But my service warning to young folk out there is this- do not neglect your teeth.

FILMS-

Before I get into talking about our films I want to mention something as a proud uncle. I’m actually very proud of both my niece and nephew who are just so fun to watch grow and gain new interests. They are both playing soccer together and are into Star Wars, Superheroes and Dungeons and Dragons. They are both into playing and make believe too. At a bowling party recently my nephew was thrilled with a stormtrooper outfit we brought him and he had to wear it immediately. Bowling with a Star War’s stormtrooper. My niece age 9, recently (last night) participated in a short proof of concept film for a filmmaking buddy. It was filmed at a great turn of the century mansion where we shot SMOKE & MIRRORS. She was playing a ghost girl. I went up to visit towards the back half of the shoot not wanting to be a distraction. When I first arrived, I sat away from set and listened to her work for a while. She is confident and fearless. She was asking about backstory and character motivations. She was enjoying working with these adults. My favorite thing I heard her ask the director was, “How many other actresses did you interrogate?” I think she was looking for audition or interview but either way I got a good laugh. At that age we had build our own spaceship cockpit with pillows and such but this was not just free imagination but directed work. I wonder if all that could infringe upon the passion of make believe and just being a kid. Her mom is an amazing actress in her own right so she has it in her blood for sure. But as I’ve stated the artist road is a hard yet rewarding road. I don’t want to encourage or discourage and so this was a nice test run. I saw where she was tired towards the end and losing some focus. But she listened and did what she was suppose to. She has a part where she sings a child’s song and it was downright creepy. We took a great picture together but she was in her ghostly get up so I’m not going to post it unless I get permission from production. NOTE TO TALENT. Anyway, I was a very proud uncle. I also got to see a few old filmmaker friends. Zoie Dye (Best Years Gone) also played a part and Gals and Ghoul’s Dayna Green was doing the awesome make up work. I’ll be curious to see how it all comes together and the hope is that they can turn it into a feature. But either way it was a great experience for my niece and it put a big smile on my face.

SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA – The film continues to play in theaters and even more are requesting it. I think it will keep playing until we are close to the home video release. We’re about to master the new home video version of the film that has greatly improved VFX. It is being being proofed carefully before we marry it to the improved sound design and mix. New credits and subtitles are also being inserted. Just things that we saw on the big screen that we could improve upon and we had the time to do it. This is the difference between CDI and some companies and artists. Good enough is not a term our folks like. We want our best efforts represented on the screen. So if you enjoyed the theatrical showing know the home video version will be even better.

HARSENS ISLAND REVENGE is the next CDI film. We are preparing for our second big scout next week to start locking in our locations and finding the final few. We will have our AD team there to start gathering the info for basecamps and a schedule. Our director, DP and Art Director there to start looking over sets. We are starting to put together lodging and will explore catering but I will say this- the cast and crew will get to work in a beautiful place at a beautiful time of year.

We were going to go Sat and network at a Model T club gathering but had a rain out. We’ll have some cool boats, cars and maybe even a plane in this next film. Props are being gathered and soon with our cast getting closer to being set, wardrobe. We added John Demarco aka Johnny D to the cast as a styling club owner Bob Jansen. We have reads coming in from the various agencies in our state. I would think our cast will be set by the end of May. Crew is also getting closer but we have a few places we are still working. Positive attitudes and a willingness to give BEST EFFORTS is what we look for. Storyboards, teaser poster and more are all being worked on. I’m enjoying working on character development a little bit each day. I truly love that process and will bring a new unique personality to the story and screen.

DEVELOPMENT

Speaking of posters, we have one being designed for the upcoming FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH 2 poster. We have some meetings coming up for WILD FAITH: Hastings TV show and I’ll be checking in on the supernatural themed associated film SHJ looking to film in the spring. Next month is also a meeting over the SPIRIT LAKE MASSACRE which could move slow or quick pending the meeting’s outcome.

We are working to restore and re-release some of the classic CDI films. WICKED SPRING, a Civil War film we shot in 2000 has had that treatment and is available on Amazon Prime. If you enjoyed WILD FAITH, it might be a good one to check out. It is a lot of time to pull these together when my time is split between the present and future films, but I keep plugging along. I really do love the 1800’s in my storytelling.

WRAP UP

This week will be reaching out to some potential sponsors and looking at some incoming reads and reels from actors for HIR (Harsens Island Revenge). I want to acknowledge the loss of a talented photographer from MI film scene who passed away, Dan Irving. I only know him from as the still photographer from the 7 STONES film that you can watch that on Amazon. Way too young. RIP.

I’m going to close this blog up and get a few things done. Maybe a few eggs. We have a birthday late lunch or early dinner today and that will be fun. I’m still trying to set up and get to know my new iPhone but that is all set and good for the next three years. I hear the camera on the phone is amazing so I’ll have fun playing around with that.

We talked about young people exploring their passion for the first time and others having their journey ended too soon. We’ve talked about the work behind projects working their way out to the world and others just coming together. Life is short in the overall scheme of things so don’t wait until tomorrow to start working on yours. Even small steps of progress will have you feeling good. You are heading in the right direction.

In addition to the film development work, I’m going to be seeking someone who can do book layouts in the Lansing, MI area. We might also start explore soundtracks (LP’s) and even audio books along with more movie merchandise. Always something to do. And now that my tooth is feeling better maybe I can return to some creative script writing. I am again thinking of literary representation and maybe talent. I’ve considered a few acting gigs but they have to make sense business and time-wise and most of all-I have to connect with a role. I do appreciate those who have reached out and continue to do so.

The coffee is about gone so I’m going to go get some breakfast going. Until next week-

Coffee Cheers!

April 23, 2023 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: 7 Stones, actresses, AD, amazon, art, audio, birds, birthday, blog, blueprint, Bolivia, books, bowling, breakfast, camera, CDI, Chasing the star, cheers, chickens, club, coffee, credits, crew, Dan Irving, Dayna Green, dentist, dinner, direction, director, DJ Perry, dogs, Dungeons and Dragons, eggs, films, For the Love of Catch, For the Love of Catch 2: Battlefields, Forty Nights, Ghosts, Harsens Island Revenge, hazelnut, home video, hops, iphone, Johnny Demarco, journey, Lansing, lunch, merchandise, Michigan, Movie, nephew, niece, Norway, passion, patio, plants, posters, RIP, S. Korea, seeds, SHJ, Smoke & Mirrors, soccer, soundtracks, spaceship, Spirit Lake Massacre, squirrels, Star Wars, stormtroopers, storyboard, Superheroes, supernatural, talent, teeth, The Christ Slayer, The Quest Trilogy, theatrical, VFX, Wicked Spring, Wild Faith, Wild Faith Hastings, wood, Zoie Dye | Leave a comment

NATURE, MUSIC, FELLOWSHIP and More – Happy Easter!

Hazelnut coffee cheers. Happy Easter! Today truly feels like a first spring day. I started cutting all the old hop vines and cleaning up the deck. I might explore again the building of a new deck. I found a great spot to just meditate and listen to the various birds calling and wooing each other. Some mates loved the cut vines and are using them to build their new nests. I spent some time the day prior to fix our windmill that the storms blew down. I think it got going so strong it tried to take flight. But I’ve enjoyed being able to take part of my day outside. This week I’ll be doing much more of that clean up. NATURE really does bring a peace of mind so make sure to get yours. I’m 3% Danish/Swedish and love my Viking roots and even the ice and snow but I’m ready for the other seasons. We have buds of flowers coming up and a few have bloomed. Soon the violets and the morel mushrooms. I’ll be prepping the ground soon for the sprinkling of more clover seed. We are now using prairie type seeding which produces food for the chickens when they free-range and gives us a beautiful carpet of clover. I’m going to construct a new compost bin. We have a plastic bin that rotates a good amount of compost into rich soil. The garden beds will be the home to new herbs and veggies. I might get a new batch of beer and wine going although my consumption of such has decreased greatly. Wait! Is this a gardening blog? It is about balancing your inner garden your work and dreams moving together until they become one. It becomes a balance of the external manifestation of art and the balance of the self. The self can be brought into balance but what you feed it physically, mentally and spiritually. Sleep is the big imbalance I see in many people and when mine is off, I am off. Diet and what and when you feed your temple body can greatly affect your balance. Spiritually I try not to fill myself too much with the negative things of this world. Not only do people lose hours mindlessly scrolling on their phones they fill themselves with others negativity. These can be hours of productivity lost. Even a nap is more productive to your body. MUSIC. I have always been into music as a powerful tool of tuning oneself as you would a guitar. I find when I take a few moments apart from whatever might be trying to put me off balance to play or listen to music, I can restore the balance and give myself a recharge.

(Maybe 1/5 of the main crew for CDI’s upcoming Harsens Island Revenge)

I’m a person who is quite content with much of my time being alone allowing me to focus on my tasks. But we all enjoy the visits and the FELLOWSHIP of others. This past week I had some great conversations with old friends by phone and in person with friends stretching back to 1st grade. I also enjoyed a few hours at the local Capital City Film Festival party with several #TribeCDI members. It was great to be around so many artists and to see their art also displayed about. We are in pre-production on our next project so it was nice to gather in-person and chat over a drink. We do many meetings by phone but there is an energy that arises from people together working on an idea. I’m a strong believer in that – Knights of the Round Table versus Knights of the Zoom or Teams. My humble opinion is that you might experience greater strides if you actually meet with your circle in person. Brainstorming. Accountability. And setting down a definite TO DO list will help your projects to grow. Great things require great planning. Thank you CCFF for allowing us to have artistic fellowship because of your great planning.

SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA – Our box office run continues and we’re preparing to deliver the film for home video prep in May. In May, we’ll have someone from our team representing the film at the 32nd Annual Iowa Motion Picture Awards. We are up for BEST FILM, which we’re appreciative for. The new home video version of the film will have enhancements not seen in the theatrical version. A few things enhanced we just needed more time for and a few things are corrections from what we saw on the BIG screen. I’m just beyond excited to bring this film to so many more folks now that BMG will be representing it worldwide. Here is a good read on this new development – https://www.prlog.org/12958246-silent-night-in-algona-signs-with-bridgestone-multimedia-group.html

Harsens Island Revenge – The pre-production is going great. As mentioned above many departments are up and working already on breakdowns and gathering of needed items. We have a scout trip at the end of this month and I’ll be setting a few other key meetings. We are starting to look at the office now that works directly under the producers. A two person team that manages and coordinates the day to day business on set. We are in talks with various parties and will be looking to put a team in motion that can journey with us into the future. Cast and Crew are getting close to full with only a few we’re still working on because we have some time to do so. But it is also nice to have all that set up in advance. This week I’m excited to get back at it all. We have the new polished script and so I’m going to be re-doing my actors breakdown for my role of AXEL. It is fun to start building a role. He is a WW1 ex-officer who now resides on Harsens Island. I discovered something new about the character yesterday – he is a bird watcher. I’m excited to discover new things about Axel as we go along.

FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH 2– Documents are being signed up on the new chapter of the series. If you have not watched the first one rich with history you are missing out. I love the part about the big match Abraham Lincoln had before his political days. We are in talks with sponsors on this project that we hope to film this Summer.

KNIGHT CHILLS 4k 25th Anniversary – CDI’s first film was ironically about role playing games like Dungeons and Dragons. The film had competing offers to put out a BluRay edition. I plan to do a PR release about this soon. We have been reaching out to cast and some crew about doing interviews reflecting back upon filming. Some have moved on from acting and others we are still trying to reach. Others might not wish to participate but I will say that that little film made with with less money than our hotel cost now was an achievement of pure will. I think we are going to do a 25th anniversary poster. More on this soon.

WRAP UP:

We are prepping a few other projects for a new re-release. Also a slew of ideas on merchandise and such. I need to find a few artists that have the skillset we require and we can put them to work. As I type, I hear the egg song of our hens. I think I might need to go have a few eggs. We are having just a small Easter meal and I plan to do some things in the yard. The office needs a real spring cleaning and so I might do that. Whatever your faith is, allow this to be a day of renewal. Renewal of vows to take care of yourself thus allowing you to help take care of others. I’ve spent the week asking people who want to embrace the season to watch CDI’s trilogy of biblical adventures FORTY NIGHTS, CHASING THE STAR and THE CHRIST SLAYER. I will add BOOK OF RUTH, that I helped produce years ago to that list. Some will be playing on TV or have been to celebrate the passover weekend. I hope you all have a wonderful day. A wonderful week. And I’ll see you next Sunday for another coffee chat. The pot of coffee is now gone and I’m going to get a few things done on this beautiful day.

Be good to one another!

April 9, 2023 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: 4k, Abraham Lincoln, art, Axel, balance, beer, biblical, birds, blog, BMG, Book of Ruth, cast, CCFF, CDI, Chasing the star, chickens, clover, coffee, compost, crew, Danish, deck, dreams, Dungeons and Dragons, easter, eggs, Fellowship, flowers, For the Love of catch 2, Forty Night, Forty Nights, Harsens Island Revenge, hazelnut, hens, hops, ice, Iowa Motion Picture Awards, knight chills, knights, Michigan, music, nature, producers, seed, Silent Night in Algona, sleep, snow, soil, sponsors, spring, Swedish, teams, The Christ Slayer, The Quest Trilogy, Vikings, visits, Wild Faith, wine, WW1, zoom | Leave a comment

APRIL AHEAD – 7 NEW Updates

Hazelnut coffee cheers on this sunny morning in Michigan. Welcome our new readers from Ireland, France and North Macedonia. I will have to look that last one up on a map. We had rain all day yesterday but compared to the storms and tornados others faced we were lucky. I usually like snow vs rain but the rain is nurturing the emerging buds springing up from the ground. I’m humbled this morning as I drink my coffee. A few days ago while eating some bread with seeds, I got a few trapped in a tooth pocket. I’m so good about my dental care and avoid such seeds but I got careless. I got the seeds out so I thought but one must have remained. The result was a multiple day toothaches that reached up into my ear. I’m a relatively tough individual but funny how we can be humbled by something so small. I felt like the lion with a thorn in his paw. It is almost back to normal after lots of salt swishes and pain meds. I usually try to avoid pain meds and tough it out but as I said, I was humbled. So to awaken to birds, sunshine and the tooth feeling close to normal is a true blessing.

I’ve been made aware of many people dealing with tough situations that makes the toothache seem minor. I’m renewing my focus and diligence to stay away from seeds and such. The pain is bad enough to make one want to stay on a diet of applesauce. My thoughts go out to the many people I know having their own issues. But everyone is facing something and if you are not, enjoy that time, embrace those moments. My alumni school MSU finished their basketball season. That last game of theirs was such a nail bitter I’m not sure I’m cut out for watching sports. You have no control over the outcome. Soon soccer season will be starting and that is more to my liking, and I have some control over the outcome.

As we close out this month let’s look at the updates from last week-

SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA has had continuous theatrical play since Dec. 9th but they are slowing down. Unless a third party engages it could come to an end. We might play a few festivals and events like the Red Letter Awards in TN. Talks with our home video distributor have gone great and everyone is excited about it. Our home video distributor is Bridgestone Multimedia Group. They’ve done a very good job with our previous releases. The plan is to release on home video this fall on the run up to the holiday season. Once I get some paperwork returned we’ll do some PR on the deal. I’m excited to have this story be seen by millions. Thank you to everyone who has reached out with such beautiful words.
HARSENS ISLAND REVENGE – We’ve been full speed ahead on our next #tribeCDI film. Our cast and crew are filling up fast and we’re 85% there. Last week we announced more cast attached such as Taylor Nichols, Garry Nation and Christine Marie. We’ll be doing a Michigan casting call here soon for some of the remaining roles. Various departments are hard at work and next week a new polished version of the script will be sent around. The opening of the film is very powerful as it starts during WW1 before jumping ahead a few years. We needed a powerhouse German actor to open the film and thankfully SNIA gave us a good selection of excellent talent. Mr. Bejo Dohmen landed that role. Anyone who saw SNIA will immediately understand our choice.
SPIRIT LAKE MASSACRE is in development and I’ve been doing some breakdowns on that film to present. Like all projects it could move fast or slow. SNIA took almost 15 years to come to the big screen. This project is much larger in scope and so we’ll see how fast or slow it develops. A project seems to happen when it is the story’s time. We will see said the wise man. But it would have us back in Iowa. We have built a family there much like anyplace CDI goes to film a story.
SHJ– The supernatural thriller is looking to be targeting a Spring start versus Winter since the script needs an update. I watched NOPE, this weekend and I saw some aspects/scope of the film to be akin to what we are looking to do. Prep. Prep. Prep.
KNIGHT CHILLS Blu Ray- CDI’s maiden film was a low budget film about role players playing a Dungeons and Dragons like game. I’m excited to see the 4k version of this film. We are starting to collect interviews for the upcoming release. It is fun to be preserving these films and putting them back out there. Several CDI films will be getting that treatment. It is just time consuming because of everything else going on.
My first film I led, IN THE WOODS is also getting this treatment. The film stock was retransferred and a new version is being put together. Director Lynn Drzick is talking about adding a few scenes back in. There is talk of a new anniversary release into the theaters and more. We already had “The Making of ‘In the Woods'” original script released in book form with lots of extras. Look it up on Amazon. Even more exciting to me is the line of collectors toys being put together. Devil Dog, The Tall Creature and even Alex Kerwood, monster hunter. That’s right. I’m going to finally get that action figure. I will be making plans to go get 3D scanned in the near future. I’ve also been working on outlining a sequel script. It will be a while before that comes together but plans are in motion.
FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH 2– Director Curran Jacobs is busy working on his outline as we talk with potential backers. The first doc film is really starting to move out into the marketplace. Curran is attending different wrestling events with Mike Chapman, where the doc is being well received. It should be. Here is the history all pulled together into one place. If you have not watched yet do yourself a favor and go to Amazon and watch it. We plan to have a good planning session this week.

This is a nice snapshot of things going on in the film world. I think CDI will make an appearance at our local Capital City Film Festival mixer. They do such a nice job putting that event on. I love the energy of all the young filmmakers and artists. I have a handful of meetings this week as we continue our pre-production work.

Today is the birthday of someone very special to me so we’ll be celebrating today. At least today is warmer, sunny and not raining so we won’t be contained to the indoors. It was nice to wake up to the birds singing and sunshine. I hope you all have a great day and get ready for a good week ahead.

Until next week! Be good to one another.

March 26, 2023 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: Alex Kerwood, artist, Bejo Dohmen, birds, birthday, blog, Bridgestone Multimedia Group, Capital City Film Festival, CDI, Chasing the star, Christine Marie, coffee, collectors, crew, Curran Jacobs, Devil Dog, DJ Perry, Dungeons and Dragons, filmakers, For the Love of catch 2, Forty Nights, France, Garry Nation, Harsens Island Revenge, hazelnut, In the woods, Ireland, knight chills, lion, Lynn Drzick, meetings, Michigan, Mike Chapman, MSU, NOPE, North Macedonia, pre production, rain, Red Letter Awards, seeds, Silent Night in Algona, soccer, Spirit Lake Massacre, sunshine, supernatural, Tall Creature, Taylor Nichols, The Christ Slayer, The Quest Trilogy, thriller, toys, Wild Faith, WW1 | Leave a comment

NEW ‘Harsens’ CAST Announced Plus March Film Updates

After a few mild days where Spring was pushing with little sprouts of green and birds returning. I’m sipping the hazelnut coffee and I want to welcome all our readers including our new readers from France, Ireland, UK, Russia and Saudi Arabia. WELCOME! Also thank you for the wonderful comments. It is the season to watch THE QUEST TRILOGY and I’m humbled by the comment that I was someone’s favorite performance of Jesus. That is a compliment as many great performances of the man has been done. If you have not watched them all together, you should. They trilogy is shown below in order and also a few other good watches for a cold snowy day (In Michigan) like today.

Author Nancy Gideon, ordered up the MAKING OF ‘In the Woods’ that we talked about last week. A great recalling of the massive effort that went into making a movie on film with limited experience and funds. This was my first starring role and Co-producing effort almost 25 years ago. The film is getting a new campaign and the book was just a start. A new transfer is underway going all the way back to the original film stock. So a blu-ray and new streaming in HD release could be coming later in the year. Add in some badass merchandise and you got a fun new push. So you wanna see baby DJ fighting monsters, this might be your movie. Buy the book and enter the crazy world of IN THE WOODS. Will the world see Alex Kerwood, monster hunter again? Never say never:)

This film has continued its trek across the midwest theatre to theatre traveling to where the people have called their theatre and requested it. Thank you so much to all those who actually reached out and brought the film to their town. We are booked into April and we’re exploring either expanding with a 3rd party theatrical distributor based off our current efforts. We also might look at a big final event showing just before the home video kick off this Fall. We have a few possible paths to consider. We are already getting theatrical booking requests for December 2023. Crazy. But not really. I think this film will become a Christmas classic. It is a truly unique story based on actual events which is different from most Christmas fluff.

This weekend the film opened in a few new cities. We had a beautiful note last weekend sent to our director, it noted that at one of these showings that audience gave a standing ovation. That’s at a normal showing not a premiere or event. It was very touching and we love that people are connecting with the story. We were nominated for several awards at our first festival/award submission.

We are still looking to showcase overseas and our distribution will license to foreign territories as we get further down the road. Congrats to all the nominated artists and films. This theatrical is just the tip of the spear and wait until we get to the home video making the film available to millions of viewers.

HARSENS ISLAND REVENGE

This film is next up for #tribeCDI and things are really falling into place. Thank you to those who sent their reels DM on the CDI Facebook page. Also thank you to those who got right on their reads. We are closing down roles quickly now This week we welcomed Michael Walton, Martez Moore, Adam Towner and today we’ll be announcing David Gries. We also have been crewing up and this week we welcomed several folks onto the next project. We are moving from department to department and having deep discussions about each. We only have so many crew slots and so I know some will not be able to travel with us. Some folks have other scheduled endeavors and so they will not be joining. We are very excited about this new story. Many departments are getting up and running and we’ll be doing another scouting trip the end of next month.

I actually chopped down the Winter beard and I’ll be looking to get my hair trimmed closer to the period. Plus I have soccer season and getting my hair out of my eyes might be helpful. Our director will start doing reads with some online and we’ll likely do a read through in Michigan, which will be fun. The cars, the clothes and the overall vibe of the era is quite amazing. Also the impact of the war on the soldiers is something to note. Look below at this picture of the soldier before and after the war.

The effects of war on these vets is striking and shows you the damage. Those that did survive WW1 wanted to live peacefully. These were not the men the Purple’s wanted to push. We’ll be reviewing more incoming reels and locking in more roles this week. Thank you to all of you have have put yourself forth for consideration.

DEVELOPMENT WORK-

SPIRIT LAKE MASSACRE, will be undergoing budgeting work. The response to the script has been strong. We will see how fast it all comes together. This endeavor is larger and requires more production elements with horses and possible builds.

SHJ – This developing project is looking to be moving in a positive direction. Once we get the intent to fund we’ll put the in-association deal in play. CDI will be producing and we have many exciting things lining up for this supernatural thriller.

FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH 2 – The operational agreement will be in place end of this week. Talks have already started to put the funds in place for this follow up doc film. We hope to have this funded and cameras rolling this Summer.

KNIGHT CHILLS– I’ll be reaching out to co-writers Jeff & Juanita Kennedy about doing an updated interview maybe from the Kennedy ‘Dungeon’ showcased in the film. I also sent out emails and texts to our cast about recording a video interview. It will be cool to have them recall a few memories and let people know what they are doing now. The extras have to be turned in by June. I’m told the new transfer and up Rez is looking great. I want to do a Making of book like what Lynn Drzick did with IN THE WOODS. Maybe a script and a bunch of extras. Thoughts?

WRITING– I’m working on two stories for an upcoming book. I want to finish up a few of the scripts I have in progress. One a comedy ands one a SciFi film. Currently I’m doing a clean up on the Harsens script.

(Dennis Therrian aka Tricky T, will be again doing music and sound design on Harsens Island Revenge)

WRAP UP:

I’m happy to report the chickens are back to full production on eggs. That might be what is next on my list. Today I think I’ll get at some desk work today to get a jump on the week. Next week is St. Patricks Day and so who knows, green beer could be in order. I’m also starting to reach out to sponsors on the new projects. We have some cool, fun tie in’s that will work really well for our next 1920’s story. If you have a service, product or just want to align yourself with these films and reach millions, reach out.

I hope you all have had a relaxing and recharging weekend. Here is a big coffee cheers to us all having a good week ahead. Make your TO DO lists for the week and get after it. Everything is built brick by brick. I’m sure I missed a few updates but I hit upon many of the major ones. Be good to one another. Have a wonderful Sunday.

March 12, 2023 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: 1920s, Adam Towner, Alex Kerwood, Anthony Hornus, Ashes of Eden, beards, blog, blu-ray, book, booze, cars, CDI, Chasing the star, Christmas, clothes, coffee, comedy, crew, David Gries, Dennis Therrian, DJ Perry, DM, Dungeon and Dragons, eggs, experience, facebook, For the Love, For the Love of Catch, Forty Nights, France, funds, Harsens Island Revenge, hazelnut, HD, In the woods, Ireland, Jeff Kennedy, Juanita Kennedy, Karl manke, knight chills, Lynn Drzick, Martez Moore, MBF: Man's Best Friend, merchandise, Michael Walton, Michigan, monsters, nancy gideon, Purple Gang, Red Letter Awards, Russia, Saudi Arabia, SciFi, Spirit Lake Massacre, Springheel Jack, St. Patricks Day, The Christ Slayer, The Quest Trilogy, theatres, UK, Veterans, war, weed, Wild Faith, wrap up, writing, WW1 | Leave a comment

Earthquakes, UFO’s and Updates-

Hazelnut coffee is flowing this morning. It is brisk outside but much warmer and the snow has all but disappeared. Sad to see the aftermath of the earthquakes and so much excitement over these “objects” shot down. The described shape and the seemingly lack of any conventional propulsion, is what has my curiosity peaked.

Let’s look at a few updates- The TOP TEN from last week.

SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA (SNIA) – As the film continues its march across the USA we’re also prepping for the Fall home video deal. We’ll continue talks this coming week. We’re also working on a few cool marketing angles for the home video release. It is testing well to older and younger audiences and from many circles, military, farmers, Germans, Jewish and history buffs. Several perspectives are explored and all brought together by a true event that unfolded. We’ll be picking a few festivals to showcase ourselves at. I would have loved to do our hometown festival but they want to be the 1st MI premiere and we’ve been in and will be returning to more Michigan theaters. But CDI will go support by attending the opening night mixer. Look above at all the places you can watch the film. Call your local theaters and request the film. If you’ve seen it and enjoyed it, leave us a review on www. IMDB.com on our page.
Harsens Island Revenge (HIR) – This project has moved into official pre-production. The paperwork all filed and signed and next week we’ll open the account. Last week we had our first official production meeting with our newly announced director Carl Weyant. READ ALL ABOUT IT HERE – https://www.prlog.org/12950648-cdi-announces-director-and-director-of-photography-on-harsens-island-revenge.html
HIR – CREW – We’ve been starting to just look at schedule and interest in some of the crew returning so we can discuss in our weekly production meeting. We’ve got several projects lining up and so we really are trying to build a solid crew especially with keys. Some keys change with directors, usually the directors of photography. Travis Hayward (Best Years Gone) will be the DP on the film. We’ll be discussing camera and G&E team more in the coming weeks. A few changes in a couple departments mostly due to schedule. But when someone cannot journey with us that provides a great opportunity for someone else. I’ve had people in the wings without a job to assign them, so when some cannot return, opportunity for others. We have several weeks to get this team in line. We have our production dates and soon another location scout with happen. I will be reaching out to some of you from past crews to discuss involvement. If you are a production crew and want to be considered feel free to send me any info.
HIR – CAST – As I get our director and teams feeling on certain roles within the cast, we’re reaching out. We’ve got some exciting interest already in the story from some amazing talents. We’ll start announcing some of the known cast soon and we’ll be doing more casting moving forward. Again feel free to shoot me a reel or so to the Harsens Island Revenge Facebook site and leave your reel. Last week we watched several acting reels and the work of a few crew members under consideration.
FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH I and II – This amazing doc film is now available on several platforms including TUBI (free with ads) and we’re going to be doing our second doc this spring/summer. The foundation paperwork will be constructed this week. We are in talks with potential donors to support this endeavor. We had a great end-of-week meeting over this project franchise and the future. If you have not watched the first one, please do.
SHJ SUPERNATURAL THRILLER – CDI started in this genre with KNIGHT CHILLS, which is its own update. But we’re getting closer to putting pen to paper on a slate of genre films. This is a full circle sort of arrangement since I started my own career within the genre. I do sincerely have more to announce in the coming weeks. If things fall into place we’ll be doing some crewing and casting on this film also.
KNIGHT CHILLS – I got a report that the new high def version of the film is looking great. They are working to enhance audio with all the new tools they have. We’re looking to do several EXTRAS for the Blu Ray release. We have until June to get all these elements completed. It will be fun to capture and gather a few interviews. Video game. Sequel. All still moving down the tracks.
GHOST TOWN 2024 – This film’s domestic rights become free first of 2024 so we’re getting everything in line. We’ll be releasing it into the foreign market for the first time also. We’ve been working on new promo materials and getting everything around. This is one of 4 films from the CDI library being prepped for a new release with BMG.
SPIRIT LAKE MASSACRE – I’m still getting this script out to a few folks for notes. But the first version of the script is done. Once we get the nod we’ll start the next phase of development work. The script becomes a blueprint to start our development work from. I’m exciting to keep this moving down the development tracks. It is one of the most powerful and gut wrenching stories I’ve written. History can be brutal and beautiful all at the same time.
I’m feeling the ‘writing urge’ and I have several scripts in partial form. I plan to finish anywhere from 1-3 this year including my SciFi script, a new comedy and maybe a sequel script. Any guesses? I’m also looking forward to working in the yard this season and making some updates. Life is always a work in progress so don’t stress. Just keep building brick by brick. While others fret, regret, complain or waste time with things they can’t control, be the one who gets things done. I was invited to once again contribute to a national book on animals. I have a few great stories I’m going to contribute to the collection.

WRAP UP THOUGHTS-

CDI is on the path to greater heights and to do that we’ll need a strong team. With every growth there is pruning of dead, dying or diseased – allowing new healthy growth. I want to say that when we make adjustments, it is not always a negative thing. Not all cast and crew are built or prepared for long voyages. Some folks are great for 2-3 days or even a week. But as the weeks go by on set, more focus and endurance are required. Day 11 or 14, 16 can show strain. We’ve worked hard to try and give good opportunity for our cast and crew to achieve success. I recently heard about a successful project that had many of the crew sleeping all in one room on air mattresses and cots. My first starring role I slept on the director’s couch. We’ve worked very hard to develop partnerships with hotels to try and give the best accommodations we can afford. But, there always seems to be someone not happy, despite the hard work. That is a core filter that colors everything that person does, few great things spring from those suffering under such filters.

A small example-

We’ve played with a second meal on sets that many do not provide. We’ve had extra and left over food in Yuma, AZ that we ended up sharing with hotel staff and strangers so not to waste it. Crews sometimes want to go out versus another 30 min on set with a second meal. A per diem has been provided before but the time that establishments closed made it an issue to some. We bought groceries and made food together (Producers) while trouble shooting the days ahead. I got some feedback from different folks which is always welcome. Much of it is subjective or the perspective is because the individuals don’t know the whole story. I’m going to get into this again as we are entering into new talks on this new story adventure-

A solution-

I encourage my producers/key admin to WORK QUIETLY always. On the inner set, they’re trying to create a bubble of collective imagination and capture it. A distraught looking staff member can distract and/or delay- passing a bad energy along. And 98% of the time it all works out easy-peasy because we have lots of warrior trouble shooters.

I’ve noted over the years how some people enter a set with nervous, frantic- must do ENERGY. Tense faces, biting their lip, cursing to themselves. People in the area notice- are distracted- become concerned. Everything okay? Reassurances- Nothing is wrong, and the performance of stress plays out – the issue suddenly resolved in a call and the issue was really a two NOT a ten on the production issue scale. Often issues are like locating lost keys to a location for tomorrow- misplaced. This is just an example of something logistic alarming for a moment but did it need to filter through a group of people trying to focus on a story?

Chemistry-

The chemistry between a director and a director of photography is a beautiful and sacred bond. I’ve enjoyed watching and even participating as a full size stand in to the brainstorming session full of wild and exiting ideas. This obsessing over our story- talking and living a story for a month, THAT is what it’s all about. The storyboarding and building shot list from ideas thrown about- combined is a wonderful thing to watch. It is my job at the end of the day to either create a team with the right chemistry or put a stamp on a presented creative union. From this union, much of the film is nurtured. Love each other as creative brothers and sisters, appreciate when you get a real chance to say something. These creative bonds exist all over a few crew. Respect one another and their place and passion, also to tell the story at hand. The cast of films- like a rock band, on tour, but you have it easier not having frequent moves. But you are on a creative tour of duty. (T-Knox!) I think of it like creative camp and at the end we all told a story. One month a year I see artistic friends for an extended period of time. We all collectively sacrifice our comforts to be ‘at camp’ telling this story.

Communication- Every mistake or error made in our production flow stems from communication. Sometimes I am the one who gave incomplete marching orders. Other times missed communication, understandable in this time of many ways of communicating. But, one thing in our control always, we can all communicate respectfully to one another. I had to recently ponder and realize that people can only speak from their perspective, and speak to their experiences allowing them to speak with truth and sincerity. When people start to speak outside their experience, they will start to talk loudly or more emotionally. It’s important to them that you believe them because they’re eager to believe their own words. They’re filled with doubt because they lack crucial experience – basic life principals. Like Respect.

Blood of Heroes- Jumping from communication- I had some wonderful conversations with some folks full of energy and ready to journey. I’m looking a few movies ahead, and trying to get a team ready for bigger responsibilities and greater rewards. Leadership is a MUST, as departments could expend some in the near future. Organization is a MUST, as we have many operations underway and you have to be up to speed. What people should understand is that I’m not looking forward to achieving new levels so I can replace people with more credited artists. I’m looking to increase resources to our artists in the future so they can make their mark and take their place amongst those artist recognized in a given field. Know what your fighting for-

Until next week my friends!

February 12, 2023 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: Avery Theatre, BEST YEARS GONE, Capri, cast, CDI, Charles Theatre, Chasing the star, chemistry, coffee, comedy, communications, crew, director, earthquakes, facebook, For the Love of Catch, For the Love of Catch 2: Battlefields, Forty Nights, Germans, ghost town, Granada Theatre, Grand Theatre, Harsens Island Revenge, hazelnut, Heroes, IMDB, Jewish, King Theatre, knight chills, Michigan, Military, producers, respect, Silent Night in Algona, Spirit Lake Massacre, SpringHeelJack, Story Theatre, The Christ Slayer, UFOs, Wild Faith, wrap up, Yuma AZ | Leave a comment

Refuel, Relax, Rest – Much to Be Thankful For – FILM UPDATES!

The hazelnut coffee, is tasting great on this snowy Sunday. I see where many folks elsewhere got 5+ feet of snow! Parts of Michigan, saw a large snowfall and even here in Lansing (Center of the State) we got a good amount. It is pretty to watch fall and it makes everything bright, which has been nice. But, it has been bitter cold for sure. The several days of arctic freeze gave me the time I needed to start catching up on all my biz paperwork.

SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA – We have been working on getting the end credits around and from the list we’ll be double checking against our Algona, premiere list. This week, we’ll get a chance to review the film, with most all the elements inserted. The film will release first in Algona, Iowa on Dec 9th and the Fridley Theaters. Our hope is that they will open the film in all the cities they’re in. We are looking to see when the show times will go live, so folks can start getting public tickets. The trailer will soon be playing in front of other films. We plan to show the film into 1st quarter of 2023 in the theatre chains. We hope to have it expend across Iowa, and the midwest. An LA/Hollywood and German showing via theaters or festival is also being planned.

We also have some exciting things coming together for the 2023 home video release. I really do think that this film could create a “Field of Dreams” effect – whereas once a year the film returns to Algona, theaters and people travel to the town of Algona, to see the museums. We will also be working on the Michigan premiere, that might happen first of the year, due to all the crazy Christmas hustle and bustle. Many will have to have patience, if you miss the select theatrical showings. But come, the run up to Christmas 2023, the film will be getting a major push. Between the theatrical and the home video, we hope to show it in Germany/Austria. Thank you to everyone for your support.

We’re also going to be working with our sponsors and product partners, moving forward. Note, the period wraps on the Spam, Hershey’s bars and more. We are honored to have such wonderful partners in storytelling. We have had many great companies join us over the years. I look forward to many more, as we move ahead in our storytelling adventures.

DEVELOPMENT WORK!

Silent Night in Algona, will be the 5th release this year. Who has seen all five films? Who can name all five films? OK. It’s early and the coffee is still kicking in for folks. 1) BESTSELLER 2) BEST YEARS GONE 3) SMOKE & MIRRORS 4) FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH 5) SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA – if you end up watching all 5, you are truly a CDI fan. I’ve had someone talking to me about a CDI fan club. You can SUBSCRIBE TO THE TRIBE at http://www.cdiproductions.com and we’ll be doing some updates there soon. I use to have a wonderful fan club ran by a fine lady named, Pepper. I think she is still with us, loving her dogs and spreading joy. She and several friends, use to travel to different CDI premieres. She did interviews and highlighted co-stars and leading ladies. She reviewed films and really did many great and wonderful things. Her health, hasn’t allowed her to keep up with the webpage and it went down several years ago. I will check in on Pepper, over the holidays. I hope she has been doing well.

Once SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA, is finished, we will be all caught up on production. We have been slowly prepping 4 films in the CDI library, for re-release with BMG. In 2023, we hope to bring KNIGHT CHILLS, FIGURE IN THE FOREST, AN ORDINARY KILLER and GHOST TOWN to the marketplace. Two are in the wrong aspect ratio and were shot in standard def so they’re all being digitally enhanced to HD. I will readdress all this once I get this current film locked.

But, I will say- I’ve seen the first draft of the new uprezed trailer for Ghost Town, and it looks beautiful. I need to watch and provide some notes. We are also working to get distributor back ups of all the films. KNIGHT CHILLS, we are trying to get the best source version. But this will get done. We are also working on a few cool extras, maybe even an interview from our director Katie Hicks. I might do a sit down, with Jeff Kennedy, to talk about those days. The sequel and video game became even more exciting, when I got to check out some of the new software and LED walls. Not only, will CDI keep working to enhance of VFX sequences in our films, we will be doing some films that are completely animated films. I have a few people in Michigan, I’ve been watching, about some possible collaborations. Ideas-forming.

Harsens Island Revenge – Get those acting reels together. Yes. CDI is an acting troupe of actor/producers, but we have several friends of the tribe, that we often collaborate with. Like, many projects, we have many more friends of the tribe, vs roles open in a film. But, we have some time, so we’re going to really use the time to cast, and look at talent for future endeavors. I use to travel to more film gatherings, events, networking. Oh, I feel a ramble coming on…

The truth is, with how busy my film work is, my daily hours are pretty full. I unwind, mediate, visualize, the week ahead. Refuel, relax and get good rest (Three R’s) to attack it all again the next day. Staying out late partying, isn’t really on my planner. Now, let me say for the record, I’ve certainly been there, done that and got that tee-shirt, but I’m at a different place on the path. I have a domestic life, that brings me peace and balance. It allows me to better focus my energies, achieving dreams. But, just like at one time, I knew every bar in my town, now, I do not. I was a work-a-holic, binge drinker, in my youth. The binge drinking (Viking drinking) was taught to me, from those glorious nights out, after games in Hornbaek, Denmark, playing soccer as a teen. What a great time that was for three summers. I love those good folks to this day.

Okay, back at it. So, I had unrealistic dreams (Acting) but, once I set my sights, there was no plan B. I worked, and lived in studios, we made our hours, working for days on end. Sometimes forced to using TV stations in the middle of the night to finish films. Often jumping on a jet planes, with my amigos, to go pitch ideas and finished films, around Hollywood for a couple weeks. Days full of 405 driving to meetings, parties in the hills. Hard partying, after, hard work, to try and turn our obsession off. But, the tequila would often just spur even more exciting dreams and ideas. I LOVE those days. The CDI crew was like pirates, we rolled hard, building. But, the journey will burn some out. I’ve seen so very many break, and fall. If I could have made myself fall into regular steady employment, I would have long ago. But, my simple mantra of putting everything into the film I’m working on, so it results in one more opportunity to tell a story, remains. So far, that has worked. I think because, there are so many stories, in every town, in danger of fading away, gone. But, a group of artists like CDI, can bring a story to life, for generations. That is what we do. That is what we are doing.

And back to development- this week saw a few really great steps. The script for Harsens Island Revenge (HIR) is going through that writer/director phase. Each character, action and line, discussed. I can say, every scene improved through long conversations. Motivations. Moments. I love this process with directors. All directors who have directed a script I wrote, have been through this process. It is fun, playful and enjoyable. We got through another 25 pages in a session and have likely 1-2 more sessions to get all the way through. Once the script is locked, the writer part of me steps back. All work from there will be between actors and director. But once you leave the director at the end of the process, they should have a deep understanding. It is an exploring, something even more important with period pieces.

HIR, will start looking at cast and crew, with our director, over the winter. We have a good idea of the look, tone, work flow and our scout trip has us all very excited. So, wrap up your year by getting your highlight reels together. CDI is mostly all actors, so pick and lead with your strongest material. If something is subpar consider leaving it off. Less can be more. At the same time, if someone is interested, they will watch a lot of your work. Especially if they are thinking of working with you.

SPIRIT LAKE MASSACRE – After nearly two full days of polishing, I ended my week, with my first draft of the new Spirit Lake Massacre. I’m very proud of the final piece. I’m going to do even more research to add a sprinkling more of the historical gems, to this already powerful piece. In December, I’ll be able to have some more discussions on the locations for this 2024 project. Next year, might consist of some construction, and some prep work.

CDI HOLIDAY WATCHING – With snow and cold, forcing many inside- it’s a good time to watch some of the CDI classics with your family and loved ones. WILD FAITH, MANS BEST FRIEND, LOST HEART, THE QUEST TRILOGY! Encourage TV, Tubi, Amazon Prime, Google Play– check your platforms. I’m going to go do some holiday shopping both online and at the store. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving week. I’m always happy when I get to see family and friends. We are all thankful at CDI, to all of you fans.

Coffee Cheers!

November 20, 2022 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: acting, Algona, An Ordinary Killer, artic, Austria, BEST YEARS GONE, Bestseller, Bigfoot UFOS Jesus, blog, BMG, CDI, Chasing the star, Christmas, coffee, crew, Denmark, DEskpop, dogs, Encourage TV, family, Fan club, fans, Figure in the Forest, For the Love of Catch, Forty Nights, freeze, Fridley Theatre, friends, German, ghost town, Harsens, Harsens Island Revenge, hazelnut, HD, Hershey's, holiday, Hollywood, home video, Hornbaek, Jeff Kennedy, jets, Katie Hicks, knight chills, LA, Lansing, Lost Heart, love, MBF: Man's Best Friend, Michigan, Pepper, pirates, reels, refuel, relax, rest, Silent Night in Algona, Smithfield Foods, Smoke & Mirrors, snow, soccer, Spam, Spirit Lake Massacre, The Christ Slayer, The Quest Trilogy, tribe, Wild Faith, Wild Faith: Hastings, world cup | 2 Comments

TEN Updates – Silent Night in Algona (trailer), Development Updates, Tips, Advance Notices-

Sipping the hazelnut coffee on this fine October morning. We have had a last spurt of warm and midweek it is suppose to go chilly again. Yesterday, I got my final mow on the yard. We harvested the last of the plants including a few more decorative gourds. I’ve been cutting and splitting wood for the winter ahead. Yesterday afternoon we got to have a nice outside fall gathering with my brother and his family. Pumpkin carving, apple crisp, cider and soccer plus add in a bit of leaf fun. I love this season!

Our development of the film projects continues on. Let’s look at a few of the updates from last week.

FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH – is a wonderful feature length doc that fills in the missing history of this grappling art. The response has been overwhelmingly positive. It was presented by the leading authorities in such an entertaining way. The DVD is open to pre-order now for a Nov 1st release and/or you can rent/buy it now. https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/amzn1.dv.gti.3bc38d35-d79e-49e9-82a6-e87ff63b4040?autoplay=0&ref_=atv_cf_strg_wb
BEST YEARS GONE is another release from this year. An award winning dramedy that will make you laugh, cry and ponder. You can buy/rent from here – https://www.amazon.com/Best-Years-Gone-Lana-Wood/dp/B09R4KDXGJ/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2JUJIK4KVPU9K&keywords=best+years+gone&qid=1666530725&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIxLjIzIiwicXNhIjoiMC45OSIsInFzcCI6IjEuMjUifQ%3D%3D&s=instant-video&sprefix=best+years+gone%2Cinstant-video%2C118&sr=1-1 – And…if you want to read an in-depth review, you can do so here – https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fronnielee.rocks%2Fbest-years-gone-movie-review-by-ronnie-lee%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR1AL4lf8DCIxzPwRgU-0p4je7kNIFHj1KfKNw0avyDR25NjxRbbRkvawvM&h=AT0-ucPZlOsNalVICvt7_1cyBe5Gh38thIaNrYSscZu5PfJ70KPxjGT2vokU2piIUPgdERcaa3G2t1PFyH1CpyLmJpbn6c-l00Dv0qMxMNVs3vxrnDIUbiH4CmtNVUP-wVieTKcYrnFuQcaf1SQufAg&tn=H-R&c[0]=AT3LjCNz1EGR425orlMSHaN9h6RT070C39M9yk8LNKiwmb8xkHJ-aw1wuBh55Vu6UebSWPuIOzGWKGvAs1kKXmjL3gsizF9MOoNfAChhLVI9r8o5LkYvVlMzXhTf-aEQ_wsBEqsiKqbs1ySEMZXHpocAEHuNgyPWmrpbF0Xlme0Q-rNUmz6gfir3gikxLQqgJW3Llr1VjV90qkC9YRZs6moJ – We look forward to your reviews too!
SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA – This is the last project for us to finish and release this year. We’ve sent an email to our cast and crew asking any of the team planning to attend the Dec 9th Fridley Theatre premiere in Algona, Iowa to RSVP by Nov 1st. We’ve got a list going and every ticket will be gone. Once we get RSVP’s on cast and crew we will start looking at extras. For those not part of the Iowa premiere – it will play to the public that night and for two plus weeks pending demand. We will also be setting up a Michigan premiere in the hometown of our director Anthony Hornus. This will be at the NCG theatre in Owosso. We might play the week after the Iowa or jump to after Christmas if we get too close. I know Celebration Cinema will be bringing it to Lansing and Grand Rapids. We will be looking to play the Detroit area and would love to have a Hollywood run. The film is looking and sounding amazing thanks to the hard work of Dennis Therrian. The VFX and color grading is getting close to done. Mid November we’ll be pulling all the elements together into a final film. Some exciting news, I saw the rough cut of the new trailer on Friday. I am so proud of all are artists and cannot wait for people to see.
HARSENS ISLAND REVENGE – I’m so very excited that the #TribeCDI will be moving from one epic period piece to another. We have been preparing documents to assist in bringing onboard our product partners and sponsors. Our scouting trip was very successful last week. While a few days may be shot on the actual island we need interiors and such that we can control. We also need to not be dependent on a ferry or the few stores on a small island. So movie magic will be happening but it will all be shot in Michigan. We had some great meetings this last week and we’ll be making some exciting announcements soon. One of those exciting announcements just might be our director. I will be starting the writer/director script polish this week. Once I sign off it is up to the director and talent. We will be shooting in October of 2023! We are already hard at work.
SPIRIT LAKE MASSACRE is in script development. I am happy to say that I’m about 1/3 of the way through the first draft. There is a lot of research with this project and that is something I’ve immensely enjoyed. It has been an intense journey and the drama of it all is brutal and enlightening. I’ve had several times that after writing for a few hours I had to go work my hands in the dirt for a while. I will have my first draft by Jan 1st and from there we will start to look at production development.
WILD FAITH just passed the 6 million mark on Encourage TV. This will can be found on countless platforms to enjoy. We have many fall themed films from SMOKE & MIRRORS, BESTSELLER, LOST HEART, BEST YEARS GONE and MBF: MAN’S BEST FRIEND. Enjoy them all with your family! Thank you for all the fan mail about these titles! Amazon Prime has most all of them.
I had a great call out of the blue about another film project. This call took me back almost to the very beginning. A project that was in development many moons ago has interest and a proposed budget. This film is in the horror-genre with a large dose of mystery/investigation at the heart. Discussions were on how things have changed in the 25-30 years production-wise. I gave my interest in moving these talks forward. It takes time to develop things so the earlier you can start the better. More on this project if it becomes active. By active, I mean funded:)
That is not the only project that was discussed in development this week. Following the release of FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH, our team is discussing both another doc feature and a feature film. In the wake of projects I always get a rush of pitches on scripts and projects. I tell my tribal folks to be ready for this rush. It can be a time killer 95% of the time. People are wanting badly in this industry and it can be truly maddening. Every outsider is a variable that can rock the boat. It is why we are so careful with how we build our projects and with whom. Life is too short to be wasting time. If you have a funded project we might look at it but we are at no lack of stories, scripts or endeavors. I can say with confidence that we’ll be doing more docs in the FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH series. Thank you to everyone who has supported the first one. It is really powerful and informative and I’m proud of it. Take a watch!
This week I’m going to be sending KNIGHT CHILLS materials off to the Blu-Ray folks and check on the up-rez and progress on the new Ghost Town trailer. Both should be available next year as HD and streaming. After those get underway we will be working on FIGURE IN THE FOREST and AN ORDINARY KILLER. Classics:)
PONDERING/TIPS/OPINION – This week was interesting due to various conversations. As we start the process of looking towards future projects, sometimes as far ahead as two or three projects, we examine ENERGY. Positive energy manifests in how people are in their day-to-day. There are people who are just always a joy to be around. They make a journey enjoyable. They are CAN DO people not CANNOT do people. They look at the glass half FULL versus half EMPTY. They work hard and EARN the opportunities, by giving their BEST EFFORT. I laugh to myself when I hear some people think they’ve paid enough dues and they are deserving of….it would be like a martial artist telling the sensei when they feel ready to test for a belt. These positive people don’t seek short cuts or to get ahead by stepping on others. That is a VERY common thing is the outside world for sure. While common there, it doesn’t thrive here at CDI. Some people are just not cut out for long form media like movies. They do better with smaller, simple short format endeavors. Or they cannot positively interact with people for that many weeks. I heard someone else make a statement that they will deal with whatever for the sake of using some artists, even if they are negative and a pain. They can have them! I will take a positive, good person with talent and develop that versus drag some negative person along. It is about the journey and not just the art. Ideally you want both but the journey will be long remembered. So work with good people you like. Develop the people who respect and have gratitude for the opportunity. We have big things ahead and so we want to develop our team even stronger. Lots of things happening behind the scenes. Just be that person that producers want to have on board.

I want thank everyone again for stopping by. Subscribe here and perhaps our website http://www.cdiproductions.com and our CDI Youtube channel. I love that you all come from various places around the globe. I’m going to finish up here and do a few more things around the yard and get ready for a busy week ahead. I hope you take all these updates as an inspiration of what a group of artists can achieve when they work together in a positive manner. Have a great week and be good to one another!

Coffee Cheers!

October 23, 2022 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: An Ordinary Killer, apple, artists, BEST YEARS GONE, Bestseller, blog, boat, brother, CDI, Celebration Cinema, Chasing the star, coffee, crew, Dan Gable, Dan Severn, Dennis Therrian, Detroit, develop, DVD, earn, Encourage TV, energy, Figure in the Forest, For the Love of Catch, For there Love of catch, Forty Nights, Fridley Theatre, funding, ghost town, gourds, Halloween, Harsens Island Revenge, hazelnut, Hollywood, horror, Josh Barnett, knight chills, leaf, Lost Heart, MBF: Man's Best Friend, Michigan, NCG, October, positive, projects, pumpkins, Randy Couture, review, Ronnie Lee, Smoke & Mirrors, soccer, Spirit Lake Massacre, streaming, The Christ Slayer, The Quest Trilogy, VFX, Wild Faith, yard, Youtube | Leave a comment

SNEAK PEEK B4 PR RELEASE- Official Pre-Production, Updates (Silent Night in Algona) and more…

Spain, Ireland, Iraq are where some of our readers hail from. Hazelnut coffee cheers from chilly Michigan. Fall is in full effect and I’ve been working to get the property ready for winter. I’ve been using the wood stove for meetings already so chopping and cutting wood has been a priority. I’ve been trimming the mulberry trees which grew out of control. Last night I used the smoker and cooked venison steak and acorn squash. The steaks were awesome and there is much left over which will be used for steak and eggs and/or venison steak chili. The egg production has slowed but not stopped as the weather has gotten colder. I had the pleasure of watching my niece and nephew play another soccer match together. They are getting the basics of the game down and it is fun to watch them. I will likely do one final mow of the yard once the leaves all fall. They are still hanging on and many changing into beautiful colors. I truly do love this time of year. My alumni MSU is having a hard go of it this year in football. Let’s see how the Detroit Lions do this week. Okay, onto some film updates.

FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH – We had a most excellent premiere showing in the NCG theatre in Owosso, MI. After was a great fall afterglow at Romas. Excellent pizza and hard cider were on deck. Some pictures were taken and everyone really seems to have loved the film. It played awesome on the big screen. 10/4/22 is the date when home video could start releasing. The DVD pre-sale site for 11/1/22 is up on Amazon but we are waiting for the streaming rent/buy link to go live. Several DVD pre-sale sites are popping up at many other record/DVD shops, just search “For the Love of Catch” and “DVD” and BAM! If you had a chance to watch the film at the premiere feel free to post a review on the http://www.imdb.com (For the Love of Catch). Hoopla which is the national library system for streaming films is carrying the documentary. We have been waiting, not-so-patiently for the Amazon release.

Another great update is that we met the other day about what will be next for the FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH, and I think we have a great idea for the next documentary film. I’ll be gathering a few choice sponsors over the winter and we’ll plan to shoot in the Spring. Who knows, documentary might not be the only thing we are planning. Stay tune and definitely check out the film when time allows. You will not be disappointed. Educational and entertaining to be sure.

SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA – One more film to release this year. Our WW2 Christmas film is now in music and sound design. The color grading is complete and the VFX are still be worked on. We’ll see a hint of that VFX work in the new theatrical trailer, being edited. We’ve been working on setting up the premiere in Algona, Iowa, the 2nd weekend in December. We plan to have a special premiere screening in Owosso, MI again at the NCG Owosso. Likely another afterglow although not on a patio, a tad cold by that time. The Iowa showing will have the theatrical run starting there immediately after the premiere. We plan to meet and greet folks at the VFW and share in their excitement.

I plan to start looking at a few event showings for the film. A few select festivals, but some might not like that we’ve played, or we are playing in theaters. I really want to see it play in Germany. We’ve been having the German dialog translated for the subtitles. I got some of the best news possible by the older German folks helping with this task. The thing is that for many Germans, that time period is not something they enjoy watching. Over and over they’ve been painted as all being Nazi’s which is not true. This film doesn’t sugarcoat anything but it also gives a fresh and new perspective. But the film brought tears to our translator and that speaks volumes about the story we have.

We’ve been in the studio enjoying the new sound design and music which just takes everything to another level. It is truly amazing that we took history and we truly bring it to life. In mid November our editor/VFX supervisor will be coming into Michigan to work with our team in assembling the final film. We will book into as many film theaters that will have us and once we ride that into 2023, as we said prior, we’ve play a few festivals. After that, it’s the big run up to the home video 2023 release. A truly powerful film that will likely become a classic.

WILD FAITH – Speaking of classics in the making. We’ll be announcing a new benchmark with our family classic Wild Faith. In 2020 we tried to work with the distributor to add up/estimate the number of views (minus broadcast TV which is in full swing). They estimated 20 million views, with the distributors Encourage TV having about 4 million views itself. Well that number now is 6 million views! So just that one platform has been getting about 1 million views a year. If all these platforms increased we could be looking at 40 million plus. We will continue to try and put the pieces in play for the WILD FAITH: Hastings TV series, but we’ve got several projects lining up in front of us.

THE QUEST TRILOGY (Forty Nights, Chasing the Star, The Christ Slayer) – Speaking of classics in the making. Starting Nov 1st we’ll be pushing this amazing series of films. The three films have been growing year by year increasing their audience. They are not preachy and just try to give a unique perspective to events often described in a few short sentences. They are inspirational and uplifting and provoke us to deep thought and contemplation. For many the watching of the three films has become a tradition. Make it one of yours.

This is also down syndrome month and I’m so proud of my brother from another mother Josh Perry. You can see him in THE CHRIST SLAYER where he is absolutely a gem. And as if he couldn’t get any better, BAM! LOST HEART also known as BIGFOOT, UFOS AND JESUS really showcases the comedic talents of Josh Perry. If you have a child with Down syndrome I would advise watching these films. I’ve seen the look in the eyes of a young child with DS admiring Josh and his work. You can see the mental limitations melt away and that is a beautiful thing.

Thank you to the fans of MBF: Man’s Best Friend who have made their love of this film known. To answer a common question I get- Will there be a sequel to MBF? First, I’ll say with how we left Paul, he’s just doing his time and it is not on the books. I’ve only played one character twice and that was JESUS in Forty Nights and The Christ Slayer. But, I will say that a rough treatment for a sequel does exist. Currently, I have my hands full with writing endeavors and CDI is about to officially announce the pre-production of our next feature film.

Here is the advance promo teaser for CDI’s next feature film. Adapted by your’s truly from another truly special book by Karl Manke. We will be releasing this pic and PR about the new project. Our team is location scouting this next coming weekend. I just might have some great pics to share next Sunday. I won’t write too much here and just leave it as a tease since we have PR releasing this week.

SPIRIT LAKE MASSACRE – This is the powerful story I’ve been researching and putting into script form. I’m well into the first act of this story and I’m very happy with how it’s flowing. A few scenes so powerful, I had to walk away for a bit after writing it. I’ll be looking to have a teaser poster created for this project so I have a battle flag of sorts. It is just such an honor to be able to save this event in history and ultimately bring it back to life on the screen. I’ll be done with a first draft in a few weeks. I’m just really enjoying the journey.

WRAP UP – I hope you all continue to enjoy the fall season. We’ve had several folks respond to the CDI treat, not a trick- of the full short SMOKE & MIRRORS, being gifted to all of you. Take a watch and let us know your thoughts. It will be a great feature film in the future.

I’m going to go do a few things around the yard. We are planning to attend a flea market. Watch the Lions battle. Maybe some more writing on Spirit Lake Massacre and a locations list for Harsens Island Revenge. It’s the full moon so watch out:) I’ll chat with you all next week. Until, be good to one another.

Coffee Cheers!

October 9, 2022 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: amazon, Amazon Prime, Bigfoot UFOS Jesus, blog, brother, CDI, Chasing the star, Christmas, classic, coffee, crew, Desktop Entertainment, Detroit, down syndrome, DVD, editor, educational, Encourage TV, fall, festivals, flea market, For the Love of Catch, Forty Nights, full moon, German Film Festival, Germany, Halloween, Harsens Island Revenge, hazelnut, home video, inspirational, Iraq, Ireland, Jesus, Josh Ponceman Perry, Karl manke, lawn, locations, Lost Heart, MBF: Man's Best Friend, Michigan, millions, moon, MSU, Native American, Nazi, Owosso, POW, PR, Silent Night in Algona, Smoke & Mirrors, soccer, Spain, Spirit Lake Massacre, squash, steak, The Christ Slayer, The Quest Trilogy, theatrical, uplifting, Veterans, VFW, VFX, Wild Faith, Wild Faith: Hastings, wood, WW1, WW2 | 2 Comments

NEW Nominations- Updates, Advice and Observations

Hazelnut coffee cheers! I want to once again welcome all our readers worldwide to our short visit. I’ve had numerous business endeavors underway. What I’m facing is one of the most busy release seasons CDI has had in a while. So far this year we’ve seen the home video release of BESTSELLER (NEW review here – https://www.joblo.com/bestseller-review/), BEST YEARS GONE, about to play another event in Cleveland Ohio next weekend. The event is the 27th Indie Gathering International Film Festival and our film is an award winner. We’ve also been nominated for BEST ACTOR (your’s truly) and BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY (Travis Hayward).

Last weekend our concept short SMOKE & MIRRORS played the Motor City Nightmares in Novi, Michigan. The feature-length doc FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH will premiere October 1st in Owosso, MI likely at the NCG theatre before the wide Oct 4th home video release to DVD and streaming. Our WW2 Christmas drama, SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA just moved into music and sound design. We’re working towards a December 10th premiere in Algona, Iowa followed by a midwest theatrical run. Several of these will have members of our team in attendance and we still might be announcing a few more events. All these positive things pose issues with shooting a fall film.

With five films rolling out and there is a lot of work between all these releases. The question is pertaining to our upcoming slate of films. I’m mostly talking the development of HOT ROD LOVE. We’re still in talks about major locations and we still have investors to bring on-board. We’ve got set time-lines to meet with all these tasks in order to film this year. The issue is that next year might be already full of projects, but HOT ROD LOVE could possibly move to the other side of winter. I’m ready and wanting to film but we’ve got so much business around these film roll outs. It might be better to focus on the releases first and start clean in the near year. Our producers will have some important decisions to make in the coming weeks but it’s all good. But these are the things I deal with. My personal goals usually take a back seat to the TribeCDI needs, and I don’t mind. We’re seeing the success of the other CDI films, as our audience circles grow. I’m excited about the future of all these projects and proud of the artists and supporters who made them happen.

THOUGHTS/ADVICE – At least twice in my film news watching, I saw posts that I almost commented on but I don’t engage on walls. Sometimes, I’ll direct message but I don’t ever post to get attention save purposeful PR posts. I’ve seen people take film jobs only to complain about them on social media. Often broadcasting blunders like being late or just complaining in general with some weak justification. This doesn’t encourage hiring or rehiring. I get it. Movies are hard to make. Our journey is not for everyone. On the indie level where many of us live and create, it can be even harder. If you find yourself overly unhappy in filmmaking, consider something else.

Paying your dues is real. I’ve seen discouraged actors unhappy with paying their dues, threaten to quit. People often will rush to try and support them, but the truth is many who get ahead do so on persistence where others fall. Success is often built upon other people failing and quitting. The “Oregon Trail” of actors and filmmakers. Climbing atop the bodies of the fallen to get higher. Every major acting hub has the “actors ghettos” where failed birds of a feather flock together to complain about their stagnation and set backs. Usually they have many other people and things to blame. While I have talent, I also earned, often via sacrifice, the ability to develop my talents. I’ve outworked many people and continue to do so today. I tip my hat to the others also fighting for their art but the harsh truth is, if you don’t have persistence, you will likely fail. Success in this business needs a severe dedication and that is not for everyone.

Lot’s of interviews, reviews and PR releases ahead on the slew of projects coming to or now in the marketplace. If you have any of these podcasts, fanzines and whatnot and wish to interview any of our folks reach out. If you’ve streamed and seen any of the films please do review on the film’s IMDB.com page or the platform page like Amazon Prime. We’ve got a few cool ones lined up and I’m sure we’ll do more. Maybe even a few more fun video PR releases like we did with BEST YEARS GONE. Next up will be several of the CDI team going to Ohio next weekend. I will note that I’m looking forward to seeing ASH & BONE written by Bret Miller (Chasing the Star) and produced by a product outfit outta Detroit led by Harley Wallen. I’ve had the pleasure of sitting down with him on a few occasions and I look forward to celebrating with him and his team. Erika Hoveland, co-stars in both the films and so that has to be exciting for her. ASH & BONE, plays shortly after our own film and it’s great to have two Michigan film companies represented. Their projects keep getting stronger, much like our own, because they keep earning the opportunity to grow. Did I mention persistence? It is key. We’ll be celebrating soon. My team is on me about savoring and enjoying the wins. To stop always jumping right back into the TO DO and take a few moments to appreciate the HAVE DONE’S. They are right and I will work to get better at it. I also don’t always like the spotlight only on me. I know that the direction, my co-stars, the camera work, the music and the value of having flowing coffee on cold nights- all played into me being able to BECOME the role. But I am appreciative and I’ll take the time to soak in it for a few moments. We all have things to work on.

MORE MISC UPDATES & BIZ

I’m about to start work on book 8 of an audio book series this week. That is always fun because it’s just me and my coffee. After last weeks soccer match win our team has one more game before playoffs. We earned our solid 2nd place and we hope to make it to the finals and beat the one team who has beat us twice. Our chickens are doing great. The garden plants have taken off. The hops are massive this year. I might try to finally bottle the FRANKENBERRY wine just in time for fall. I also have everything for a new beer run- yes I make beer and wine.

I’m looking to seal up some paperwork on another script writing/producing project very soon. Maybe even this week but these things often happen in their own time not our desired time. But I’ve been gathering research material in prep of this next writing endeavor. I’m very excited about the subject matter but will wait until the ink is dry to talk about it.

I’ve also been prepping some of the past CDI films for streaming and home video release next year with our friends at BMG/Deskpop Entertainment. That is always a task when added onto all the other things we’ve got in motion. But it will all get done. We chip away. We take a few more steps. Success is a process. And with that final nugget of wisdom, I’m going to say goodbye until next week. I will be getting back to Michigan late on Sunday next week so I’ll be posting next week on MONDAY. I’ll be reporting fresh from the Ohio Indie Gathering, which will be fun. I have a memorial today for a friend who passed and after I will be spending time with some family and friends. Appreciate your family and friends and live each day as full as you can. Until next week, coffee cheers!

August 7, 2022 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: actos ghetto, advice, amazon, artists, Ash & Bone, beer, Best Actor, Best Cinematography, BEST YEARS GONE, Bestseller, birds, blog, BMG, bret miller, CDI, Christmas, Cleveland Ohio, coffee, costars, crew, Deskpop Entertainment, Detroit, DJ Perry, Erika Hoveland, For the Love of Catch, garden, Google Play, Harley Wallen, hazelnut, hops, Hot Rod Love, iTunes, JoBlo, Michigan, Motor City Nightmares, nominations, observations, Oregon Trail, Owosso, paperwork, poster, PR, producers, review, scripts, Silent Night in Algona, Smoke & Mirrors, soccer, social media, success, The 27th Indie Gathering International Film Fest, theatre, tribecdi, Updates, video, VUDU, wine, winter, wisdom, WW2 | Leave a comment

Happy 4th of JULY, 2022- Weekend: BEST YEARS GONE Home Video Premiere and More…

Good morning, hazelnut cheers and thank you to all the new international readers from S. Korea, Ireland, China, UK, Brazil and more. Here is the USA we’re about to celebrate our independence day (July 4th) from the good ole UK. I’ve been super busy on many fronts but I’ve been able to balance it with some wonderful nature. For my recent bday I got some large wind chimes that go nicely with the sounds of the water fountain. (A 50th Bday gift) The plants have all been watered and the dogs tended to. The chickens are enjoying the morning clucking about. The hops, berries (mulberry, raspberry and blueberries) have been exploding. The apple trees are doing pretty good. One of them struggled a bit with the past heat and seems to be doing better now. Let’s go ahead and get into the news.

BEST YEARS GONE – This movie was made during the hardest time of the pandemic and brought our cast and crew much joy. We saw the film bring much laughter and a few tears in the limited theatrical run. The theaters were still trying to get back on their feet during that time. But now, on JULY 5th in two short days you will be able to buy the DVD or stream it. Amazon, Best Buy, Vudu and so on. Just google us up or follow the Facebook site for updates. One of the first major reviews was by Film Threat, link below.

Best Years Gone

You never know how the mass market will take any film, but they seemed to really like it and we think you will too. I also want to acknowledge the praise they gave me but say that if I did not have the awesome cast around me, the film doesn’t work. I love the music (Dennis Therrian) with added songs by various great bands including our BATTLE OF THE BANDS winner Vertical Bridge!

Watch the music video here –

https://fb.watch/e1kpnLdxUL/

IF you decide to take a watch visit our page at http://www.imdb.com and you can VOTE for your self and leave your own review.

LOOKING FOR A DOUBLE FEATURE or something to watch tonight/tomorrow on the run up to our release?

BESTSELLER, a spooky thriller just released on May 31st. Melissa Anschutz leads a great cast with myself, Ralph Lister, Terence Knox, Lana Wood and more…

Read about it here –

https://mmw.news/2022/06/17/dj-perry-returns-to-genre-roots-with-bestseller-release/

Watch it here!

These two films releasing is very exciting and represents a lotta hard work by our artists but we’ve got so much more happening.

The first festival that invited SMOKE & MIRRORS was Michigan’s own MOTOR CITY NIGHTMARES. It is a weekend of convention fun, celebrity signings (I was asked but, no I’m not doing any official signings, but if you track me down with a pen I will and the cost – ZERO:) You cannot ala carte the screenings so the cost might be too costly if planning to just go see the 16-17 min film. We play at like 5:20 in a block and I plan to try and arrive at 5pm. I’m solo with the dogs so I’ll be just doing a 6-7 hour trip with drive time of 45 min or so to Novi. I think they have a party but it’s later in the eve so the post party will likely be back at home:) But this short film is so much fun. We filmed this concept film taken from one of my feature scripts in one day as part of a commercial project. It will likely play a few more venues this year so join the Facebook page and make sure to catch it where you can. David Gries and Melissa Anschutz and brilliant in the film and it has some fun supporting characters. I just might play one of them but if turn of the century/steampunk is your jam, this might be for you. July 30th! NOVI! MOTOR CITY NIGHTMARES.
I will also note being from Lansing, MI that another fine artist/filmmaker, Michael McCallum/Rebel Pictures, has two short films playing right after SMOKE & MIRRORS. One is CHOICES and one is PHOTALGIA. So if you are watching our film you can stay a few and watch a couple other films. I’m sure the entire day has some great films to watch.
SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA, the rough cut is done and our director has been feeding notes back to our editor. We’ll review the rough cut with our director changes soon and by months end will have a locked picture. Here is a great video showing some of the VFX/model work being done. WATCH THE VIDEO here – https://fb.watch/e1nJ7CbDvg/
We also have a new SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA poster being worked on and the new theatrical trailer work will be starting soon. We are looking to have the first showing in Algona on Dec 10th if everything stays according to plan.
FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH has made the final fixes and tweaks working with Deskpop Entertainment on quality control. We should have our home video release dates soon and by next month (Aug 3rd) we should know about the TORONTO FILM FESTIVAL.
I’ve finished the first draft of HARSENS ISLAND REVENGE, slated to shoot in 2023. I have my producers taking a read and if all comes back good without any problem areas to clarify it will go to the publisher. WW1 Veterans vs The Purple Gang during the prohibition. But this is what I call passive pre-production. It has committed funds but doesn’t shoot until later next year because of the script/story.
HOT ROD LOVE, is in active development – and reunites director Shane Hagedorn and Director of Photography, Travis Hayward from BEST YEARS GONE. We are in talks on an amazing attachment that true fans of drag racing will love. Also a few amazing sponsors are being courted so with a little bit of hard work and some final commits we will look to film in October 2022, in a few short months.
HASTINGS, the developing Wild Faith TV series spin off had more productive discussions this week. WILD FAITH, which just released with MAN’S BEST FRIEND to PeacockTV which could assist in the ordering up of the first season. We’ll see. We have several parties in talks and something will give. It is nearing 6 million viewers on just our distributor’s platform ENCOURAGE TV. Many of the CDI films can be seen here free with ads.
I’ve noted that our Civil War film WICKED SPRING, now presented in HD is getting love on Amazon and the platforms it plays on. This film is 22 years old and still getting new audiences yearly. I know many classrooms that have used the film as a teaching aide. If you want to watch something about America’s history this might be for you.
We’re working hard to plan and fund the next several years of CDI films. We are having some good traction in that department but I will wait as always to the ink is dry. I don’t do the mysterious teases on social media for hype. Okay, maybe once in a great while but I like keeping the cards close until we show our hand. Four Aces:)

I’ve just finished some eggs and toast and I’m going to do a few tasks around the yard. A short trip to the store to take back empties from our meetings. And I plan to fire up the grill today and tomorrow. Maybe even bottle up the HOPPY GRAPE APE wine. I have a beer mix up next which I will put into motion for this fall. As I’ve said before, I might even do another go on the hard cider. Next week we’ll be attending the 4H where we assist young people in their college studies by purchasing their livestock. That and the venison make up most of the meat eating around here.

After a loss, our soccer team was back in form last week in a hard fought victory. My body has adapted to the hardships of the weekly battles, and now only experiences some mild stiffness versus the first quarter of the season where I felt like I was hit by a truck weekly. Whatever your outdoor activity is, get out there and do it. I’m going to end this here and go get a few things down in the yard. Have a safe 4th of July weekend. I hope you hit the ground running next week and get things done. Coffee Cheers until next week.

July 3, 2022 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: 4th July, 5th July, amazon, apples, battle of the bands, beer, berries, Best Buy, BEST YEARS GONE, Bestseller, blog, CDI, Chasing the star, Choices, civil war, coffee, crew, Dennis Therrian, Deskpop Entertainment, dogs, drag racing, DVD, editor, facebook, film review, Film Threat, For the Love of Catch, Forty Nights, Hastings, hazelnut, hens, Hot Rod Love, IMDB, Lana Wood, market, Melissa Anschutz, Michael McCallum, Michigan, models, Motor City Nightmares, motorcity, music, music video, NBC, Peacock TV, Photalgia, poster, Ralph Lister, Rebel Pictures, Shane Hagedorn, Silent Night in Algona, Smoke & Mirrors, soccer, streaming, Terence Knox, The Christ Slayer, The Quest Trilogy, Toronto Film Festival, Travis Hayward, USA, Vertical Bridge, Veterans, VFX, VUDU, Wicked Spring, Wild Faith, wine | Leave a comment

NEW CDI Development Projects, New Platforms and Premieres

‘Lost Heart’ Craft Service – my secondary skill

I’m bringing the bday week to a close and I have to say I was so appreciative of all the family, friends and fans who reached out to wish me a happy Bday. Thank you to all the new readers from around the globe joining us here. I’ve got my mug full of hazelnut coffee and I’ve just enjoyed a few eggs from our hens. It has been a good week of progress being made on several of the film projects. Let’s take a look at a few exciting updates.

1) WILD FAITH has made its way to NBC’s Peacock streaming – https://www.peacocktv.com/watch-online/movies/wild-faith/be7fcef2-f423-3114-b26c-c66588e2d7ed – We’re happy to have our story available to the 33 million plus subscribers.

2) MANS BEST FRIEND has followed right behind at NBC’s Peacock streaming – https://www.peacocktv.com/watch-online/movies/mans-best-friend/a0e02318-16e4-3b33-9550-f2a633ad2333 – Excited to make these two films available to a much larger audience.

3) SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA is closing in on the first edit and in July will be polishing it up towards a picture lock. This week we’ll start some discussions on the theatrical trailer. We’ve been gathering theatrical interest from a few chains. Another round of poster art is being worked on for the theatrical release most likely. A BTS of the model and VFX work is being edited together to share with all of you very soon.

4) BESTSELLER has been released to Amazon Prime and several platforms and on DVD. Thank you to those fans who reached out directly to share your thoughts. I told you it was intense:) A little mood, murder and mystery sound about right – travel to beautiful Northern Michigan with the birch and the pines. Buy/Rent here and let me know your thoughts at our http://www.imdb.com page –

Buy & Rent here BESTSELLER – https://www.amazon.com/Bestseller-Melissa-Anschutz/dp/B09YH7X3RY/ref=sr_1_3?crid=UV4JFVKKJBZQ&keywords=bestseller&qid=1656251166&s=movies-tv&sprefix=bestseller%2Cmovies-tv%2C81&sr=1-3

5) SMOKE & MIRRORS – I just got loose word that we’re in the MOTOR CITY NIGHTMARES festival. I’m hearing Sat July 30th late afternoon (5:00 pm wish) as part of a block. We don’t usually do shorts but a commercial opportunity allowed for us to shoot a proof of concept for the full feature. I’m going to try and attend with a few of the CDI team. It will be fun to return the horror scene. I went to a Frankenfest with the family yesterday and had a great time. All the cool art and merchandise spun off from the films. That is what I want to do with some of the older films that have gained some cult classic status.

6) BEST YEARS GONE is coming JULY 5th and we’ll see how the world reacts to this wild ride. We did get a great response from our theatrical crowds and I think folks will really dig it. We have some fun PR coming up this week. We’ll be starting the engines and waiting for that flag to drop. I’m very excited about how this film turned out and I hope you take something away with you that you enjoy after watching.

TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StL5oUdnOlc

MUSIC VIDEO: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=393380005705951

BTS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgt-xeK1LCw

7) FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH – the documentary went through quality control and our team addressed a few small issues and now they should all be adjusted. We’re awaiting our home video release dates and also our submission to the Toronto Film Festival. Step by step it moves closer. Soon the world will know a lot more about Catch-Can and its importance to the history of grappling.

8) HOT ROD LOVE – is projecting a Sept/Oct shoot and this week we made some good strides in our package. We’ll be announcing more exciting updates as pen finds paper. This 1970’s comedy about drag racing will surely be a fun one. This film is getting traction and I for one could not be happier. Do you have any 1975 or before rides you would love to feature in the film? If so let me know but we are shooting in Michigan.

9) HARSENS ISLAND REVENGE, the first draft is completed. Shooting is planned for fall next year 2023. I will be circulating this draft to a few in the circle as we’ll start having background development talks. I LOVE how the film script came together and it will make a wonderful film.

10) DEVELOPMENT – Hastings TV series as well as several feature films are in active development. It was my desire to double the CDI output of content this year but Covid and various variables have slowed things. We managed to keep creating in the hardest of times. We will keep moving forward thanks to all of you! We appreciate you all.

Motorcity Nightmares will get a watch on SMOKE & MIRRORS July 30th

Check out MAN’S BEST FRIEND and WILD FAITH

Looking for a nighttime murder, mystery and more…WATCH NOW!

WRAP UP:

This Bday I thought about those friends no longer on this earthly journey – with Dan Haggerty RIP

Aside from all this movie work I’ve had the pleasure of conducting business in our zen yard. The mulberries are in ABUNDANCE but I’m leaving them to the chickens, squirrels and birds save the handful a day I eat. We’ve been eating raspberries and soon blueberries from the yard also. The apples and hops will be coming in strong and maybe I’ll make some hard cider this year. The clover has been quite beautiful and also requires less mowing as the height stays low. I’m growing four leaf clovers. A Memory- Our 1st AD Carol on JUDGES could spot a four leaf clover in moments. She pulled like four from a patch in under a minute. She surprised me with a framed and matted group of four leaf clovers which I’ve kept to this day.

I had a few days where I forgot Lulu (Our last cat) had passed on. I was concerned if the upstairs was too hot or not wanting a door to close her in. I took one short nap before an event and she would always crawl up for a nap with me. No Lulu. But the Finn and Luna Mae (Our dogs) have kept us busy and entertained. Attack the water hose stream is one of the favorite games.

I had a week of business meetings that also involved birthday toasts and additionally several family dinners. All this around my birthday of the 23rd but the actual day was quiet by design. I still play soccer in a men’s league with my brother and several old school friends. No gym/dojo workout has every matched the raw competition. No value of name tags or titles just warriors, old warriors giving their all to show themselves they still got it. I’ve learned to love my opponents as they challenge me and my steel is sharpened. Sometimes in victory and sometimes in defeat. We’ve got a good team this year and during the first part of the season we lost once. And on my bday we lost to that team again. We were ahead until the last 15 min of the game where a call evened the game. We had one healthy sub and we had battled the heat. The other team had six subs and a strong will not to lose. I had a fast striker attacking that took everything I had to nullify his attack. We battled to the end and on my birthday I had been gifted health and humility. To play as hard as I do at my age is a blessing. Win or lose I won because I got to play. I felt a lesson in there that came out in another later conversation.

In that conversation we reflected on life as many of my talks do. I was asked, if I ever wished I had more in the film world. I want and work towards more frequent and better compensated films. But, I will tell a story that needs to be told for a modest pay day versus not having the story told. I also would not change being known for our art (stories) versus anyone else’s art. I think the best is yet to come and what I carry is patience and experience. I don’t chase dangling carrots and I’m not seeking short cuts. I’m not making the stories to impress or gain any glory just to offer a perspective that could affect people in a positive way. I don’t worship at the alter of value symbols pressed into metal or parchment. I say no more than yes but when I say yes, things happen. Okay, gonna slow on the coffee and head outside to mow and put up a windmill. Yes, I said a windmill. I just put up a wonderful set of wind chimes that were a gift and those are very peaceful. Tend to your zen and space and watch how things flow.

Have a great day and week ahead. Coffee cheers!

June 26, 2022 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: apples, art, berries, BEST YEARS GONE, Bestseller, blog, blueberries, brother, BTS, Catch Can, cats, CDI, Chasing the star, clover, coffee, comedy, Covid, crew, cult, defeat, development, dogs, dojo, drag racing, event, For the Love of Catch, Forty Nights, Frankenfest, gain, games, gift, glory, gym, Harsens Island Revenge, Hastings, hazelnut, hops, Hot Rod Love, humility, Judges, Man's Best Friend, metal, Michigan, Motor City Nightmares, Movie, music video, NBC, parchment, patience, Peacock, poster, PR, raspberries, Silent Night in Algona, Smoke & Mirrors, soccer, space, symbols, team, The Christ Slayer, The Quest Trilogy, theatrical, Toronto, trailer, VFX, victory, Wild Faith, windmill, wrap up, zen | Leave a comment

Practicing Patience and Riding the Waves…

Hazelnut coffee cheers! I’m sipping here after an active morning of getting the dogs around and fed. We’ve had some passing storms that last two days including a tornado up North in Gaylord. The clover seed we put around the yard should take off like crazy this week. I’ve already mowed twice but I see that we are close to another. Trimming, cutting, raking and fence work to shape the yard. The hops are already to the top of the patio. Various shrooms including Dyrad’s Saddle that I let be. On occasion I will try wild eats but the animals enjoy them also. The new chiminea is assembled and this week we got the new garden hose and hanger assembled and put into action. The fountain is set up and working nicely. All these little things help break up my office work which has been quite a bit as of late.

Location Scout in Michigan – “Hot Rod Love” – part of the fun is in the finding

This past week was the dispersement of $ back to the many investors on our films. We are looking to get some of them to join us on this next film endeavor HOT ROD LOVE. We had a great visit with owners of a track that would look just great on camera. It creates a “field of dreams” like destination for racers and spectators. Also had a few great meetings on work flow for SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA and we’re staying on course. We’ve got almost all the deliverables in on FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH and also submitted to the Toronto Film Festival which would be a great premiere showcase for it. We are in hopes of hearing some feedback on a few festivals we entered SMOKE & MIRRORS into so that we could have a premiere visit which fans of the genre. BESTSELLER is prepping for a May 31st release and Amazon will be the main platform although we are waiting to see on Hoopla, Kanopy, Vudu, InDEmand and more. Come Sept 1st the Subscription video on demand and Ad based video on demand will kick in. BEST YEARS GONE will be coming July 5th and we’ll announce more of those platforms as we get closer.

SMOKE & MIRRORS (CAST) – short concept film for the full feature

On HOT ROD LOVE we are having things pull together a tad slower in this economy but we steadily getting there. My goal was to film two movies this year but with all the delays the obstructions, I’ll be happy to settle for one. We’ll likely roll cameras 6-8 weeks after full funding is committed. The Facebook site is a good way to stay connected and we’re also posting some great pics from the time period. We’re all excited about creating the 1970’s and several of us are already putting things in place. I’ve been forced to take my own advice and have patience. Things are unfolding and as they do we’ll keep rolling with that momentum.

ACTING– I’ve been growing the beard and hair out in anticipation of our 70’s film. Better to have something to work with in shaping the character look versus not enough. I don’t like to do fake hair and beards but will color when called for. I’ve had a film cameo presented that I’m considering and I’ll discuss this week. A close friend is associated with the film and asked me to look at it. I had another producer reach out asking if I would look at something in June so I told them to email it on over. I have to make sure the the cameo look jives with what I’m doing in the 70’s film. I can’t go way off course for a one day cameo but it might work out just fine. The other project I don’t have any details yet.

WRITING – This week I’ve had a lot of great progress on the new book I’ve been hired to turn into a screenplay/movie. I’ve been playing with several working titles that are perhaps more catchy for a film but have not landed on that one title. But I’m over a third of the way through the first draft and I’m loving the flow. I truly do love writing and creating these words full of interesting characters.

I was also approached by another author with a book, also interested in a screenplay/film, if I like the story. I said it might be a bit before I can circle around to it but I am appreciative that people are seeking me out. I always use to keep the writing in the background to my acting but I like the attention it has been getting. I look forward to doing some writing for others and letting them produce it from the page. There is a certain flattery to that process also. I will get back to some of my other passive writing endeavors soon.

WRAP UP AND WEEK AHEAD–

This week will be more promotional pushing on BESTSELLER. We might reach out and have a few reviewers in the horror/thriller genre take a look. Some graphic postcards promoting the release will be sure to follow. I’m looking to bring some cool PR/BTS materials on the VFX and model work being done on SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA. The pick up footage has just arrived and tightening continues on the edit.

We are working closer towards a Knight Chills, video game teaser. I hope to hear some word on the converting of Knight Chills to HD. We had some discussions on the sequel which we are letting slowly develop. This HD release will be the start of the new franchise push to market.

NOTE: This week my goal is also to keep the windmill set up in chicken-land. Our ‘girls’ have been giving us 4 eggs a day and fresh eggs are awesome. Our clover we planted should come on strong this week. Clover is a good food for the chickens and wildlife but also because of the root system might stand up better to the dog traffic. Always something.

As our reps return from France I hope they had a productive and pleasing trip. It is always fun to hear of new audiences for the films. We again won our soccer match last week and we’ll see if we can repeat on Thursday. I had to use glue and the vice to repair a blown out cleat. Breaking in new shoes can be a bitch so I don’t want to do that if I don’t have to. So now I’m a cobbler, no, I don’t make pies…shoes.

I go to a lot of flea markets and estate sales seeking fun props and wardrobe. You can also find lots of useful items that you use around the house for pennies on the dollar. I went to a great outdoorsmen sale ran by the ladies who sold me the furs for WILD FAITH. They were sewn into Hester Thickett’s coat and a piece or two might have ended up on Ben Lily. But I have people like this on call to assist with props when needed. I’m into primitive archery and so was this individual and I left with four bows. Two recurves, one a Fred Bear, and two flat bows. Add a hand forged knife, viking bookends and a few dinkies and I helped support another small business.

The new bows will be fun to shoot. I enjoy archery and find it very ‘zen’ but gun ranges don’t do the same for me. Nothing against those who do find the range relaxing but archery to me is more like fishing, chill. I enjoy stalking tree stumps as much as anything else. I almost played Robin Hood in a film fighting Vampires, true story. Robin Hood. Santa Claus. I have a few classic roles I would still like to play in my life time. On that note, I’m off to refill the coffee cup. Have a great week and be good to one another!

May 22, 2022 | Categories: Blogroll, film, filmmakers | Tags: 1970's, acting, amazon, archery, AVOD, Ben Lily, Bestseller, camera, CDI, characters, Chasing the star, chickens, cleat, coffee, crew, delays, dogs, estate sales, fence, flea market, For the, Forty Nights, France, Fred Bear, Gaylord, hazelnut, HD, Hester Thickett, Hoopla, hops, Hot Rod Love, InDemand, July 5, Kanopy, knife, knight chills, May 31, Michigan, momentum, office, patience, patio, primitive, props, racers, recurve, Robin Hood, Santa Claus, screenplay, Sept 1, shrooms, Silent Night in Algona, Smoke & Mirrors, soccer, SVOD, The Christ Slayer, The Quest Trilogy, tornado, Toronto Film Festival, vampires, VFX, video game, Viking, VUDU, wardrobe, Wild Faith, windmill, work, writing, zen | Leave a comment

Five 2022 CDI Releases and New Development Updates!

Hazelnut coffee adding a bit of warmth to a cool morning after we had some solid storms pass through yesterday. Our property is in full bloom with the new hops reaching the upper deck. We had flowers including our lovely smelling lilacs adding color everywhere. Some of the mushrooms are growing in their damp places. I was doing some fence work yesterday stepping inside just moments before the downpour. This past week was a nice mix of development, post-work and promotion. Also a meeting with our distributor to discuss the upcoming endeavors.

On the development – We’ll be traveling to speak with track owners again this week on HOT ROD LOVE, trying to find the perfect partners. We are working to assign all the units of investment and also court sponsors. This 1975 film will be the perfect summer film to shoot. The music, the clothes and the CARS! I’m working hard on this project because it will be fun for cast and crew and ultimately for audiences. The hope is to have all the funding blocks in soon so we can move ahead in confidence.

Also on the development tip has been writing on another upcoming CDI film that does have the committed funds. It is an end of the year film which will likely shoot end of 2023 but you never know. What is most exciting is that CDI will be tackling the ROARING 20’s! I’m 1/4 of the way through the script and I’m just so pleased at how it’s come together thus far. I do have to credit the book author for once again creating some great characters. I’ve been working on the PR release for this project and we’ll be releasing it soon giving many more details.

Just to showcase how you have to try and juggle schedules – the project still be written (script) is funded but real development work cannot begin until the script is done. The one that has the solid script with lots of development completed is still working to reach funding. So those are the kind of funny situations that we sometimes face.

The 2022 Releases-

FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH now has its filmfreeway page set up which is what you use to enter festivals. We’ve about delivered all the elements just need a few small things still and they will be assigning us release dates. This is an amazing documentary film and we’re excited to present it to the world.

BESTSELLER – this Chris Knight thriller is FINALLY getting its home video release on May 31st this MONTH! I’m keeping an eye out DVD pre-sales and I hope to know what platforms this movie will go to soon. Once I do we will pass along. Follow us on the film’s FB site too.

BEST YEARS GONE will also have DVD pre-sale sites and digital streaming coming July 5th! So after you have your big 4th of July blow out you can chilly chill and water the antics of Gil Gilles. Comedy, Drama and a touch of romance is what you can expect. And to that add a good dose of the unexpected.

Here is a good interview from our friends at Indie Film Cafe-whereas they try not to give any spoilers away –

SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA – The teaser has generated some great interest for us including some theatrical talk. We are going to be working on some new promo materials as we move towards a 2nd edit of the film. We are aiming to lock picture and move it over to music and sound in July/August and finish the film in November to have a premiere in Algona, Iowa in December. After we might look at expanding the theatrical throughout Iowa but all of you in Iowa can help by contacting your local theaters and requesting it. We are still a ways off but it will be here before you know it. After a winter theatrical run we’re planning to start working foreign sales and setting up for the Holiday 2023 season which is when home video (DVD and streaming) will take place. This is a typical roll out but many good folks aren’t aware of how that works. Also some thought the film would be done a few weeks after filming. Please let me borrow your magic wand. No. It takes months to put the puzzle together.

SMOKE & MIRRORS (Short) – This steampunk, Victorian mystery short is taken from one of my full feature scripts. It is a great proof of concept that was tired to a commercial endeavor we had at CDI. We entered a few fun festivals close by that we’ll try to attend. It has been a while since I’ve done any thrillers or horror films, so this project was great fun.

Other projects continue to develop such as the projects surrounding KNIGHT CHILLS. Prepping a few more to be released with Deskpop Entertainment and BMG. The Quest Trilogy is finishing its strongest season, the holidays. The trilogy led by part 1 Forty Nights is pushing 2 million viewers on Encourage TV. All three can be watched on there including part 2 Chasing the Star and part 3 The Christ Slayer. Man’s Best Friend just passed 1.5 million on Encourage TV and with new platforms emerging our audience will keep growing. LOST HEART/Bigfoot UFO’s and Jesus is solidly past 700k and heading towards its first million. This is only the distributors streaming but if gives a good temperature. WILD FAITH is chugging steadily towards 6 million on Encourage TV and it also is expending into several new platforms. All this can really help our efforts to get the season 1 eight shows filmed in the near future. Thank you to all of you out there supporting the films.

In the past, I know for a fact that certain films have been trolled (negative actions). If you have an issue with someone on the cast or crew don’t throw rocks at a collective work by many artists trying to get to one person. Seems kind of reckless. What I propose is use your (insert emotion here) to help yourself in a positive manner. I’ll use myself as an example. If you don’t like me- chances are you don’t know me. I’m just kidding.

I speak my truth, so I’m sure I’ve rubbed someone wrong at some point. But don’t throw shade at an entire project because of one artist. I say, if you don’t like me or my work USE IT to inspire you. If that @#!@! DJ Perry can do it, I can do it, and better! Use it. Actions speak. I want to be surrounded by good businesses engaging with good artists to tell good stories. Become that. Become greater than-

I had a few questions as of late that I thought were good ones-

Do you still act outside CDI? I never stopped. But I will say that there are a small handful of projects I worked very hard in front of camera only to have them not get done (to date to be fair). At CDI we will always get it done. But I’m open to read anything that is funded as my time is limited. If your cart is in front of your horse, I just politely ask you to wait until you’re prepared. Now there are LOI’s and pay to plays and such when a producer uses your attachment to get funding and those are a different story. Yes. I’ve been paid well on a project that never shot. Because you mark that time off. I LOVE living in Michigan and it is always my home. But coming up, my circle wasn’t all Michigan it was production groups around the country working at the same or higher levels of the business. I’ve always associated myself with doers versus talkers and it doesn’t matter what state or country they are from. Storytellers have no such boundaries and sometimes the best stories are out there.

Will you consider work-for-hire screenplay writing-

Yes. I will consider anything. I think as an actor – I was disappointed in a lot of the scripts and so I started trying to create what I would enjoy as an actor. And I infuse that high level of attention and love into all the characters not just the main few. I’ve written in several genres and adapted several books to screenplays. Adapting books is a different animal from just pulling wildly from the imagination. I enjoy both just two different processes.

Would you consult or produce yourself?

CDI has done “in association” projects whereas we bring certain things to the table but THEY have the $ so THEY are accountable so WE are consultants. I’ve had projects I’ve helped out with and they awarded me a credit and compensation but no, I would not produce myself. The reason is simple if you want something to run like a CDI film you need the whole machine not just a part of it. I cannot deliver what the entire team brings and neither can they. I also know some want to associate with our history for seeking funds. The issue lies if they think they are getting a CDI project and they are not, because final decisions are being made elsewhere. I’ve had several sit downs where the other party states they want to create product/films like CDI. Next they want to bring this, this and this variable. In some cases these variables are what was holding back these people on their previous projects. But I also believe you put in the work and you get the funds you earned an opportunity to showcase however. But I don’t have to take that ride. I often relate these films to children and I don’t take the commitment lightly. So I better see a responsible doer with a solid battle plan, resources and desire to attempt something amazing to consider a collaboration. Meanwhile at CDI, we will keep refining our battle plans, increasing our resources and always attempting to collectively create something amazing.

THAT’S A WRAP

I’m going to wrap this up so I can go assemble a windmill and no I’m not kidding. Also planting some clover and such in the yard. It is so great that we finally have some sunshine. I came up zero at the flea market but last week gave me treasures including my HOT ROD LOVE (Woody Jr.) hat! We won our soccer match in good fashion last week and I’m enjoying the outside grass play versus indoors. I cannot wait until we do battle again on Thursday! I hope everyone is having a great day and has a great week ahead.

Coffee Cheers!

May 15, 2022 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: 1975, 20's, battle, BEST YEARS GONE, Bestseller, Bigfoot UFOS Jesus, blog, bloom, BMG, cars, cast, CDI, Chasing the star, clothes, coffee, color, consult, crew, Deskpop Entertainment, development, For the Love of Catch, Forty Night, Forty Nights, fun, funds, hazelnut, holiday, hops, hot rod, Hot Rod Love, Indie Film Cafe, investment, Iowa, Jon Moody, knight chills, lilacs, Lost Heart, love, Michigan, mushrooms, music, mystery, partners, PR, produce, promotion, screenplay, Silent Night in Algona, Smoke & Mirrors, soccer, steampunk, The Christ Slayer, The Quest Trilogy, units, Victorian, Wild Faith, windmill | Leave a comment

Welcome May! Getting things done every day! UPDATES!

A hearty sip of the hazelnut coffee as a morning toast to all of you. It is a rainy May 1st but plant life is budding everywhere and bees and birds are on the move. It has been a very active week but I’ll start it with a few little personal updates. I found out that a classmate from elementary school whom I saw here and there over the years, passed away. She was a year older and passed in her sleep, it just reminds us to embrace life and those we share it with.

This week many hours working in the yard doing some clean up and repairs. Our Luna Mae pup got a cut on her paw chasing a squirrel and had to get a few stitches. I did some wood cutting and trimming but will have a professional tree cutter come in for a few branches. This week will be setting up the new fire pit and that will be nice to enjoy. I’m looking forward to some grilling and chilling in the months ahead.

It has been a very busy time for CDI business also. Let’s look at some of those updates.

DEEPFALL‘s ‘Revolution’ music video – The Michigan-based rock band kicked off their tour with 7 Dust this weekend in Grand Rapids and Detroit. We are excited to start a second music video with them as soon as they complete this tour. Here again is the music video: https://youtu.be/xtlc7GQvr70 and we wish them an awesome tour.

Sticking with the theme of music videos here is the music video for VERTICAL BRIDGE and their winning song OFF TO THE RACES that appears in our upcoming release of BEST YEARS GONE. Here is the music video featuring clips from the film – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ka43XfLnsEA

BEST YEARS GONE releases July 5th, 2022 and we will likely find out today if we won the BareBones International Film and Music Festival for ‘Best Comedy‘ feature. Now we did not attend because of the long drive and they seem to still be trying to get up to speed for Covid lock down. We might start doing some more fun marketing spots as we draw closer.

I was informed by our distributor that two of our films WILD FAITH and MBF: MAN’S BEST FRIEND will be releasing with NBC/Peacock which is an audience of 33 million so we’re all excited for the films to reach new viewers. That will help our efforts on the Wild Faith TV series for sure. Once we have dates we’ll be doing a full PR release. We hope that many more of the CDI films will follow. A TV series?

To prepare for the worldwide release on FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH we started to deliver assets. That should finish up this week. We are also exploring a large festival as a possible premiere venue. Also the first assets for the upcoming KNIGHT CHILLS Blu Ray were delivered. I’m having fun gathering assets to provide a new unique look at this little ambitious film from all those years ago. The streaming deal will be set up with 3 other title and the video game development is looking great.

SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA released its first official teaser last week to much fanfare.

Here is the link – https://youtu.be/abGtdP-93mE

We had a pick up VFX shoot yesterday for SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA and I’m hoping to have a VFX featurette video to share with all of you soon. We will likely start work on some other assets like a theatrical poster. We’ll wait for the new tighter cut of the film itself before we start pulling scenes for the official trailer to release on the run up to our December Iowa premiere. I’ll be circling around with our sponsors and potential sponsors about this upcoming event. We will keep dripping photos out in the weeks to come.

BESTSELLER releases worldwide this month! This cool Melissa Anschutz led thriller will release to DVD and digital purchase May 31st. This Chris Wright book was turned into this intense film and now the world will be able to watch. It has some great talent involved and we’re all excited to share it with you. Pics and promo will keep dripping out from the Facebook page so be sure to follow us there too.

I also spent some serious time trying to clean and organize my emails but that is an on-going never ending endeavor. We had a recent merchandise promotion meeting and we’re looking at bringing a few things to market. I LOVE the poster art for BIGFOOT, UFOS and JESUS and might explore shirts. LOST HEART might get new poster art. More of you are discovering the WICKED SPRING HD streaming links and so if you’re just discovering this film or its a favorite from years past- enjoy. Try this link below but just google up ‘Wicked Spring’ and ‘HD’ and go back to the Civil War!

Wicked Spring

I’m going to try and wrap some of this up. I can also report ahead of the PR release that I’ve inked a new deal to adapt a book to a screenplay and produce it with our CDI Tribe. I usually start to immerse myself in the art, music, fashion and history of the time. This particular story will have CDI storytelling in the roaring 20’s. But as I focus on the script we have one script ready to roll – HOT ROD LOVE. We’ve been in pre-talks with locations, car owners, companies, talent and potential sponsors and investors. We have some folks committed and will be asking for support again here soon when we disperse more funds back to our base. These are hard and dark times for some out there. I pride myself on the fact that even with all these challenges we’ve continued to keep telling our stories of hope and inspiration and laughter. So yes, we’ll be asking once again for some of you good folks to travel with us again. We will have to access our target dates because a few things have moved just a tad slower. But May will let us now much more as we work hard to launch this next endeavor. It has some female empowerment elements embedded in the 1975 world of drag racing. Just you wait and see.

I hope you all have a great week and make good progress on whatever endeavors you are working on. As you travel be good to your fellow life adventurers as they all have challenges of their own. I got my old hop vines cleared and I see new sprouts climbing already. I will plan to set up the water fountain and fire pit this week. I might quote those tree trimmers. I hope we get some sun so we can do a few meetings outside and I can continue my screenwriting out amongst nature. Lastly, my outdoor soccer season starts this Thursday. Our indoor league did the job of getting my legs and lungs back up to task. You have to keep your kung fu strong:) Thank you all. I appreciate you so much and appreciate you stopping by and the support. Have a great Sunday!

Coffee Cheers!

May 1, 2022 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: 7 Dust, art, Bestseller, Bigfoot UFOS Jesus, blog, book, car, CDI, Chasing the star, chilling, civil war, classmate, coffee, company, crew, Deepfall, Detroit, digital, DJ Perry, DVD, fashion, For the Love of Catch, Forty Nights, Grand Rapids, grilling, hazelnut, history, Hot Rod Love, investors, knight chills, Lost Heart, Luna, Melissa Anschutz, merchandise, Michigan, music, musicvideo, paw, plant, promo, pup, racing, Silent Night in Algona, sponsors, squirrel, talent, The Christ Slayer, The Quest Trilogy, tree, Vertical Bridge, Wicked Spring, Wild Faith | 1 Comment

‘SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA,’ Trailer and Feature Updates, BEST YEARS GONE, BESTSELLER and more…Happy April and I’m NOT Fooling!

HELLO APRIL. I want to welcome all the new readers from Bulgaria, New Zealand, UK and Pakistan. I’m sipping on some hazelnut coffee. I wonder what the morning drink is for all of you out there? I know I LOVED the South Indian coffee in Otty, India when filming there. Magnifico- DING! Was the main Philippine coffee I drank over there. It is that morning juice that gets everything going. We are still acclimating the dogs together so we have alternating outdoor potty and feeding in the morning. We had a dust of snow here and there but Spring is trying to hit. I did get some yard clean up done this week including sinking a new post for the guide rope that spans across the bridge. I’ve been wanting to do a new patio and a privacy fence but the wood costs have me paused. I’m watching Premiere League soccer as I’m typing. I have my next indoor soccer match Tuesday as we prepare for outdoor soccer. I also think the Sunday flea markets start next week. I love seeking props and wardrobe. Yesterday I found a great 70’s leather vest that just might make it into HOT ROD LOVE.

HOT ROD LOVE! Have you heard of it? It is the next CDI project we’ve pulling together. It is a great 70’s story that examines several relationships. It has many things to say but does so in a few comedic way. During all these turbulent times of Covid, war and such CDI has managed to keep telling their stories. It is like the band on the Titanic or the lone cello player in the streets of war torn Ukraine. ART gives hopes and peace in a trying situation. Where so many things that are normal were interrupted by the chaos of Covid, we were blessed enough to be able to film BEST YEARS GONE, now preparing for a July 5th home video kick off. It was previously June but they pushed it by a month which was just fine. I want to really hit some fun PR over the post-July 4th event – chill and watch BEST YEARS GONE. DVD and digital purchase is first followed by TV/broadcast and digital rental in Sept.

Before that film hits we’re really enjoying the push that the dark thriller BESTSELLER is getting. It releases on DVD and digital purchase on May 31st and TV/Broadcast and digital rental in Sept. This film highly deserves the push it is now getting and I think audiences worldwide will really enjoy it. We are releasing new stills and updates weekly on our Facebook Page #BESTSELLERMOVIE

A few festivals are being explored whereas BIGFOOT, UFOS and JESUS might just attend. SMOKE & MIRRORS? Also BEST YEARS GONE is up for ‘Best Comedy’ at the BareBones International Film & Music Festival. Festivals, aside from the major 4-5 don’t do anything major for buyers/licensors but they are a good way for a creative team to take a few beats and enjoy the moment together. I always have something in motion so even when we get good news on one endeavor I often move right to helping an underperforming endeavor. I have to stop and appreciate the moments of victory. I feel that I have some of the best, most creative people working with me at CDI. I would not trade the experience nor the final product, proud of both. My point was that we’re starting to engage in a few more fest/events for the fun of gathering to celebrate the hard work. Why do my producers only want to go to Island festivals in the tropics? This Friday we’ll be going to my home town’s film festival. We usually go support the fest by attending their kick off mixer. I only see some friends like international DJ, John Beltran at this event. I’ve known John since middle school. Look him up. He’s got some great music.

I’ve had several people ask if BEST YEARS GONE was playing the fest, it is not. A handful of years ago we closed the festival with a sold out 600 watching ASHES OF EDEN, same director as BEST YEARS GONE, Shane Hagedorn. But they want filmmakers to host a Michigan premiere at the festival but we already did in Owosso plus had theatrical play with NCG and Celebration Cinemas, so they disqualified us for. Honestly, I love for people to see the films, but it’s a heck of a lot easier when you aren’t concerned with a screening. My hardest decisions for that event will be what to sip wine or beer?

FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH – This amazing doc on the history of grappling has been signed to Deskpop Entertainment for a worldwide release. We’re now prepping to start moving materials over to them. We’re hard at work on our premiere that we want to do in Las Vegas. We are making some progress and we’ll have more to report on that very soon.

SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA – So this exciting film should have a first cut coming over this week. Also we’re finalizing the first teaser trailer. It should go to music (Dennis Therrian) mid to end of the week. We’re all excited to see it come to life. I did get to see a few rough assembled scenes and it left me with a wide smile. I’m so proud of our artists. Like I said earlier, times have been trying and we managed to film this movie in Nov of last year still facing many issues in the world. So we’ll have work to pare down and audiences will get their first look. We’ve still be releasing stills so if you are following our Facebook page you will get those stills and the upcoming trailer. BREAKING NEWS: Yes the first rough cut for Anthony (Tony) Hornus to review will be done end of this week. From there the trimming, tightening and polishing of the story. We also hope to bring you a vignette of the VFX work being done. We also have a VFX insert of this boy who plays into our story via one of the German PWs. We’ve cast that individuals and these added pieces will be shot one day working with our VFX folks.

Other Updates –

KNIGHT CHILLS – CDI’s first feature film is getting some resurrection of sorts. A deal is almost done on a specialty “Blu Ray” deal. We’re also looking to bring the film into HD while reconfirming it for TV now days, or not on conforming. I need to have a few discussions. Lastly, the video game development is under way. It will first release as a phone app game and after to game systems and virtual. But I have seen images of the film’s iconic Sir Kallio, the revenge bringing knight, Patron Demi-god of nerds. I also have a great idea for a role playing game version but I’m getting ahead of myself.

We have many things in development from new films to older films getting a second blast into the market. Streaming hardly existed for some of them and so we’ll be working hard to get your old, current and new favorite CDI films to you. I’m going to post a few more stills so refill your coffee cup and join a few of these pages to follow along. My mind is also drifting to eggs and bacon so I will have to attend to that. I hope you all have a great week ahead and don’t forget to be kind. A simple gift you can give that can be passed on. Happy Sunday to you all!

April 3, 2022 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: 70's, Anthony Hornus, April, art, band, Bare Bones, Bigfoot UFOS Jesus, blog, BluRay, bridges, broadcast, Bulgaria, cast, CDI, Celebration Cinema, chaos, Chasing the star, Christopher Knight, coffee, Covid, crew, Dennis Therrian, Deskpop Entertainment, digital, DJ Perry, edit, Erika Hoveland, festivals, flea market, For the Love of Catch, Forty Nights, German, hazelnut, Hot Rod Love, India, July 5, knight chills, Magnifico, Michigan, NCG, New Zealand, Otty, Pakistan, PhilippineSpring, Premiere League, props, race, racing, Sir Kallio, Smoke and Mirrors, soccer, spring, stories, Terence Knox, The Christ Slayer, The Quest Trilogy, titanic, TV, UK, Ukraine, Vegas, VFX, video game, wardrobe, Wild Faith | Leave a comment

Flow Like Water – The ‘TOP TEN’ Collective Development Inc. Updates!

A chilly Sunday in Michigan with a dusting of snow. I’m so ready to get on with spring and start to get things cleaned up from winter. But the arctic air is still flowing down and so it will be wood stove at the office again this week. I want to welcome our new readers from Mexico, China, Ireland and more. I am sipping the hazelnut coffee that is chasing some of the chill away. I’m looking forward to more gatherings around the fire pit or chilling on the office porch or patio. The grill is ready to get a good work out this year. I was working on cutting down some of the old hops vines to prepare for the new sprouts that will grow along the deck soon. I want to have a new deck built and so I’ve been looking at different styles. I also want to put in a new privacy fence but all takes planning, time and money. I’ve been enjoying indoor soccer on Tuesdays which is getting the rust off my touch and getting my running endurance back into shape. I’m exciting about some of the new training I’ve been doing and I’m enjoying the challenge. Just a slew of activities to participate in this new year while working on our film projects. Let’s look at some of the CDI film updates shall we?

TOP UPDATES FROM LAST WEEK

No fooling! The ‘DEEPFALL‘ music video “Revolution” is completed and will release April 1st and I encourage you to take a watch/listen. Here is the link where it will launch. https://youtu.be/xtlc7GQvr70 Produced by Collective Development Inc. it was posted by Weyant Alliance with Carl Weyant directing and editing. We will be looking to produce more music videos moving forward. If you have a band and a budget please do reach out and let us help take your exposure to the next level.
BEST YEARS GONE – There is talk of moving the DVD/streaming purchase date to July 5th the day after the 4th of July celebrations versus June 5th. A miscommunication over a surround sound mix issue caused a slight hold up and now marketing might play better capturing the fireworks of the week. The film also announced that it has been nominated for ‘Best Comedy‘ at the BareBones International Music and Film Festival. Between this and the London-based Maverick Film Fest which we won, it tells me UK and Oklahoma both have great taste in humor. (Just kidding) We hope people all over the world enjoy this fun thought-provoking and yes, funny story. I am a tad disappointed in the push but only because I’m excited for people around the globe to laugh along. But if you need your dose of CDI sooner we have a few other releases.
The thriller BESTSELLER, is an adaptation of the book by Chris Knight. CDI was brought in to access and reboot a failed start by another producer group. Again, when you get an investor to say YES, a slight toast to the hard work to that point is fine, but the real hard work lies ahead. The execution and completion of the film is no easy task and therein lies the fact despite what I may think creatively of a film I watch by my peers – you are in a new club of doers just by finishing. For the rough start that this film had, the reboot was really a good experience. We re-shot everything and kept maybe 5% of the original cast and crew moving forward. I did not what to get the reputation of being “the fixer” as that is still reactionary versus a properly prepped endeavor. So we re-shot the entire film and I really love the vibe that we absorbed into this footage. BESTSELLER is our closet nod to date to a ‘Hitchcock’ film. Melissa Anschutz (CDI producer/actress) gives intensity acting lessons, taking viewers all over the emotional spectrum showcasing once again her leading lady status. This film is a contender for INTENSITY for myself, in good company with films like DEADLY RENOVATION, THE 8th PLAGUE, MBF or WICKED SPRING. What do you think? Have you seen all these films? Let me know and prepare to enjoy BESTSELLER releasing in May!
FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH has signed its distribution deal with DESKPOP ENTERTAINMENT and will start the delivery of assets so we can get home video release dates assigned. We are also in talks with several parties about setting up the premiere in Las Vegas. More on that soon!
Our efforts on the tv series spin-off of WILD FAITH, Wild Faith: Hastings continues on with a few new submissions and discussions. This project has tens of millions that have enjoyed the feature and we’re working hard to give audiences the on-going adventures. We have eight scripts locked and loaded and folks are really enjoying them. Your favorite characters will continue to tell their stories with plenty of new characters to enjoy as well. Follow along as we push to get these added stories told at https://www.facebook.com/WildFaithHastingstvseries
Help us keep creating a holiday tradition by starting a yearly watch of THE QUEST TRILOGY. Our three interlinking stories (Forty Nights, Chasing the Star and The Christ Slayer) explore some deep seated questions with a unique perspective that also takes into account the angelic community. Please do consider taking a watch with your loved ones. With the inspiration behind the “look” of the trilogy being the original three Star Wars films, it is a unique take to be experienced. Between the three films also lies some of our composer Dennis Therrian’s best work. Let me know your thoughts on these films.
KNIGHT CHILLS – CDI’s maiden picture about a dungeons and dragons like game gone wrong has stayed in the pop culture since the 90’s. The film will be getting a streaming release and a new BluRay deal is in the works. Also I’ve seen the first version of “Sir Kallio” being developed for the Knight Chills video game. The sequel has been in serious talks for several year. Part of it is finding the right team for what was CDI’s first. This new team has to have the same passion we all did on the first one. Good things lie ahead including merchandise for this oldie but goodie.
I’ve been getting some kind notes from folks having watched MAN’S BEST FRIEND and LOST HEART, thank you. These two films are both real thought provokers. MBF is a bit heavier in tone where Lost Heart has moments of straight up comedy woven throughout it. Have you seen either of them? Which is your cup of tea? Let me know.
SMOKE & MIRRORS – Love this short that we held over for a year during Covid. We’re looking for a few horror events to showcase our turn of the century (steam punk) proof of concept culled from my feature script. David Gries and Melissa Anschutz are awesome as the film’s leads. I had a blast acting in this one and I do see the full feature getting made in good time.
SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA – This film was many years in the making. But I’ve found that stories almost have a life of their own. They sometimes happen when they are needed to happen. We had no way of knowing the coming of this new war but our story is so relevant. It has some themes and topics that will really ring true with people. We are working hard to get a locked picture allowing music and sound design to begin. Aside from the main work flow (currently editing) we are editing a teaser trailer. This will be a first look at the story we all worked hard to tell. A chance to see some of the characters come to life for the first time on screen. To say I’m excited would be an understatement. But I also see so many of you excited as well. Follow us along at https://www.facebook.com/SNIAmovie for all the latest updates!

We ended the week with a recap and toast. We faced a Covid crisis and now we face all the fall out from unrest in the world. But we at CDI are committed to keeping something constant – the storytelling. I’m so appreciative to all our backers who choose to assist in creating versus hating or getting swallowed by the daily negativity. I believe our stories speak right to the hearts, minds and souls of audiences. In a world where effective communication is at an all time low – we need the stories. CDI is a tribe of amazing doers and we will keep doing our thing. We will keep building the new HOT ROD LOVE and our other developmental properties, while toasting and pushing our successes now coming to market. CDI is still not operating at its most efficient as a production company since we could be producing every quarter of the year but right now funding slows things. I had to check myself recently because I’m normally very good at keeping 10-100 steps back from an endeavor allowing me to keep the proper perspective. It allows me to see what others cannot, gaining patience by faith. The faith that all the prioritized “day to day” tasks completed will add up to greater overall things. I got close to another big deal that’s still evolving and developing alongside a few equally exciting opportunities, but I started to allow my desired timeline to conflict with the flow of the river. Wade out into a river and try to stop the flow. Your frustration will arise and your patience can easily erode but…step out onto the river’s band. You can see the flow. Drop in a few rocks and you can change the flow. Flow like water – ah Bruce Lee. Patience is restored – flow and get there when you get there. If you are working hard it will happen in its time. Okay. I’m going to get a few Sunday things done here and I want to thank you all for stopping by and taking a read. Subscribe and feel free to drop me any feedback. Have a great week and be good to one another.

March 27, 2022 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: Barebones International Film & Music Fest, best comedy, BEST YEARS GONE, Bestseller, blog, Carl Weyant, CDI, Chasing the star, China, Christopher Knight, coffee, crew, Deadly REnovations, deck, Deepfall, Desktop Entertainment, For the Love of Catch, Forty Nights, hazelnut, intensity, investor, Ireland, knight chills, Las Vegas, Lost Heart, Maverick Film Awards, MBF: Man's Best Friend, Melissa Anschutz, Mexico, Michigan, money, music, planning, Revolution, Silent Night in Algona, Smoke & Mirrors, soccer, Star Wars, Sunday, The 8th Plague, The Christ Slayer, The Quest Trilogy, Time, video games, Weyant Alliance, Wicked Spring, Wild Faith, Wild Faith: Hastings | Leave a comment

A Sudden Loss of a Loved One Teaching the Lesson of Living Full

A light snow falling on this Sunday, making the hazelnut coffee taste oh, so good. So we shared a wonderful morning last week and the day was nice with us hunkering down and riding out the snowstorm. Little did I know that later that eve, maybe 10:30 pm , our oldest fur daughter Daphne had a spell of weakness while going potty outside. I had to carry her into the house and she sat for an hour on her daddies lap. She wasn’t in pain just weak and we all gathered and spent time with her on the couch. She later got a touch hot from all the cuddles and blankets and wanted to lay on the floor. She stayed at our feet and rested. We decided to all sleep down with her and before drifting off to sleep I watched her sit up and walk into her create, spinning into her favorite position. We gazed at one another – those old eyes that held the puppy playfulness even at dinner just hours earlier. She was relaxed and peaceful and I drifted off to sleep watching her drift off. She passed in the wee hours maybe around 4:30 am or in her sleep. She has been one of the joys living in the background of my life for the last 14+ years and her loss was deeply felt. But she had gone on her terms as she always has, surrounded by her pack and without any suffering. She is now home, her little wood box joins her brother and sister who had passed before her. Our Finn is doing well to adjusting and we’ve made a point of keeping it upbeat and happy after our day of remembrance and grieving. It is now truly the age of Finn and we plan to give him many loving adventures. That will likely include a new brother or sister to romp and play with. Daphne was 11 when we brought Finn into our home and so he never got that dynamic. Luckily Finn’s neighborhood friends have been here to play and race, giving him some of his normal joys. Anyway, RIP to our baby girl she brought so much joy to us over the years. Things can change just like that so be grateful and never take time with friends and family for granted.

FILM UPDATES:

Read about our new film and the announcement of the director and director of photography.

https://www.prlog.org/12904790-director-named-for-collective-development-incs-film-hot-rod-love.html

This is HOT off the first wins for BEST YEARS GONE at the Maverick Film Awards.

https://www.prlog.org/12903146-best-years-gone-wins-londons-maverick-movie-awards-best-picture-and-more.html

We are going to start circulating our business proposal on our next CDI film looking to shoot in June with a May prep. We are returning to our home turf of Michigan and the time period will be 1975. That means some far out wardrobe and groovy music. I’m beyond excited to return to a much more simple time and tell this story. If you have a business that might want to align for brand with ‘HOT ROD LOVE,’ feel free to reach out.

I also had some great development talks this week over WILD FAITH: Hastings and more. We are on the cusp of some great business that will have the tribe hard at work for a few years. The amazing feature which serves as a pilot WILD FAITH, is going to get featured for Black History Month and is a great watch. It isn’t heavy handed with agenda just a good story that has natural lessons woven throughout much like LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRARIE.

SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA is pushing ahead strong with editing and FX work. I’m looking to see if our Behind the Scenes video is getting close. I wanted to have a sweetheart treat for everyone but if it doesn’t release tomorrow I’m guessing this week. We’ve been releasing more photos and I should have another batch from DP Daniel Chipman showing even more of the characters. I will be following up on that this week too. I know that director Anthony Hornus (Tony) has been outlining ideas for the first official teaser. That will start once the BTS releases.

FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH – The first draft of paperwork is being put together for a worldwide release with Deskpop Entertainment. We will also be doing a pow wow and coming up with a plan for the theatrical premiere release. Maybe even something with MSU, we will see.

Speaking of Deskpop Entertainment, I’m excited to see the artwork for the thriller BESTSELLER. This film is one of the most intense performances I’ve given. I have a couple of mega-intense films I’ve done, DEADLY RENOVATIONS and THE 8th PLAGUE come to mind. But looking at intensity and production value, I think BESTSELLER is right near the top. We captured Michigan in the fall at the perfect time showcasing the “Tunnel of Trees” and more. Plus it has a great leading lady in it that I’ve seen somewhere before:)

This week will be shifting gears in development. We’ll be talking some advance casting and crewing talks but until the business is locked we cannot make offers. But something tells me we will be revving up engines in a few short months. I’m looking forward to also ‘developing’ the homestead this spring. We have some nice yard improvements being made and I look forward to some outdoor meetings over darts and corn hole.

Even in the time of writing this I saw that a director friend of mine lost their lovely dog this morning. So the torch of tragedy or sadness is something we all hold at one time or another so give graces to those around you. You don’t always know what people are dealing with and we all are dealing with things as that is life. Okay enough typing but I do LOVE catching up with you all. I going to go get on with life and enjoy it. Maybe starting with another hazelnut coffee.

Take care and be good to one another.

February 13, 2022 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: agenda, Anthony Hornus, BEST YEARS GONE, Bestseller, Black History, blog, blogger, brand, BTS, CDI, Chasing the star, coffee, crew, Daniel Chipman, Daphne, daughter, Deadly REnovations, Desktop, dogs, edit, far out, film, Finn, For the Love of Catch, Forty Nights, FX, groovy, hazelnut, Hot Rod Love, June, lessons, Little House on the Prarie, love, May, Michigan, MSU, music, PRLOG, RIP, Shane Hagedorn, Silent Night in Algona, sleep, snow, story, The 8th Plague, The Christ Slayer, The Quest Trilogy, tribe, TV series, Updates, Wild Faith, Wild Faith Hastings | Leave a comment

Filters of Attitude = Finding Your Balance

The hazelnut coffee taste so good on this chilly Sunday morning. We got a record setting 13 inches when the snow storm came through. We might get a bit more later in the day. I for one love the beauty of the snow but I’m ready to move on to Spring. We had a “Viking” day chopping wood to keep the wood stove roaring. I’m excited to implement many new improvements to the property this year. Our moving of veggies and herbs to raised beds and turning the garden into chicken land has been fun. They are fun to watch like little Dinosaurs.

I want to say that everyday that I read about someones untimely passing it reminds me to love what I’m doing and the people I’m doing it with. That is professionally and personally. I know friends and family that have lost pets, parents, grandchildren and even one past film peer was announced to have passed away. I was not extremely close with him but exchanged communications over the years when either of us has a new success. The sad thing about the last mentioned loss was that it may have happened by their own infliction. I’ve had a few friends over the years that fight real mental battles with themselves. I think on some levels we all do but some cope poorly where others eventually find their way out of the forest.

I’ve had dark days in my past whereas my parents divorced after 30 years putting me in the middle and my acting career was struggling. Michigan’s film scene in the late 80’s and into the 90’s was lacking. I see folks complaining about a lack of opportunities today and chuckle. Today is like a sea of opportunity versus the 90’s. Also post tax incentives the term filmmaker became legit to the common everyday person. Much of my darkness was knowing what I wanted but not having any guides or mentors in that field. My dearest mentor, my father, was rightfully concerned. I had essentially came home and told my father I was going to be an astronaut. Again something made more realistic thanks to the billionaire space race. But he knew how easy life could be if I took the easier road, the practical road. His concerns came after several years yielded very little, in his mind. Failure can affect people different.

A certain amount of punishment and failure can break some and force them into a secondary or pie-life. Pie-Life is when you work X amount of the pie to earn shells and beads ($) so you can freely enjoy the remaining part of the pie, your life. A few years in the real world and most have sufficiently built a standard of living prison around them that forces them to stay the course with the survival job, pie-life. For others of us that have “it” (passion) bad and refuse to let go no matter how much rough ground they’re dragged over. I felt like Indiana Jones being dragged behind that Nazi truck hauling the ark. (Raiders of the Lost Ark) I climbed hand over hand up the whip, climbed on the truck’s bumper, over the side, kick in the doors, punch and throw the driver out and took over the truck. BAM!

If someone can do something else occupational and be happy living the ‘pie life’ or even something close to contentment, do it. But if you are stricken with that passion that will not leave you, embrace it. By that I mean stop being half-ass and whining and do those things you were afraid to try. Pull your confidence, self-worth and inner fire from your own personal well and don’t just try to pull energy from people. When people feel your personal geothermal-like creative energy, they will be drawn. People who draw energy from the masses is a slave to the masses. Now artists create for the masses but often to show a perspective. Life is all about perspective and perception. What we perceive can be seen via positive or negative filters. A failure might be seen as negative but in deductive reasoning it can be a positive. An elusive goal might have just been made easier to obtain as certain roads are found to be dead-ends. No more time wasted or spent. Although some will get caught in that loop, beware.

So the negative of loss that I see each day ever since we’ve all become so much more inter connected as a society, can be a positive fuel to live and pursue dreams and goals. I’m so proud of one of my associates who set out to write and take a few children’s books to market and he has. Tomorrow isn’t promised. A beautiful and haunting statement. Life is a mysterious and short phase of existence and so I would ask that those out there questioning, stay the course. Ride life and learn whatever lessons you can but best of all is learn to be the best you. I’ve said this before, the path to your dreams sometimes lies in helping others with theirs. I know some people will say I’ve helped their journey immensely and others will say, I have not. The truth is you can’t help everyone. You can inspire by your actions to pass it on. I’ve had mentors and I try to mentor. But I come from that martial arts background and sports. To take valuable time from some teachers you have to be prepared and focused, ready to learn. You can apply that lesson to teachers in school. Respect that they are there to try and teach you.

Let’s bring this around to movies, my favorite medium. It also includes some of my favorite artists, filmmakers. Last week we were treated to the announcement that BEST YEARS GONE was multi-nominated and won a few awards. The biggest award being BEST PICTURE which is great because it embodies the collective effort.

SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA is soundly in post. A BTS (behind the scenes) video is being worked on and the first look teaser is being outlined. Meanwhile the feature is being cut with the first rough being done by mid March. We’ll keep rolling out some new photos while we wait for these first videos.

HOT ROD LOVE is the next CDI picture and we’re looking to prep in May and shoot in June. It’s a heartfelt comedy that has many classic 70’s and 80’s influences. We’re putting our investor/sponsor presentation materials together, but the truly exciting news coming this week is the announcement of a director and Dir of Photography- Mr. Shane Hagedorn and Travis Hayward. This re-teaming is building on the previous chemistry of BEST YEARS GONE, coming to home video starting in June. Our #1 goal with BEST YEARS GONE was to have fun filming. The Covid lockdowns had beaten everyone down and the humor and fun making the film translated to the final product. That laughter is the big take away from the theatrical playdates thus far. The world needs more laughter right now.

WILD FAITH: HASTINGS – More great discussions on this TV series spin off. I have follow ups first thing this coming week. It is going to happen, I’m just trying to follow the best road to production that keeps the integrity intact. Have you seen the feature WILD FAITH? Take a watch. Leave a review on imdb.com or the film’s amazon page and let us know if a sequel interests you. I love the idea of how many folks will be involved should the tv series happen.

The WEEK ahead-

This week is wrapping up end-of-year tax materials for the films. I actually got almost all my personal tax stuff around. This year has been quite smooth so far thanks to our amazing team. I’ve also been keeping my daily screenwriting happening. I’m deep into another comedy script from a treatment I’ve been bouncing around for years. I’ve got my next work-for-hire script/production coming up. It is an adaptation from a book, which I’ve almost finished. I’m really excited about the time period and the storyline. One other work-for-hire script/production is in discussion. Everything in their own time. But I find these cold days are the best for screenwriting.

Last week we talking about video game development and more which haven’t advanced too much in the past week. I got buried in numbers for a few days. But several projects including animation and a music video are in development. It is a busy time but as we discussed prior, get doing- if that is your calling. I have lots to work out in the coming weeks as we’re also in some serious production talks that could be a multi-year commitment. I laugh, because it’s all really a multi-year, lifetime commitment. It’s all a process to try and streamline funding and production. Balance. It’s all about balance. I’m going to bring this to a close. I have some writing to attend to and a few things to do around the homestead.

Be good to one another and coffee cheers.

February 6, 2022 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: balance, battles, Best Picture, BEST YEARS GONE, billionaire, blog, book, career, CDI, Chasing the star, chickens, coffee, collective, cope, crew, dinosaurs, father, filters, Forty Nights, funding, goals, hazelnut, herbs, Hot Rod Love, Indiana Jones, life, loops, loss, love, martial arts, Melissa Anschutz, mental, mentors, Michigan, negative, parents, peers, perspective, pie, positive, prison, Raiders of the lost ark, Randy Spence, school, screenwriting, script, Shane Hagedorn, Silent Night in Algona, space, sports, Sunday, Teachers, The Christ Slayer, The Maverick Movie Awards, The Quest Trilogy, Travis Hayward, TV spin off, veggies, Viking, Wild Faith, Wild Faith: Hastings | Leave a comment

DJ Perry's Official Blog 'Clawing My Way to the Middle' “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ― Sun Tzu

Posts tagged “hazelnut”

Flow Like Water – The ‘TOP TEN’ Collective Development Inc. Updates!

Filters of Attitude = Finding Your Balance

DJ Perry's Official Blog 'Clawing My Way to the Middle' “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ― Sun Tzu

Posts tagged “hazelnut”

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