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

Fall Feels in Full Effect! CDI Film Updates!

A very good morning to everyone out there. I’m sipping on the hazelnut coffee and I’ve been already doing quite a bit of film work. I am luckily able to turn it off at night and sleep very soundly. But first thing in the morning my brain starts chewing on the things we are trying to fix, solve or find. We are 10 days from filming starting tomorrow and we are looking good. Last few castings, crewing and still bringing on a few backers and sponsors. We will be announcing more like ETC sponsoring a meal for our crew and more! Films bring communities together and we love that. Everywhere we’ve filmed we have so many friends and some almost like family.

On the home front we added the gazebo to the new deck and added some runners and rugs. It looks so nice. I’ve continued to harvest and my wood processing is about to kick into high gear as the first fire in the fort might be tonight. I’ve been harvesting my herbs that will become my herbal teas. I’ve gathered enough berries and rhubarb to do a winter batch of Frankenberry Wine. I missed soccer this past week with our season over but my body has been recovering nicely. I’ve held off on the end of season mowing because the bees are stilling gathering from the flowers they can find mostly red clover and the tops of mint.

Last night was goulash made with venison which was so good. That heavier food is good as the days and nights become colder. This next film will be nice because most all of it is inside and no all-night shoots. Okay, I hear you. Enough of the homestead updates get to the artistic endeavors.

THE SECRET OF THE KINGDOM CHIP (TSOTKC) – So as I mentioned the sets are all close to being ready. We only have a cast or two we’re in talks on. A few crew as well and we’re still lining up a few business things but we are about ready to start rolling. We will be having an extra call this week for the 18th and 19th of September in Owosso are the two days with extras. I’m pretty excited as I’m doing something I haven’t done yet and after 30+ years that is hard to find in this industry. I’m playing an AI character (maybe) which sounds confusing but it will all make sense to those who watch the film. I went into the studio and performed all my scenes to be used in the movie. It was done in advance so that the actors can play directly off it. It will be the backbone of the performance but I still have some scanning to take place both with and without my beard.

This film is a loose modern day follow up to our series The Quest Trilogy which includes Forty Nights, Chasing the Star and The Christ Slayer. In there I played ‘Jesus’ is parts one and three. This film had me digging out a few wardrobe pieces and becoming a version of that character. But it is different. There is something unique added and on review of the footage I was satisfied by what we captured. The final Avatar ‘skin’ will be put on after the actual shoot. But it is funny how the wardrobe along put my mind back into the headspace from those other films. We considered filming this in Yuma, AZ but the added cost of flights and lodging had us choose a closer location. Actually most of it is in our director’s home town.

Wild Faith Christmas – Speaking on playing characters again, I was so happy to bring Ben Lily alive again on screen. I like this because in the first film they were the visitors and now you get to see them somewhat at home. Meanwhile, Emmett (Shane Hagedorn) and Edmond (Dean Teaster) are now the visitors. The movie which was also a test run for the TV series came out great! Our theatrical rep LOVED it and it will be pitched to the theater chains starting very soon. We plan a Nov- into 2026 theatrical followed by a dark window with maybe a few festivals followed by home video for the holidays 2026. Get ready for more 1800’s Michigan adventure! Watch part one again and get ready!

ROM COMS MUST DIE – This highly entertaining story of filmmaking cousins doing almost anything to get their sophomore feature off the ground after a lackluster first film. The script has lots to say about the world of acting, writing, filmmaking, distribution and more. The film is at the Pine Studio preparing to have the score produced. The first PR announcing the first peek at the teaser trailer was met with many good laughs. We will look to have an end of year premiere and follow that with a theatrical and home video release all in 2026!

Harsens Island Revenge – The film was extended for another week (Until Sept 11th) in the Riverside Cinema in Marine City, MI and the Okulski Theatre in Grosse Pointe, MI. It will arrive ONE NIGHT ONLY at Forest Theatre in Forest City, IA on September 19th! We also are up for multiple awards at the Red Letter Awards on the 13th. We are working hard to try and get Fridley’s in Algona, IA to do a week run. We hope this week they will book. We plan to keep booking right up to our 10/6/2025 home video release! An exciting time for this film to be sure.

Development – I’m not going to go on about much development here. I’m going to focus on what is on my plate BUT development is always underway. I’ve had a few great conversations about future projects and over the holidays I’ll have some productive conversations I’m sure. I have one script I want to finish up on and I’m about to sign on another writing project. I’m considering a literary rep again to option/sell a few of my screenplays.

WRAP UP: I’m about to go throw down on a few eggs and some buttermilk pancakes. Today is a beautiful day to get some work done outside. MSU won their second game last night and the Lions kick it off tonight. I might see a bit of the game before I have my brother and a few friends over. The wood stove might get its first fire of the season tonight. We’ll be bouncing work emails back and forth today and already I’ve been getting our budget onto our software. This coming week we’ll be really putting the final things into play. I’ll be working on cast and crew agreements. Securing some of the final business needed and on the 18th cameras are going to ROLL!

I do feel good having gotten the bulk of my performance out of the way. I’ll be there to assist alll the actors who might need it if they have any timing issues. Much like ROM COMS MUST DIE we are required to film part of the film in advance so actors can respond to it directly in real time. That frees me up to handle many other things during the shoot. Once we get this film in the can I think that is a wrap on feature production. We have some great releases theatrically, home video and premieres and maybe even a fest trip. So we’re going to get this amazing story shot and it will give our team something to work on during the cold months in Michigan.

I hope all of you have had a great year. I know many people have had challenges, myself included. But that is life, facing the challenges, creating and enjoying the company of friends and family. I’ll have to swap out my Summer for fall clothes this week and that is always fun. I have more cold weather clothes I like versus warm weather. I almost see the bottom of the coffee cup so that is my cue. I hope you all enjoy the rest of your day. Have a great week and we’ll talk next week!

September 7, 2025 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: AI, avatar, AZ, blog, books, casting, CDI, challenges, Chasing the star, coffee, cold, crew, crewing, Dean Teaster, deck, extras, fall, family, film, fire, food, Forest City, fort, Forty Nights, Fridleys, friends, future, gazebo, goulash, Grosse Pointe, Harsens Island Revenge, herbs, holidays, home video, Iowa, Jesus, laughs, life, lions, literary, Marine City, Michigan, Movie, movies, MSU, Okulski Theatre, Owosso, pancakes, Past, PR, premiere, present, Riverside Cinema, Rom Coms Must Die, screenplays, Shane Hagedorn, sleep, soccer, sponsors, Summer, tea, teaser, The Christ Slayer, The Quest Trilogy, The Secret of the Kingdom Chip, theatrical, TV series, venison, warm, Wild Faith, Wild Faith Christmas, wine, woodstove, writing, Yuma | Leave a comment

FINAL FOUR DAYS OF FILMING – Updates From Set

(This next week we’ll be filming at the mine set)

Hello friends! Once again I’m doing our blog on a Sat versus Sunday since this is my off day from shooting on WILD FAITH CHRISTMAS. We have had an incredible week of capturing scenes for the new sequel to WILD FAITH. Our week was a productive and efficient one finishing each day early save day one which we called right at the end of our day. We had one scene that first day that we did not get but picked it up day two and still had an early day. The energy has been good with everyone excited to be telling the next installment of this franchise. Most of the heavy lifting by way of extras is now all done. All but one of the young leads are wrapped. We have only four more days to film before we have all our pieces. We went and secured a great restaurant for our wrap which looks like an old ship inside. We ate there last night when speaking with management and let’s just say this seafood lover was very happy.

(The prep and planning really paid off in a smooth film shoot)

Even with making all our days and getting quality footage we still always look at how we as producers and each department could be even more organized. It is usually communication and organization which really have been strong. We are always in process of developing our crews and adjusting the line up. But the number one common underlying characteristic has to be a good positive attitude. If you don’t want to be on a film set don’t be. Without a doubt there are more cushy short, commercial jobs for individuals. But for those who want to create something long-lasting and memorable feature film is hard to beat. Minor issues are the only things we’ve had on set last week. Basically by challenging individuals to better themselves in their time management, communication and anticipation. But overall I was happy with how everything ran. Minor issues give you a chance to test your crew like a fire drill and our team passed with flying colors.

(A pic from ‘The Christ Slayer’)

Acting-wise it was a very fulfilling week with me bring back the first character since I played Jesus is parts 1 and 3 of THE QUEST TRILOGY. If you are fans of this blog and haven’t checked the films out you should. FORTY NIGHTS, CHASING THE STAR and THE CHRIST SLAYER. With a sequel you are wondering if the magic will be there stepping into the moccasins and buckskins again. I can say that it was a pure joy to once again playing the trapper Ben Lily with a heart of gold. It was awesome to get to work with Melissa Anschutz (Hester), Shane Hagedorn (Emmett), Dean Teaster (Edmond) as well as next week Christine Marie (Albena). Those are the actors I got to work with from the first film plus a slew of awesome new actors. I greatly appreciate the kind words from many of the cast about the script and their participation in the film.

In a while I’m going reach out to our Harsens Island Revenge director and get updates on how the mixing is coming. The excitement here for the film is strong. I also made some contacts that might help with the Detroit premiere which I want at the Henry Ford Museum theater. We will have one in Alpena, Owosso and Lansing. Maybe a special event screening outside Grand Rapids. But that film is going to be a thrill ride full of drama and action. Get ready!

SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA is continuing its home video run but will be going back into some theaters for special event screenings thanks to a new distribution partnership with Dreamscape Productions. In our discussions we are also going to really try and get the film playing in theaters on military bases around the world. This film is really finding a great audience and it could become a yearly watching tradition for many families. If you have not seen this film please do. If you have not seen it on the big screen you might have a chance very soon.

A few rapid updates-

An Ordinary Killer streaming and HD DVD Release in December.
Knight Chills Blu Ray released now and streaming in Jan 2025
Knight Chills book releasing soon on amazon
CDI Merchandise site looking to release December 2025
IN THE WOODS Blu Ray available now

I know I’m missing a few updates but need to switch gears to getting ready for tomorrow. I’m first scene up with means early to bed and have to be ready to rock! We had a good day tooling about Alpena for an hour or so. I tried a coffee made from mushroom and bought a few homemade items from another store. Alpena has a lot of Michigan charm and again we’re proud to be shooting here. I should be back on a normal schedule next week having wrapped and returned home. I hope everyone is doing well and preparing for the holidays with loved ones. I was chatting with my mom today about Christmas plans so the season is upon us. Until we all speak again next week be good to one another.

November 9, 2024 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: acting, amazon, An Ordinary Killer, anticipation, attitude, audience, bed, Ben Lily, blog, book, buckskins, cast, CDI, charm, Chasing the star, Christine Marie, coffee, communication, crew, Dean Teaster, distribution, Dreamscape Productions, film, footage, Forty Nights, gold, Grand Rapids, Harsens Island Revenge, HD, heart, holidays, horror, In the woods, interview, jobs, joy, knight chills, Lansing, magic, management, Melissa Anschutz, merchandise, Michigan, Military, minor, moccasins, mom, movies, mushroom, Owosso, partnership, positive, producers, reviews, schedule, script, seafood, sequel, Shane Hagedorn, ship, Silent Night in Algona, The Christ Slayer, The Henry Ford Museum, The Quest Trilogy, traditions, trapper, Wild Faith, Wild Faith Christmas | Leave a comment

Set Construction, More Casting, Premiere Updates and More…

(Looking forward to working with these two dear friends and our entire creative tribe!)

A very good morning to you all! It was a damp but cooler morning here in the Michigan. I’m sipping my favorite hot morning beverage – hazelnut coffee. I was alerted here that many new readers have been joining our circle. I saw S. Africa, Ireland, India and more joining in on the reading. I’ve had a great week on several fronts which we’ll discuss here. The plants in the yard are really doing well. I harvested more herbs this weekend and I share those with many friends. I might package up some as little Christmas gifts. I sip some herbal tea daily usually in the later day to early eve. I also love to read on each one that I’m drinking. You will be surprised at the health benefits of replacing sugary processed drinks with a healthy earth-grounding tea that often strengthens the immune system. Fresh eggs have been coming in on a regular basis and I’m appreciative for that. I enjoy watching them move around the property doing their thing. I was surprised it brought out in me the little kid who loved dinosaurs. I’ve also been prepping for the old deck to go and a new one to go up. We had to change course and look at a few other options but we’re getting closer to moving on that. Always projects but like many folks I have to tackle them just one at a time. I would love a covered front porch with mud room and a carport but all in good time. Speaking of building let’s get into some movie updates!

WILD FAITH CHRISTMAS – The secret is out and folks now know that the follow up sequel to our popular WILD FAITH movie is happening. We are in pre-production and we just about have our crew in place. We’re using a few more crew hailing from the area we are shooting in for cost reasons. Casting is well underway and we announced on IMDB.com some of the returning characters from the first film and the first new character. That character being Dugan Dunkirk played by East Coast actor/producer Sean Ward. He is the owner of the Dunkirk Mining Co that plays heavily into our story. We’ve had a team of construction artists led by Mark Balko building the mine set. Heavy equipment and a lot of dirt moving. We have lots of pictures of this process up on our Facebook site. Actually all the CDI films have a Facebook site and that is a great place for updates, behind the scenes and release information. So seek those out! I think this is the Wild Faith Christmas one here: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61563211191981

Harsens Island Revenge – We are targeting a Nov 1st cast and crew premiere in Alpena, MI followed by as many days run as the community will support. Due to smaller theater size we might have to have a day of premiere showings with a near all day afterglow. We have some amazingly cool things planned but nothing is cooler than the film itself. I have my big debrief tomorrow with our director but I have been meeting with our composer and post supervisor Dennis Therrian. Music is full speed ahead and we’re polishing/mixing the sound design as we move forward. I know we have two “telephone” calls that need to be recorded and put into the film. I think we’re done to working on one tricky VFX scene and color correction should be getting close to done. After the Alpena theatrical we want to explore one near Harsens Island itself. One in Karl Manke‘s home town of Owosso, MI with our friends at NCG. And Lansing’s premiere will be either the NCG or Celebration Cinema or both. We will work to get this film into many of the theaters across the midwest who enjoyed our last showing of SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA.

With Christmas season fast approaching our best window for SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA is approaching. We are so proud of this film for many reasons but the fact that it is a true story is surely one of them. We did not go back into the theaters last Christmas because it would have conflicted with the launch of our home video. But know that it is out there to rent/buy at home we might do an event screening just before Christmas with all the theaters who showed our film previously. That will be part of our discussion moving forward. Mid 2025 the film will go to ad-based video on demand where you can watch it for free with ads. That is a popular distribution avenue right now but because of our TV/broadcast deals those ad-based platforms are on hold. This story can be enjoyed during any season but it is extra special to watch around Christmas. Anthony Hornus directed a great follow up movie to his previous MAN’S BEST FRIEND (MBF).

The above mentioned MBF was recently watched by a career actor whom I respect greatly. He has worked with the likes of Denzel Washington and Kurt Russell. He first reached out wanting to know where he could watch the film which is pretty much all streaming platforms. A few days letter he sent a note saying in was one of my very best performances. “Flawless, understated work…No false moves…Congratulations.” It really made my day. I’ve said before that Paul Landings in that film was one of my hardest. It was also hard upon wrap of the film because I got to return to my life and other wounded warriors do not. Matter of fact we still lose 22 vets a day to suicide. I’ve been asked about a sequel to this film and if I ever do it will be for those warriors. I’m thankful for my involvement in Anthony Hornus‘ non-profit to help veterans and their families. Check out The Red, White and Blue Project Inc. online.

To comment further on the above non-profit our 5th feature with CDI was AN ORDINARY KILLER. It is getting a special new release to benefit this non-profit and their mission. I have a podcast on Tuesday with TWO AVERAGE JOES MEDIA to discuss this and make a few announcements. I’m proud that this gifted film is now being used to help military families. For those that don’t know FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH the doc on the history of grappling was also produced with this non-profit. Check out the documentary film and in a week or two the podcast will release with some exciting news on AN ORDINARY KILLER.

From the classic CDI films (The first 6) #1 KNIGHT CHILLS has been remastered. A new trailer is done and a new poster for streaming is being worked upon. Artwork and restoration work is being done on #2 FROM VENUS, #3 HEAVEN’S NEIGHBORS and #4 FIGURE IN THE FOREST. AN ORDINARY KILLER is #5 and DEAN TEASTER’S GHOST TOWN is #6 and is re-released in HD with Ammo Content!

Our collaboration on the animated feature THE PATCHWORK GIRL OF OZ has been remastered to HD and is up on Encourage TV on Youtube! Watch it free with ads now! We would love your support as we explore further animated content and video games. Stay tuned!

ADDITIONAL NEWS/WRAP UP:

ROM COMS MUST DIE is being scheduled and casting is still underway. A few decisions have been made already. Once we finished shooting Wild Faith Christmas and enjoy the holidays we’ll move right into filming Travis Hayward‘s debut feature film! I would love to do a holiday table read so we’ll explore that as we get a bit further down the road.

I’m excited about getting a promo copy of my first starring role in a feature film. A creature feature classic called IN THE WOODS. It has both the HD classic version and a new director’s version. Both have fun commentary if you want to watch it and learn to trials and tribulations of indie film making. And talking of table reads, I’m told a read of IN THE WOODS 2 is right around the corner.

I forgot to mention up top that the WILD FAITH TV series HASTINGS is getting a new boost. I’m in the process of adjusting the season one to go after the second film versus in between them. The series was meant to take up one year after the original but it is easier now to put it in the wake of WILD FAITH CHRISTMAS. But I’m almost done with show number one and it is going great. I forgot how powerful the shows are and audiences will love to keep the story of the Murphy family and friends going.

I’m going to get into some breakfast now after refilling ye ole coffee cup. The Detroit Lions pre-game season starts this week which will be fun. We had a bye week in our soccer so this week is our final regular season game and after the playoffs. It has been a fun season and whipped me into great shape. I’ll have to look into indoor play over the winter. I want to wish happiness and strength to all of you struggling to follow your dreams and urge you to just keep moving forward. I went through a short season of mild frustration trying to make things line up. But once you get to the other side you’ll be happy you persisted. Hard work done smart pays off. Work smart. Work hard. And the fruits will come to you. Funny note: I had a conversation last week with another friend close to my age with a blog. Is CLAWING MY WAY TO THE MIDDLE as my blog name fit? It is funny and clever but I do feel upon reflecting that I’m past the middle. Any good ideas? I leave that right there. Coffee cheers my friends!

August 4, 2024 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: Alpena, Ammo Content, An Ordinary Killer, Anthony Hornus, audiences, blog, cast, casting, CDI, Celebration Cinema, Chasing the star, cheers, chickens, classic, clawing my way to the middle, coffee, creatures, crew, Dean Teaster's Ghost Town, deck, Dennis Therrian, Denzel Washington, Detroit Lions, dinosaurs, director, documentary, Don Most, Dugan Dunkirk, East Coast, eggs, Encourage TV, facebook, Figure in the Forest, For the Love of Catch, Forty Nights, friends, From Venus, fruits, fun, Harsens Island Revenge, hazelnut, HD, Heaven's Neighbors, history, holidays, ideas, IMDB, In the woods, In the Woods 2, India, indie film, Ireland, knight chills, Kurt Russell, Lansing MI, love, Man's Best Friend, Mark Balko, MBF, Michigan, mine, mining, music, NCG, Owosso, plants, podcast, reading, Rom Coms Must Die, S Africa, Sean Ward, season, shows, Silent Night in Algona, smart, sound design, The Christ Slayer, The Patchwork Girl of OZ, The Quest Trilogy, The Red White and Blue Project, theatre, Tim Abell, Travis Hayward, trials, tribulations, Two Average Joes Media, Veterans, VFX, wake, Wild Faith, Wild Faith Christmas, Wild Faith Hastings, work, Youtube | Leave a comment

‘Harsens Island Revenge’ One Week In the Can! And Other CDI Updates!

Good afternoon from beautiful Alpena, MI where we are shooting our newest motion picture HARSENS ISLAND REVENGE. We had a strong start to our week finishing early every day but it is not a sprint but a marathon. We have some new department members that are getting their first taste of set life. You need to keep your mind clear and your body healthy. We’ve had a swing of temps from chilly to warm and back to nighttime chilly. My sinus have felt it on some days but that is part of the game. We’ve had wonderful views every day and each new and exciting locations. It is always exciting to see new actors arrive or new vehicles make their appearance. It gives a look into the revolutionizing of the world as we moved from horse and buggies to horseless carriages. From speakeasy’s to lighthouses we have been capturing just amazing footage. And we are making some new friends which is always a joy.

Co-Producer Tony with our sound team Travis and Cody

Tomorrow we are back at it filming at some rustic cottages from the 20’s. That is the amazing thing about the town is that many of the buildings are from that time period and new owners are just to restore them to their former glory or just preserve them as they were. We hear stories here from everyone about the Purple Gangs involvement. This is the same coast as Harsens and has the same rugged look and channels. We’ve heard of hitman living the low life here amongst the townspeople. This area was mainly lumber trade. And the performances have been just on point. That is something that our crew has been really happy with. The organization and the performances adding in all the locations and props.

DP Travis Hayward with Shane Hagedorn on screen

This doesn’t happen by accident. It is the hard work of our producing team and keys. Today is our day off but we were working up until 4:00 and Tony Hornus is still in the office lining up extras. He takes such care in the faces he brings to the screen and works hard to bring them into the story. It’s not policy but when I can I like to write paychecks out on the off day. I was really quite exhausted last night after filming but got up early to write cast and crew payroll. Today we also gave away a pottery piece from Reinert Pottery, one of our sponsors with the checks.

Me with Don Most and director Carl Weyant

We have two more weeks to go but we are getting into a groove. Folks have to get some sleep and take their vitamins today and let’s get after it.

SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA– I cannot recall if we talked about winning Best Screenplay and Best Film at the Red Letter Awards. We know have our home video release date of Dec 1st and I was told we’ll be one of four films highlighted at AFM in a few weeks. We are so excited to share this film with folks from around the world.

KNIGHT CHILLS which was CDI’s 1st feature film has been released on Blu-Ray and the special 1000 piece slip cover version sold out in a week. The classic edition can be still purchased at Vinegar Syndromes website. On Oct 30th several online retailers will start carrying it. We are in talks about some merchandise. Also discussions are underway to give FROM VENUS the same treatment.

WRAP UP:

My alumni MSU is not having a good game today I hear. I hope the Lions can kick it into high gear. I’m looking forward to capturing all the pieces of this film. And we’ll release SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA for the holidays. I’m going to lie low for a while and go to bed early for a 7am call time. I saw Randy Spence (My daddy in BEST YEARS GONE) a while ago and we have Garry Nation and Terence Knox in Alpena for the week ahead. It is nice to see these amazing artists. Melissa Anschutz is also on camera tomorrow bringing scenes to life. I will be excited to watch them work. Until next Sat! Coffee Cheers- yes coffee can be had at all hours on a movie set.

September 23, 2023 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: actors, AFM, Alpena, Best Film, BEST YEARS GONE, blog, body, Carl Weyant, carriages, CDI, Chasing the star, coast, coffee, cottages, crew, Don Most, footage, Forty Nights, friends, From Venus, Garry Nation, Harsens Island Revenge, hitman, holidays, home video, horses, joy, keys, knight chills, lighthouses, lions, locations, Melissa Anschutz, members, merchandise, Michigan, mind, motion picture, MSU, paychecks, pottery, props, Purple Gang, Randy Spence, Red Letter Awards, Reinert Pottery, rustic, screenplay, Shane Hagedorn, Silent Night in Algona, sleep, sound, speakeasys, team, Terence Knox, The Christ Slayer, The Quest Trilogy, Tony Hornus, Travis Hayward, vehicles, Vinegar Syndrome, vitamins, Wild Faith | Leave a comment

‘Knight Chills’ Blu-Ray, Sequels, Sept 5th Releases, ‘Silent Night In Algona’ at Red Letter Awards and ‘Harsens Island Revenge’ Gearing Up to Film!

(Wardrobe test as ‘Axel’ in the upcoming Harsens Island Revenge)

Good morn to you all! I’m here sipping my hazelnut coffee and taking a few moments to try and report on the many past week events. Starting next week I’m going to go to Sat updates during the Harsens Island Revenge shoot. Next Saturday I’ll be moving in up North, and so with that being our day off it will be easier to blog on Saturdays. I might even go to the vlog updates to give you all a more exciting experience while we are filming. Once up there on the 9th, we have a week of on-location pre-production before three weeks of filming. Once home I’ll return to my Sunday blogs. We are doing Saturdays off because more things are open should our cast and crew need to do things on their day off. Above is a pic from my wardrobe tests. I have variations of three outfits, the above being one of them. More on that later. On the home front it has been getting things ready for me to be gone for a month. I’ve finished harvesting the hops and rhubarb. I’ll have to put another mow down on the lawn but soon that should slow down. My soccer season ended with us coming out on top of the lower division. Last year we won the upper division but we had injuries and several of our players coaching. The nice part is I had a good season and no injuries. Let’s jump into some movie talk.

HARSENS ISLAND REVENGE – We are all excited to tell this story. The departments are all kicking strong. I transferred many of the props to our art director. Great meetings with wardrobe and hospitality departments. We are down to our final cast and crew hires and some are being interviewed by department heads. We had a fun read through on zoom with some of the cast participating. I will comment on one funny comment we had to a news story. It was a snide comment on us not shooting on Harsens Island. That is false. We will do some filming on the island but we need 1920’s. Also filming or staging a small army on a island with zero big stores, hospital and dependent on a ferry is not good producing. How many films on the Alamo have been made but they did not film at the Alamo? When we get to shooting SPIRIT LAKE MASSACRE do you think that the lake appears as it did in 1850’s? A more primitive lake will surely need to be used for many shots/scenes. We will do some shooting on Harsens Island to get some of the exterior beauty shots but we needed a place more friendly to filming with an army. So this individual obviously has no experience in filming and was just chiming off. People do that quite often these days but I saw it as a chance to educate.

We have many sponsors that have been coming on board and this past week we added Red Cedar Spirits and SE Growth Corp. They join a host of great businesses aligning themselves with our film. Some of that sponsorship will be used to help transport some of the great cars to the area for use in the film. It is exciting to be able to showcase so many cool vehicles from the time period. These amazing cars, boats and even a plane will be able to add this movie to their long history. Two other sponsors Nash Nurseries and Ace Pyro will play a part after the main shoot working with the FX unit for a spectacular moment in the film. We still have a few more coming on board that we’ll announce very soon.

SOME PR:

https://www.thealpenanews.com/news/local-news/2023/08/feature-film-to-be-shot-in-northeast-michigan-locations/

https://www.manisteenews.com/news/article/movie-filming-northern-michigan-fall-2023-alpena-18338102.php

SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA – Our fixes should all be done this week and we’ll be able to announce the hard release dates for DVD and streaming. I’m getting asked daily about this and I will answer as soon as I can. We are all super excited to bring this story to the world. Our own Donna Kitzinger, our Algona coordinator will be traveling to TN to attend and represent us at the Red Letter Awards where the film is up for many awards. But honestly, we already feel like we won after all the beautiful responses from our theatrical run.

THE PATCHWORK GIRL OF OZ – This was the first animated feature collaboration for CDI and the film has been remastered to HD and will start streaming on Encourage TV on Sept 5th! This is a great watch for the approaching holidays for the entire family.

Show your support and we just might have to kick off a new film from one of the other amazing books. Speaking of Encourage TV – one of our most popular films MAN’S BEST FRIEND just celebrated crossing the 2 million viewer threshold on the streaming platform. You can watch it free with ads and help us get to 3 million!

WATCH HERE free with ads – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afDYPOiL5pY

KNIGHT CHILLS was CDI’s first feature film. Jeff & Juanita Kennedy and I had been shopping scripts around Hollywood with a few close calls. Finally, we decided to produce our own. This micro-budget feature shot released 25 years ago has become a classic. The good folks at Saturn Core approached us about doing a 25th anniversary Blu-Ray. This required a new digital transfer and audio remastering. We also had some wonderful Tom Miller fan artwork and dug into the archives to bring you some true gems. We were able to get a few new retrospective interviews and even a great film historian talking about the special place this film holds in horror history. Vinegar Syndrome just released a pre-order link for the special edition 1000 unit run whereas they moved about 600 units in the first 6 hours. This is the special slip cover version and will be a true collectors edition.

(Special parody slip art of the new Knight Chills Blu-Ray)

Claim one of these unique collectors edition now! Click on the link below-

Knight Chills

Vinegar Syndrome – Knight Chills!

(IN THE WOODS– Yes that is Jim Greulich in the background)

We are in hopes to give CDI’s 2nd feature film FROM VENUS the same Blu Ray treatment. Did you know Sir Kallio from Knight Chills makes a cameo? In other remastering news, I had a great talk with Lynn Drzick the director of IN THE WOODS, my first feature film. An ambitious creature feature that now has a director’s cut. The entire film retransferred and re-edited with added scenes. I imagine a blu-ray with the original version and the director’s version. Lynn is going to start talking to various distributors and following a limited theatrical of the new cut, a BluRay and streaming release. What is even more interesting is the sequel that is in the planning stage. I’ve agreed to once again play reluctant monster hunter Alex Kerwood. Also I’ve agreed to co-star in another supernatural thriller that Mr. Drzick will be directing. It is fun to return to the genre that gave me my start. I also recently had to pass on starring in another horror feature due to an overlap in schedule with Harsens Island Revenge, but I was deeply appreciative of the offer.

(Above is Tom Miller’s cool fan art part of the new Knight Chills Blu-Ray release)

WRAP UP: I smell eggs and bacon and so that is my cue to wrap this up. It is gonna be a few more hot days in Michigan before fall truly settles in. MSU my alumni college started slow but pulled out a win. I hope our Lions are off to a good season. I think I’m going to grill ribs today and get a few things done around the homestead. As always, I so appreciate you all. I hope you have a safe and enjoyable Labor Day. I’ll speak to you again next Saturday after settling in to my home away from home for a month.

Be good to one another.

September 3, 2023 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: 1920's, Ace Pyro, Alamo, Alex Kerwood, army, awards, bacon, beer, blog, boats, cars, CDI, Chasing the star, classic, coffee, crew, distributors, DJ Perry, Donna Kitzinger, DVD, eggs, Encourage TV, fans, ferry, football, Forty Nights, From Venus, FX, grill, Harsens Island Revenge, holidays, hops, hospital, hunter, In the woods, Jeff Kennedy, Juanita Kennedy, knight chills, lions, Lynn Drzick, Man's Best Friend, Manistee News, Michigan, monster, Movie, MSU, Nash Nurseries, planes, Red Letter Awards, ribs, Saturn Vue, SE Growth Corporation, sequel, Silent Night in Algona, soccer, Spirit Lake Massacre, stores, streaming, supernatural, The Alpena News, The Christ Slayer, The Patchwork Girl of OZ, The Quest Trilogy, theatrical, thriller, Vinegar Syndrome, vlog, wardrobe, Wild Faith, wine | Leave a comment

Persistence Against Resistance – Happy July!

Hazelnut cheers! I want to welcome our new readers this week with several from the US but also from Denmark and also a first, from an unknown country. I’m not quite sure what that means but maybe aliens? My blog has gone interplanetary:) I want to start by saying I’m so happy the air quality has gotten back to a good place. It was really bad for a few days and you could see it and feel it if you remained outside too long. I was happy actually that they rescheduled our soccer match on Thursday. I took a spoonful of honey and did salt nasal spray daily to help keep away any of the various symptoms I heard from many people. We also got some much needed rain which I hope helps Canada and their wild fires. The rain here really helped our lawn and all our plants. As noted last week our berries have been in full effect and the chickens LOVE all the fallen mulberries. The raspberries and rhubarb have been also popping and some will get the freeze for future wine runs. The ROCKING RHUBARB has been bubbling away and I might have one other secret add before going to bottles. My Mexican-style Chili Beer has been getting rave reviews and I have to admit it came out really good. Maybe a few more people will get a try over the next few days.

Before getting into talking about our films I’ll talk about someone else’s film. I remember my first screening of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. My buddy John from 1st grade on had been one of my main movie buddies. We had seen Star Wars so many times, fibbing to our parents about going to see a different film but going to see Star Wars again. John’s mom was dropping us off at the theater as John and I wondered if the film was about Noah’s ark or this other ark also from the Bible. Well, we knew it had our beloved ‘Han Solo’ playing the lead. To this day the original ‘Raiders’ is one of my favorite films in my lifetime. Yesterday I got to watch the end cap to that spring of movie stories. I know my buddy John has tickets to go see it today. We will enjoy a good post-film talk after just like we did in our youth. I’m glad in a world where so many of our music and movie heroes have passed, Harrison Ford is still with us. I’m going to just say that I really enjoyed the film and leave it at that for now. I also hope I can still be making movies at his age. He can still carry a film as a leading man.

FILM UPDATES:

I had a good meeting with a high school buddy who has done well for himself with a distillery. We discussed a CDI Collection of bottled booze. A special label and type picked out for each film. Also from each one we might assign a % to a cause. A great way to celebrate CDI’s long history and help some various causes.
We are starting to land some product partners and sponsors for our next film Harsens Island Revenge. We are in the process of inking these deals but we’ll have some great ones riding with us on this next story. If you have a product or service or just want to support the film, please do reach out. Also I’ve had several cast and crew asking for our schedule. Our draft 4 is under review this weekend and we hope to lock it start of the week. It is lagging a bit from my timeline but we want it to be as tight as we can get it. Aside from that I’ve been enjoying working on my upcoming role and hope to bring you a cool character.
SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA is going back into the Algona State 5 Fridley theatre for their Founders celebration July 6-9. Times can be gotten directly from their website. Our post production folks are working with BMG on the last few adjustments for our home video roll out. I hope to get that resolved soon so I can bring you exact dates for DVD, streaming, broadcast and more.
Thanks to my CDI team – I’ve been prepping the information to report to our backers and cut them checks. It’s a major process with many checks written but I also enjoy the process. It beats the old days of chasing around dishonest distributors. So I will be doing some of that in the forthcoming week.
We’ve been getting ready to launch a new CDI back up system that will house the CDI library in a way that can be easily accessed by our editors. This will aid in promotional work and in providing footage to talent. We should have this up and running by September.
I’m excited that many of the films are finding wider and wider audiences. Man’s Best Friend is on the way to 2 million with Encourage TV. Take a watch or watch it again and help us get to that new goal.
I’m really excited about a deal coming together that will put a few CDI properties into motion as a video game and/or animated endeavor. Many merchandise and spin off properties being worked on and I’m excited to see them come develop.
Development on TV/film projects continues and the next couple of weeks should help move pieces on the board forward.

WRAP UP: I could be missing a few updates but I will take a moment to state again that these projects are not easy to launch. I’ve had numerous people compliment on the steady flow of creative endeavors but they all happen brick by brick. Meeting by meeting. Deal points to agreements followed by action. I too deal with patience issues at times. I often apologize for my pushing upon people to keep moving things forward. Often we advance more rapidly or consistently because while others rest or play we are working it. Succeeding where so many fail makes me feel good. Not for their failure but for our persistence against resistance.

Keep at your dreams and do something daily and brick by brick you can build it. And to die in pursuit of your dreams is better than the regret of never even trying. I want to thank those who have sent messages or left their reviews on our stories. To be credited as an inspiration to keep after your creative endeavors is priceless. I smell bacon cooking which reminds me that later this month we have our 4H fair we attend. Also the chickens have been kicking out the eggs while feasting on those mulberries I mentioned earlier. So I’m going to say good day and get after some amazing smelling breakfast. I hope you all have a relaxing and SAFE holiday. Our fur babies are not fans of the fireworks so we usually lie in with some loud movie playing. My days of exploding hoot-n-nanny is over and I have the memories and luckily all my fingers and both eyes. So let’s all make this month of JULY a great one!

Coffee Cheers!

July 2, 2023 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: 4H, 4th of July, aliens, animated, bacon, beer, berries, blog, BMG, booze, Canada, CDI, Chasing the star, coffee, crew, deals, Denmark, development, distributors, editors, eggs, failure, film, Forty Nights, Fridley, Harrison Ford, Harsens Island Revenge, holidays, honey, interplanetary, investors, library, MBF: Man's Best Friend, merchandise, Michigan, parents, patience, persistence, Raiders of the lost ark, resistance, reviews, rhubarb, Sanctuary Spirits, Silent Night in Algona, soccer, spin off, Star Wars, State 5, success, The Christ Slayer, The Quest Trilogy, TV, video games, Wild Faith, wild fires, wine, youth | Leave a comment

Memorial Weekend – CDI Military Themed Films

Hazelnut coffee cheers-

Welcome this morning to our new readers from Italy, Finland and Pakistan! I want to start by wishing a Happy Memorial Day Weekend to all our veterans out there. At CDI we’ve examined the veteran experience in several of our films. My hope is that you would watch these films. I think I’ll write a little on each of them.

WICKED SPRING is a Civil War era film that without any political overtones examines the lives of the common soldiers on both sides. This film was a massive undertaking and I’m very proud of the work we put into this story. I’m considering doing a making of book filled with extras celebrating this film. I found a link that had a lot of great information some of which I had even forgotten. You can watch it for free with adds on Encourage TV (Youtube) and several other platforms. It is a deep character study that will move your heart to think about what war does to family’s on both sides. Read more here- https://alchetron.com/Wicked-Spring
FROM VENUS and AN ORDINARY KILLER are two films from the CDI library that need a full reboot. The first is a comedic romp about two ex-military buddies trying to rescue a young man pulled into a SciFi cult. On the other far end of the spectrum is a based on a true story of a serial killer caught 27 years after the crime. The lead detective is an ex-Vietnam veteran trying to keep his temper in check as his persistence and patience are tested. DVD’s are about from the original release but both of these will eventually undergo an HD upgrade and new release. COMING SOON
Dean Teaster’s Ghost Town – This Smoky Mountain Western takes place after the Civil War and features many themes and topics concerning veterans. Some of my favorite interactions is between a ex-Union Captain and an ex-Southern General. We get full rights back on this film in 2024 and will be preparing a new release.
The 3rd film in THE QUEST TRILOGY – THE CHRIST SLAYER – CDI’s biblical adventure series focuses on Roman soldier Longinus who put the spear to the side of Jesus on the cross. Many great themes present themselves even though this examines soldiers from several thousand years ago. It is still best to watch the three films in order. I had someone this week reach out about how much they loved FORTY NIGHTS (Part 1) and part 2 is CHASING THE STAR giving a unique take on the three wise men.
WILD FAITH is one of CDI’s most popular and focuses on the life of an ex-Civil War soldier with his own nightmares. He has made a promise to a black soldier who saved his life but that promise would challenge the norms of the time. It can be seen on many platforms like NBC’s Peacock TV and Encourage TV where it has recently passed 7 million views. With tens of millions of views this movie has a planned spin off TV show in the works. It is called HASTINGS and will follow the further adventures of the Murphy family.
MBF: MAN’S BEST FRIEND – Also on the same platforms as Wild Faith above is a more current film whose story focuses on a wounded Marine veteran just trying to get by in life while working at an animal shelter. This story about the plight of veterans and dogs is highlighted in this powerful film that will pull on your heart strings. As an actor, I get many people reaching out asking about the future of the lead character ‘Paul’ and if a sequel will ever be seen. Maybe one day is my response. This is a much watch film but bring your tissue.
ASHES OF EDEN – While the focus is not directly military themed I do play an ex-military soldier who unable to find suitable work has fallen into being a drug dealer. I really loved this role and character because of how complex he is. This film is a good watch that has a wonderful lesson attached.
SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA – This film is strongly military themed as it is based on true events. These events unfold at one of the many German PW camps spread across the midwest during WW2. It is just finishing up a theatrical run that started on Dec 9th. It will be coming out on home video this holiday season my best guess is Oct/Nov but I will let everyone know once I get word. It is a truly inspiring story that people can lean into as an example of humanity at its best. A much needed film in this day and age.
FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH – A beautiful documentary film about the art of Catch-Can grappling presented by the leading historians and teachers of the art. The interviews are led by Army veteran Randy Couture. It showcases some interesting history that includes ole Abe Lincoln and West Point. This was produced in association with the Red, White and Blue Project Inc. a nonprofit for military awareness and assistance.
Another great documentary done by the non-profit above is OUTSIDE THE WIRE: The Forgotten Children of Afghanistan. This follows donations from churches in mid America to the orphanages and schools high in the mountains of Afghanistan. This is achieved only with the help of the military in a great untold humanitarian mission by US led Coalition forces.

It is good to highlight these stories which give glimpses into the lives of military individuals and families. Even our next CDI film Harsens Island Revenge shooting this year will have a strong military presence. Thank a veteran for their service and watch a few of the stories above. I’m going to wrap things up here and eat a good breakfast before doing some more clean up around the property. For those fans of Austin TwoFeathers, best known perhaps as ‘Buddy’ in MBF – he’ll be joining us on the next CDI film. Only a few most castings to go and we’ll be getting a schedule to approve soon from the AD department. That will allow us to start giving exact dates to our cast so please have patience as that is coming very soon. Have a great relaxing weekend and I’ll talk with you again next week.

Coffee Cheers!

May 28, 2023 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: actor, AD, An Ordinary Killer, Ashes of Eden, Austin Two Feathers, biblical, blog, breakfast, CDI, Chasing the star, civil war, coffee, crew, Dean Teaster's Ghost Town, Desert Storm, DJ Perry, dogs, drugs, Encourage TV, Finland, For the Love of Catch, Forty Nights, From Venus, Germans, Happy Memorial Day, Harsens Island Revenge, Hastings, holidays, humanity, Italy, Jesus, Longinus, marines, MBF: Man's Best Friend, Michigan, Military, NBC, Outside the Wire, Pakistan, Peacock TV, PW, Randy Couture, Romans, Silent Night in Algona, Southern, The Christ Slayer, The Quest Trilogy, The Red, The Red White and Blue Project, union, Veterans, Vietnam, Wicked Spring, Wild Faith, WW1, WW2 | Leave a comment

The Secret of ‘Fire’ ‘Music’ and ‘Know Thyself’ – plus a few film updates…

Good morning my friends. I’m sitting by our new electric fireplace near my chair. Our old one died during the holidays so a new one has replaced it. I’ve got my steaming cup of hazelnut coffee with me as I ponder the past week. I want to thank all the new readers from around the world for stopping by to take a read. I hope there is a few nuggets of wisdom you can pull upon. I had so many good calls this week and 2023 business is underway. I have new goals and already I’m knocking some of them down. I’m sure this year will come with wins and losses as that is the way of life. I’ve reminded a few people, to stop. Turn around. Look at how far you’ve come. Be happy with what you have done, not just fixate on what you have not done.

This week I’ll be gathering up end of year tax stuff to generate any 1099’s for the films. We also do K1’s for all the investors. I was able to get all the check dispersement written and sent out. I only had to resend two as addresses had changed. I’ll also get things around for our company and myself. These are the needed but unsexy parts of the film business. It is so much more than playing with the camera. There is a massive amount of work that goes into each and every film. This is the biz side of show biz.

I’ve been told recently, and not the first time – that I work people hard. I ask artists to dig deep and to put their very best forward. I’ve dedicated my entire life to telling stories, and while we have much fun, we also work very hard. But when the artists finally see the final product, 9 of 10 times, that creative endeavor is one of the best, if not the best, endeavor that artist was involved with that year. They take family and friends to watch the stories and they’re proud to have been part of the stories telling. I’ve got family who have not yet seen our recent film. Our holidays were disrupted by a loss in the family. In my hometown they played the film for several weeks but I still did not get out to see it. But many did! We’re working to set up a special SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA, screening in Owosso, MI with NCG. For our Detroit area friends, we’re working to set up screenings there also. Our new theatrical division at CDI Distribution has been launched!

Let’s looks at some of the updates from last week-

SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA– We had several new theaters open. We had a projection bump at a new theatre screening in Iowa, after they moved the film from the test theatre. Much like home systems, many theatrical houses have different set ups, some older and some newer. They rarely update everything at once likely due to cost. But, I know at the one location it was worked out and the film is playing. People are requesting to managers who contact bookers-who contact us. The film is in 20 theaters and we have another 13 going up. And many more still approaching us from different states. Keep it up, you people are making the film travel. I expect the film to travel theatrically into March or April. We are also exploring a few select film festivals and we want to screen in Germany. Many good plans in action. We are working on a few special marketing deals while moving towards the home video window.
MERCHANDISE– We’ve done some test marketing of some merchandise but we’re starting to really look at a stronger launch of this division at CDI. I can also say that a MUSIC DIVISION, is developing. That will allow audiences access to the amazing soundtrack scores created by Dennis Therrian. These two areas are on CDI’s 2023 developmental goal list. Do you all have a favorite music score? I would love to actually do some runs of LP records. Any participating record pressing companies? Please reach out. RECORD LABEL? Not there yet:)
MOVING FORWARD- Harsens Island Revenge – This film exits development and will enter pre-production next month. What does that mean- that means that the film foundation (legal paperwork) will all be executed and the project funded. At that time we’ll be announcing our director and some of the attached cast. The script having undergone several sessions of writer/director polishing, it’s ready to be broken down. I love this stage because you go over every line of action, description, dialog and discuss. In this case I got to perform several scenes with our director, to get the flow ands feel. Most of the tweaks were minor but took strong scenes and made them even more powerful. It is a very cool story and what a time period to play in. Primary casting and crewing discussions will start in the coming weeks. Our producers already did a location scout trip and another one will be planned. We just created 1944 and now we’ll enter the 1920’s, artists are you ready? Next week, we’ll look to set hard shoot dates after Labor Day 2023. Get ready for some new teaser art as well!
Pen has not yet found ink, but I’m deep into talks on a CDI associated film to be shot late 2023 and early 2024. To recap what a CDI associated film is- it’s a film whereas someone else is bringing the capital $ to the table but want the experience of CDI behind it. As a producer, I remove the ‘supervising’ role and become more or less, a consultant. CDI will bring other assets to help but the main responsibility is on other shoulders. I’ve been asked to co-star in the supernatural action-thriller, and I’m feeling it. I hope to be able to call the film by name and run some PR about the new arrangement, in the near future. It is always best to work out all these details in advance so there is no issues later. This is a KEY to success. Have the hard conversations now and get everything in writing some it’s there. I still have 4-5 films out there in the film post abyss, they might finish one day. I sincerely hope they do. NUGGET: If possible, you actors, pick production teams with a track record of finishing.
SPIRIT LAKE MASSACRE – This week the script will go out to some historians and some friends in the Native American community. I think, I have written a powerful and balanced script, with lessons about loss, revenge, understanding, love and unity. It is not sugarcoated in any way and contains a few scenes that left me shaken after writing them. I had to go immerse myself in some nature and beauty, away from the truth of our shared history. I will be putting the script forth after this round of notes, and we’ll be putting together the Phase 2 plan. Phase 2 will be the development work in Iowa to prep for a 2024 shoot. I’ll also be having some teaser art put together. This will be a great return to the 1800’s storytelling for CDI.
I want to thank and encourage all of you to keep exploring and watching the CDI library. I’ve had fans reach out and thank us for The Quest Trilogy, MBF, Best Years Gone, Lost Heart, Wild Faith – you can even watch many free on TUBI or Encourage TV. I actually enjoyed The Quest Trilogy, playing while I was doing work. Again, even when not watching I love the music. But the amazing scenery (Yuma, AZ) and the story often gets me distracted for a few moments. More so, when I see friends on screen who are no longer with us. TRIVIA: Who was the voice of ‘God’ in FORTY NIGHTS? You can leave your answer in the comments.
Speaking of the CDI library, we will be looking to set up several of the old films, in HD at BMG. I had to look up dates for GHOST TOWN, which will be one of the new set up preps. Also AN ORDINARY KILLER, FIGURE IN THE FOREST and KNIGHT CHILLS are all being worked on.
Animated Division of CDI is in the works. CDI did an “in association” feature THE PATCHWORK GIRL OF OZ, which is being re-rendered and conformed for a release through BMG. But, we’ve got a few shorts and features in development. I’ve always loved cartoons and such, so getting involved in that direction feels natural.
We’ve got some good interest in creating video games off some of our films. You might know KNIGHT CHILLS, Dice Don’t Lie, video game has been in development. Once the final render is done of Sir Kallio, we might start some 3D printing.
This week I also plan to meet over the next FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH, doc. I’ve already started to talk with a few folks and if all goes well the team will shoot it this Spring/Summer. I think we’ve got a great overall summary of the history in the first film but now we can go into segments and define parts of it even further. Wrestling, grappling fan or not, this film will entertain you and educate you in the rich history.

The holidays were unconventional with the death in the family but the spirit of the season kept on. Aside from the loss, the beautiful snowstorm and the slowing of our day to day for a few days of family and reflection, really helped to recharge my batteries. The finishing of projects and the beginning of new. Again the seasons of our lives as creative artists. And while, sometimes the stories pull me away from my comforts for a time, the stories we tell are timeless.

It is also a time where we artists re-unite. CDI has been a home for some and a stepping stone for others. I like to think we instilled some good qualities into the folks who’ve moved away and into their own respective fields, sometimes in the arts and sometimes not. I tell people, CDI is like any other endeavor, you will get out of it what you put into it. For many, it means being a part of something great that nobody can take away from you. To do that takes hard work. Very hard work. And I only like to work with people who care about what they put their name on. Craftsmanship. Whiskey. Cars. Films. Life is too short to not care about what you work on. The Quakers (Look them up) made amazing furniture and wood crafts because they believe they’re honoring God by their own hands with their craft. I think that is a good mind set and the results are something infused with- love.

FIRE– I’m going to get after a few things today including getting some firewood around for the office stove. I do want to try some lump coal like my buddy uses in his stove. Longer burning and more heat. I’m also on a mission to organize even better this year. I will be putting everything to digital for back ups. I keep being asked about a podcast ‘Around the Fire’ at the fort. I am thinking about it. But I like the fort being a place of low tech and around personal synergy. Knights of the Round Table. Vikings in the Lodge. Monks in the temple. Development at CDI is not just projects, it is people. But people have to want positive change. Self defeating, self associated talk will draw all the negative to you and lower your own personal power. Birds of a feather, flock together. Misery enjoys company. Also believe to achieve. Positive perspective. Creative visualization. The mind is a powerful thing that can assist or hinder. That is why the KNOW THYSELF, rings so powerful. In the new year if you are struggling, fight to take control of the self. Start with your words. What are they? Sounds. Vowels. Symbols. But powerfully attached to our innermost self. MUSIC is a wonderful tool that can lead the mind in the places you want to go. I said, GO – not where you are. If depressed, there are many songs that will not help. But, certain songs help lead our mind. To use a modern term, learn your own triggers and trigger yourself in a positive direction. And DON’T trigger yourself by playing music or putting yourself in a situation, you know, you won’t react well too. Depressed. Don’t play depressing music. Steel drums and island music often puts a big ole smile on my face. Just something that I like to use as a tool. Music puts the mind in a different state and allows you to tune oneself. I use guitar playing the same way. If I’m feeling ‘out of tune’ a few strums can put me not just back in tune but vibrant. I’ve had many great business calls right on the heels of a guitar/energy tune up. FIRE. KNOW THYSELF. MUSIC. Three very primitive and useful tools one can use. I’m not sure if any of this will help anyone, but if it helps one person.

Until next week, coffee cheers!

January 8, 2023 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: 1099, action, An Ordinary Killer, animated, artists, associated, BEST YEARS GONE, blog, camera, cars, CDI, cdi distribution, Chasing the star, coffee, crew, Detroit, distribution, dogs, festivals, Figure in the Forest, films, fire, For the Love of Catch, Forty Night, Forty Nights, Germany, ghost town, guitar, Harsens Island Revenge, holidays, island, K1, knight chills, knights, know thyself, Labor day, locations, Lost Heart, maps, MBF, merchandise, Michigan, monks, music, Native American, NCG, nuggets, Owosso, Quakers, Randy Couture, records, scouting, showbiz, Silent Night in Algona, snow, Spirit Lake Massacre, stove, supernatural, tax, The Christ Slayer, The Patchwork Girl of OZ, The Quest Trilogy, thriller, video game, Vikings, whiskey, Wild Faith, wisdom | Leave a comment

SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA, Updates and More-

Hazelnut coffee cheers. Welcome new readers from Spain, Portugal, Philippines and more. We are into November and we had a run of warm above average days. But now, the cold winds have started to blow. We are due to see snow today so I’ll be getting the wood stove in the fort going. I spent some time chopping some wood this past week getting ready for these cold days ahead. We’re also entering the Christmas season, so I’ve been looking at a few love gifts here and there. Thanksgiving is not far away, but with our family stretched, it can be a task aligning schedules. Also with the Algona, Silent Night in Algona, premiere, lots of time being taken the planning. I want to again say, thank you, to all our veterans. CDI has a good reputation for tackling stories with soldiers at the heart of it. Take a watch on them, and let us know your thoughts.

TOP SEVEN UPDATES:

This week started off with a ZOOM meeting with our partners in Iowa, helping to set up the premiere and theatrical showing in Algona and beyond for SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA. We are working hard on credits but some of those will be spelled wrong if your handwriting is poor. There is no changes once it is all locked up. But between us all, we should get our premiere night list pretty close. If we do miss anyone or you don’t qualify, they will have public showings starting that night Dec 9th at Fridley. I thought we were running two weeks and I also heard someone was told one week. The truth is that as long as a demand is there the supply will keep flowing. So don’t wait, really hit that first week playing at the theatre. I heard companies planning to buy blocks of tickets for employees. We had schools do that for WILD FAITH, taking middle school history classes. That would be a good idea here also. The film is not yet rated but would be PG. 2 hour and 20 min runtime. While not one of these Marvel four hour marathons, it is a full story that moves right along with the pacing. The new trailer was released and my home video meetings for next year went very well. The release plan is to play in several cities on the big screen after Algona, Iowa. If you want it to play in your neck of the woods, contact your theatre and request it. After that we’re working to set up the Michigan and midwest showings that will run into 2023. Discussions for a German showing is also underway. The final run will be the home video build towards Christmas 2023 for DVD and streaming. This week we’ll be watching a mostly complete film with several VFX scenes dropped in. EXCITING!
Harsens Island Revenge, is in pre-production with our first step being the polishing of the script by the writer (me) and the director. Our director has asked to not PR anything yet as he is working to finish up a previous pair of features and we’re trying to stay focused on locking the script. We are 1/4 of the way through and should be close to finishing this week after another fun day of working the script. A few super sleuths have been digging, but we will not do things out of order, so early inquiry’s become just a distraction. Every move, is discussed in our development meetings. Once we have a locked script, and announce our director, many more people will get to see the script. Casting will be over the winter and crew talks will begin first of the year. We will film in Oct/Nov 2023, but this is another period piece that requires much advance planning. Our scouting trip was extremely helpful and this will be another great story featuring a piece of Michigan history.
Speaking on development, I was engaged to research and write another epic historical that takes place in the 1800’s, SPIRIT LAKE MASSACRE. At the end of the week, I finished my first draft. I now need to get in there and smooth and expand certain scenes. I plan to have a few meetings at the end of the year on this powerful story again taken from true events.
The previous releases this year BESTSELLER, BEST YEARS GONE, SMOKE & MIRRORS and FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH, have been finding their audiences. We have a few more reviews coming on these films. I love all the good folks who have reached out about enjoying the films. If you’ve watched any of them, please go to their IMDB or Amazon pages and leave your thoughts.
I’ve been slowly, pulling elements together for some of the films in the CDI library, being prepped to release back into the marketplace. GHOST TOWN, KNIGHT CHILLS, AN ORDINARY KILLER and FIGURE IN THE FOREST, we’ll see how many we can get out next year. Also, THE PATCHWORK GIRL OF OZ, CDI’s first feature length animated effort, is being rendered to HD for an upcoming release. I would love to do more animated projects and we have several things in development.
We’re prepping to do an end-of-the-year dispersement on the films before I start 2022 business taxes with our team. Associate Producer, John Mashni, who helps oversee this process, also will play a large part in areas of CDI moving forward. One area is soundtracks. I would love to have a few LP’s manufactured and of course streaming. What soundtracks would you want? I’m thinking an LP with the best of The Quest Trilogy. Have you seen the trilogy of biblical adventures? FORTY NIGHTS, CHASING THE STAR, THE CHRIST SLAYER, are all available to watch on various platforms but Encourage TV is free with ads. The 1st film just passed 2 million views on Encourage TV, so thank you!
LOST HEART, also released as BIGFOOT, UFOS and JESUS, is gaining strength. The film is approaching its first million views on Encourage TV. I think after the holiday season, we’ll exceed that milestone. On a personal level, I will look to cut an actors reel from my ‘Niles Cass’ footage. I loved working with everyone on that film, but especially loved Ponceman, Josh Perry. He is pure magic in the film.

The end of the year will be full as you can see. I sill look forward to some celebratory family time. The next couple years is being planned. Discussions on a few projects to add to the slate are underway. We will only consider funded projects at this time, but the tribe gets it done. If my polish on the scripts goes well, I’ll focus on a few other screenplays I’ve been working in my down time.

Acting has been part of conversations as of late. I had such a busy year, business-wise, I turned down two roles this year. I do enjoy the no stress of going and acting on someone else’s story. I don’t take a role just to take it, it must ring true. I will say the one role I have lined up for 2023, in Harsens Island Revenge is a good role. It is not the starring role but it is solid, a good role for me to play while producing. I’ve thought of looking at representation again, but getting someone up to speed is always a task. We’ll see, things are moving forward and I’m just gonna roll with it.

I guess I’ll wrap it up here. The LIONS play again soon and let’s hope they have a good game. My alumni MSU has been playing better so maybe a bowl game awaits. I’m looking forward to the World Cup starting this month. I’ve been healing up well from my soccer season and soon might start some indoor training. I hope all of you have a great Sunday! I’ll talk at you next week and we’ll share some new updates.

Coffee Cheers!

November 13, 2022 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: acting, Algona, amazon, An Ordinary Killer, BEST YEARS GONE, Bestseller, Bigfoot UFOS Jesus, blog, CDI, Chasing the star, Christmas, coffee, crew, Encourage TV, Figure in the Forest, For the Love of Catch, Forty Nights, ghost town, Harsens Island Revenge, holidays, home video, IMDB, John Mashni, Josh Perry, knight chills, lions, Lost Heart, Marvel, MBF: Man's Best Friend, Michigan, MSU, ponceman, screenplays, Silent Night in Algona, Smoke & Mirrors, Spirit Lake Massacre, The Christ Slayer, The Patchwork Girl of OZ, The Quest Trilogy, VFX, Wicked Spring, Wild Faith, world cup | Leave a comment

NEW ‘Silent Night in Algona,’ trailer, ‘For the Love of Catch’ DVD and more…

From concept to finish, you have to see it in your mind

Good morning. I’m sipping the hazelnut coffee and enjoying the last few days of October, one of my favorite months. I’m a bit slow getting going as I stayed up a bit later last night watching my alumni school MSU play U of M. Not there year, but it started pretty exciting. Cleaning. Organizing, Winterizing. The leaves are almost all done and I’ve been staying on top of those. I’m still cutting wood in prep for the winter ahead. I actually finally bottled my Frankenwine, finishing with either a raspberry or blueberry in the bottom. I like using a berry of fruit versus just adding a sweetener. The Frankenwine was made with raspberry, black raspberry, mulberry and a touch of hops. I tried it and while it’s strong, it is very drinkable.

I had to get some antifreeze and a new battery for the “Black Mamba,” my ride. I can saw that I’ve never really been a car guy. I like cool designs and such but really I just need reliable A to B transportation. My old Saturn Due is customized to my liking and has very low miles but now it’s ready for winter. Some folks are really into their cars. I could just not imagine driving some of these house on wheels, cars. I’m also going to wait a good decade before considering an electric car. I have friends that work in fire safety and new guidebooks are being done to deal with auto crashes containing lithium batteries. So I think I’ll just wait a few before going in that direction.

Let’s get to some film updates.

(Above – DJ, Tony, Dennis, Carl at a post session for ‘Silent Night in Algona’ )

Our recent release FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH will release on DVD, November 1st. many are enjoying this film streaming but soon it can become part of your library. Order here-https://www.amazon.com/Love-Catch-DVD-Curran-Jacobs/dp/B0BH96VCDX/ref=sr_1_1?crid=31IFQIHVO2APF&keywords=for+the+love+of+catch+dvd&qid=1667135347&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIwLjAwIiwicXNhIjoiMC4wMCIsInFzcCI6IjAuMDAifQ%3D%3D&s=movies-tv&sprefix=%2Cmovies-tv%2C138&sr=1-1
Conversations have happened about another doc in the For The Love Of Catch series. We’ll be looking at gathering the needed resources this winter for Spring 2023 shooting. A promotion event was also discussed but more on that later.
November 1st also begins the holiday window which is perfect for watching THE QUEST TRILOGY. Three films, Forty Nights, Chasing the Star and The Christ Slayer. We’ll start promoting them and one of them has hit a new benchmark at Encourage TV. (Passing TWO MILLION VIEWS) Again, that is only one platform. When you add up all the platforms, DVD’s and broadcast we’re at tens of millions. We thank you all and hope your family will watch these classics together.
We’ll have some big announcements coming concerning, Harsens Island Revenge. Some establishing shots will be filmed on the island and maybe a scene or two but having to rely on a ferry for schedules and/or getting last minute needed supplies, isn’t good for production. Right now, we have a town that we’re seriously looking at to double for parts of our island. Having interiors that haven’t changed too much from 1926 is also key. I’m about to start next week on my final script polish with our soon-to-be announced director. Once it is locked, my hands are off as a writer. We’re looking at a few key roles in the script now but will be opening up to looking at reels and doing reads this winter. We will be shooting in Oct/Nov 2023 and we’re all very excited about this roaring 1920’s story.
Staying with writing, I am over half way through on my first draft of SPIRIT LAKE MASSACRE. This will be the follow up project to film in Iowa. We don’t have any dates set as of right now just getting a powerful script is the goal.
SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA, is the front and center. The music and sound design is getting closer to done. Our composer Dennis Therrian, is scoring a beautiful soundtrack. Color correction is about done and the VFX are being finalized. Our editor/VFX supervisor will be coming in to help marry everything together mid November. I see some grilling in our fall future out at the ole Pine Studio.
Additionally, a new two and half minute SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA theatrical trailer is almost done. We had some major director/producer meetings this week over adjusting a few shots in the trailer. We’re all so close to it all but I sincerely think folks will love it. It will be shown at AFM market to a few networks and foreign territories. Home video will be on the lead up to the holidays next year in 2023.
But starting in December many will be able to see SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA, in theaters. We’re working with the town of Algona in setting up a premiere showing and afterglow on December 9th. Following our premiere, public showings will start at the Fridley Theaters, starting with Algona. The plan is to start with 2 weeks of showing and some companies are planning to buy blocks of tickets for their employees to go watch together. That’s a great idea. I know other theatre chains in the Iowa, Michigan and the midwest are being talked to. I’m just so happy with the final product. It is a beautiful story of unity, healing and hope that many people could use about now. Soon, my friends. Please do feel free to call Fridley theaters and encourage them to get movie times for the public shows listed.
This week, I have to send out one of the Knight Chills masters to see if we can get a better initial transfer. This is for the special Blu-Ray being put together for 2023.
Ghost Town, is also getting the digital enhancement treatment and a new 2023 release trailer is being cut. I’m excited to revisit that film with it being digitally enhanced. The Smoky Mountain western will ride again!

Shane, Mel and DJ scouting ‘Harsens Island Revenge’

I might be missing an update or two but there is a good ten point snap shot of our most current updates. To all the ghosts and goblins, be safe tomorrow night while collecting candy. I remember those days fondly. In elementary school, we had parades and classroom parties. I feel bad that the children don’t get to do that anymore. The world has its challenges and I try to help doing what I do best, tell stories. Thank you again to everyone that has reached out. I love hearing about your favorite films, moments and such. Keep watching and we’ll keep creating.

Happy Sunday!

October 30, 2022 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: AFM, Anthony Hornus, berries, blog, candy, Carl Weyant, cars, CDI, Chasing the star, children, classroom, cleaning, coffee, color, crew, Dennis Therrian, director, DJ Perry, DVD, editor, electric, football, For the Love of Catch, Forty Nights, Fridley theatres, ghost town, Ghosts, goal, goblins, Harsens Island Revenge, holidays, knight chills, leaves, mamba, Michigan, MSU, music, Nov 1, October, organizing, producer, Saturn Vue, school, scouting, Silent Night in Algona, sound, Spirit Lake Massacre, The Christ Slayer, The Quest Trilogy, trailer, U of M, VFX, Wild Faith, wine, winterizing, wood, writer | Leave a comment

Event Links, Interviews, Film Updates and Seasonal Thoughts…

And ADD ‘Lost Heart’ to that watch list!

Good morning. I’m sitting here sipping the coffee and writing to all of you. I want to thank all our readers from around the world stopping by to touch base. I appreciate all the artists out there taking the time to stop by and share a few moments of their Sunday. I’ve been still doing lots of film work on the developing, post flow and and release and PR aspects. I have a few podcast interviews I’ve agreed to do. Here is a recent one. Isaac has been a long time friend and his “mission” is positive content.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM2w-EVTRFg

What I try to explain is that at CDI we are not tailoring any film to FIT any particular audience save the age rating that we keep in mind. You don’t want to F-BOMB all over your PG film. I’m a lover of colorful language at times and I enjoy R -Rated entertainment. Sometimes it helps the story and sometimes it is just too much for my taste. Despite my start in horror films which I still love, I’ve always been more about atmosphere and mood vs slash and gore. I have several friends who that is their passion. I’ve reached a place where I enjoy the consistent flow of fan mail that says how this film or that film has helped them. As a writer I’ve really grown to enjoy those moments that ultimately teach us something good, bad or ugly. So bottom line we’re beyond grateful for the acceptance by the “faith film genre” but our films about faith – “those strong in faith, those lacking faith, finding faith, seeking faith, losing faith and holding on to what they have.”

Our films are for everyone to invoke tears, laughter and offer a different perspective through filters we all share. Moments of entertainment and escape from our own lives and to have a few message gems hidden within. The 50 year old me also loves not being up all night in a dirty location, covered in corn syrup (blood) which bugs LOVE by the way. Showing up on a western town set with a cup of coffee wearing a low hanging gun rig is a lot cooler to my body clock. I truly enjoy that after years of bringing other peoples stories to screen I’m finally getting my own stories told. And they are touching people and giving them hope and new understanding. I told someone in a meeting yesterday I’ve never been more proud to be a storyteller. I use to say that if we made a bad scene nobody dies on an operating table but we do have the ability to help many, many people. We’re still trying to pull the numbers in from our 2 day showing of LOST HEART on Encourage TV. We know it exceeded 30k views maybe as high as 100k and the beautiful notes followed.

I’m not so much into “shocking” people these days. If there is any shock I want to give fans/audiences is that person who watches Paul Landings in MBF: Man’s Best Friend and says “Is that DJ Perry?” that feels good. That film on Encourage TV (This is a paid by ads site where audiences can watch free w/ ads) but MBF is climbing to 700k watches and this is one stream. Our distributor monetizes dozens of streams and foreign territories. I’m excited to see all these films travel. The holidays are exciting because that is when families and friends watch films. And in these times of few recreational choices these stories are being watched more and more. I guess I just want to say thank you. To all the fans that have been with me since I was running bloody IN THE WOODS (Me as Rookie firefighter with Jim Grulich – fighting monsters) * Amazon Prime – to my newfound fans from playing Jesus in The Quest Trilogy, Ben Lily, Niles Cass, Paul and most recently the character study known as ‘Gil Gilles’ in BEST YEARS GONE now in post-production.

I’m going to ask you all to explore our films. Each one is truly hand crafted. You can tell the artists care about the stories. That has been true since the early days. You can see so much heart in Jeff Kennedy’s HEAVEN’S NEIGHBORS – a beautiful PG-13 film that we placed too heavy of swearing into for our audience. I told you I like colorful language at times. A live and learn in many ways. Followed by FIGURE IN THE FOREST also directed by Jeff Kennedy which was a beautiful story led by Dean Teaster who many know from our recent films. These have been pressed into a 2 DVD “Classic CDI Collection” and I’m exploring talks of uprezing as these were made in the SD (standard def) days. For next year we do plan on releasing KNIGHT CHILLS and FROM VENUS the first two films from CDI that was our playing with the horror and comedy genres. It is nice to have existing copies of these films. Thank you to those that have purchased.

PICK THIS UP AND SEE WHERE WE STARTED FROM-

https://www.ebay.com/itm/DVD-DOUBLE-FEATURE-Figure-in-the-Forest-2002-Heavens-Neighbors-2005-movie-/363016656566

But lets give a run down on a few of the current films-

ASHES OF EDEN – If you’re excited about BEST YEARS GONE recently filmed – directed by Shane Hagedorn – check out his first collaboration w/ CDI. It stars Melissa Anschutz and you’ll see many of the #TribeCDI – I play a lovable drug dealer named Donnie:) It is a great story that premiered to a 600 person crowd at the CCFF to a standing ovation. Shane is great at weaving emotional scenes and it shows in this earlier effort. Check it out free on Amazon Prime, Encourage TV likely Tubi and Pluto TV. Here is the teaser!

I LOVE the new campaign underway for THE QUEST TRILOGY – they are told in this 3 fold story that starts in the present, falls back to the past and leaps to the future. The thread in the three films is the Devil and the Angels which makes this a unique story. It explores the possible effect of all these events from the perspective of the angels serving and fallen. Please do take a watch on FORTY NIGHTS, CHASING THE STAR and THE CHRIST SLAYER. Happy Holidays! Leave your comments on the IMDB, Amazon pages and/or to me here.

WILD FAITH – We are aggressively in talks with a few parties about bringing back the Murphy family and friends from WILD FAITH in a TV series currently titled HASTINGS. I have written the first season consisting of eight forty-four minute shows. I’m looking at a few ways to put this together business-wise. I had a few “first right of refusal” situations not legally but by using good business fairness. I had a very productive talk this weekend that might give us the results we are looking for. The pilot feature WILD FAITH shows what a powerful world was created and these ongoing stories strengthen and carry forth the evolution of these beloved characters. The bad news is that I’ve been enjoying the lack of facial hair and soon I might have to start that walk back towards Ben Lily. I guess I could do that.

MBF: MAN’S BEST FRIEND – To answer a few fan questions – there is no immediate plan to do a sequel to MBF but never say never. Someone else asked if I had my eye on any action films. I still like films that are heavy on character drama and include action vs an action genre film. But do I have a Bruce Willis DIE HARD like movie in me? Giddy Up!

PS: There is a chance that MBF might play at the Capital City Film Festival Drive In Event since it was scheduled to play before the shut down and was nominated.

LOST HEART – A beacon of light and laughter that has been expanding across the USA and the world. I think the UK is getting to travel to Lost Heart. Our beautiful state of Michigan is giving a wonderful peek to the world. I haven’t gotten any real ‘Niles Cass’ fan mail, shadowed by that Josh Perry, love you buddy:) …but I’ve received many messages from viewers expressing their love of the story and characters. It brought them some comfort in these different and for many difficult times.

A few asked about the EVENT on ENCOURAGE TV. They are also playing the Cast & Crew Event – Enjoy!

PRE-PARTY FOR ‘LOST HEART’

The AFTER GLOW

The thing is I feel blessed by all the good things abound. I’ve always worked diligent and consistent as I find that gets bests results. Starting, Finishing and everything in between. I’m starting to develop a need for some breakfast although lunch is creeping up too.

WRAP UP:

We’ll be back in action finishing the filming on FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH doc film first of the year. We have some exciting merchandise conversations happening. We’ll be pulling the paperwork together on the WW2 film SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA early in 2021. Just take this time of holiday reflection to plan the upcoming year. What did you do that you want to repeat? What did you do that you want to remove? We’re all a work-in-progress and we can change our course with a handful of decisions. Be the change you want to see. Don’t worry about changing others just allow yourself to be a living example. Show people you are not lip service by leading by actions. Less talk and more self action. This holiday season be mindful to people and animals less fortunate and in need.

Enjoy the season.

December 6, 2020 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: afterglow, Algona, amazon, angel;s, artist, Ashes of Eden, bad, Ben Lily, blog, blogger, blood, breakfast, Bruce Willis, bugs, CCFF, CDI, Chasing the star, classic, coffee, comedy, Dean Teaster, devil, Die Hard, Encourage TV, entertainment, event, Faith on Film, family, fans, Figure in the Forest, film, firefighters, For the Love of Catch, Forty Nights, friend, From Venus, gems, Good, guns, Hastings, Heaven's Neighbors, holidays, horror, interviews, Isaac Hernandez, Jeff Kennedy, Jesus, Jim Gruelich, Josh Perry, knight chills, language, laughters, Lost Heart, MBF, Melissa Anschutz, merchandise, Michigan, mission, Niles Cass, Paul Landings, PG, pluto tv, podcast, R, racecars, readers, seasonal, Shane Hagedorn, Silent Night, tears, The Christ Slayer, travel, Tubi, TV, UFOs, ugly, UK, western, Wild Faith, writers | Leave a comment

NEW Casting, Premiere and Development Updates

Good morning everyone. WOW! Lots of new international readers from around the globe. Coffee cheers. This month has been a kick into a new gear as we’re preparing for a cast and crew premiere this weekend followed by two virtual premieres via ENCOURAGE TV (Nov 7th and 21st) and the start of filming end of this month on BEST YEARS GONE.

We’re looking at filling the new holes we have in our cast and crew. I know this environment has some people cautious and rightfully so but good communication is still a must. I had situations where I was chasing a few people down to try and get answers on availability. At the same time we had others (and still do) awaiting an opportunity to join the Tribe CDI on this next journey. My reminder is just for all of you to use good communication. I do NOT want artists I have to kick in the butt – CDI is full of aggressively passionate artists and that is what we are looking for. That said, many communicated very timely and I thank you. We are still looking at a few camera support and grip & electric roles. A few castings are still being discussed but the schedule is about done now and will start getting dispersed this weekend and start of the new week.

Along those lines I want to announce the additional of a humble Hollywood legend who is joining BEST YEARS GONE. My dear friend Lana Wood (Diamonds are Forever) will be playing a very funny part in the film. We’re all looking forward to seeing her and creating another wonderful story.

Our sponsors are starting to roll in also and with CDI films getting millions of eyes of exposure. This is becoming a great way for our partners to showcase their brands. I want to thank Lerma Transportation Inc. again for traveling with us again with their generous sponsorship. More to follow!

The LOST HEART project is so exciting as we get ready to show the world our next story. The cast and crew premiere has opened up some restriction-wise which is now allowing a few more to join. Our outside premiere will have a large drive-in like screen which will be a unique viewing. I go up there this Thursday to start the planning. After this event the national PR will continue and the film could play a few theater chains. I know they are hurting and we would love to help them if we could.

WILD FAITH and HASTINGS TV Series is gaining traction as the film keeps bringing 100,000’s of views a week and the 1st season of the TV series is almost planned out. I have a few meetings over the series in the coming weeks. We hope to roll cameras in the spring. Make the time to meet the WILD FAITH characters and enter into the world of 1870’s Michigan.

MBF: Man’s Best Friend – Thank you to all the good people reaching out after watching this film. The best thing I can say is leave a review and recommend it to friends and family. And the on-going question is will I showcase my martial arts in another film? If the right story calls for it is my best answer.

Speaking on that – I do have some new discussions about representation on outside films. My schedule is a bit busy but I do love the joy of just going off to act in a powerful story without the producer responsibilities. We will see this year is about full. Playing Gil Gilles in this next film will take me right to the holiday season.

One of my favorite things about the family and friend holiday season is THE QUEST TRILOGY. We did a unique trilogy of biblical adventures part 1 being FORTY NIGHTS, part 2 CHASING THE STAR and part 3 is THE CHRIST SLAYER. The distributor is doing a new trilogy trailer and I’m excited to see it! I think you will find these films different than many of the other films out there on this subject matter. So take a chance and take a watch this holiday season.

Behind the scene photos for the movie Renovation, which was shot in Yuma, AZ. The actors include Jonny Dark, Lana Woods, DJ Perry and others. Renovation the movie is about a group of house flippers who get caught up in a 20 year old crime spree when they take on a flip that just may be too big. Suspense Horror.

Also if you like the spooky and the haunting stories of the season I’ve done my share in my days. A few of the more frightening might be The 8th Plague, GPS, Deadly Renovation, Darkest Night, Bestseller, Darkest Night and if cheesy monster movies are your thing my first starring film IN THE WOODS might be your cup of tea.

An early CDI film that has a great fall look is FIGURE IN THE FOREST starring Dean Teaster and Mary Jo Cuppone and can be purchased on DVD with HEAVEN’S NEIGHBORS (Aaron Jackson/DJ Perry) in a limited run double feature. This is part of the CDI Classic Collection and will make a great stocking stuffer.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/DVD-DOUBLE-FEATURE-Figure-in-the-Forest-2002-Heavens-Neighbors-2005-movie-/363016656566

I want to do the same thing with CDI’s 1st and 2nd films KNIGHT CHILLS and FROM VENUS next year. I will start having it authored over the winter and will release it next year. If you haven’t seen the film KNIGHT CHILLS a good read and watch go hand in hand so consider buying the book.

Talking of books and stocking stuffers – the Cat book I participated in can be purchased now.

I’m going to wrap this up. I will say that the AUTUMN ALE has made an appearance at some of the meetings and was met with approval. It has a NEWCASTLE like taste if anyone is aware of the beer. We’re still harvesting from the garden and it’s about time to harvest another round of green beans. Who knows with the tomatoes a new batch of The Green Goblin? Maybe:)

SOON WE WILL SET SAIL! I’m going to update my master TO DO list and get things rolling for this coming week. I hope each and everyone of you enjoys the new season. I’m prepared for some hard work to get this next story in the can as we use to say when shooting film. Stay safe and be kind to one another including folks that have different opinions and perspectives than you. I will keep doing what I do and who sits in the White House will not change that for me.

Until next week. Coffee cheers! Coffee Sponsors?

October 11, 2020 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: Aaron Jackson, ale, artists, autumn, BEST YEARS GONE, Bestseller, blog, books, Callie Smith GRant, camera, cats, CDI, Chasing the star, coffee, Darkest Night, David Hayes, Deadly REnovations, Dean Teaster, distributor, DJ Perry, double feature, Encourage TV, faith, family, Figure in the Forest, Forty Nights, From Venus, Gil Gilles, GPS, Green Goblin, grip, Hannah Sweet, harvest, Hastings, Heaven's Neighbors, holidays, Hollywood, In the woods, knight chills, Lana Wood, Lerma, list, Lost Heart, Mary Jo Cuppone, MBF, MBF: Man's Best Friend, national, Newcastle, PR, premiere, review, season, sponsors, spooky, The 8th Plague, The Christ Slayer, The Quest, The Quest Trilogy, theatre, TV series, White House, Wild Faith, winter | 2 Comments

A Morning Reflection on ‘Mr. Brown’ and Updates From the Films – Casting/Crewing

Hazelnut coffee is toasty warm goodness on a chilly Michigan morning. Welcome my new readers from Vietnam, Indonesia, China and more. I suspect some of the new films are releasing to our friends in Asia. I know Poland, S. Korea and more have been licensing. Let’s start by talking about 10-4 two years ago. On a very different day which was warm and windy we said goodbye to Luke Brown (Mister Brown). He was our furry boy that we spent several years fighting his illness until we finally had to let him go. We did it at home and it was sad but beautiful and peaceful and not under any duress and for that I am thankful. Shortly their after we brought the “dog-faced gremlin” Finn McCool into our family and with him came happiness again. Today I awoke thinking about my boy and a glance at the date let me know why. I know many of you have lost those special family members and they always bring out the best in you. If you have been thinking of enhancing your life with a furry family member do so. And I encourage you to adopt and let the joy enter your life. Our old Daphne is still kicking it no longer quite the spitfire starting the play fights. She is enjoying her winter years for sure as is our remaining cat Lulu. You can read about Lulu as my contribution to the book-

My next contributing story is in a dog book and is about Luke Brown and his encounter with a reindeer. I will surely let you know when that is available in the next year. Yes. Lonnie (Book editor) we were at the Jackson hidden raceway.

Raceway? What am I talking about – well, BEST YEARS GONE! Our next CDI film is full speed ahead. We will gather to start filming at the end of the month. We will be looking at resumes and talking with recommendations for a few crew roles but also looking ahead to 2021 where we have a TV series HASTINGS coming together and a WW2 film. If you have strong office experience we will be looking at coordinators. On this film we also have a few crew spots in G&E and camera support. Feel free to reach out direct if you have the experience and/or interest in joining the tribeCDI. We have some incredible cast, crew, sponsors and a funny yet inspiring story to tell.

I mentioned WILD FAITH‘s growing audience giving spark to the TV series. I really want to bring this to Michigan and it looks promising. This winter I will make the push to get this fully greenlit (financed). This will require adding more artists to the CDI team. We might start working with a casting director just to help bring options to the table. We producers are mostly actors and enjoy taking the time and care to make sure the chemistry is proper.

Speaking of chemistry – I think audiences are about to be in for a treat with LOST HEART. This is week #2 of our national campaign and it’s exciting to see the build up. I know that the reaction has been great. Mike Huckabee saw our EPK (Electronic press kit) and watched our trailer and has invited Melissa Anschutz, Don Most and Victoria Jackson onto the show. We are getting ready to have our cast and crew premiere screening at the Double JJ Resort on the 17th of October. We are filming the pre-party and afterglow as part of the event premiere screenings via Encourage TV on Nov 7th and 21st. I will be having family and friends for the Nov 21st showing since I will be back from filming BEST YEARS GONE. We’ve been posting other interviews and PR that our artists have been participating in. Many of these are being posted on our Lost Heart FB page @lostheartmovie

THE QUEST TRILOGY – Anytime is good to take the adventure and watch FORTY NIGHTS, CHASING THE STAR and THE CHRIST SLAYER but the holidays make it even more special. Our distributor is doing a new campaign which includes a trilogy trailer. I’m excited but if you wanna get the jump on watching them – go right on ahead.

Okay I’ve spent the last 10 minutes trying to figure out these insert blocks vs writing – technology. I’ve had several fans reach out over MBF: MAN’S BEST FRIEND and I want to thank you. This pandemic had interrupted and killed some of the PR/festival/event roll out for this powerful film. That said, people in their own time are finding, watching and being moved by the film. As I noted in the opening Luke Brown was my inspiration and was beside me while I wrote the script. It is a great tribute to my furry buddy and I think it is connecting with many audiences out there. Take a watch free with ads on Tubi or Encourage TV and of course on Amazon and many of the other platforms.

SMOKE & MIRRORS – the music is done and our director Nathaniel Nose LOVED it. We’ll start to put the credits together as the color corrected footage comes to us from DP Jesse Aragon. I’m excited to finish this feature script over the winter for forthcoming production.

We’re currently attaching sponsors onto our Lost Heart premiere, our ‘For the Love of Catch‘ documentary film and onto Best Years Gone so if you have a company, product or service needing millions of eyes please do reach out. This week was also prepping for winter. This week wood was cut but some needs to be split on our Viking Days:) I racked the wine to the secondary this weekend. We brought out all the fall decorations. Our chickens are doing great getting to know their new home. We’ll do some more work around the homestead today and next week (tomorrow) -it’s back to the business! Coffee cheers. (LOOKING FOR A COFFEE SPONSOR!)

I apologize for losing my flow of words trying to figure out all this new block stuff on WordPress. I might have wanted to throw my laptop once this morning. Be kind. Be safe. And keep at your creative endeavors!

Talk with you next week.

October 4, 2020 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: ads, afterglow, amazon, apology, audiences, beer, BEST YEARS GONE, blog, Callie Smith GRant, camera, campaign, cats, Chasing the star, chemistry, chickens, China, coffee, color, Coordinator, creative, credits, decorations, distributor, DJ Perry, dogs, Don Most, Double JJ, editor, Encourage TV, endeavors, EPK, facebook, fall, family, fans, festivals, Finn, Forty Nights, friends, G&E, goods, gremlin, Hastings, holidays, home, Indonesia, Jesse Aragon, kind, laptop, Lost Heart, Luke, MBF: Man's Best Friend, Melissa Anschutz, Mike Huckabee, music, Nathaniel Nose, national, office, pandemic, party, Poland, PR, product, race, resumes, S. Korea, safe, script, series, service, Smoke & Mirrors, sponsors, The Christ Slayer, The Quest Trilogy, trailer, Tubi, TV, Victoria Jackson, Vietnam, Viking, Wild Faith, wine, winter, wood, wordpress, work, WW2 | 1 Comment

MBF Screening TONIGHT in Texas, Festival Dates, Development and More…

Welcome new readers from Vietnam, Canada, Israel and the UK and USA. We’re so very happy to have you joining us. With the spring forward in time we awoke to sunshine which is nice. Yesterday the winter stuff left and the spring stuff came out in the house. Snowmen decorations were replaced with rabbits and Easter items. We also did a full clean on the house and I’ve been working with the basement. I’ve been doing some repairs and cleaning after we got rid of our basement stove which we used at holidays but now we have two ovens with the new stove. So that older one moved along to a couple in need. Now I’m looking at getting a stand up freezer to replace our deep freezer. Organization of the homestead is an on-going thing. I’ve already started some of the yard clean up and I’ve enjoyed getting outside. Let’s look back on the week-

MBF: Man’s Best Friend which released at the end of 2020 is building momentum after its first WIN at the Equus Film Festival in Kentucky. This week we’ll be announcing a few of the new festivals and those in Bedias Texas can watch the film TONIGHT! See the ad above and so we’re excited that so many will get to see the film tonight.

We’ll also be announcing our participation in –

This is a large and growing festival in our backyard of Lansing, Michigan. We’re proud to be showcasing at this festival. The last time was the 600+ sell out of ASHES OF EDEN a few years ago. More details soon. Additionally we are officially in the ICFF (International Christian Film Festival) in Orlando, FL where once again we’re up more ‘Most Inspirational’ feature film which is my favorite. Why? Because it represents ALL the artists and we did what we setting out to do. Under the ‘People’s Choice’ I was nominated for ‘Best Script,’ ‘Lead Actor’ (Paul Landings) and ‘Best Filmmaker’ now that last one is my least favorite because they named me personally when we all know it is a team. So I take that last one for the entire producers team that works so hard. Either way we are so very appreciative and proud of the story.

LOST HEART

This beautiful film released the 1st trailer last week. If you missed it here it is again. Watch and share to your friends, family and groups. Melissa Anschutz stars with Don Most and Victoria Jackson and a slew of amazing talent. Music and sound design is underway as is VFX and color correction. We’ll be announcing DVD poster art in the coming days and working on our release. Enjoy and share!

WILD FAITH continues to be a top viewed film on Tubi, Valorous TV and Amazon Prime. Please do enter our world of Michigan 1875 and meet our cast of characters in this powerful drama. We’re putting the proposed deal together now for the TV series more once the ink is dry. This TV series will be a great thing for the state of Michigan. It will allow an opportunity for us to work with many artists in our state. Please do take a watch and let me know your thoughts. I look forward to playing Ben Lily again.

THE QUEST TRILOGY start your journey with FORTY NIGHTS follow it with CHASING THE STAR and bring it home with THE CHRIST SLAYER. This Easter watch the trilogy with your family and start a new tradition. These films are not ‘preachy’ and just present an interesting, powerful perspective to these stories. We also stole a page from ‘Star Wars’ and present these films in a cinematic fashion similar to the original three SW films. I think the merge of styles worked really well and I’m proud of this endeavor. It is what has given confidence to the WILD FAITH tv series mentioned above.

Rance Howard appeared in all three of the films. He told me playing the Devil was a career highlight after a career of ‘good guys’ he got to play the ultimate ‘bad guy’ – yes you did my friend.

BEST YEARS GONE is our next CDI venture. We announced Shane Hagedorn as our director. If you want to see his previous feature take a watch on ASHES OF EDEN on Amazon. We’re starting to roll out our cast members as we’ll enter official pre-production this coming week. We’ve been looking at DP reels from across the country and having talks. If you have a DP reel and want to be considered for the May shoot you can send it to me or to our director Shane.

We announced the first addition to the cast this past week. Some will recognize Jim from Man’s Best Friend as the Sheriff. I first co-starred with Jim in a monster creature feature IN THE WOODS, years ago. It was my first starring role. It will be a joy to once again share the screen with my old friend. Congrats to Jim! How about another cast announcement? I want to welcome another actor friend whom I’ve known almost as long as Jim. Mr. Greg Mason. Greg has been with Tribe CDI since our maiden film KNIGHT CHILLS those many years ago. Congrats to Mr. Greg Mason!

We’ll be announcing more amazing talent as we go. We’ll also be locking more crew end of this week also. It is going to be another great shoot and I look forward to working with everyone. Follow our FB and IMDB page for this and all the CDI films. We’ll also be starting to talk to sponsors and product placement partners.

WRAP UP

I submitted and had accepted my new story for the upcoming book on dogs at Christmas. I have two stories in the book release on horses and this fall 9/15 I believe…the book on Cats is released. I have one story in that book about our dear Lulu:)

I’m also returning to work on a few other screenplays. Development, development, development…and maybe a few TV shows:)

I’m off to get some breakfast and do a few things around here. Tomorrow I’m back on the attack with all our projects. Thank you all for your support. We appreciate it so very much.

March 8, 2020 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: actor, Amazon Prime, Ashes of Eden, basement, Bedias Texas, Ben Lily, BEST YEARS GONE, blog, Canada, Capital City Film Festival, cats, Chasing the star, Christmas, color correction, DJ Perry, dogs, Don Most, DP, DVD, easter, Equus Film Fest, family, FB, filmmaker, Florida, Forty Nights, freezer, friend, friends, Greg Mason, groups, Hastings, holidays, horses, house, ICFF, IMDB, In the woods, International Christian Film Festival, Israel, Jim Greulich, Kentucky, knight chills, Lansing, Lost Heart, LulU, Man's Best Friend, MBF, Melissa Anschutz, music, poster, producers, product placement, rabbits, Rance Howard, script, Shane Hagedorn, snowmen, sound design, sponsors, spring, Star Wars, team, The Christ Slayer, The Quest Trilogy, trailer, Tubi, TV, UK, USA, Valorous TV, VFX, Victoria Jackson, Vietnam, Wild Faith, winter, yard, Youtube | 1 Comment

NEW CDI Updates, Necroland and more…

GOOD MORNING

So this morning started with the news of an elder family member passing at the ripe age of 89. I had the pleasure of meeting him a dozen years ago and connected with him over several games of horseshoes. Yesterday marked the 3 years passing of our furry daughter Joplin who was with us for 15.5 years. Finn our new boy just celebrated his first year with our family. The wheel keeps turning. I’ve said before one of my daily goals is to just laugh. I focus and work extra hard on certain days so I can do in-person meetings vs just a string of calls. I push a business call or two and call to touch base and reconnect with old friends and associates. Actor/artist Terry Jernigan and I recently touched base after too much time. I have a list of people who I need to catch up with. This is all in-between planned calls with associates in other countries and time zones. I don’t love phones but until those Star Trek transporters are ready for commercial use, phone works. I asked Santa this year for one of those old school hold phones that plugs into your iPhone. I’ve been pretty good so maybe Santa will look after me.

A REVIEW

Speaking of iPhones – I met this past week with filmmaker Nathan Quinn. We were celebrating his finishing of his first 90 min feature installment of NECROLAND. With the amply amount of extras, effects, props and such the film has succeeded strongly in one place, it surely paints a chaotic world. The film unfolds in broad strokes that tries to reveal a world-wide crisis somewhere between magic and science. Think steampunk without the turn of the century feel. The show does have interesting characters but the film plays like more of a tv pilot. I say that because several groups of characters are introduced but few are fully developed. It reminded me a bit of the old GI-JOE tv show. This guy has a cool hat and a whip. This lady has some sort of cyber implants. But we don’t know too much of anyones backstory. I could occasionally see where improv performances struggled but I also felt a few real moments. I also have known Mr. Quinn for many years and he’s not a compromising type. NECROLAND has moments of feeling child friendly but the profanity and gun massacres with head shots, will hinder that. I’m speaking of distribution because I love Danny McBride, George Carlin, Redd Fox type humor. I’m fine with violence when it isn’t just going for shock value. But I understand there’s an audience out there for everything. But those that love the violence and the R-Rated aspects will want more of it and less “Goonies gone wrong” I think. I was also impressed with some of the editing work during the montage sequences. It was trippy and dare I say enjoyable, which begs Nathan who has a background in music – to maybe add a rocking soundtrack. If you played something like Black Sabbath’s “The Mob Rules” during some of those Necrit attacks! NOTE: I was quiet during lots of the production because I just wanted to see the story. A HUGE amount of man hours in that film not forgetting the stuff that pre-dated it and did not make the cut. I know he’s doing some polishing (I suggested color correction) for the DVD. I think a group of friends gathered together on a Saturday night could really enjoy this film. I think this film marks an important place in the Ironcore development. I’m more excited to see where it all goes from here. In a feature film direction – I would say a more targeted audience, fewer characters allowing more character development. But in a series format like LOST and countless others you can have 20+ main characters. I think Ironcore is going to start direct sales with the DVD so take a look when it becomes available. Congrats to my friend for leading a team of artists in using your imaginations and creating some cool art. Countless artists have been given a chance to participate in their own love of storytelling and being in front of the camera thanks to Ironcore.

DEVELOPMENT

It all starts with a script. I’m just about done with my read on the book I’m turning into a screenplay. I loved the character development and the gist of the story. I’m also honored the author wanted me to present the story in script. This film has the intent to distribute behind it and we’ll be shooting this later next year.

I had good meetings over our projects in development with our distributor. We discussed what has been moving strong at the markets. I’m enjoying this growing relationship as we keep telling our stories and they push them out into the world markets. One of the main topics and updates was on LOST HEART. Next week they will start concept artwork for the DVD cover. Our team has been getting elements over to the distributor. We will also be doing a watch on the rough cut before director Jesse Low fine tunes it.

MBF: Man’s Best Friend – the response is strong and growing. After the non-profit premiere success we’re pivoting a bit on the event theatrical. The film will play next month in Kentucky for the Equus Art & Film Festival. We have non-profit showings being set up for the first of the year in Lansing, MI and Naples, FL. But in the meantime keep passing the word and over the holidays make sure your family watches this powerful story.

WILD FAITH/THE QUEST TRILOGY – All the CDI films are enjoying time with families around the world. We just got some breakdowns of all the countries and platforms that are playing our films. Just like this blog it is a great international family of those who enjoy listening and telling stories.

I’m excited that the holidays are here. I have a dinner with old friends on Monday and Thanksgiving on Thursday. I hope you all enjoy some time with your family and friends.

Have a great week!

November 24, 2019 | Categories: actors, artists, Blogroll, filmmakers | Tags: Black Sabbath, blog, book, CDI, Chasing the star, color, Danny McBride, development, DVD, effects, Equus festival, extras, family, FL, Forty Nights, George Carlin, GI Joe, Goonies, holidays, iphone, Ironcore, Jesse Low, Lansing, LOST, Lost Heart, MI, Mob, Naples, Nathan Quinn, non profit, props, Redd Fox, Santa, screenplay, script, Star Trek, steampunk, team, The Christ Slayer, The Quest Trilogy, Wild Faith | Leave a comment

Countdown to ‘Man’s Best Friend’ and More…

Good morning. I noticed we have readers this last week from Serbia and Japan, welcome. As artists, as storytellers – we have a great opportunity to introduce ideas, in a non-threatening way via story. This has been a busy week since we also had a CDI commercial gig for a client. We do occasionally take on commercial jobs and this one required powerful narrative storytelling. Needless to say, it was a good fit. If things stay smooth we might put some more energy into the CDI commercial side, but feature film and TV will be our main focus. This week also saw additional project wrap up – crossing things off the To-Do list. It has been busy but that is a good thing. Let’s look at the top PR of the moment.

MAN’S BEST FRIEND – The NCG Theaters in Owosso, MI is hosting our two show premiere on Sept 14th. Many of our stars in attendance and the total net profit will go towards two non-profits. One benefitting wounded warriors and the other the local animal shelter. One of my dear friends and co-stars in the film has a significant other who is living her last days. They were sent an advance DVD to watch the film. It made me feel so good to hear the feedback. How it made them both feel. If we get a reaction out of that from our public audience – job well done.

Many actors dream of playing that cool good guy, speaking in that Christian Bale batman voice. Or playing the suave bad guy, like Ricardo Montalban. My character of Paul Landings is neither. He is a humble damaged person who gave everything he had for his country. In return he was given months of medical service and a parade back home. Ten years gone and he is just that guy around town. Maybe homeless or close to, with little to no support system. But I think when all these people are near the end of their rope, animals have given them a bit more time. Cancer of the body is one thing but cancer of the soul is another. As an actor who had a start in the hyper-critical horror genre I’ve suffered my slings and arrows. It isn’t always praise it can be rocks or roses. I was afraid of tackling Paul at first. I did not want to mock our fine soldiers and I did not want to be mocked. After countless hours of watching interviews, docs and footage of real wounded warriors coping with life I realized that my fear of going too far…was really just representing a mild case. It is at that point that I wanted to become Paul for all the Paul’s out there. The externally and internally wounded. The mild and the severe wounded – some require 24/7 parental care. I was no longer scared but prepared to put one story down so that it might cast a light on areas we all would rather ignore.

Fast foward – This Sat we will show the first audiences the story. It’s odd because I’ve shot another film since entitled LOST HEART, and my role in that film is well…happier:) I had found out days before camera roll on MAN’S BEST FRIEND that my beloved buddy Luke (Mr. Brown) whom had inspired some of the story and been with me while writing was terminal with cancer. After the immense heartbreak we have a new joy in a young puppy named Finn. But this Saturday I travel back to a different period of time. A darker period of time in my life. That is not to say that the film doesn’t have goodness and positivity to it all, I just had to live the darkness. My biggest challenge in my heart that keeps me from being thrilled is that I was able to take out my hearing aides and the coke bottle glasses and return to being DJ Perry. My friends and inspiring stories that helped me create Paul live on, struggling. I do hope this film will help turn a compassionate eye towards adoption dogs and our vets in need. This story is for my buddy Mr. Brown (Luke) seen above napping with his daddy.

WILD FAITH will be represented at Content 19 being recognized for a JUSTICE AWARD and for SET DESIGN.

Next month we will represent the film in AZ at The Wild Bunch Film Festival. More on this as we get closer.

We’re prepping The Quest Trilogy for a great holiday season ahead. We’re starting to look forward at the final 2019 projects and into 2020. I’ve cleaned out about 1/2 (300+) emails that I built up while shooting LOST HEART. That fine film is in editing and we’ll be meeting this week to finalize new TITLE font and discuss the first look trailer.

I hope to see some of you out this Saturday at the 1st release of MBF before the national theatrical and home video roll out. I look forward to talking with you all again on Sunday after the showings. I’ve going to finish my wood cutting for the wood stove in the office. Also have to give some love to the garden and yard. I’ve been enjoying all the veggies. I think this week will also mark the bottling of HOPPY GRAPE APE wine. Cheers!

September 8, 2019 | Categories: Blogroll, Uncategorized | Tags: BMG, Chasing the star, Content 19, Corunna, emails, Forty Nights, Grape Ape, holidays, hops, Lost Heart, Luke, Man's Best Friend, MBF, myCinema, NCG, Owosso, premiere, The Christ Slayer, The Quest Trilogy, The Wild Bunch, video, Wild Faith, wine | Leave a comment

A Season Begins – Holidays Ahead

Good morning everyone. Coffee skol!

With business, it’s been a crazy week but also exciting at the same time. Personally it was a mixed week with a memorial yesterday for my aunt. It was great to see all my cousins and uncle but the bubbly laughter of my aunt was missed. We are hosting a second puppy playdate today to see how our remaining dog Daphne interacts. We’re looking to bring another member into our little pack this month. The holidays are hectic but our personal schedules slow which allows for some bonding and training time.

The snow will soon come to lower Michigan and I’ve been working in the yard to try to winterize. Our Viking Thursdays have been cutting some wood for the fort/office wood stove. We had some good visits around burning logs this past week. Let’s discuss some of the battles from the past week.

I like to stay ahead – prep for upcoming things. Our distributor had a good response to MBF at mipcom and wanted a teaser first look at footage for AFM. I don’t like rush jobs but in two days the team pulled together a trailer for AFM. We need to sit back and fine comb the footage. A tailored music score needs to be added along with a re-recorded Voice Over. We are looking to have that done but at the same time we’re trying not to disrupt the work flow on – THE CHRIST SLAYER.

I’ve seen the rough DVD poster art that BMG is using at AFM. I like it. It’s a slightly different style from the first two and features some of the characters from the film. I know that is pretty common and some like that and others do not. Either way it’s very polished. I like our teaser poster and I look forward to sharing the DVD art soon. I have not seen the entire wrap. I hope to have theatrical info on the film so we can PR the entire release schedule.

WILD FAITH is also part of those theatrical talks. We’re also working the home video deal. That includes the celebrity narrator we’re adding to the film. We almost had that recorded in LA last week. We had a studio on stand by and I was coordinating between agent and our director. Shooting on a project running over nixed that session and now we’re looking at Nashville next Tuesday. I’m in hopes we can close that down soon. Another great 2019 release!

LOST HEART development is ongoing. What I like about this film is a zany group of characters whose antics and actions offset the heavier aspects of the script. It has several solid messages woven into the fabric of the script. It is more grounded versus some of the other more high concept stories.

I’m also enjoying my writing on the Sci-Fi project that I recently spoke to a distribution company about. The literary agent review will continue into 2019. The stories I wrote for the book collection of horse stories is prepping for release. I’ve got to return some paperwork on payment this Monday. I’m looking forward to more book contributions in 2019 also.

Our other holiday films FORTY NIGHTS and CHASING THE STAR are starting their holiday season. DOVE streaming, UpLift Network and more are featuring some of the stories. I’ve stated before in was a dream to have the trilogy play together every holiday season. Last year the first two films were playing often in rotation and I’m exciting to be adding the third THE CHRIST SLAYER. From Nov 1 – Easter is going to be a fun ride.

Fun also not just because of the business but because of friends and family. I’m going to end this so I can get cleaned up. We have the puppy play date followed by a family bday get together. We’re also putting away the ghosts and goblins and the Thanksgiving stuff is coming out. The squirrels are loving the remains of Halloween. Those pumpkins will not go to waste. Have a great week everyone.

November 4, 2018 | Categories: Blogroll, Uncategorized | Tags: AFM, art, aunt, battles, blog, BMG, bonding, business, CDI, celebrity, characters, Chasing the star, coffee, cousins, Daphne, dog, DOVE family, dream, DVD, easter, family, film, footage, fort, Forty Nights, friends, Ghosts, goblins, holiday, holidays, home video, jobs, LA, literary, logs, Lost Heart, MBF, Memorial, Michigan, Mipcom, music, Narrator, Nashville, office, pack, paperwork, poster, PR, prep, puppy, Sci-Fi, score, script, skol, snow, squirrels, studio, team, Thanksgiving, The Christ Slayer, theatrical, trailer, training, trilogy, uncle, Uplift Network, Viking, voice over, Wild Faith, wood, zany | Leave a comment

‘ROCKY’ Could Have Been A Faith Film and Other Coffee Ramblings…by DJ Perry

The chilly fall has settled into Michigan making sipping coffee or hot cider even more enjoyable. Now is when I have to start thinking of the winter ahead. The stuff that will have to be put away and stored. The firewood for the coming snow. Even the change of clothes to heavier layers, is a normal process in Michigan. I think last week we discussed something which was the delay in shooting our next feature by a quarter. The funds are there and so many would want to rush to production, the fun part. But, we’re putting the icing on the cake for a wonderful distribution deal on WILD FAITH. It has been a touch slower since I’ve had the joy of working with the Hollywood agent system. But, in the end it will be worth it and will directly have an effect on the TV series. Upcoming 2019 will see the major organizing of the release and push on the series. We are planning to shoot in Michigan. Likely a series of shows shot in a tight production block. It’s new waters for me so I’m learning something new every day.

Tomorrow we’ll announce via PR our recent Crown Award and the Burbank International Film Fest win for ‘Best Faith Film’ and while I would have loved to have it gone against all the films – they work by genres. But WILD FAITH is just an accurate look at 1870’s life. As the screenwriter I did not add any overdue FAITH. People we’re just more living in tune with their faith during that time period. Life was more wooly and I think people had more life and death encounters be it disease, drought, famine, bear attacks – you get the point. I love the faith and inspirational themes. ROCKY being one of my favorite illustrations of that. On his way to the fight – the father priest throws down and few blessings. Yes. ROCKY could be a faith film and it would have surely won ‘Best Inspirational’ as I’ve seen it inspire masses and I’ve been inspired by that film. My point is, I’ve never set out to make a ‘Faith Film’ and I’ve never set out to not make a ‘Faith Film” – I’ve told a story. Characters in almost all stories are confronted by a situation that tests their faith thus the relatable conflict.

Dorothy in The Wizard of OZ must find her faith. Indiana Jones fights to keep his faith versus his scientific reasoning, Men vs shark in JAWS, puts faith out there to be chewed upon as a topic. I think every film made about mankind has faith woven into it. So, is it that the content must have X amount ‘faith’ in it? Judges in chairs that spin around and hit a button if your film has the required ‘faith’? I appreciate it mostly, the acceptance to our films. But because the story, characters, situations, lessons were all something that were touched upon. That shed a bit of light on our faults projected onto a screen, so we can better understand ourselves. Deep. I know. Occasionally, I feel quite grand with my profession, pride like a good woodworker, or any other artist. Mostly, I still feel like that kid, make believing with my neighborhood friends living out our own STRANGER THINGS life.

I’ve changed some in my screenwriting, I’ve noted. My earlier self was darker, heavier and nihilistic. My mom often questioning, why I kept dying in my films. Now, I’ve always had a funny, lighter side to my personality, ask anyone who really knows me. But, most of my writing came in my moments of solitary. Also writers in Michigan benefit from our long winters but the end result is often PSYCHO or THE SHINING writing in nature. Those previously mentioned films are two of my favorite for the season. Another side note: I do want to do another horror film but it has to be good. By good I mean story. Creating horror films in the handful of story formulas is like a rite of passage. The lovers of that genre cannibalize the artists with dastardly reviews. But meet them in person and they’ve always been very nice. Maybe because they saw you on camera foaming at the mouth and swinging an axe. Anyway, I was saying that I enjoy the laughter and smiles. I recall many showings of WICKED SPRING whereas people wept in the theater. We did that with our story. But I see so much negativity and anxiety with people not coping to our new world. A world where we’re more communication-connected than ever before BUT we’re not. FRIENDS have a new definition thanks to FACEBOOK but my definition stays the same. I want to be part of making people think, smile, laugh and still occasionally cry, if that comes with an enlightenment.

The ‘Faith Film’ anti-goodhousekeeping seal of quality is being shattered as more storytellers (without labels) are returning to tell stories that their grandmother, mothers and fathers would enjoy. Ben Hur (The Original) and Ten Commandments (The Classics) were always on TV when we had our family Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter gatherings. There are great organizations that are rising to recognize and award this kind of content. I always worry about censorship, we can choose to watch what we want. But if a demand is there, look at the rise in METV, Heroes & Icons, and the rise of the faith market. People are casting their votes with their rentals and purchases. I feel most honored by the online communications from viewers having powerful emotions invoked from our stories. It is a dream to have holidays where the films play and families bond over a watch. My goal is to make a few classics. All of them might not make it but we’ll give our ‘best effort’ every time.

I was reminded yesterday when inquiring about a director whom a close associate had worked with – their last film isn’t done. It hasn’t been completed in a matter of several years. As an actor, I’ve got two films shot in recent years, one a co-starring role, not finished. I’ve got a call, meeting, catch up with a director friend who’s trying to finish one of two projects we did together in the very distant past. It bothers me occasionally talking someone’s new project(s) when those people have loose strings to tie up. There are many films about that don’t interest me as a viewer, but I always tip my hat to finishing. Finishing is a skill needed in this industry, without it, suffering. But it sounds like my old friend is trying to finish, so that’s a good thing.

This week I finished my first solid draft on our next script with BMG entitled LOST HEART. In meetings with our distributor, they really liked a concept made easier that I had written something in the same vein. But I wanted to apply some of the growth I had made mentioned above. Same log line but different script. I had a wonderful time creating this story and it became so alive with characters and a world, other’s will long to visit. Jeff Kennedy and I, my partner in CDI, semi-retired – always had that as a goal. To create a world and invite people inside it. The CDI first five – really helped hone this craft. You have to BELIEVE in the world. Another 2019 goal is to get Jeff Kennedy back into a director’s chair. I have a few good ideas but they will require a good pow wow or two.

MBF has been in editing. They shot a few pick up establishing shots and transitions this week. Always good to do this once you get into the edit and really see what could be added. This film I’m so proud of. It showcases and pleads for better treatment of our war vets and dogs, that can heal us. We continue to release official stills from this film. For now the spotlight is given to…

THE CHRIST SLAYER!

Find our social media site on Facebook – lots of updates.

https://www.facebook.com/thechristslayer/

Part 3 has a bold name. But the title has a meaning that audiences will discover, maybe not what they thought. I’m excited to say that Part 3 of The Quest Trilogy is coming all together. I watched a recent 5k work flow version with 98% VFX. Color Correction and conforming still lie ahead. ADR, music and sound design are steadily under construction. I’ve been working with the distributor and their marketing team as we prepare for release in early 2019. I was really happy with the story, smiling throughout. I love watching artists friends give moving performances. That’s what we want deep down. To captivate and transfer that emotion via story. This will be an exciting watch and so again, catch up – parts 1 (FORTY NIGHTS) & 2 (CHASING THE STAR) on Pureflix, Amazon Prime, Google Play, Christian Cinema, Parables TV….and so on. To our cast and crew, it will be worth the wait.

Okay, time for a pumpkin spice english muffin and another coffee.

Have a great Sunday!

September 30, 2018 | Categories: Blogroll, Uncategorized | Tags: actor, ADR, agents, Amazon Prime, anxiety, axe, Ben Hur, blog, Burbank, cake, call, CDI, character, Chasing the star, Christian Cinema, Christmas, cider, classic, coffee, color, Commandments, Crown Award, design, distributor, dogs, easter, edit, emotion, facebook, faith, faith films, father, firewood, Forty Nights, funny, goal, Google Play, heal, Heroes, holidays, Hollywood, horror, Incons, Indiana Jones, Jaws, Jeff Kennedy, Judges, Lost Heart, lovers, marketing, MBF, MeTV, Michigan, music, negativity, oz, Parables TV, pumpkin, Pureflix, reviews, Rocky, screenwriting, script, situations, snow, sound, stills, story, Stranger Things, suffering, Sunday, team, Thanksgiving, The Christ Slayer, The Quest Trilogy, TV series, vets, VFX, war, Wicked Spring, Wild Faith, work | 1 Comment

The Loss of a Mentor – and Film Updates

We have our first readers from Iraq and Spain and so welcome to ‘Clawing our way to the Middle‘ blog. I’ve got the hot coffee in hand and seeking the right words here. Last night I was having a few old friends over to the office to sit by the fire and talk old times. Just before people showed up I heard news that my dear friend Rance Howard had passed away. We met in Benson, AZ while shooting on ‘Miracle at Sage Creek‘ and bonded over breakfast at Denny’s with his wife Judy. Rance later went on to join us on “Dean Teaster’s Ghost Town” whereas he played the father-like figure to my character. Rance loved our church scene in that film. Here is a few clips.

He could not join us on “The Book of Ruth, Journey of Faith” because he was working with his ole friend Andy Griffith. But when The Quest Trilogy came along he grew a beard for the first time in many years. He was excited to play “The Devil” after a lifetime of good guys. Play it he did in all three “Forty Nights” and “Chasing the Star” out on Amazon Prime now. His devil turn in “Forty Nights” won him best lead actor at the International Christian Film Festival. I’m proud that we still have “The Christ Slayer” coming in 2018 but I’m a touch sad that he will not get to see it. I remember on “The Christ Slayer” the two of us in that boat in the middle of the night – holding hands. We shared so many deep talks both about the role and about life. To pass at 89 years of age – working right up until the end is an inspiration. He was truly a mentor to me. One man who had truly been there and done that and he actually cared about my career. Very few people take that kind of time and nurture but you can see that manifested in his own family. He was supposed to play a funny role in “MBF” and we had always wanted to do this “Algona” WW2 POW/Xmas script but that was not meant to be. He was my source expert when I was writing. He was a dairy farmer and had first hand experience of WW2 so his input was vital. I know that Rance touched many people’s life and made us all feel important. He would walk between working with Russell Crowe followed by DJ Perry and never made you feel any less. Actually the opposite, as he made you feel great about being a storyteller. He was deep with his characters and he always came with lots of notes, ideas and intuitions. He will be greatly missed.

Where do I go from there…?

Forty Nights and Chasing the Star has been getting a great holiday push here in the US/Canada. Chasing the Star has been licensed to Netherlands to a network called Family 7. Forty Nights might be right behind it. Also the films are looking to invade the UK and I will have more details on that soon.

The Christ Slayer is just finishing all the VFX and final edits preparing to move into post music and sound.

That means…

Wild Faith is preparing to come out of post sound/music. The VFX are all in and end credits are being tweaked. The last step is color correction along with the audio mix. I’m excited to roll this film out and I feel good about our chances of rolling a series out behind it.

The storm cometh

MBF – now has the bank account open. We need to start collecting paperwork and checks and also drum up the final investment units. We’ll be announcing more castings in the run up to Christmas. A lot of wonderful support for this film.

If yesterday put anything front and center for me it’s to keep following your path. I don’t know how many films I have still in me but I’ll keep creating and moving forward. Cherish those mentors in your life while you can and remember to turn around and mentor those around you. The holidays have been filled with joy and today we will decorate the beautiful tree.

Be good to one another.

November 26, 2017 | Categories: Blogroll, Uncategorized | Tags: 2018, actor, Algona, Amazon Prime, Andy Griffith, audio mix, bank account, Benson AZ, blog, boat, Canada, career, castings, characters, Chasing the star, checks, Christmas, church, coffee, color correction, dairy farmer, Dean Teaster's Ghost Town, dennys, devil, DJ Perry, family, Family 7, Forty Nights, friends, holidays, ideas, International Christian Film Festival, intuitions, Iraq, joy, manifested, MBF, mentor, mentors, Miracle at Sage Creek, music, netherlands, notes, nurture, paperwork, post sound, POW, Rance Howard, Russell Crowe, Spain, storyteller, The Book of Ruth, The Christ Slayer, The Quest Trilogy, Time, UK, US, VFX, Wild Faith, WW2, Xmas | Leave a comment

Leaks, Tweaks and Updates…

Welcome readers this week from China and S. Korea. So while many think artists are always living the “star life” it’s often just like yours. My day started with a leaky shower head that decided to start leaking despite being quite new. It’s those moments when you sincerely wish you couldn’t just act or pretend to be a plumber or handyman but actually were one. So that led to a few trips to get hardware and ended up with a temp fix. We will be contacting the manufacturer due to the lifetime warranty. So my Sunday morning was not the peaceful one I had first imagined. So is life.

The week just flew by and I had so many things going. First development on MBF (Man’s Best Friend) continues with the announcement of Garry Nation and Melissa Anschutz joining the cast. We have many of our $ commits but are not quite far enough to move into pre-production. Also several new opportunities for cross-promotion (J-Roc) have developed. So while DJ the actor is disappointed a tad that instead of running the race it’s back to the barn for a few weeks. I might ACTUALLY be HOME for Halloween. That is nice. I enjoy doing that last film of the season just before Thanksgiving and enjoying the holidays with family and friends. I have adjusted and we’ll meet to target the after holiday window. We’ll be looking at Feb pre-production and March shoot. I’ve again had to remind myself of that spiritual storytelling reality that a project will birth when it is time. Don’t fight the flow and watch things unfold. Unfold they have…

WILD FAITH

I’ve had back and forth with our director Jesse and several others trying to finalize some specialized VFX within 10 sec of our footage. We’re close to zeroing in but have not as of yet. It is still all happening within the timeline of the music scoring which is in the final stretch. Very soon we’ll be doing a watch through with full music. The film was powerful when it was just sound effects so this next level will be awesome to watch/listen to. Stay tuned for new artwork and other extras as we get closer to bringing this to audiences.

Garry Nation in “Chasing the Star”

THE QUEST TRILOGY

I had some great marketing meetings this week and I’m excited. The films were praised for being epic and original. Many of the epic films being produced are remakes of great films like Ben Hur. It was brought up that if anything in a few decades filmmakers would be remaking these films. That was a unique way to look at it. I do have movies a few decades old still playing and finding new audiences. We’ll talk about one here shortly. So they (distributor/marketing) see the influence of Star Wars on the look and presentation of these films. And the unique/untold aspect to these films are also what excites them. The line in CHASING THE STAR that says something to the effect “They may not remember you but they’ll remember your deeds” – which is true. Many save certain scholars know of the existing patchwork history. When you talk the three wise men, faces don’t come to mind save plastic, wood or stone faces. I do hope that we will blaze new story ground in the mind’s of people when the think of Jesus in the desert, the magi’s plight and…well, you’ll have to watch THE CHRIST SLAYER next year. The first two films (FORTY NIGHTS & CHASING THE STAR) were sent to Texas for theatrical play this month and next. And, we’re at the end of finalizing the first foreign territory for CHASING THE STAR.

THE CHRIST SLAYER is progressing nicely on the visual and will be moving into music and sound in Jan. I will say that I’ve been watching the development of the poster for the film. COOL. That is my thoughts so far. It is just a great story again original in the presentation. Some beautiful characters creating beautiful moments. Lots planned for this title but no need to over promote when audiences should be watching Part 1 and Part 2.

WICKED SPRING – I’m happy to announce ahead of time to all of you that Bridgestone Multimedia Group will be releasing into the market place this wonderful Civil War story. I produced it with our team in 2000 and it rolled out in 2002 timeframe. We also just had the 150th anniversary so I wanted to re-release the film to celebrate that benchmark. The project will release in early 2018 and it is the first real digital release for it. Shot on 35 mm it was first released on VHS. I think the first audience was Civil War reenactors and history lovers. Now more of the mainstream will discover the film. And having used these fine people in our new film WILD FAITH I have something I wanted to say. These people/groups trying to attach some hate agenda to this living historian interest/profession is just wrong. Not sure of the facts but some of these events to raise money to preserve these historic sites had threats. People of all races and religions participate in these events. They have groups of black Americans who love history and are right they’re portraying the Colored Companies while some even portray Confederates. I’ve seen Asian and Indian people participating. These people united over a love of history. They dress and camp in the style of the period and talk, share and bond over history. These events promote understanding and healthy discussion. That has been my experience working with these people and if these threats are true that’s just too bad.

KNIGHT CHILLS – I’m going to look at the offer to have me attend a few of these comic cons. After listening to some of the fans out there I can see where it would be fun.

This week was great for meetings that looked at development of future CDI projects. Everything from financing to new distribution. Marketing to merchandising. I will just keep walking the path and crossing off the TO DO’s.

I’m gonna sign off and I’m sure I missed a few updates. Enjoy the season and we’ll talk next week. Thank you for stopping by.

October 15, 2017 | Categories: Blogroll, Uncategorized | Tags: $, 35 mm, actor, asian, barn, Bedias, Ben Hur, black, blog, BMG, camp, CDI, Chasing the star, China, civil war, Colored, cross promotion, distribution, DJ Perry, family, Feb, filmmakers, financing, foreign, Forty Nights, friends, Halloween, handyman, history, holidays, Indian, J-Roc, Jesse Low, Jesus, knight chills, life, magi, Man's Best Friend, March, MBF, merchandising, music, plumber, readers, S. Korea, season, sound design, Texas, Thanksgiving, The Christ Slayer, The Quest Trilogy, theatrical, To Do's, VFX, VHS, Wicked Spring, Wild Faith | Leave a comment

Want Versus Wise – Know the Difference

Good afternoon everyone. I want to welcome our new readers from Ireland and Spain. See there are artists like ourselves in every corner of the planet ‘Clawing the way to the Middle‘ – and we share some of the same challenges. I’ve often referred to these films like children and it is true. As an actor/producer I have found myself often divided about what I want and what is best required/wise for a project. In those cases you put the child (Film) before your personal. I’ve been working hard with our CDI team on the new film knowing we would roll into pre-production/production either before the holidays or after. From a company owner – to film before means we could be filming something else after the holidays. From a producer stand point – more prep is always good. Flights after holidays will be cheaper versus before, schedules and such. From the actor point of view I’ve been working to “peak” at the right time. Those into athletics will understand the peak. It could be both physical (looking a certain way for a role) and mental (getting more tuned in to that life). I was prepping for the first possible shoot window. We have a work flow that we follow that is based on best chance success for the film. We’ve been bringing on the financial backers and we’re roughly half solid. But with required prep time to bank everything plus cast/crew contracts, travel etc…we have an evaluation deadline of Monday. I will evaluate everything at that point and decide if we will move focus to after holidays.

People might be surprised that I too feel the same creative itch every other actor feels. I feel like the ‘Call to Races’ has sounded and I’ve been brought to the starting gate. Now…do we get to run or do we get led back to the barn for a few more weeks? In these situations – I’ve seen projects fly together in six months and I’ve seen development hell that dragged for a dozen years. Faith in the knowledge that a story WILL be told when it’s time for that story to be told helps. I’ve seen other groups ill-equipped to launch a ship do so anyway, led by passion. Note, many ships have ran aground the rocks because of lapse in judgement and passion. So at end of business tomorrow the course will be set. I’m actually starting to feel better as the actor if I have to return to the barn for a short stay. I bottle up that energy and use it for when I do get to go into ACTION. I’m so excited by this new story and that grows harder with each film. After you’ve played so many roles – you’re looking for that one moving role. Paul Landings in MBF is that role. If an “after the holidays” shoot turns out to be the case – audiences will get to meet our upcoming cast week by week in our PR. Our talent will enjoy the holidays while sinking into their upcoming roles. You’ve been introduced to Tim Abell and Tony Becker in our last press release. Two amazing actors and just wait until you meet our other artists. This project is gaining strength as more people are exposed to our powerful story. It is the way of things.

With Shane Hagedorn

The Quest Trilogy

Forty Nights will play Texas in November followed by Chasing the Star on the big screen. We will start to release these cool art pieces focusing on the trilogy starting with Forty Nights, this week. Also I’ve got meetings upon meetings this week concerning Chasing the Star which has numerous PR campaigns gearing up by our distributor. I also know that this week we’ll be putting the final touches on the first of many foreign licenses. I finally got to hold the two DVD’s in my hands. What beautiful packaging BMG did. When I was proofing the films for delivery to Texas I had to just smiled. Watching them play out back-to-back was just eye-opening. I’ve been doing this a long time now and these projects are surely something to be proud of. It feels like just a few years ago I was getting friends together after school with the video camera to make our silly films.

The Christ Slayer is the 3rd film in the trilogy and not long ago audiences were treated to the powerful first trailer. Directed by Nathaniel Nose, this film is having VFX work done and will move into post sound/music in Jan. But I’ve also been lucky enough to see some concept drafts of a new poster. That is on-deck and we’ll have something for you real soon. Stay excited:)

With Tony Hornus

Wild Faith – The VFX work continues and music is now at roughly 60 minutes. I’m excited about watching the next phase with music. It was strong to watch with just sound design and now music will just make it all soar. The goal is to have the film completed by years end.

I had mentioned that we would also start releasing some of the films from the CDI library with Bridgestone Multimedia Group. That is happening and we’ve got a deal before us now. So next week I should have an announcement.

I finished reading the KNIGHT CHILLS book that also has a film link. I cannot say how fun it was to read the book by David Hayes. I’m also in talks to possibly attend one of my first comic cons supporting this book. The book is based on the screenplay by myself and Jeff & Juanita Kennedy. I am trying to move the filming of Knight Chills 2 higher up on the production slate. There are plans in motion:)

OK. Well I’m going to sign off here. I need to look at caulking this roof that covers the firewood. I think the office will be getting a nice wood stove fire tonight. Yesterday my alumni school MSU taught UofM the law of the jungle. I hope everyone has a good week ahead.

October 8, 2017 | Categories: Blogroll, Uncategorized | Tags: actor, Alumni, artists, atletics, barn, barns, BMG, cast, Chasing the star, children, crews, David Hayes, development, distributor, DJ Perry, filming, films, financial, flights, Forty Nights, friends, holidays, Ireland, Jeff Kennedy, Juanita Kennedy, knight chills, knight chills 2, MBF, MSU, music, Nathaniel Nose, passion, Paul, peak, post sound, poster, PR, producers, races, screenplay, ships, Spain, Texas, The Christ Slayer, Tim Abell, Tony Becker, UofM, USA, VFX, Wild Faith, wood stove | Leave a comment

Fighting to Get Into Pre-Production, Halloween Films and More…

The chill has settled back into Michigan and this week the harvest moon will symbolize what we already know – winter is coming. It has been a productive week and I’m excited to see how it plays out. We’ve been gathering commits on our new film MBF. We’re hovering around the half way point and we’ll see if we can get the last commits this week. I will have to make a decision on Monday after next to see if we shoot pre-holidays or post-holidays. Now we’ve got lots lining up for the pre-schedule but everything has an order. I heard this week about a project that again was filming with not much of a script or schedule. “Winging in” is not the way we do things at CDI. Projects are hard when you do everything orderly and when they are just improvised – I can’t imagine. Not with anyones investment that is – but people do take that path. So we’ll see if this new project is meant to go in the fall timeframe. I’ve had some great time spent exploring the subject of the wounded warrior. I’m proud of the announcement this week of myself and Bobby Henline in the cast. We’ve got lots of military folks working both sides of the camera and we’ll work hard to tell a powerful story. More casting announcements this week.

The Quest Trilogy Updates

Forty Nights and Chasing the Star are getting some good watches by the audiences out there. I think for a few people the presented ‘world’ of Chasing the Star is a new view. Many want to see the mysterious three men from far away bringing baby Jesus some gifts. Cue the Christmas carols – no. The world of King Herod was brutal and while we don’t go full dark we don’t sugarcoat the world. To understand the possible reality of the world puts a renewed realism to the story. So while some may lament the lack of joyous pageantry others applaud the realistic take. This November and December in Bedias Texas at the Miller theater the first two films will play. One in November and one in December. DVD and streaming are for sale now and please do take a watch. Our goal is to create a trilogy of films that can be enjoyed anytime but especially during the holidays. The third film The Christ Slayer is full steam on a larger list of VFX shots. It will be completed around April 2018 before some theatrical play and home video release. A poster is now in the works.

Forty Nights streaming

https://www.amazon.com/Forty-Nights-DJ-Perry/dp/B07555FR6R/ref=sr_1_1?s=instant-video&ie=UTF8&qid=1506864789&sr=1-1&keywords=Forty+Nights

Forty Nights DVD

https://www.amazon.com/Forty-Nights-DJ-Perry/dp/B07555FR6R/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1506864923&sr=1-2&keywords=Forty+Nights

Chasing the Star streaming

https://www.amazon.com/Chasing-Star-Yancy-Butler/dp/B074PWBBYP/ref=sr_1_1?s=instant-video&ie=UTF8&qid=1506865043&sr=1-1&keywords=Chasing+the+Star

Chasing the Star DVD

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074R58HRR/ref=dp_mv_of_dp_0

Wild Faith is now entering the last quarter of music scoring. We have a small list of important VFX plates that still need to be completed but we are close to having a finished feature.

The TV series development is going pretty good but until I can show the pilot feature I don’t think I can bring the deal full circle.

Other Developments

Pending my shooting schedule I’ve been asked to possibly appear at a Comic Con promoting KNIGHT CHILLS which was released this year as a book. When the author told me that I might be surprised by the amount of fans out there I was suspicious. The film was our first attempt at a feature film and while it has its moments we clearly missed the mark in a few places. But like all CDI properties it was made with a lot of TLC. I had a great pod cast brought to my attention. Instead of all the HATE, yes haters existed even back in the early days. My secret was just working harder while others waited. Anyway, with the book readers get a free watch on the original film. I’ve been reading a little bit of the book each night before bed and it’s really good. It is a great Halloween/Christmas (Yule) season film. But we’ve done some development on a sequel script and if this new interest continues it just may happen. Listen to the podcast here.

https://tapetalk.bandcamp.com/track/56-knight-chills

The book can be found at amazon and will make a great gift to anyone into fantasy, Conan, Lord of the Rings, AD&D and such.

BUY IT HERE

https://www.amazon.com/Knight-Chills-DJ-Perry/dp/1945940174/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1506865837&sr=1-1&keywords=Knight+Chills

I’m also close to releasing the book WILD MICHIGAN that was written off my original script. The script was re-written for budget and a tailor fit film that became Wild Faith. I think people will enjoy reading the original story as adapted by author Dee Freeman. I plan to launch it in October and we’re getting close.

This week we’re writing some money out to investors and that always makes me feel good. I’ve got films from the library that will be prepped for upcoming release in the new year. My discussions with agents continues since I do have a few scripts I would like to sell off. I also would like to work with an agency for packaging but while this things could make certain things easier I will move forward and just see what develops.

DJ Perry as “Mason” in THE 8TH PLAGUE

I’m going to go refill the coffee cup. I want to harvest a bit more from the garden before having the mothers over for an early dinner. Grilled venison steaks are what I will be cooking. I also need to light a fire in the office. It was a touch chill when I was there yesterday. So enjoy the rest of your morning. If you get a chance watch a few of the films and if you enjoyed the watch – recommend it to your friends. If you’re into horror films I would recommend maybe The 8th Plague, Darkest Night, GPS the Movie just to name a few.

Be good to one another and have a great week!

October 1, 2017 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: 2018, Bedims Texas, blog, Bobby Henline, camera, cast, CDI, Chasing the star, Christmas, Comic Con, crew, DJ Perry, filming, Forty Nights, holidays, investors, Jesus, knight chills, magi, MBF, Michigan, military folks, Miller Theater, music, path, poster, schedules, The Christ Slayer, The Quest Trilogy, TV, VFX, warrior, Wild Faith, Wild Michigan, Yule | Leave a comment

Coffee talk on Effective Communication, CUJO and Films COMING SOON!

The soccer season has ended, the garden harvest is slowing and the leaves are starting to fall. But this heat wave seems hot as any of our true summer days. On a positive note I’ve been trying to master this new grill and get my temps under control and such. Last night I had a very successful go at pork chops. I had my old grill down to a science and so it’s like re-learning and developing a process with the new grill. I’m going to refill the coffee and we can chat on some of the developments last week. I think I’m going to just throw them out there – updates.

CHASING THE STAR – A new marketing campaign is starting Oct 10th via our distributor, driving traffic to the AMAZON. We’ve also been invited to again submit to International Christian Film Festival for 2018. It’s been submitted and now we wait. I think we’ll know more in March.

FORTY NIGHTS – We’re just finishing new theatrical licensing deals for this film in Nov. in Texas and CHASING THE STAR in December. I do think this is in Gary Nation backyard. So unless it clashes with possible shoot dates (Is that a dropped hint?) he could attend.

Both these films are being pushed for the holiday season and I think audiences will enjoy them.

Here is a good lesson from the last couple weeks. There is a program that shows faith-content who approached us about possible licensing. Now after some communication , we requested some clarification. What followed was a poorly communicated email that after being quite offending they apologized and blamed some personal issues. OK. STOP. If I’m sending an email communication to HBO (Which I did) I would NEVER respond in the way this person did if I was trying to build a bridge to business. IF I had some personal issue that was going to paint my communications – STEP AWAY FROM THE EMAIL! DO NOT COMMUNICATE until you get your head straight. I was just surprised that once again this is someone claiming a mission/path that’s inline with Christianity yet they communicate like that. JUDGMENTAL. CONDESCENDING. RUDE. Not good business practice. It could have just been a bad week but if that’s the case – don’t communicate. I doubt this avenue will work out but I’m good with that.

Let’s talk positive. I went to a biz event in Grand Rapids with my attorney/producing amigo John Mashni at CHOP & HUE. They have done color correction and some great VFX credit work for a few of our films. It was great to partake in their event and success. I saw a few familiar faces and met a few new ones. I really enjoyed myself. I don’t break away from the work too often but I’m glad I did. I will try to attend a few more events but I always have so much to do and when I take a break it is usually in solitude.

The Christ Slayer – the VFX work on this picture is moving along in strength. We started working on our first official poster ideas this week. We should have a locked picture with VFX by the end of the year.

That fits nicely with WILD FAITH that will be finishing up at year’s end. The response to the poster, trailer and BTS has been strong. I’m still looking to launch the TV series but I think it will take studios/networks watching the final film. The characters and world are so endearing it makes you want to see more. I did get some creative writing on show #2 this past week. We will see how it all plays out.

MBF (Man’s Best Friend) is our next CDI film. We had an announcement that Anthony Hornus will be directing with Jesse Aragon serving as director of photography. Our biz commits are flowing in and this week we’ll start announcing cast. We have two possible shoot windows – one that is before the holidays (Nov) and one that is after (Jan/Feb). It all depends on the speed of the financial commits. We’ve got two more weeks to push and see what will work best for production. That is a key question that aspiring producers should get use to asking. WHAT IS BEST FOR PRODUCTION? Many inexperienced producers make decisions that put production second. That is often where trouble starts. I’m so excited about the cast and crew lining up and I know once again we’ll put something strong onscreen.

This week was also spend prepping some other endeavors. One being a certain Civil War film that will be making its way back into the market in 2018. Also the original script I wrote for Wild Faith was turned into a book. I will be releasing the book to Amazon under the original title. The script was adapted into a new script for budget before heading into production. Instead of having the author Dee Freeman redo the book to match the new movie, I decided to leave the book story AS IS. I think it gives an interesting look at the movie that never was but allows a look at what inspired – WHAT IS.

Speaking of books I know the KNIGHT CHILLS book is now for sale at Comic Cons and I hope a new generation of readers/viewers experience the story.

BUY IT HERE – GREAT GIFT:)

As we welcome in the fall season I’ve been circling back and watching a few of the old horror films. This week I took a watch on Darkest Nights. It was fun to return to that mango estate in the Philippines and try to survive the darkest night. I miss all my cast and crew mates. It was a one-of-a-kind experience and I’m thankful to have had it.

I get asked quite often if I will return to horror genre and the answer is of course, when I find the right story. I’ve had a few filmmakers upset at me because I passed on their film. SCRIPT. SCRIPT. SCRIPT. Execution is an issue for all filmmakers. It’s hard to take the words and make it all come to life but when the script is not strong it makes the process harder. And many directors are also the writer so they can take any feedback very personal. I understand this ‘protectiveness’ and if the company is happy with the script and you’re not, a polite pass is the best option. But sometimes even the polite pass can bring out someones anger. I’m hoping for a strong script every time one is submitted to me for acting. We as actors all want that. So to get back on track, I’ve been asked about my return to horror genre and the answer is when the right deal comes across the desk.

I had some fans ask about the C.U.J.O. reboot. I know that King’s team is working to reel back in some of his ‘rights’ to his classic films CUJO included. I know that talks are continuing with the Sunn Classic Pictures team. How will the chips fall is unknown. I would love to be part of a King project someday in the future. Will it be a C.U.J.O. reboot? That is not up to me but I will let you all know what I find out.

Outside of all this work I’ve been in exploratory talks over obtaining a literary agent. I’m about to go into production on my 5th script and I’ve got several scripts I would be willing to sell off. It will all come together. I know I have more calls to catch up on this coming week. For those that I did not get back to – rest assured I will.

Enjoy your Sunday and Go LIONS!

September 24, 2017 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: amazon, Anthony Hornus, book, C.U.J.O., cast, Chasing the star, Chop & Hue, Christianity, civil war, coffee, Comic Cons, crew, CUJO, Darkest Night, Dee Freeman, directors, DJ Perry, faith, filmmakers, films, Forty Nights, garden, Garry Nation, Grand Rapids, grill, HBO, holidays, horror, ICFF, Jesse Aragon, John Mashni, knight chills, licensing, lions, literary agent, master, networks, photography, pork chops, poster, scripts, soccer, Stephen King, studios, Summer, Texas, The Christ Slayer, theatrical, TV series, VFX, Wild Faith, writers | Leave a comment

Decisions, Distribution and TO DO’s

DJ Perry as Jesus in “40 Nights”

Another beautiful Saturday. The coffee is now gone and we’ve moved into watching MSU football. I’ve grown to enjoy the game over the years. It is a series of short-term goals versus my game of soccer that is a constant flow with a goal. Our soccer season ended and I really enjoyed the play. Now I let the legs heal and start my strength training. Okay many of you here are tuned in to hear about the films and the challenges making them. Let’s look at some of my recent decisions I’ve been faced with.

Our “Chasing the Star” script (version 1) is done and out to several key players. This is the second biblical film in our 3 pic series. “40 Nights” was the first and that film should be done late November. Now due to script it will mostly shoot in AZ. This film has the commits to finance and so pre-production work will be starting. But due to the heat of the desert that dictates when we shoot. We are looking to shoot a few weeks earlier than “40 Nights” to make it easier on cast and crew.

Part 2

We have a western-era film we want to shoot in Michigan. It has a good amount of money committed to it but we will only move forward with full funds in place. This is a good policy but required when you have distribution in advance. You want to be reliable for delivering your product. Now we have X amount of producer pre-prod work and also on-location pre-production before the shoot. I wanted to get the film in the can (hard drives) by the holidays. We are getting closer to that decision-making deadline. It is hard because the artists all like to work and the biz of it is everyone getting a final paycheck before the holidays. That’s ham on a table that toys under a tree for people, but the best choice has to be made for the film.

Now if our date comes and we don’t have all the filming fuel we need we will push the film to the other side of “Chasing the Star” in May. That would be a nice time to film and give ample time to close the financing. That is happening but can it happen in our timeline? We will see.

As noted “40 Nights” is moving down the post production line. “Bestseller” is getting ready for the Nov 1st, Owosso, MI shooting. It is also being delivered to the national distributor as is “Donors”. I need to call Jon Osman, our director on “The Terrorist”.

In other news I came off “Chasing the Star” scriptwriting and flowed right into the third film script. It was there and I almost couldn’t stop it from flowing. I’m grabbing legal pads and just scribbling notes at all times. I’m excited about these three but also excited to go finish out a few other scripts.

Sir Kallio stalks in “Knight Chills”

I will have news here soon on “Knight Chills” book and film reissue. Sound track deal still needs my attention. So I have crossed a lot off my TO DO list but many things still remain. We have “Ghost Town” getting ready to play at Sanctuary Spirits in Grand Ledge, MI and we will be doing this once a month. It is a meet and greet for fans and fellow filmmakers. I’ve been trying to get out and meet some of the other fine talent in our state. This helps in casting and crewing when required. We’ve been reviewing reels for several weeks and are excited by some of what we’ve seen. REELS! Make those reels actors!

I hope to see some of you Oct. 15th (Grand Ledge) we are digging out and selling some classic “Ghost Town” swag. We had an entire product line for a few years at Ghost Town in the Sky theme park in Maggie Valley, N.C. so that should be fun. Also I will be in Owosso, MI November 1st and I heard author Chris Wright will also be doing an appearance/signing for his Johnathan Rand children’s books (“American Chiller”) earlier that afternoon.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and go MSU!

September 26, 2015 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: 40 Nights, artists, Bestseller, cast, Chasing the star, Chris Wright, coffee, crew, desert, donors, film, football, ghost town, goals, Grand Ledge, harddrives, hazelnut, holidays, Johnathan Rand, Jon Osman, knight chills, legs, Michigan, MSU, Owosso, pre-production, reels actor, Sanctuary Spirits, script, scriptwriting, soccer, terrorist, the terrorist, Thriller Chiller, westerns | 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 “holidays”

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 “holidays”

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: