As promised, I’m here with my trusty coffee beside me. The hurricane is now hitting the tip of Florida. I think every one of us have family, friends or associates in the state. As I stated before, as dangerous as the crisis is at least I see Americans helping one another versus throwing their anger. You know how you defeat hate? By doing acts of love, compassion and caring. I know it’s just starting so I hope that the people who remained can safely ride out the storm.
Today my mind is on the first of our soccer playoff games. May the force be with us:) My alumni school Michigan State University had a good showing yesterday. My brown furry buddy Luke is doing much better and on the mend after a good check up. Another week and they might start to reduce his meds if all stays strong. The office siding is now all up and only the rafters to cover. This week ‘Ida’s Wine’ will likely go to bottle and will be a nice holiday treat. I will also be harvesting the hops either today or tomorrow. So my day-to-day has been productive but let’s look at film.
FILM UPDATES
I’m happy to report we finally have agreed upon our first “Wild Faith” poster. Once they polish that up we’ll roll it out to all of you. I’ll be getting an update on the music this week and that really leaves only the VFX to finish.
“Chasing the Star” is making its way out to audiences. I’ve started to get some really nice communications about the film. The best way you can express your gratitude is to VOTE and REVIEW on IMDB.com and whatever retail site you used. EXAMPLE: Amazon, Christian Cinema…
As THE QUEST TRILOGY gains awareness people are also looking back to FORTY NIGHTS and ahead to THE CHRIST SLAYER. Watching the trailer with all three films is really quite humbling. It represents story ideas that formed in my head and was brought to life by a small army of artists. Please take a look –
This trilogy of films has increased my confidence to tackle another trilogy that is in development. Also the TV series behind “Wild Faith” which I’m in talks on.
MBF (Man’s Best Friend)
Our foundation business is in place and our targeting of cast and locations is almost done. This next film by CDI is one of my scripts and really touches upon some very important themes. We have many military folks involved and with military vet treatment highlighted we’re proud to have them involved. Additionally shelter dogs and the plight of many of them is our other major theme. I’m going to be pushing hard to get our investor commits these next couple weeks so we can hit our window this fall to shoot. I’m most excited because I think I have found the core of my character in the film. He’s a wounded warrior and I have been studying brain/nerve injury. You also know you represent the actual soldiers but unlike “Wicked Spring” (Our Civil War film re-releasing in 2018) those soldiers are still with us. But I put down three sketch reads and I was actually moved emotionally. It is a very vulnerable character and I like it when I’m a touch afraid to tackle a role. Trust me – I was afraid at the beginning stages of “Forty Nights” playing Jesus. So I think I’ve found the heart of the character and I also think audiences will feel for him. I’m excited that Jesse Aragon looks as if he will once again join us as our talented Director of Photography. We’ll be announcing our director this week and from there collecting LOI’s from talent and announcing them. The decisions have been hard as we’ve seen some wonderful performances. Stay tuned for many more exciting developments.
Thank you for your time and I hope everyone has a productive week.
A little peanut butter toast and coffee to greet me on this fine morning. Last night I got to toast my longtime friend and film associate Dean Teaster for his 60th birthday. His property was looking just amazing. You can tell he’s put some serious time into it and it’s a very zen place to chillax. The tree fort is amazing and the cleared forest around it with the strings of lights, looked magical. A classic rock band, catered BBQ and a HUGE bar fueled the gathering into the night. I released my first burning Chinese lantern (pretty cool) and also watched the BIG fight to end my night. I hope my buddy will enjoy many more trips around the sun. A great time was had by all.
This week was full of film developments on many fronts.
The Quest Trilogy –
THE CHRIST SLAYER continues to move down post production looking to release next year. Meanwhile most of the attention is currently on CHASING THE STAR. The official release date is 9/5/17 but a few retailers have released early. Here’s the first Faith and General Market sites that you can rent/buy from.
Simply Grace magazine will run a featured story on Chasing the Star in November and Television On Demand becomes available Oct. 2nd – additionally were once again invited to attend the International Christian Film Festival 2018. We’ll see if we can follow our great 2017 run we had with FORTY NIGHTS. Here are a few of the recent reviews.
The film’s music is being worked on as is the final VFX scenes. The film should be finished this fall/winter and we might do a cast and crew screening before Christmas. In early 2018 we’ll set up theatrical play and were looking at a summer release to national home video. We’re exploring a few other exciting options with this film. Stay tuned.
MBF
So this week we’re getting our summary for our new project MBF out to our past backers. We’re also going to be approaching our many sponsors that have supported our past projects. If you’ve got an interest in learning more on investment and/or sponsorship for your product or service, reach out to me directly at perrydj@aol.com
Additionally we’ve got first paperwork for a new deal on an older film in the library. Can you guess which film that might be? HINT: We’ve had the main theme of the film in our news headlines. Stay tuned!
This week business will continue to charge forward. At home – Our beans are slowing but the tomatoes are coming on fast and furious. My one pumpkin ‘Jack’ that was attacked has turned orange and so we do have one! The rhubarb/mulberry wine is ready to rack to the secondary. After a time in the secondary it goes to bottles. I’m also going to look at when we can do the shake siding on the office/fort. I really put in some time on the yard this past week which included discovering a large ground bee nest. I only got stung three times but now that’s been taken care of. Our furry boy Luke is on the mend and I hope that trend continues. Also today we have one of our last soccer games of our season before play offs. We’re looking like we might have low numbers today but we will battle with whatever warriors show up. Time to refill the coffee cup. Have a great week ahead.
The climb often feels like walking uphill in sand but keep putting one foot in front of the other.
Welcome everybody to my blog where I can download my journey which is a balance act of life and artistic career. Last week I took a first real vacation in a long time. I travel a lot thanks to my film career but I always have lots of responsibilities. These can range from cast/crew safety to schedules to being prepared with my lines. I was and still am excited to tell you all of my journey to the rugged U.P. of Michigan. Lessons in life can be gathered from the simple things we participate in and try to prepare us for the storms that come and go. We came home from missing our own bed and our loving pack. We lost our eldest dog Joplin several months ago and our baby Luke dealt with a hard year of treatment dealing with an auto-immune issue. His greeting of us was kind but lacked his normal energy. The next morning he was hesitant to eat which is not like him. So we took him in for a check and he again seems to have an issue. What does that mean to me/us? Schedules of meds that must be kept ands kills much social interaction. Watching my strong buddy waste under some strong meds that makes him look like those poor starving dogs on TV. And the cost…I can say that a good portion of my pay on the last few films did not purchase anything materialistic. I’m a simple person for those who really know me and thankfully I require very little. I enjoy the short emails from strangers who say how our stories helped them or made them feel. I enjoy the simple things that grow in our yard from morels to mulberries. But when facing the raging greed and egos of our business I find solace in my animals. So my boy Luke is at MSU Animal Hospital again overnight. We had just gotten home and so he did not want to stay. He is likely getting a blood transfusion or two and if all goes well he’ll be released to start 6 months of treatment. With the irony of it all – my next film we’re working to launch M.B.F. centers on our military vets and dogs. My boy in the hospital was a major inspiration to my writing. I’m motivated now more than ever to launch that film because my humble takings will once again start being directed towards – love.
Shipwreck on Lake Superior
I love to use ship talk when speaking on filmmaking. So many issues can leave a film/ship just as you see it here. SHIPWRECKED. Work very hard with every opportunity to make something worthy. That starts by finishing. That requires good planning and execution. It’s hard work but so deserving.
The Quest Trilogy
I’m so proud of our team(s) for shooting all three of these feature films. “Forty Nights” is selling and I want to really push it again with the September release of “Chasing the Star” part two. Pre-Sale sites are starting to pop up and I’m told retailers are really liking the subject matter. Part three “The Christ Slayer” is in post-production and the plan is to release the PR and 1st teaser on Monday. I sincerely hope you all enjoy it. It is a beautiful wrap up to the trilogy.
Wild Faith
The “behind the scenes” sizzle will be releasing soon after our “The Christ Slayer” teaser release next week. I know I’ve been promising a poster and one is coming. I’m excited to get back at my talks on the TV series. The post work continues and we’ll likely have a premiere this year followed by the theatrical play. Music is starting to be composed and that will make this tale even more powerful.
Knight Chills
The book based on the film authored by David Hayes is now available. If suspense thrillers and/or role-playing games like ole Dungeons and Dragons is your bag take a read and leave us a review.
A great Christmas gift for that lover of sword and sorcery.
I truly did intend on much more insightful writings about our trip up North. We interacted and fed bears and saw beautiful landscapes surrounding the Great Lakes. A nice bed and breakfast one day and saw an old naked man walking his dog on the beach. Ravens, chipmunks, cranes and more but we failed to see any moose or Bigfoot. I think we’re going to get around and go visit our buddy in the hospital. If you have furry family of your own you know the hold they have over our heart. Send a few good thoughts our way for Mr. Brown – such a good boy and unfortunate that we’re having issues with him again. This ordeal was not the way we wanted to end of little vacation but that is life. LIVE and LOVE because there is no promises of tomorrow.
USA, Australia, Brazil and China are the top four countries where our readers are from. I’ve not been to any of the last three but I’m appreciative to you all. I’ve had films released in all three of those territories – following the USA. What I do love is the community of artistry. We’ve had a lot of rain this week but also signs of the coming fall. MSU football is getting close to kicking off and that is excitement. With my boy Luke on recovery the squirrels have come in force stripping roughly a third of my apples off the tree and making a play for the garden harvest. I cannot blame theme but we’ve got more than enough for them to eat without their garden raids.
This week was full of ups and downs but steady movement forward especially with post work and development work that is about to go full pre-production. I will speak briefly about one encounter. I had a business intro call that was set up to make introductions and set the foundation for future business. This was to be with an executive at a well-known company. Just because you are dealing with a larger corporation does not make them BETTER organized. It had been many years since I had to deal with attitude from someone. But, I always go in with respect and professionalism. That said, when someone line steps you sometimes have to put them into check. But, you must be willing to lose the business. The best business is not when someone tries to discount a property to leverage the best deal. I love when they are honest with what they really like and express a wish to do some same-side of the table negotiation and create a WIN-WIN. That is the difference between true leaders and those who were in a position and gone in 8-18 months. These people also represent the BRAND. I take great pride in our artists on both sides of the camera. I would rather develop the right personality versus working with an ass that may be talented but makes the journey sour. This one individual had a couple of possible reasons for their odd behavior but most stem from low self-esteem. He had another young female executive on the phone call and was trying to be manly by being confrontational. Well, that conversation did not go exactly how he planned it. Remember this people.
YOU MUST EARN RESPECT.
Once again.
YOU MUST EARN RESPECT.
Many think that a name tag, door plaque or desk moniker will automatically give respect. Initially people will respect the office but if the personality is unfit they become a joke. That only enhances their need to try to feel powerful by treating people poorly. I’ve had many people over the years treat me well only to have me observe them treating others they feel below them, poorly. Don’t be this person. I respect everyone on our projects from DP to he or she who makes the coffee. This person will likely continue to hurt their branding. Don’t hurt YOUR branding.
FILM UPDATES
THE QUEST TRILOGY
40 Nights – As we move towards finishing Part 2 “Chasing the Star” more people are introduced to our biblical world in “40 Nights” – Also had the pleasure recently of taking several meetings over our third upcoming film “The Christ Slayer” which despite the attention grabbing title is a beautiful story.
“Chasing the Star” – some amazing new stills will be rolling out. A poster, a trailer – all these great promotional items will start rolling out as we close in on the finish line.
“The Christ Slayer” – The returning cast are very excited by the third installment. I’ve been looking at and developing some of the important foundation elements of this story. I will enjoy the final trek into this world one more time as Jesus. A swan song to a beautiful role which has brought smiles to many people. I thank all of you audiences for that.
DEVELOPMENT/PRE-PRODUCTION
“Wild Faith” – Our team has started to line up our cast and crew for this 1800’s story that takes place in Michigan shortly after the Civil War. I’ve been engaged in discussions with key artists and we’ll have many more announcements soon. This week we announced Melissa Anschutz and Lana Wood joining the cast. I’m excited about the additional announcements. I love Michigan in the fall. I love westerns. I love my fellow artists who will join in telling the story. Each cast and crew is unique. I’m excited to be prepping to play a role in this film and to work with all these fine people telling this story.
I’ve got much more I could ramble on about but instead I’m going to pick from the garden and do a few things around the homestead. Be good to each other. Keep following your dreams. Keep clawing.
I’m just up and sipping on the hazelnut coffee attempting to put my words down on here for you all to read. This has been a BUSY week as usual. Let me see – today is my youngest dog Luke’s birthday. I had labs growing up and they are great family dogs. I’ve been around many types including wolf/hybrids which unless you are trained should NOT be brought in as a pet. We had two other dogs, the eldest a Rot-mix and she guards. We got Daphne, an Aussie Shepherd/Golden Ret. mix and she is a fun dog but not a protector unless we were attached by moles. So we decided to get a third, one that the other two could help train and that could protect. I had never had a pit/pit-mix but also don’t buy the breed label. All dogs need to be worked with and have strong leadership. Long/short is that we adopted our Luke. He was the color of coffee when we first met him and highly self-assured. Our eldest put him in line a few times and our sweet Daphne thought her favorite stuffed animal dog had come to life. She was a great teacher (still is) and so we ended up with our buddy Luke. (After Star Wars) He grew to be a gentle giant and has brought us much joy and happiness. I watched him lick and give kisses to my niece and nephew – he’s curious, kind and watchful. Do NOT believe all the hype against any breed. Just like us we can all be kind or violent pending our environment and circumstances. We love having him and today he turned five.
Also had both parents birthday’s this week and a slew of movie business work. Let’s look at some of that.
“40 Nights” sales keep growing and everyday I’ve gotten wonderful messages from people who experiences the film. I’ve also been amazed at how many times people are watching the film and many are giving copies of the film as gifts. We are going to announce more platforms carrying the film and are working on foreign set ups.
“Chasing the Star” – the second in THE QUEST TRILOGY finished a first edit on Friday and is now fine tuning the edit. VFX and music work will start very soon. Exciting!
The 3rd film in the trilogy “The Christ Slayer” is in development with locations and such.
“Bestseller” is expanding and is a great summer film to watch up at that vacation house at night. Spooky:)
Development work on a few new projects is steadily getting done. Stay tuned!
We will start working on the next soundtrack release that will likely be “Ashes of Eden” but I want to include several with new releases.
I’ve been approached to look at a few projects/scripts for acting. I will see where that leads me. I’ve got a busy week ahead between meetings and we go to 4H this week. If you eat meat and want well cared for animals that also benefit young people the 4H is a great organization. I’m back on the soccer field today after a week off which was good. I had a knee that needed a little healing up. Is it 100% – no. But we will see what kind of battle I can fight today. It will also be a little bit hot.
Shipwreck on Lake Superior
