Stepping Stones, Casting Success and Summer Endings!
(Music is the main focus right now on ‘Harsens Island Revenge’ CDI’s Next Major Release!)
Another beautiful morning where you can literally feel autumn in the air. I’m sipping my favorite morning beverage which is hazelnut coffee. I see that we’ve had some record number of readers stopping by to join us. Subscribe and never miss an update. I love how many various countries are represented and we’ve got a lot of new ones. I love shaping the journey on here with all of you. One of my keys to happiness I often speak of on here is staying connected to nature. I’ve really enjoyed the passing of the humidity and the shift. I can see it in the plants and the cooler nights. This week on the property I did some harvesting and upkeep. We have a possum that has been around at night but is leaving the chickens alone. The squirrels are busy building up their nests for the coming winter and getting fat. The inchworms got heavy into my hops but I allowed it as the hops and old deck will soon be coming down. I did some landscaping to the entrance into the fort/office and that is looking much better.
(Wild Faith Christmas is a stepping stone to Wild Faith: Hastings)
Speaking on nature and the turning of the wheel we lost a CDI supporter with Irene Hosking at age 106. You can read on the CDI Facebook site about all her adventures but it was on her property we shot the WILD FAITH Civil War flashback scenes. Kids are returning to school and I remember those days well. Part of me feels like that was just a few weeks ago. Other times I add up the years and I’m stunned. We tied our last regular season soccer match and this coming week we start the playoffs. Anyhow it goes I can say I love the workout it provides. The league is ultra competitive and we always leave it all out on the field. I’m thankful that it has been an injury-free season and I hope to finish the season that way. Of course at our age it is never the major event that gets us it is the minor. Like lifting something too far out from your body or picking something up that fell into a nook.
(All great endeavors takes building – here is the mine set under construction for Wild Faith Christmas)
Maybe we’ll do a bullet point listing of updates.
- I had another successful wardrobe find for my role in ROM COMS MUST DIE. It is a comedy that we’ll film shortly into the new year. We have all our backing and I just got the paperwork to review and so this great quirky story is second film up. We have a few more roles to cast still.
- The next film up to film is WILD FAITH CHRISTMAS. I must say that I’m starting to see ole Ben Lily again when I stare in the mirror. Sets are being built and the crew is almost all in place. The casting is going great and we just landed three main roles last week. We’ll be announcing via postcards on social media so join our Facebook page. I have the legal paperwork to review and pass forward this week. Also I’ll be opening a new bank account for the project.
- Along these same lines it was decided to retool the TV series WILD FAITH: HASTINGS to go after the two movies. It was originally written to go after the first film but it is fitting so nice into this third slot. We really would love to see this series go as it would put many more of our artists to work on both sides of the camera.
- AN ORDINARY KILLER 4k passed quality control on the first go which made me very happy. This film is being released in a special HD DVD by months end. I was a guest on the TWO AVERAGE JOES podcast talking about the release. The new release will entirely benefit The Red White and Blue Project that is a non profit for veterans and their families and the above Two Average Joes Media dedicated to bringing closure to cold case files. It is by their efforts that this film is getting a second life to help these two important causes. A new trailer is still looking to be cut by own own Adam Towner fresh off the Knight Chills trailer cut. We have a few more deliverables but this film will go streaming in December 2024.
- KNIGHT CHILLS has seen an epic release on Blu Ray and I love the job Saturn Core did. The film has gotten a new trailer and new poster art is being worked on. If you love the genre, role playing games, etc…you want to own this Blu Ray. The doc on the “panic” back in the day is awesome. I think 2025 could be the year that Sir Kallio rides again with a sequel!
- RESTORATION WORK– We are continuing to work on the remaining CDI films for restoration and re-release. I’m very interested in the idea of possibly doing a version of FROM VENUS where it is animated once inside the comic book. FIGURE IN THE FOREST and HEAVEN’S NEIGHBORS are being tested on DE-NOISE to resharpen pixels softened to achieve a primitive film look back in the bay. Once sharped we will try the UP-Rez again to try and get a better end result.
- Collective Development Inc. (www.cdiproductions.com) is now on INSTAGRAM tribecdi so please follow us. I’ve been listing the films in order starting with our 1st and working our way forward. I’ll also be doing the associated projects as well.
- This week I received by new Blu-ray of IN THE WOODS and I’m looking forward to a watch of both versions with and without the commentary. Available via TerrorVision and their participating retailers! I’m also looking forward to reading the sequel script that director Lynn Drzick has been working hard on.
- I have a sit down soon on another project that would include a script adaptation and the film shot. I love the time period and the proposed film would be fun to make. In the meantime I will finish my WILD FAITH: HASTINGS show adaptation and I might even finish a few of the other partial scripts I have in the works. A SciFi script. A martial arts comedy. I really do enjoying writing and it luckily has always come naturally.
- Funding on several developing features continues. I love the SMOKE & MIRRORS feature. SPIRIT LAKE MASSACRE, GOTCH…so many great stories to tell.
(Robert Bradley will serve as Art Director on Wild Faith Christmas under GW Burns, Prod. Designer)
WRAP UP: I could continue to bullet point all the various things on my revolving TO DO list. I’m going to finish up here and make some breakfast. After I’m going to hop on down to the flea market again in search of props. I’ve found some real treasures over that last few months. For WILD FAITH CHRISTMAS I found a great period lantern, mining pan and more. I was happy to see that Art Director Robert Bradley had a wonderful vintage medical bag to use. It is going to be a great time putting all this together. I’m really looking forward to seeing some of the returning artists and meeting some new ones as well. We’ll be meeting this week over the schedule and trying to fine tune that. Lodging has been a main focus of our efforts and we’ve been gaining some headway. Also adding some new sponsors onto Wild Faith Christmas joining our current ones. That is something else I need to do this coming week. Thank you for spending some time here with us and I hope it helps to motivate you towards your own endeavors.
Until next week, coffee cheers!
DJ
Moving Forward on Many Fronts – CDI Updates!
I want to once again welcome our new readers from S. Africa, Canada and the world over. For new readers this is a place to update our fans but also discuss the ups and downs of the artistic journey. I’ve got my hazelnut coffee beside me and I’m reflecting back on our week. First off lots of yard work including a new privacy screen that runs alongside one of the property lines. Today I need to harvest some more rhubarb and we’re about to have a burst of strawberries and black raspberries.
As I stated I’ve been working hard on the yard. We were looking at a new patio but instead decided to wait. I power washed, painted and sealed the deck. I love to work out there and take calls. Each week I pick some new tasks to tackle in the yard. Also I’ve got everything I need to start a batch of dark beer and a wine batch. Since I’ve had my first few in-person meetings I’ve got to have a few toasts. Let’s jump into a few updates.
LOST HEART – This week we start the mixing of the film. It is where we balance the mix between dialog, sound design and music. Speaking of music aside from the wonderful score by Dennis Therrian we’ll have contributions by a few country bands. We’ll be doing a PR spot light on those artists very soon. We are starting to look at theatrical options and a premiere. I think the main home release to DVD and streaming will be in October. I will know more on that soon. This film was so fun to make and I think audiences will find it so fun to watch.
MBF: MAN’S BEST FRIEND – we were up for a handful of nominations at a recent festival and we did not bring home any gold. It was a virtual festival and quite a different experience. I’m proud of our team and we submitted to a few new festivals and we’ll see if we will play. The film is already out there and showcasing some important themes. This is an unusual run for this film because of the virus running amuck but audiences at home are finding it. I think it will continue to widen in the distribution market. And the fan mail from it has just been touching. As to those who have asked if I will be showcasing my martial arts skills in future films, maybe:)
FORTY NIGHTS, CHASING THE STAR, THE CHRIST SLAYER – I had some great fan mail over Forty Nights wanting to know if I was the actor playing Jesus and expressing how much they loved the film. They were happy and surprised that it was part 1 of 3 in the trilogy. Again a great motivator to prep a kicking trilogy trailer. People should be aware that Forty Nights is the first of three. The story of the Devil and Angels extends through all three films. As the next holiday window approaches (Thanksgiving – Easter) we plan to be ready. I’ve had many ask if CDI will do more biblical adventures and I do plan to but right now the field is pretty full. Look for these three films to start playing S. Korea as they keep marching around the world.
As WILD FAITH keeps introducing people to the Murphy family and people fall in love with the simpler time the ground because fertile for the ‘Hastings’ TV series. I had several discussions over the series and it makes a lot of sense. We know the world, the characters and we are set to tell more stories. We plan to have famous TV stars guest star weekly. If you license for a territory or TV network please do reach out. It is all coming together. Giddy up if you have not seen this film yet.
DEVELOPMENT
BEST YEARS GONE – This next project on the CDI slate just underwent 2 weeks of scene and dialog work with myself and director Shane Hagedorn. We will get these changes added to the master script. We’re starting to add some great sponsors to the film. We’ve also been working on the safety and health procedures to put in play when we shoot. Filtering through all these changing guidelines can be exhausting. A set is never a 100% safe place but we want to protect our folks best we can while filming.
We’re still working on one of our star castings but have many great announcements lining up. One of these announcements will be my leading lady. I’m excited to say it will be my first time working/playing with this actress. I’m also proud to say that she lives in Michigan. We’ll also be spotlighting some more crew members that will be joining us. We’ve been monitoring the situation in the world while steadily putting things together. We are 100% fully funded but want to move forward with 100% confidence. Therefore this week we’ll announce that we’re going to our September dates. This film can be shot in Sept, Oct or Nov and the added time just helps us prepare. We might start shooting B-Roll and a VFX sequence ahead of time. I can say as talent I’m ‘JONESING’ to film. The producer is working to do what is best for the project not my immediate itch.
Once we get our new target dates set Mr. Hagedorn will communicate this to our cast and crew. I don’t have the luxury of just being willy nilly over shooting. We need to win the day and that requires planning. I’m aware that we have several needed paychecks waiting – I’m excited about this project but decisions are not made by excitement. When this movie goes full ahead I promise a fun shoot. One that every person will be proud to be associated with. I appreciate you all and we have your well-being at heart.
Distribution news coming!
ADDITIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
Three of the CDI Associated films will be starting a new distribution phase with a new distributor. We’ll be doing a PR announce on that in the coming weeks. The films currently in this deal consist of DEADLY RENOVATIONS, DONORS and DARKEST NIGHT.
CDI is about to enter another association on a documentary film that we’ll also announce via a PR release.
Our WW2 film shooting 2021 is having some of the investment and sponsorship docs completed this week. Over half of it has been financed prior to even doing an official offer. This is a beautiful script that I wrote with Rance Howard (Ron’s father) as my script consultant. Once we get “Best Years Gone” into post this film will get a lot more attention.
as “John” in HEAVEN’S NEIGHBORS
The CDI merchandise site is under construction but one of the really great additions which we have not officially announced is the roll out of the CDI “Classic Collection’ which is the early CDI work. The first 4 movies are like our do-it-yourself film school. Michigan did not have the film infrastructure then that is does now. The first four films were KNIGHT CHILLS, directed by Katie Hicks followed by FROM VENUS directed by Jeff Kennedy. We will be doing a Double Feature of these two films in the near future. But CDI films three and four- HEAVEN’S NEIGHBORS and FIGURE IN THE FOREST are available together for the first time. You can order it here-
https://www.ebay.com/itm/363016656566
I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday and week ahead. I know for many things are tough. Just keep moving forward and before you know it the problems and issues will be in the rearview mirror.
Stay healthy and be kind to one another!
DJ
DJ Perry's Official Blog 'Clawing My Way to the Middle' 