Welcome to November! Release Updates and News from Oklahoma, Will Rogers Medallion Awards
November is here. This morning I awoke in my own bed with my furry buddy Finn snuggled on my feet. Our Fall is in full effect versus Oklahoma which is where I just returned from. Now I have my cup of hazelnut coffee and I’m sitting down to do my blog a day late. I let everyone know last week I would do the blog today. I have lots of promo pics to review and I have to say the people of Oklahoma are so kind and welcoming. I was with Melissa Anschutz, Mark Balko and Steve Maranowski celebrating WILD FAITH CHRISTMAS winning the bronze Will Rogers Award. On night one we attended a meet N greet that was just class at the beautiful Will Rogers Museum. Chris Enss and her staff put on a great event and we deeply thank the judging staff for their recognition. If you look at the other two films and the folks involved you will see we were in good company. At the meet and greet we visited with the lead producer of the gold film BROKE which was Peter Billingsley best known as ‘Ralphie’ from A CHRISTMAS STORY. Kurt Russell’s son Wyatt was the lead with a great cast of Dennis Quaid, Mary McDonnell, Tom Skerritt and so I think it was an honor to be included for recognition with Where the Wind Blows and Broke. The night included a great BTS watch on Little House on the Prairie hosted by Dean Butler best known as Almanzo on the show and the reboot. Being that the show was an influence on our WILD FAITH it was extra special top share that with him.
Night two after some exploring of Tulsa we attended A NIGHT WITH WILL ROGERS where we heard famous words by Will Rogers read by Lifetime Achievement guests such as Barry Corbin, Bruce Boxleitner, Dean Butler and Will’s own family members. Night three was the awards ceremony with a great meal and listening to the lifetime awards speakers including music legend Clint Black. I even saw an old associate Thadd Turner at the event and I owe him a beer catchup as we had to be up early to travel so did not stay late post event.
And that brings me back to here. It is nice to know that our productions are on par with some of the best in the biz. While we were there we had a slew of activity on our film releases and I’ll try to list some of those. I hope everyone had a wonderful October and are ready for a great November. I had hoped that Kevin Costner would have been there with his doc film so I could have told him what an influence DANCES WITH WOLVES was on me. So Kevin, thank you for all you create.
UPDATES:
- ROM COMS MUST DIE our quirky horror comedy that makes fun of our industry has transitioned onto more platforms for ad based watching. What does that mean? FREE with ads. So on TUBI, FREE4ALL, ROKU, PLEX and more you can watch the film now free with ads. It might not be everyones cup of tea with the language and mild violence but I believe you will get a few good laughs. If it is your cup of tea please do take a moment to leave a review.
- AI JESUS: The Secret of the Kingdom Chip – This unique film got a major PR shout out that got wide pick yup due to the topic of AI. This film is now available to RENT or BUY on Amazon Prime and other participating platforms. WATCH HERE: https://www.primevideo.com/detail/0M7VV4SLYGTKA1DJIJ6HAA3OXX?ref_=atv_dp_share_cu_r On November 18th we are having a charitable premiere to benefit NEW HOPE PET RESCUE. Follow the FB page on this and all our films for updates! Also I encourage you to watch THE QUEST TRILOGY the 3 biblical adventures we shot in the desert. Part 1 FORTY NIGHTS, Part 2 CHASING THE STAR and Part 3 THE CHRIST SLAYER.
- TOMORROW 11/3/26 is the official release date for WILD FAITH CHRISTMAS! Tens of millions enjoyed the first film and so we proudly present the follow up film. I think it stands shoulder to shoulder with the first film and may become a traditional holiday watch for many just as SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA has. It really highlights the spirit of Christmas that is love between friends, families and sometimes strangers. I look forward to seeing what audiences worldwide think. The theatrical crowd last Christmas was really in love with the story so if that holds up we will have done our job. Happy Holiday and Merry Christmas.
- DEVIL’S PASS is in post undergoing a polish on the edit and here is a great news story about the project due out in 2027. WAThttps://youtu.be/zYgZCXG4boE?si=QeOiI330UWi9o4aKCH HERE:
- A few selections from the great AI JESUS: The Secret of the Kingdom Chip PR and reviews rolling out – https://www.argus-press.com/news/ai-jesus-film-brings-hollywood-to-owosso-7cc2b515 and https://www.desmoinesregister.com/press-release/story/145920/as-ai-anxiety-climbs-new-film-asks-what-if-an-ai-claimed-to-be-jesus-ai-jesus-movie-sets-oct-30-worldwide-vod-release/
DEVELOPMENT– This month I plan to finish at least one of the two screenplays I have in the works. I have two scripts to evaluate for possible collaboration. I will be preparing end of the year business and also looking to finish funding on one 2027 project and will start presenting the other soon. It has been an incredible year that through hard work has brought several new stories to the world marketplace. We plan to keep this tradition for many years to come if I am granted that privilege.
WRAP UP: I’m looking at my untouched suitcase that needs unpacking. Winter prep with start around the property and looking forward to some time with family and friends. I have some paperwork to sort through and get my business flow back in order. I’m looking forward to the AI JESUS charity premiere because I love the cause we are helping out. I’ve unfortunately seen the condition of some of these rescued animals. I’ve also seen what some medical care and love can do to this animals. So it makes my heart feel good. I’m going to leave it here with my heart feeling good. I hope you find some peace in this holiday season. I’m going to jump right into it and soak it up. 2027 lies ahead and I’m wanting to send 2026 out right and recharge for another year. I usually look at what 2026 goals I achieved and what goals will be pushed to 2027. Coffee Cheers my friends! DJ
Powerful Posters, ‘Harsens’ Post-Production and Premiere Info and ‘Wild Faith Christmas’ Pre-Production Updates
A light rain and cool breeze is welcome versus the horrible storms they’ve got down south from the hurricane. I checked in with many of my friends and some like my cousin outside Tampa, FL had nothing but wind. Others like Robert Bradley in Maggie Valley, NC are good but their town and region is not. Highways washed out and roads impassable. The main drag of Maggie Valley is flooded out. Just sad that so many are facing the hardships they are. Knock on wood- but we’ve been lucky being on a high hill and our property is sandy and absorbs water quickly. My thoughts and prayers with all those suffering in the aftermath.
I want to welcome out new readers from France, Netherlands and more. I really love the global artists circle we have. I had several folks comment and we’ve had lots of new subscriptions which is great. I’m going to provide some great updates and I hope give some insights that you can apply to your own endeavors. I’m going to do a warm up on my hazelnut coffee and we’ll get into this. Speaking of coffee we’ve been enjoying the new enhanced deck for sipping coffee and watching the morning nature. The dogs enjoy having a better view of the surrounding area and the gate allows me to have them enclosed. That helps at night if I smell skunk in the area which anyone who had had to bathe a dog who has been sprayed knows. I built a small step deck off the office/fort porch and a new compost bin from some of the old deck wood. I still have a good amount left for some of my projects. I’m still harvesting the end of season herbs and using them in cooking and for tea. So many great compounds that are in plants.
NOW TO THE PROJECTS!
With every CDI film we really try to let the director’s pick, choose and oversee one poster, the theatrical one. Because marketing staff at the home video level will put together the artwork that will best serve their purpose. This is the beautiful picture that our director Carl Weyant put together for our theatrical run. Below is some moody shadows and reminds me of the old detective posters of the 20’s and 30’s. Above you see The Purples, a glimpse of the Harsens militia and the innocents put at risk with this conflict. I’ve had a lot of people talking about wanting to buy a poster and all in good time.
We will be getting an RSVP for main cast and crew to see who can attend a private showing in Alpena. Following the screening they will have another show for sale for the public and it will play for several weeks in Alpena. That is what the deal is looking like. The theater controls how many screens and times so we are limited. But as I’ve said before, the more the demand the more screens and times they might open. Currently the invite is for just cast and crew and not plus one. Folks will be responsible for their own travel and lodging. I’ll keep you all informed here and of course we’ll be posting on the Harsens Island Revenge Facebook page. Now in January 2025 we’ll start our theatrical run. Several runs might be kicked off with a special event party like in Owosso, Lansing, Grand Rapid and Detroit so that might be closer for many of you!
We’ve been working hard on end credits trying not to miss any or misspell any names. That said, it happens every film because of the sheer amount of names and sometimes handwriting by people. Lastly, it is passing through human hands and we all make mistakes but we try to keep that as low as possible. The music, color correction and VFX are being finished and polished up. Next week they start to pull that all together. Dennis Therrian has been working a powerful musical score and every artists has been putting his all into the film. Final posting and mixing always requires an increase in focus and communication. Something I myself also work on and try to encourage. If you send something let the party know it has been sent. If you are the receiving party let the sender know it has been received. There is a reason the military is so effective with their communication. The thing to remember is that you all have the same goal and you’re trying to make a process as smooth as possible. Bottom line is the film is getting close to being done.
AN ORDINARY KILLER streaming will be on December 15th and I’m hearing that it will be going to XUMO and The ROKU CHANNEL. Likely it will go to AMAZON and possibly PLEX and PLUTO TV.
DEAN TEASTERS GHOST TOWN is streaming on TUBI and various platforms. We do plan to start selling the special edition theme park DVD’s prior to Christmas. For those that know Robert Bradley this was filmed in his home town and he co-stars.
KNIGHT CHILLS is starting to deliver assets for the streaming release. I also wrote my foreword for the new release of the novel. I’ve been collecting some materials to put together a nice script and making of book also. I’m excited that this film is out there on HD Blu Ray and will soon be streaming! I would like to see this franchise take another step and we’ve got a script. So we’ll see what happens!
Looking Ahead!
This year saw three of the films from CDI’s library (Dean Teaster’s Ghost Town, An Ordinary Killer, Knight Chills) get set up for a new release. We’ll tackle a few in 2025 also. We have to get the technical correct in order to HD remaster the films.
WILD FAITH CHRISTMAS is in the final weeks of pre-production. We had a great meeting on Friday looking at the remaining TO DO’s. I’m happy to say that the main cast is all DONE! We found our last two leads and we could not be more happy! The sets are on point and we’re working on the last of the logistics. I met with our associate producer and legal over sushi and he’s putting the final pieces in motion. As I was reviewing the new official script and highlighting my Ben Lily lines I was so taken by the story again. I’ve been up to my neck in the business of it but it was pure joy to do lines and re-read the entire story. We have some new sponsors coming onboard with DEANS TREE FARM, SPORTS UNLIMITED and ANCHOR CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION! Thank you to all the fine companies and individuals helping to make this film be everything it can be.
ROM COMS MUST DIE is still on deck for the first of the year. We’ve been quiet as of late but that is because we have a lot out there. That said, we do keep moving pieces on the board. We’ve added Ian Griffin as the AD and will be playing a role in the film. He is an amazing actor that I met in 2002 on AN ORDINARY KILLER. He’s been in many of the films such as BEST YEARS GONE (The police officer) and he’s Boozy Jack the bootlegger in Harsens Island Revenge trailer that says he would sell to the devil himself.
Tis a good season to watch some scary films like IN THE WOODS, now on Blu Ray!
WRAP UP:
We have lots of things in development but like I mentioned we’ll wait until we have more in place. It is rainy and so I’ll likely work on getting some stuff done here in the house and at the desk. I like to get a jump on the week so I’ll soon switch to hot tea and keep at it. I am going to try and catch up on a few calls too. So until we chat next week I hope you all have a great day and week ahead. Remember that everything happens by slowly chipping away at the TO DO’s. I’m going to FOCUS and try to COMMUNICATE and promote better COMMUNICATION This week. We have a lot of exciting things ahead. Happy Sunday and coffee cheers!
DJ
