Father’s Day! New Releases! Casting & Crewing For Next CDI Film Discussed
Good morning. Happy Father’s Day! Hazelnut coffee cheers! It is a beautiful day and I’m sitting here and enjoying the morning vibes. I fed the fur babies this morning and also posted a nice little social media message to my dad. He likely will not see it but I will see him later today. He is almost blissfully free of the whole computer/social media thing. He enjoys the yard, his dog and is really enjoying his non hectic years. He took on a lot of responsibility at a young age. He built a lot from very little. He along with my mom gave us a foundation of love to build from. Our neighborhood was our own little paradise that we grew up in and I have a thousand stories I could tell from our upbringing. I know that not all children are given such a good foundation. He created our strong foundation because his was not there save with the help of a foster family. He was/has always been more practical because he had to be. I’ve always been a dreamer because I was allowed that luxury. I’m convinced that him allowing us to ‘play’ with the camcorder is why I have a career in film. It is why all these film stories have been born over three decades. Fathers, parents, mentors can make such a huge difference and without them so many of the great things we enjoy may never come to pass. So I’m going to finish this update before stopping by the flea market down the road and over to my dad’s place for a visit.
This week is also the run up week to my birthday. I’ve been known to get odd around my birthday. I’m a deep introspective person who really feels everything. I’ve often sought solitude because it helps me to focus. I can only be a storyteller and try to remind EVERYONE of our best selves. To recall and record our collective stories that showcase our best attributes or times where we overcame hardship. The world is in that place and many struggle to find their balance. I love that we try to speak to everyone and look to strengthen our common bonds versus what divides us. Everyone has their role to play and people all try to follow their own hearts. Problems don’t go away they change and the youth of today will become to ones to deal with the world issues. I hope we can move towards a place of peace and harmony, like John Lennon said, IMAGINE.
Film Updates-
Harsens Island Revenge is starting to book dates and our director is working to put Detroit in play. The heart of the story stems from Detroit history and we want the good people of the D to enjoy it. We are also looking to attend a few select festivals in addition to the theatrical play that will go through Oct 1st. I’m excited that next weekend our Northern Michigan friends can again enjoy the film in Rogers City around their wood boat show. Also Buda, Texas will be playing the film at a drive in which is way cool. It was always a dream to have a CDI film play a drive in. Now I need to find one close enough to attend. The film is also being prepped for home video. Some of our revenue from theatrical will be used to get E&O insurance which stands for Errors and Emissions. It is required by many distributors and is just another one of the little biz things required. But soon I will have an exact release date for DVD and rent/buy streaming! Find of Facebook page for this and all the CDI films. CDI and myself both have an instagram page where cool promos are promoted. Thank you for all the love so far concerning this film.
Wild Faith Christmas is moving strong down the line. We are getting close for a producers listen to the movie with music and sound design. We’ll start working end credits and the few VFX shots are being worked on now that color correction is about done. This follow up film to WILD FAITH has been anticipated for many years. I’ve noted I have a season 1 written for a TV series that happens after Wild Faith Christmas. I just need to find the right distribution/finance deal that allows creative control. I’m so proud of this film and it was emotionally powerful dry or without music. Now with music the emotion is magnified. We are looking forward to trying to get this into as many theaters that will take it for this holiday season. And on the lead up to the holidays in 2026 will be the home video release. I love this world and hope we do get to play in it more either as a TV series or more films.
ROM COMS MUST DIE – This dark comedy that spoofs that popular trend of romantic comedies and senseless horror come together in this film. We are looking to release a trailer towards the end of the month. On my Bday June 23rd? Maybe? Adam Towner and director Travis Hayward are polishing up the trailer. I’m really happy with how this film came out and it has a lot to say about the biz of film. Essentially it is a film about 2 struggling filmmakers working to get their second feature film launched after the first is a flop. The characters in this are all so enjoyable to watch. We are looking to have a Halloween season premiere and do a short festival run before theaters and home video in 2026. Again you can find the Facebook page and enjoy the promo as it rolls out.
NEW PROJECTS- We are in the process of launching a few new films. We will be looking at cast and crew in the mid Michigan area. We are still assigning a few of the funding units but we are almost there and on target to roll cameras in September on The Secret of the Kingdom Chip. SciFi and Spirituality mix in this uniquely powerful film. The response to the script from initial send outs has been great. We are in talks with cast first and will move to crew. This will be the second collaboration with McGraw Multimedia with John McGraw serving as director of photography. Returning to the director’s chair is Anthony (Tony) Hornus who helped bring such powerful films as Man’s Best Friend and Silent Night in Algona (SNIA) to life. A note on SNIA, it will start playing ad-based streaming on July 1st! So that means the film will go to ROKU, Encourage TV, XUMO and TUBI. We announced two of our leads Dean Teaster and Melissa Anschutz. We have cast/crew talks going on this week and will start initial scheduling. You can find the Facebook page for this new film also and follow along with all the new developments.
The Smoke & Mirrors (The short can be seen on CDI’s Youtube Channel) feature may or may not launch after we film The Secret of the Kingdom Chip (TSOTKC). We might wait until the new year but that depends on how smooth everything rolls with TSOTKC and our releases. I’ve also been working with several developing projects. I’ve been negotiating on several book to film deals but nothing has landed. I am soon to begin writing on another sequel to a very popular CDI film. We are not yet planning to shoot it but I want to get the first draft of the story down on paper.
I did read an outside script recently for a possible acting role but it looks like the schedules could overlap. One thing I’ve really learned over the years is to not commit to too much. I see many younger people fight with that. It can be scary when you are a freelancer and so many say yes to everything. That can be a mistake. I really put everything into whatever I’m working on. So with this Sept film around the corner we will see if I take on any outside acting. I do play a role in the upcoming film but we’ll talk about that on a different day.
WRAP UP: I’ve been feeling pretty good with how everything is flowing. We are working to streamline CDI business. My soccer season has been much needed. Our game last week had us win 4-1 our second win in a row. We lost the first two games 3-2 but we are now getting our groove with our team. I’ve got the yard in good shape with the plants. The mulberry and apple trees are heavy with fruit and I might start collecting mulberries this week for future wine making.
We will be scouting for our one needed location on the next film. I look forward to some of the meetings next week. I always have things on my TO DO list. I have several things I’m always working on. I love the good folks I get to work with and create. The journey is again that wonderful process. It will be fun having folks in the theater watching our current film. For my birthday (June 23rd) a good present would be to watch a CDI film(s) and if you have a favorite tell someone about it.
I’m going to go eat breakfast, water the plants, flea market and visit dad. Later today I will get to spend some brother time. I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday and spend time with your dad or spend a few remembering your dad if they have passed on. I hope each of you has a productive week ahead. Chip away at your dreams and don’t be hard on yourself if you go slower or make less progress. Just make sure you keep going in the right direction. Have faith in your dreams and be good to one another. When we speak again I’ll have made another trip around the sun official. I enjoy being where I am age-wise. I loved my younger days but I love my growth and wisdom too. Thank you for all joining me each and every week.
Coffee cheers!
DJ
‘Wild Faith Christmas’ and ‘Harsens Island Revenge’ Updates plus RIP to a Dear Friend of Tribe CDI
Hazelnut coffee cheers on a cool Michigan morning. I want to thank all the readers last week from 13 different countries. I want to note that the coffee is coming from a new NINJA coffee maker. I’m still trying to learn all the functions but it makes a good pot of coffee for sure. Our old one was getting glitchy stopping and starting while brewing. I have had a full week of updates some exciting and some sad, as that is how life is. Let’s start with some happy life updates. I preach to all my young “knights” (artists) around the table of the fort to mind their dental. I’m very persistent on staying on all that with brushing, flossing, sonic, water pic and rinses. I eat a very low sugar diet and even my vices save the occasional glass of wine or beer has diminished. From soccer no doubt I dealt with a few teeth issues mostly cracks. Not as bad as hockey but soccer can be equally brutal with less pads. I’m not talking about millionaire star players rolling around in agony at the first touch. I’m talking about a league of older gents proving they still have it. Venting their life issues on the field with very intense play and I would have it no other way. Anyways, I had a cracked tooth they could not save because the crack was below the gum line. I had it removed and prepped for an implant/crown next year. Between that and the deep clean I had my teeth are in good shape. But many functions from joints to eyesight can be connected to infection of the teeth. I’m glad to have all that fixed and dealt with. But I do encourage the young artists to keep that a priority so not to have later in life issues.
(Fall friends!)
I’ve been doing a lot of prep on the property by managing the wild growth of plants and trees. I’ve been harvesting the herbs as they get closer to end of the season. We’ve been integrating two new younger chickens into the flock. We are still enjoying daily eggs and that is a wonderful thing. I put in motion the new deck improvements which I’m not doing. I have a few larger build projects that I want to do including a front porch, car port and better privacy fencing but everything costs. So projects have to be spread out and prioritized. I’m going to repurpose much of the old porch boards to maybe build a few things around the property. The new deck will be set with grading under panels to waterproof the under space. Next Spring will likely be pavers and such so a nice area can be created down below. But I love the high deck to sit and sip coffee while enjoying the property and the park beyond it. Bouncing between the desk work and the outdoor work makes for a good balance.
(Pepsi keeping the office/fort stocked! Thank you so very much.)
I’ve been hitting a few estate sales and today a flea market gathering props for our next two films. I’ve found some great stuff that will work well in the two films. I seldom find things for myself but often find great presents and gifts for people. The hunt is a lot of fun and the former owners would likely be thrilled their cherished items are being used to be part of a story. I even found a train conductors hat which you can guess what film that might go with. WILD FAITH CHRISTMAS is moving down the tracks to keep with our train analogy. We announced three new actors onto the film all have been party to CDI Tribe storytelling before. Tim Lovelace (Harsens Island Revenge), Randy Spence (Chasing the Star, Best Years Gone & Harsens Island Revenge) and Steven Sutherland (Ashes of Eden) have been announced. Go watch their previous films with CDI and you’ll see what awesome actors they are. With those roles filled that leaves us with only two major castings. Both are children and we’re closing in on those roles. Crew is locked in and now so is the schedule. The official script and breakdowns for departments will be distributed next week. Director Shane Hagedorn had a wonderful scout trip and also got to look at the mine set. I’ll be posting pics soon of another set piece build for the movie. We have several new sponsors coming on board to join Pepsi, Lerma Transportation, Ace Pyro, Reinert Pottery and more. You can see them in a folder on our FB page along with some great pics of cast, sets and promo art. We are full speed ahead- giddy up!
(Now we are getting closer to a locked film!)
Harsens Island Revenge – As of early last week half the film score was completed and mixed in. Director Carl Weyant and composer Dennis Therrian plotted out the second half and that is being worked on. The film has intensity and romance and everything in between. Karl Manke‘s book of the same name is going to be epic on the big screen. I won’t go as far as to draw a direct comparison to Elmore Leonard but he’s on the same path. Unique stories and characters in his books and now films too. I still cherish the hour plus I spent drinking and talking with Elmore Leonard in Hamtramck, MI before realizing who I had been talking with. I got a sneak peek at the theatrical poster our director is working on and I was excited. It should be done next week and our friends at Pepsi plan to print them for the Alpena, MI premiere and the other premiere 2024 showings. I’m in talks to have our new partners at Dreamscape Productions participate in the theatrical roll out which is looking like 1st Q of 2025. For those awaiting home video it will likely be Summer 2025 that it comes out. This is how all the distribution windows work.
The Fall/Spooky season is upon us and that is good for films like BIGFOOT, UFO’S & JESUS aka LOST HEART, WILD FAITH, BEST YEARS GONE, BESTSELLER and several of the CDI associated films. (See CDI’s new Instagram page tribecdi that is slowly listing all the CDI films.) And immediately after starts our holiday window where films like SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA, FORTY NIGHTS, CHASING THE STAR and THE CHRIST SLAYER will be on full push.
I will be meeting with Bart Ketner in the next two months that will be overseeing our CDI EBAY merchandise page. I also love this trend of charity like what we’re doing with the new AN ORDINARY KILLER release (HD DVD coming soon and streaming before Christmas) benefitting Two Average Joes Media and The Red, White and Blue Project non profit. The EBAY page will launch end of November in time to get a few Christmas CDI swag with a % going to aligning charities. I might even get into doing signed scripts, movie props and wardrobe to raise money for various good causes. Curran Jacob’s FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH documentary film is another project where a % of the revenue goes to veteran families and youth wrestling organizations. It is about giving back and creating awareness.
(Greg Mason with Debbie Bennett RIP)
These two attributes were strongly held values with a special member of the CDI Tribe Debbie Bennett. She retired from being a specialist in the medical field helping people so her love of helping is no surprise. We at CDI met her as the kind, smiling and helpful significant other of actor Greg Mason. She had accompanied him to several premieres and after the WILD FAITH premiere she quietly asked if she could get more involved. I wasn’t sure what she was asking but inquired to what she had in mind. She had heard about our next film MBF: MAN’S BEST FRIEND that highlighted the plight of adoption dogs and wounded veterans. We had a few potential investors at the premiere to discuss the future film(s). She asked if she could invest. Now filmmakers know how hard financing can be but quality storytelling does somewhat sell itself. She had been quietly listening to all the other financial investor talks and was more savvy than anyone assumed. Never judge a book but the cover. She was an Executive Producer on MBF and the film LOST HEART after that. She came to set and worked as a driver picking up talent and taking them to the set and back again. LOST HEART dealt with grief and loss but in a very humorous way. She loved being part of a film that helped people (and dogs) she was an animal lover too. WAS- yes I was speaking in past tense. I got word from Greg Mason the other day that Debbie was no longer with us. She had issues with her liver and other complications and was now at peaceful rest. The CDI Tribe sends Greg and her family sincere condolences for the loss of a beauty soul. RIP Debbie but the stories you helped make and bearing your name will continue on.
This week we also added actor, writer, director Anthony (Tony) Hornus’ parents to our FB Collective Development Inc. “In Memory” folder. Most of our parents have played a great part in supporting our dreams as artists. That is not always the case but in Tony’s case it was definitely true. Just like our significant others who hold down the fort when we have to go away and film. Take a few moments to look at and read about many of the CDI artists no longer with us. I know I’ve missed some and sometimes I don’t learn about a passing for a while after. But we do try to add the folks who have traveled with the CDI Tribe along the way. Remember to appreciate the people that are supportive on your journey.
(My Mom and Dad with baby filmmaker DJ Perry)
WRAP UP: I’m going to wrap this up. This week I’ll be double checking our software that we use for accounting. (Thank you Dean and Josh) Also working with John Mashni on a few legal loose ends. I have to get our production check book in order and start putting agreements together for cast and crew. Everyone is doing little character things from looking at hair, wardrobe, props and such. I’m also going to get back to work on the TV series updates. I have 5 more shows to readjust to fit after the second film. I hope you all have a wonderful week getting your TO DO’s done. My alumni school Michigan State University won their second football match. Our Detroit Lions have their first game tonight which I’ll have to copy because I’m having some family and friends over. Again, appreciate the time with family and friends. Don’t be afraid to adventure and try something new. Many that we know are at rest their journey done. While your journey is alive and well, do the work, face the obstacles, trials and tribulations. Dare to do something great! I so appreciate all of you out there who spend your quiet moments with us. I hope I inspire some of you to dream on, as Aerosmith would say. Until next week-
Coffee Cheers!
DJ
DJ Perry's Official Blog 'Clawing My Way to the Middle' 