Flow Like Water – The ‘TOP TEN’ Collective Development Inc. Updates!
A chilly Sunday in Michigan with a dusting of snow. I’m so ready to get on with spring and start to get things cleaned up from winter. But the arctic air is still flowing down and so it will be wood stove at the office again this week. I want to welcome our new readers from Mexico, China, Ireland and more. I am sipping the hazelnut coffee that is chasing some of the chill away. I’m looking forward to more gatherings around the fire pit or chilling on the office porch or patio. The grill is ready to get a good work out this year. I was working on cutting down some of the old hops vines to prepare for the new sprouts that will grow along the deck soon. I want to have a new deck built and so I’ve been looking at different styles. I also want to put in a new privacy fence but all takes planning, time and money. I’ve been enjoying indoor soccer on Tuesdays which is getting the rust off my touch and getting my running endurance back into shape. I’m exciting about some of the new training I’ve been doing and I’m enjoying the challenge. Just a slew of activities to participate in this new year while working on our film projects. Let’s look at some of the CDI film updates shall we?
TOP UPDATES FROM LAST WEEK
- No fooling! The ‘DEEPFALL‘ music video “Revolution” is completed and will release April 1st and I encourage you to take a watch/listen. Here is the link where it will launch. https://youtu.be/xtlc7GQvr70 Produced by Collective Development Inc. it was posted by Weyant Alliance with Carl Weyant directing and editing. We will be looking to produce more music videos moving forward. If you have a band and a budget please do reach out and let us help take your exposure to the next level.
- BEST YEARS GONE – There is talk of moving the DVD/streaming purchase date to July 5th the day after the 4th of July celebrations versus June 5th. A miscommunication over a surround sound mix issue caused a slight hold up and now marketing might play better capturing the fireworks of the week. The film also announced that it has been nominated for ‘Best Comedy‘ at the BareBones International Music and Film Festival. Between this and the London-based Maverick Film Fest which we won, it tells me UK and Oklahoma both have great taste in humor. (Just kidding) We hope people all over the world enjoy this fun thought-provoking and yes, funny story. I am a tad disappointed in the push but only because I’m excited for people around the globe to laugh along. But if you need your dose of CDI sooner we have a few other releases.
- The thriller BESTSELLER, is an adaptation of the book by Chris Knight. CDI was brought in to access and reboot a failed start by another producer group. Again, when you get an investor to say YES, a slight toast to the hard work to that point is fine, but the real hard work lies ahead. The execution and completion of the film is no easy task and therein lies the fact despite what I may think creatively of a film I watch by my peers – you are in a new club of doers just by finishing. For the rough start that this film had, the reboot was really a good experience. We re-shot everything and kept maybe 5% of the original cast and crew moving forward. I did not what to get the reputation of being “the fixer” as that is still reactionary versus a properly prepped endeavor. So we re-shot the entire film and I really love the vibe that we absorbed into this footage. BESTSELLER is our closet nod to date to a ‘Hitchcock’ film. Melissa Anschutz (CDI producer/actress) gives intensity acting lessons, taking viewers all over the emotional spectrum showcasing once again her leading lady status. This film is a contender for INTENSITY for myself, in good company with films like DEADLY RENOVATION, THE 8th PLAGUE, MBF or WICKED SPRING. What do you think? Have you seen all these films? Let me know and prepare to enjoy BESTSELLER releasing in May!
- FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH has signed its distribution deal with DESKPOP ENTERTAINMENT and will start the delivery of assets so we can get home video release dates assigned. We are also in talks with several parties about setting up the premiere in Las Vegas. More on that soon!
- Our efforts on the tv series spin-off of WILD FAITH, Wild Faith: Hastings continues on with a few new submissions and discussions. This project has tens of millions that have enjoyed the feature and we’re working hard to give audiences the on-going adventures. We have eight scripts locked and loaded and folks are really enjoying them. Your favorite characters will continue to tell their stories with plenty of new characters to enjoy as well. Follow along as we push to get these added stories told at https://www.facebook.com/WildFaithHastingstvseries
- Help us keep creating a holiday tradition by starting a yearly watch of THE QUEST TRILOGY. Our three interlinking stories (Forty Nights, Chasing the Star and The Christ Slayer) explore some deep seated questions with a unique perspective that also takes into account the angelic community. Please do consider taking a watch with your loved ones. With the inspiration behind the “look” of the trilogy being the original three Star Wars films, it is a unique take to be experienced. Between the three films also lies some of our composer Dennis Therrian’s best work. Let me know your thoughts on these films.
- KNIGHT CHILLS – CDI’s maiden picture about a dungeons and dragons like game gone wrong has stayed in the pop culture since the 90’s. The film will be getting a streaming release and a new BluRay deal is in the works. Also I’ve seen the first version of “Sir Kallio” being developed for the Knight Chills video game. The sequel has been in serious talks for several year. Part of it is finding the right team for what was CDI’s first. This new team has to have the same passion we all did on the first one. Good things lie ahead including merchandise for this oldie but goodie.
- I’ve been getting some kind notes from folks having watched MAN’S BEST FRIEND and LOST HEART, thank you. These two films are both real thought provokers. MBF is a bit heavier in tone where Lost Heart has moments of straight up comedy woven throughout it. Have you seen either of them? Which is your cup of tea? Let me know.
- SMOKE & MIRRORS – Love this short that we held over for a year during Covid. We’re looking for a few horror events to showcase our turn of the century (steam punk) proof of concept culled from my feature script. David Gries and Melissa Anschutz are awesome as the film’s leads. I had a blast acting in this one and I do see the full feature getting made in good time.
- SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA – This film was many years in the making. But I’ve found that stories almost have a life of their own. They sometimes happen when they are needed to happen. We had no way of knowing the coming of this new war but our story is so relevant. It has some themes and topics that will really ring true with people. We are working hard to get a locked picture allowing music and sound design to begin. Aside from the main work flow (currently editing) we are editing a teaser trailer. This will be a first look at the story we all worked hard to tell. A chance to see some of the characters come to life for the first time on screen. To say I’m excited would be an understatement. But I also see so many of you excited as well. Follow us along at https://www.facebook.com/SNIAmovie for all the latest updates!
We ended the week with a recap and toast. We faced a Covid crisis and now we face all the fall out from unrest in the world. But we at CDI are committed to keeping something constant – the storytelling. I’m so appreciative to all our backers who choose to assist in creating versus hating or getting swallowed by the daily negativity. I believe our stories speak right to the hearts, minds and souls of audiences. In a world where effective communication is at an all time low – we need the stories. CDI is a tribe of amazing doers and we will keep doing our thing. We will keep building the new HOT ROD LOVE and our other developmental properties, while toasting and pushing our successes now coming to market. CDI is still not operating at its most efficient as a production company since we could be producing every quarter of the year but right now funding slows things. I had to check myself recently because I’m normally very good at keeping 10-100 steps back from an endeavor allowing me to keep the proper perspective. It allows me to see what others cannot, gaining patience by faith. The faith that all the prioritized “day to day” tasks completed will add up to greater overall things. I got close to another big deal that’s still evolving and developing alongside a few equally exciting opportunities, but I started to allow my desired timeline to conflict with the flow of the river. Wade out into a river and try to stop the flow. Your frustration will arise and your patience can easily erode but…step out onto the river’s band. You can see the flow. Drop in a few rocks and you can change the flow. Flow like water – ah Bruce Lee. Patience is restored – flow and get there when you get there. If you are working hard it will happen in its time. Okay. I’m going to get a few Sunday things done here and I want to thank you all for stopping by and taking a read. Subscribe and feel free to drop me any feedback. Have a great week and be good to one another.
DJ
Filters of Attitude = Finding Your Balance
The hazelnut coffee taste so good on this chilly Sunday morning. We got a record setting 13 inches when the snow storm came through. We might get a bit more later in the day. I for one love the beauty of the snow but I’m ready to move on to Spring. We had a “Viking” day chopping wood to keep the wood stove roaring. I’m excited to implement many new improvements to the property this year. Our moving of veggies and herbs to raised beds and turning the garden into chicken land has been fun. They are fun to watch like little Dinosaurs.
I want to say that everyday that I read about someones untimely passing it reminds me to love what I’m doing and the people I’m doing it with. That is professionally and personally. I know friends and family that have lost pets, parents, grandchildren and even one past film peer was announced to have passed away. I was not extremely close with him but exchanged communications over the years when either of us has a new success. The sad thing about the last mentioned loss was that it may have happened by their own infliction. I’ve had a few friends over the years that fight real mental battles with themselves. I think on some levels we all do but some cope poorly where others eventually find their way out of the forest.
I’ve had dark days in my past whereas my parents divorced after 30 years putting me in the middle and my acting career was struggling. Michigan’s film scene in the late 80’s and into the 90’s was lacking. I see folks complaining about a lack of opportunities today and chuckle. Today is like a sea of opportunity versus the 90’s. Also post tax incentives the term filmmaker became legit to the common everyday person. Much of my darkness was knowing what I wanted but not having any guides or mentors in that field. My dearest mentor, my father, was rightfully concerned. I had essentially came home and told my father I was going to be an astronaut. Again something made more realistic thanks to the billionaire space race. But he knew how easy life could be if I took the easier road, the practical road. His concerns came after several years yielded very little, in his mind. Failure can affect people different.
A certain amount of punishment and failure can break some and force them into a secondary or pie-life. Pie-Life is when you work X amount of the pie to earn shells and beads ($) so you can freely enjoy the remaining part of the pie, your life. A few years in the real world and most have sufficiently built a standard of living prison around them that forces them to stay the course with the survival job, pie-life. For others of us that have “it” (passion) bad and refuse to let go no matter how much rough ground they’re dragged over. I felt like Indiana Jones being dragged behind that Nazi truck hauling the ark. (Raiders of the Lost Ark) I climbed hand over hand up the whip, climbed on the truck’s bumper, over the side, kick in the doors, punch and throw the driver out and took over the truck. BAM!
If someone can do something else occupational and be happy living the ‘pie life’ or even something close to contentment, do it. But if you are stricken with that passion that will not leave you, embrace it. By that I mean stop being half-ass and whining and do those things you were afraid to try. Pull your confidence, self-worth and inner fire from your own personal well and don’t just try to pull energy from people. When people feel your personal geothermal-like creative energy, they will be drawn. People who draw energy from the masses is a slave to the masses. Now artists create for the masses but often to show a perspective. Life is all about perspective and perception. What we perceive can be seen via positive or negative filters. A failure might be seen as negative but in deductive reasoning it can be a positive. An elusive goal might have just been made easier to obtain as certain roads are found to be dead-ends. No more time wasted or spent. Although some will get caught in that loop, beware.
So the negative of loss that I see each day ever since we’ve all become so much more inter connected as a society, can be a positive fuel to live and pursue dreams and goals. I’m so proud of one of my associates who set out to write and take a few children’s books to market and he has. Tomorrow isn’t promised. A beautiful and haunting statement. Life is a mysterious and short phase of existence and so I would ask that those out there questioning, stay the course. Ride life and learn whatever lessons you can but best of all is learn to be the best you. I’ve said this before, the path to your dreams sometimes lies in helping others with theirs. I know some people will say I’ve helped their journey immensely and others will say, I have not. The truth is you can’t help everyone. You can inspire by your actions to pass it on. I’ve had mentors and I try to mentor. But I come from that martial arts background and sports. To take valuable time from some teachers you have to be prepared and focused, ready to learn. You can apply that lesson to teachers in school. Respect that they are there to try and teach you.
Let’s bring this around to movies, my favorite medium. It also includes some of my favorite artists, filmmakers. Last week we were treated to the announcement that BEST YEARS GONE was multi-nominated and won a few awards. The biggest award being BEST PICTURE which is great because it embodies the collective effort.
SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA is soundly in post. A BTS (behind the scenes) video is being worked on and the first look teaser is being outlined. Meanwhile the feature is being cut with the first rough being done by mid March. We’ll keep rolling out some new photos while we wait for these first videos.
HOT ROD LOVE is the next CDI picture and we’re looking to prep in May and shoot in June. It’s a heartfelt comedy that has many classic 70’s and 80’s influences. We’re putting our investor/sponsor presentation materials together, but the truly exciting news coming this week is the announcement of a director and Dir of Photography- Mr. Shane Hagedorn and Travis Hayward. This re-teaming is building on the previous chemistry of BEST YEARS GONE, coming to home video starting in June. Our #1 goal with BEST YEARS GONE was to have fun filming. The Covid lockdowns had beaten everyone down and the humor and fun making the film translated to the final product. That laughter is the big take away from the theatrical playdates thus far. The world needs more laughter right now.
WILD FAITH: HASTINGS – More great discussions on this TV series spin off. I have follow ups first thing this coming week. It is going to happen, I’m just trying to follow the best road to production that keeps the integrity intact. Have you seen the feature WILD FAITH? Take a watch. Leave a review on imdb.com or the film’s amazon page and let us know if a sequel interests you. I love the idea of how many folks will be involved should the tv series happen.
The WEEK ahead-
This week is wrapping up end-of-year tax materials for the films. I actually got almost all my personal tax stuff around. This year has been quite smooth so far thanks to our amazing team. I’ve also been keeping my daily screenwriting happening. I’m deep into another comedy script from a treatment I’ve been bouncing around for years. I’ve got my next work-for-hire script/production coming up. It is an adaptation from a book, which I’ve almost finished. I’m really excited about the time period and the storyline. One other work-for-hire script/production is in discussion. Everything in their own time. But I find these cold days are the best for screenwriting.
Last week we talking about video game development and more which haven’t advanced too much in the past week. I got buried in numbers for a few days. But several projects including animation and a music video are in development. It is a busy time but as we discussed prior, get doing- if that is your calling. I have lots to work out in the coming weeks as we’re also in some serious production talks that could be a multi-year commitment. I laugh, because it’s all really a multi-year, lifetime commitment. It’s all a process to try and streamline funding and production. Balance. It’s all about balance. I’m going to bring this to a close. I have some writing to attend to and a few things to do around the homestead.
Be good to one another and coffee cheers.
DJ
‘BEST YEARS GONE’ Races Into Their First Festival with a Checkered Flag! Plus 10 CDI Updates
Happy Sunday! I’m sipping the hazelnut coffee and happy that we did not get hit by that huge east coast storm. It went under us meaning we got the cold and a few snow flakes but not 20+ inches of snow. This past week flew by with me attacking the gathering of info for our accounting firm. This coming week the 1099’s will go out and I’ve been prepping things for end of year taxes also. We had one day this week we chose as “Viking Thursday” to cut firewood. We actually damaged the axes breaking one handle and losing the head on another. That means I’m in Axe fix mode this week but we got the job done using sledge hammers, wedges and a splitting ring. A splitting ring is a device that you place the log inside resting on a blade and hammer it down to split it. That day we worked was bitter but we got enough split for the next week or two.
The next CDI feature film is looking to be HOT ROD LOVE. The script is getting some amazing feedback and this week I’ll be breaking down more of the business aspects. We are looking at trying to hit an April/May shoot in Michigan. We’ll be announcing more on this property as we go. Now wait, didn’t CDI just do a race theme film? Yes. But that was circle track racing and this is drag racing. The CDI Race Trilogy? Haha, not really, maybe. The film is a comedy with some nice life lessons attached but it could be our biggest comedy to date.
BREAKING NEWS! So BEST YEARS GONE is prepping for its home video premiere run in June-Sept and in the meantime we’ll keep playing some theaters and also a few select film events. I will say that I’m not a fan of virtual events but with all these festivals going remote one thing stands out to me. Often the filmmakers that show up at the event and smoke have a better chance of winning because the fest gets a good acceptance speech (sometimes). So to me the one positive is that the films are really being evaluated on the content vs the political ‘schmooze’ factor. Our director Shane Hagedorn submitted us to a few select festivals. We announced that we had our first official acceptance into –
We found our yesterday that we were nominated for the following categories and actually won a few award. I’m so proud of this film and the cast and crew involved. First the SCREENPLAY was Nominated as one of the best. I appreciate this nomination greatly as I love writing and believe it is the foundation of every great film. Without a good battle plan you don’t have a real chance. I also think that having such strong source material from Karl Manke (book Hope From Heaven) also helped.
I feel our entire cast could have been nominated for the rich roles they brought to the story but this organization nominated three actors for awards. Melissa Anschutz and Randy Spence for BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS and ACTOR. It is only due to all these supporting performances especially by my costar Erika Hoveland that allowed me to be nominated and actually win BEST ACTOR for my work as ‘Gil Gilles’. But that’s not all-
As we all know the technical people behind the scenes help create and capture the world/story. I again believe that many of the crew were nomination worthy but Mr. Travis Hayward was nominated and WON for BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY. And finally, my favorite nomination and WIN…
This award represents the TRIBE! We all made this picture what it is and again I’m just so proud of our cast and crew and excited for the world audience to see this film. Here is a great statement from our director Shane Hagedorn. But first a quote from a legend.
What we do come up with has no special right to call itself better. It’s just different. No, if there’s any excuse for us at all, it’s that we’re simply following the old American tradition of the maverick”.
-Orson Welles
And from our director-
“I am thrilled for our cast and crew on these major wins and nominations from Maverick Movie Awards. Although we filmed through the height of the pandemic of 2020, our tribe of artists and crafts folk banded together to create something unique and special–all the while overcoming many obstacles while doing so. Thanks to the team at Maverick for recognizing our art and best efforts”.
-Shane Hagedorn
Our release dates can be found on our IMDB.com page and updates are flowing out to our FB page also. I also want to take a moment to give congrats to my fellow local filmmaker/actor Michael McCallum, who was also nominated in the shorts division for ‘Best Actor’ and I believe had a few other nominations between two (?) shorts they had represented. I’m not 100% sure on all the nominations but I wanted to tip my hat. Two filmmaker groups from Lansing, Michigan getting noticed in London, England, nice.
Let me see if I can do a bullet point of some of the weeks activities-
- More “Silent Night in Algona” stills are being released on FB and soon (Feb) we’ll release a BTS video. Editing is underway with a first cut expected by mid-March.
- “SMOKE & MIRRORS” the short proof of concept short cut from the feature script is uploaded to film freeway and a few choice festivals will be chosen for this steampunk, spooky short starring David Gries and Melissa Anschutz.
- We are moving closer to a deal on FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH, our doc on the history of grappling/wrestling directed by our own Curran Jacobs.
- A verbal agreement has been made on moving forward with an app video game based on CDI’s first feature film from the 90’s KNIGHT CHILLS. The film is a cautionary tale about bullying woven into the awesome realm of role playing games like Dungeons & Dragons. Paperwork will follow this week.
- Look on Facebook ENCOURAGE TV for my buddy Josh “Ponceman” Perry promoting BIGFOOT, UFO’S & JESUS. If you haven’t seen the film you should. It is a fun romp and ‘Chip’ Josh Perry is a show stealer. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=4724060584352381&id=124174114296086&ref=sharing&_rdr
- In the wake of THE QUEST TRILOGY push that will continue through Easter has brought up discussions on a couple other possible films set in the time of sand and sandals. These films come from a unique perspective different from most biblical adventures. So even if organized religion is not your thing, you might enjoy these three films which purposely shoot in a ‘Star Wars‘ original trilogy style.
- WILD FAITH and the developing WILD FAITH: Hastings TV series are growing stronger. As millions view the feature each year, enjoy the storytelling, the eight show series is getting closer. Now as people are getting back to work I hope to move some major pieces on the chessboard with this TV series.
- BESTSELLER is finally getting the home video release it deserves. I cannot wait to see the new artwork and such. It goes to digital rental I believe same day as BEST YEARS GONE (Sept 1st, 2022) This script is adapted from the book of the same name written by Michigan’s own Christopher Wright.
- I hope to do a follow up meeting soon to see what the evaluation of some of the old CDI library films yields at BMG. Some would need to be uprezed and conformed but that would be cool to see! Are you hoping for any one film in particular to come to the market in HD?
- WICKED SPRING is being introduced to new audiences and old audiences are getting to stream the film in HD. I want to try and do some collectors merchandise on this film in 2022. I’m thinking about a collectors poster. If you enjoy merchandise we have several items up from various films at the http://www.cdiproductions.com site.
I’m going to wrap this up and get on some bacon and eggs. Our chickens are doing well even with the frigid cold they are still kicking out eggs. I might look into my axe situation. This week ahead will be productive. I’m doing some more writing and have two other potential script writing projects. I do enjoy that writing time especially when it is freezing outdoors. If I missed anything – forgive me. This week I wish you all well and remember to have patience and be good to one another.
DJ
AND that’s a Wrap on SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA!
Well, well, well – we are an official wrap on SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA. I’m sipping the hazelnut coffee trying to chase away the cobwebs. It has been several weeks of less than perfect sleep. During production you always have so much on your mind. Always trying to look ahead and anticipate issues and needs. Lines. As an actor you are always keeping those in your head until they become living moments on film. I’m happy to say that Col Lodell is wrapped. The high and tight haircut and sharp uniform can now be relaxed and retired. Last night we finished filming in the woods around WILD HAVEN. It was a great joy to have everyone together and to bring the ship in. Now we’re going to prep the camp to break in the morning. It will take a few weeks to get all the business finished. The puzzle will begin to be rough assembled. The footage will be prepped for the edit. What an adventure. One for the books to be sure.
I’m looking forward to sleeping in my own bed. I’ll have to start to prep for winter and get some of the yard stuff stowed in advance of that snowy white stuff. We are having a little Thanksgiving at our house and I have a lot to be thankful for. I’m thankful that we all safely made it through our shoot. I’m thankful for the great group of artists we worked with on both sides of the camera. I’m thankful that we could capture this story so that it will not disappear, lost in time.
I’m not 100% sure what is next but we have many irons in the fire. I’m looking forward to doing some more writing in the coming weeks. Just me, my coffee and my imagination. I would love to talk more in depth but right now I need to let it all seep in and marinate. I will be back to writing on Sundays again starting next week. I’m sure I will have a lot more to reflect upon at that time. Right now I need to go fill the coffee cup and start to pack up my stuff.
BEST YEARS GONE will be playing on Lansing, MI at the Celebration Cinemas the week around Thanksgiving. If you haven’y yet watched the film and live in the area, please do.
Until we speak again next week – be safe.
DJ
HAPPY Mother’s Day! Also CDI’S TOP 10 UPDATES (There are some good ones)
My first sips of hazelnut coffee on this Sunday morning. I’ve been recovering the last two days from my first of the season soccer matches. My legs are in good shape but not ready for the constant run and directional changes. Yesterday my legs were stiff and tad heavy giving me the ‘mummy’ walk – “COIN!” (Old Scooby Doo reference)
I had a very productive week on many fronts and I’m just so pleased with how everything is moving along. But before we get into all the film updates let take this moment to celebrate mommas. EVERYTHING I’ve done in this life I’ve done because I was brought into this world. Every story that started as a spark in my imagination and brought to screen is because of her. (Dad also had something to do with it:) But I’m just so appreciative that I was given this opportunity. We will have the moms over this afternoon for an early dinner. A few love gifts and a good meal. I LOVE you momma:) Happy Mother’s Day to all of you. That counts if you mother child or animal, so again – thank you to all the mothers for what you’ve done, are doing and will do because that is what mother’s do. LOVE.
Maybe let’s try a TOP TEN Updates
- FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH documentary is now in editing. We had a post meeting last week and we’ll even having a teaser trailer coming soon. This is about the history of the grappling arts and the evolution of “Catch” as told by those who love it the most. Hosted and directed by two time world champion Curran Jacobs. We have some great interviews. Big Kudos to Dan Chipman our mobile production and Adam Towner, B camera and post. This just might be the first of many documentary collaborations between #Tribecdi with The Red, White and Blue Project Inc. You can follow us on IMDB and Facebook as we have pages for both now.
- BESTSELLER – This “Hitchcock” like thriller adapted from the book by Christopher Knight has been signed for a new release campaign. This film stars Melissa Anschutz, DJ Perry, Ralph Lister, Taylor Nichols and Lana Wood. It has really only had a limited DVD release and so this new push will be much greater. It is R-rated (language and implied violence) but is done without being overly graphic. This film captures Michigan in the fall in all it’s haunting glory. I will have more info as we go but I believe the idea is a late summer/fall release!
- BEST YEARS GONE – the first pass on dialog clean up is complete. Last week our director and composer discussed music cues and even sound design ideas. Color Correction is happening as we speak along with the edit of our first official trailer. As if that wasn’t enough- we’re planning the premiere, manufacturing merchandise and more official stills are being prepped for delivery to our distributor (BMG) so they can begin poster art. Lotta fun ahead with this movie and I think audiences will really enjoy it. I need to add that the Battle of the Bands judging is underway by our team and celeb judges. We will be announcing a winner this month!
- LOST HEART is really a film that has a lot going for it. But to try and convey that via shelf art alone is hard. The film is a story is about music star Hannah Sweet going back to her home town for a funeral but the B story is the town of ‘Lost Heart’ itself. It started with fan mail before Christmas from men who had lost the remote and via wife/girlfriend and was made to watch ‘Lost Heart’ and really loved it. I recall one gent saying that he would have never watched that film except by his wife’s choosing. But he loved the Bigfoot, UFO (UFA?:) and humorous mystery in our story. In a meeting with our distributor I recall telling these stories after discussing the demographic audience that is being drawn to our story. A joke was mention that if the title was “Bigfoot, UFO’s and Jesus” the film would find its partially missing male demographic. Guys hanging out amongst themselves are unfortunately not going to randomly watch a film named ‘Lost Heart,’ which is a name I truly love. It was pointed out to me that a title like “Bigfoot, UFO’s and Jesus” would also attract more women who were equally into the mystery aspects, like my own cousin Angie. So I stand corrected. This GM release should add to our overall audience by revealing the wonderful B story of our film. It was a nice hidden gem inside our story but I think we need to be more direct. So a ‘General Market/GM’ campaign release is underway with a new title, poster art and trailer. I will share this new artwork at the end of this update. But I’m very excited because this film/story deserves to be seen by many, many, many more people from around the world. And so it will.
- WILD FAITH/HASTINGS – I want to do a polish up on the “Hastings” scripts for simple grammar mistakes but I had a few more connections start to open up on the WILD FAITH TV spin off. I’m excited to put that into play to shoot next year. I know the feature is growing an audience around the world and so the series would have a nice welcome audience.
- MBF/MAN’S BEST FRIEND – This film has been working its way into the marketplace. I was told a new deal was just executed taking the film into Latin America. I know it is making its way into territories around the world. The top two questions I get with this film 1) Will you do more martial arts filming? I do have a great concept that will eventually make it to script. 2) What was Paul’s sentence, will there be a sequel? Right now I like keeping Paul’s fate in limbo with audiences. Will there be a Part 2? Never say never. If you have not watched this film – watch it. If you have and enjoyed it, pass it along. Thank you to the many fans of this film out there.
- The Quest Trilogy (Forty Nights, Chasing the Star, The Christ Slayer) – A special message is spread across these three stories. Actually several lessons are presented and the way the story is told – everybody can take something positive away. The film series just ran through the holidays at Sony/Pureflix and again I so appreciate all the fan mail letting me know how much you enjoyed our stories. It is humbling and powerful what can be done with a story.
- SMOKE & MIRRORS – This early 1900 short tale is getting the final touches. Maybe we’ll cut some teaser in the coming weeks. It’s spooky. It’s kookie. Wait a minute! It’s a really fun little film that was derived from one of my feature script. This will make a great feature film. All in good time.
- SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA – We’re making great strides on all fronts. Last week we announced Garry Nation and David Reardon coming on board. Our German casting is almost complete. Discussions with the art departments has started in earnest as we prepare to create the world of 1944 Algona. This week we should start in on our sponsorship endeavors. We have a lot of excitement in these circles and we’re excited to align with these brands. To do what we do at these modest levels requires the assistance of the community and our sponsors. Thank you to all of those supporters past and present. And here is an additional cheers to our future ones! This week we should roll out two more of the great talent associated with this film. I’m beyond excited to tell this story. If your company or business wants to support this based on true events WW2 home front drama please reach out.
- TRIBE CDI – The biz of the biz, I had a VERY productive week working with Bank of America to streamline our fleet of films. All this is to help streamline our inner workings. This all can make a days work only a few hours. Also had a good meeting with another one of the team (Tiger) who oversees dispersement amongst a other things. We will be prepping some of those to go out in the coming weeks. Thank you. As you all support the films, we get to keep making the films. I’m excited to see in the next decade what stories are brought to life on screen! Thank you also to Dean Teaster (COO) and Gary Davison and his team. David Gries & Carl Weyant who maintain the website. #Tribecdi is not a catching hashtag it really does represent a tribe of artists and the business that supports it.
I just enjoyed a wonderful breakfast bagel with our own eggs and 4H bacon – so good. The yard is really looking good and the warmth is creeping into Michigan. I look forward to having many enjoyable meetings both business and social in the coming weeks. I’m going to end this here with some great new poster art for Lost Heart’s new general release. Be good to one another. Be safe and keep following your dreams.
Coffee Cheers!
DJ
PS: The new trailer is almost done and I really do love it. I could not stop smiling.
Winter Gives Way to Spring – NEW Updates!
Coffee cheers and welcome to all our new readers and followers from Peru, Ireland, Austria and more! The week actually flow by and we went from unusually warm to cold and rainy and now sunshine is called for later in the week. As of Monday it will mark my week 2 after my second Covid shot. We just visited with a neighbor last night who had a memorial for their 52 year old nephew lost to Covid complications. So for many it is still a very real thing. I’m actually looking forward to getting back at in-person meetings, biz mixers and such. I’m very happy with all the weekly progress on our CDI projects.
(DJ Perry & Erika Hoveland in ‘Best Years Gone’)
BEST YEARS GONE (In Post) has many things happening at once. The film is undergoing color correction, dialog edit with music and sound design up next. I bet we listen to all the cleaned up dialog soon. The Battle of the Bands is giving us a good listen at some of the artists. Merchandise for this film is going to increase which is exciting. But the premiere planning is really cool. We are looking at having “The 1st Annual Gilles Cup” a regional “Best Up&Comer” amongst the “spectator drag” racing participants. This will be followed by the winning music video and the film itself playing on a huge blow up screen inside the in-field of the track.
For the Love of Catch (In Post) This amazing documentary has been filming for a month plus now and will be moving into the post-production phase. We will start to assemble these legends who speak about their exploration into the art of grappling and ultimately the love they have for the sport.
SMOKE & MIRRORS (In Post) – This passion project is a short film adapted from a feature script of mine of the same name. We had a commercial opportunity that needed “demo footage” and so we filmed a condensed short story. I’ve been reworking the feature script for a future production with Nathaniel Nose directing. I’m thinking of playing the short in front of BEST YEARS GONE to start its run. We also want to do a benefit screening for the Turner-Dodge House where we filmed. It is a spooky, fun short with amazing performances from David Gries and Melissa Anschutz.
DISTRIBUTION TITLES
MAN’S BEST FRIEND enjoyed a new General Market push which started out with a bang as a Latin American license was immediately made. The film is really starting to get out there and I’m so appreciative of all the reaching out by those that love this film. I keep hearing people ask about a sequel and I’m just not quite sure. I like how the film ends. It is not all tied up in a bow. An action/martial arts film? Maybe. I do have a pretty good idea for one. Thank you for all the compliments and it was nice to showcase some of my skills.
LOST HEART continues its march and the general market release will take it even further. Thank you to ICVM for the nominations. I’m proud to have two films in the top 5. This film is up for many nominations this May and I know that Melissa Anschutz and Victoria Jackson will attend. Don Most might attend as well as one of our nominated actors. They will have a great time!
THE QUEST TRILOGY prime season window of Thanksgiving to Easter is now over. We’ll see how we did and we’ll be sending revenue to our supporters.
WILD FAITH/HASTINGS – The movie continues to grow in popularity and the TV series is developing. I had good talks with our distributor and we have a few new opportunities to help launch this into a 2022 series shoot.
With our co-productions – BESTSELLER might get a new release in full in 2022 as well as several of the CDI General Market titles. AMERICAN LIAR and THE ACTOR are both available to watch on Amazon Prime.
DEVELOPMENT
Silent Night in Algona we announced the new cast of Shane Hagedorn and Christine Marie. Both are amazing actors who have brought some great characters to the screen. They will do this once again. Our next two announcements will be a great semi-regular talent working with the tribeCDI and one from our “Ghost Town” past. This matching will be incredible and I can already see the magic scenes they will create. MAY will be when we start to officially approach sponsors. If you have interest in aligning your service or product with our WW2 film please do reach out.
WRAP UP
The ‘Chicken Land’ is fully operational and the girls love the greens. They have also started giving eggs so that is a great addition to the mornings. I am going to wrap this up and go do some sunny side up with rye toast and 4H bacon. I also purchased a pair of long elevated grow beds so that we can still do some of the garden favorites. Rhubarb and catnip are ready to harvest and I’m about to put the first lawn mow down. Also May 6th starts up soccer season! I’m excited to get back out there. I do strength and stretching daily along with my martial arts practice but running…not a fan unless I’m doing something. So the first few games might be rough not to mention just your ankles and knees getting their first stop/start work outs. Blueberry bushes will arrive soon. The apple trees look like they are going to be full this year. I will also start working to fill the wood boxes again for next winter.
I’m also going to get back to my script writing since I don’t currently have an assignment. I’ve been bouncing between my SciFi script and the feature Smoke & Mirrors rework. I’ve enjoyed the pondering, research and scribbles as I pull these stories together. Carry on with your own endeavors and watch as those daily small steps all add up and take you closer to your goals and dreams.
Happy Sunday!
DJ
Actor Questions, Advice and Top 10 Weekly Updates!
The coffee is a welcome treat on this snowy Sunday. I’m happy to see so many people joining us from around the world. Barbados, Ireland, Vietnam and the lists go on. I’m proud that our circle here is from all corners of the world. Fun stuff this week with the Mars landing and the new pictures. To see such a vast new place and the countless planets of various types that might be open to explore in the years to come. I’ve always been in love with outer space and I’m happy to see so many advances underway. My SciFi script will get finished this year. I’ve already got some plans to test film some of the model shots. We’ll be addressing some of the needed VFX in the next two projects that will help us with that film.
I often ask for questions – this was asked on FB by an aspiring actor from our state. I don’t know the individual but he was asking a group “Do actors truly go out of their way to help other actors?” First you’ll find that I don’t engage in wall conversations often if ever. I come here to discuss things and to pose questions and give information. I guess you first have to define HELP. I saw people debating, lamenting and offering insights. Is help giving advice on resume, pics, cover letters? Is it offering encouragement after rejection? I think people are hesitant to recommend people because in a way they too become accountable. Actor X who has been a positive contribution in past projects recommends actor Y who is late, unprepared, bad attitude or any other negative and both X and Y can have their relationship affected. So I think people are hesitant to risk their few good contacts.
I can put this situation in a producer realm. We at CDI use a location and we take it very serious and take precautions. If another haphazard production comes in with the owners thinking oh, they are like CDI. And they discover the new filmmakers are not careful like CDI, it can poison a well. These lessons can be applied anywhere. I’m careful about my recommendations. So back on topic – do actors help other actors? I think actors who have a role want the best around them so they might recommend. Actors still trying to land a role usually don’t push anyone because they don’t want to be seen as having demands. But as an actor, I feel I’m selling a unique interpretation so I’m not worried of others. You should have faith in what you bring to the table. I’m a person who never feels like I need to worry about the other talent and I’ll tell the stories I’m meant to tell.
To finish this topic. What does the actor do to help themselves? Are they prepared for an opportunity? Are their materials strong and prepared? Are their websites and actor links updated? Do they reach out with cover letters to create new opportunities or just wait for an agent with 8,000 actors to get you that job? Do you work to network and to better your own presentation? You can only help someone so much and they need to HELP themselves by doing what they can do. I can promise you that I’ve gotten to where I am by lots of sacrifice and work when others played. KINKOS was my office back in the day. So after reading all the other opinions on the subject I decided to give this individual my attention. What I want to see is GAME FOOTAGE. I saw a link for a video reel, clicked it and…VIDEO NOT FOUND! This was me in my own state with a few other film folk but many casting folks have only seconds. OK. Good face. Reel? Deactivated. Move on. So someone is asking why doesn’t anyone help me with his subtext but they are not helping themselves by fixing broken links, updating materials and so on. So how many actors are helping themselves to the fullest? I could again add up the wasted time people spend lamenting and in that time a few business proposals could be sent out. Just stuff to ponder.
This week has been full of updates so maybe I’ll do a Top 10 today-
- https://www.prlog.org/12858547-curran-jacobs-versatile-talent-man-with-many-missions-career-goals.html is the link announcing our first actor to SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA. He also had a World Champion Catch-Can match at the end of the week. Read all about it here.
- Here is Don Most talking LOST HEART and MBF – https://www.facebook.com/TotallyDrivenTV/videos/487883575704988
- Here is a great ‘Faith on Film’ interview with Shane Hagedorn on our CDI films – https://www.youtube.com/watch?fbclid=IwAR0em9rnQtrgfSwhpTIB_Pa79fgpTHK6CyvGirYPS9Npv1Lhsa7bZGpapHA&v=pHFKX60JQ4U&feature=youtu.be
- Here is a great story about our BEST YEARS GONE film that is in editing with our director and editor. You can also see a Behind the Scenes video embedded in the story. – https://www.prlog.org/12857968-passing-through-the-storms-of-covid-unified-in-telling-story.html
- Again with our last film BEST YEARS GONE here is a fun video on ‘Masks’ by our fellow associate producer and AD Nate Robertson. – https://www.facebook.com/nathan.k.robertson.7/videos/10226043446822881
- We have had a lot of development work on the Battle of the Bands which I hope to launch March 1st, 2021 – original songs will have a chance to have a music video shot and be included in the film.
- The parent site http://www.cdiproductions.com has been undergoing updates with a new LOST HEART page and a new BEST YEARS GONE page will be going up. Be sure to stream any of your favorite films and be sure to check out the ever-growing merchandise pages.
- I’m excited about the new MBF campaign. On Encourage TV we are closing in on our first million views. WILD FAITH is likely going to cross over to 4 mil + views this week. LOST HEART is continuing to grow also and I had some wonderful fan mail so once again – thank you.
- I missed an opportunity to join some fellow cast/crew mates from ‘Book of Ruth‘ which was a nice remembrance to singer/actor Carman who passed away. https://youtu.be/7ogLfumsPNY It was great to see everyone and listen to the stories.
- This week the filming continues on the next phase of our documentary ‘For the Love of Catch‘ which is exciting. I hope to cut a teaser trailer for this soon.
I’m looking to wrap this up. This week was severely cold and at least on one day the cold gave the office wood stove a run. But yesterday we had the fire roaring and the last of the logs split into kindling. I’m not sure if the amount of wood will get us through. We have some additional logs that can be cut to size and split, so we’ll see if that is needed. I have to say that ‘axe days’ help keep you in great shape. Speaking of…I’m trying to get some info on our soccer season that was cancelled last year. I sure do hope it starts up this year as I need to run. And I hate to just run run so I need a reason to run. Soccer provides that great reason to run. I hope you all have a productive week. I plan to end the month strong and just maybe we’ll announce another SNIA casting.
Have a great week. Be good to one another.
DJ
The ‘Sacred Set’ of Unity and Non-Judgment – ART for the Save!
Another Michigan Sunday and another day of beautiful blowing snow. I think we’ll only get the fringes of this new storm. I had planned to jump right into the movie updates but I’ll discuss a few things here that I see as important. Not only to our endeavor but to all endeavors. I’ve noted that on our productions we have cast and crew from all parts of the spectrum. But this spectrum can be in ethnicity, religion, political or even the disabled. In the off time these artists go off to their own circles of living. Some feel the need to shout their stance about everything, lobbying their point to the masses on their social media walls. These opinions are often in opposition to one another which leads to child-like spats.
My sight of this banter is brief as I scroll to post our PR on various film projects. PR is really the only use I have for social media along with keeping up on a few cousin’s day-to-day lives. I’m disheartened by what I see which is a slew of people communicating beyond poorly. WHEN CONDEMNING HATE MAKE SURE YOU DON’T GO TO THE SAME PLACE. Social Media often misused becomes a poison. By reading lots of angry statements I see the poisoned people. People all sipping from the same cup of poison. As I work hard daily to develop, launch and fund projects, stories and parables whose goal is to cast positive light upon all people, others are busy ripping each other down.
I had some great meditations this week on politics since our country is still working to find its balance. I’m a moderate when it comes to governing. I don’t want total supremacy of any extreme stance. I don’t want to have everything my way. I will try to explain a bit better but it’s more about sharing my curiosity on the subject. If I have a group of priorities that is important to me, I’m happy to have some of my ‘wants’ met and to concede some priorities to others. If you have school children your priorities could be very different than a childless couple. But you know even while some of the priorities while not yours, helps others – and so you should be happy to give. Extreme people seem eager to win everything and after a while, at any cost.
In business, we call it same side of the table negotiation. So everyone walks away feeling like they got something they wanted or needed it is a WIN-WIN. If one party has everything and the other party has nothing, it’s not good for the balanced whole. But many people still so want it all. For you to have all others have nothing. Who does conflict serve? I cannot control the world or how individuals treat one another. A world where people are forever pointing out the perceived wrongs by the other party. People trying to remake the world into a place where two wrongs make a right. The one place I can control balance and unity is on a film set. I can say that the stories we tell are built onto the ancient chassis of tragedy and comedy.
I believe, again I say ‘believe’ in the restrictive age of dangerous opinions – that communication via storytelling is one of the few remaining ways of collectively, effectively communicating amongst people. And so by us leading by example – by putting stories of laughter and tears forth and pushing lessons to try and make everyone a little more kind and understanding. Our stories show us where we’re alike and illustrates the often toxic results of leaning too heavily into our differences. So we will continue to tell our stories with a vast array of artists without boxes. I did recently have someone say they might not want to participate in something if the people involved don’t align with their views. No such nonsense will prevail here. I’m accountable for good size chucks of money. I hire the best artists available to us. I work to unify and bring out the best in each artist and it manifests on the screen.
While shooting on ‘Best Years Gone‘ (Now we’re talking movies!) we had talented artists that come at things differently in their personal lives. That was all moved to the background as we told our story of imperfect love, loyalty and dream chasing. All this happened during heavy political and Covid times and yet our artists remained focused. In 10 to 20 years these stories will still be influencing while the politics of today become a notational blip in history. Be skilled. Give the Tribe your best efforts. Be respectful on set at all times to everyone. These are the things I care about. So our storytelling will never have strings attached or walls restricting people save maybe laziness, dishonesty and negativity. A CDI film is a manifested place of creativity, imagination and ingenuity. The outside world with all its A or B is not something I participate in. I choose to try and understand and develop people versus cancelling them and not listening. Participate in that game and nobody wins and eventually it will turn on you.
All the crazy seems to be over one person’s right to check a voting box. Their box checked is based on their own opinions but unsure people often feel the need to over-explain or justify why they check this box or that. You don’t need to explain your view or tear down the opposing view. Just check your box and move on. Why the need to justify with insults to people not listening? PEOPLE don’t listen if they don’t RESPECT. Start with that- I can’t heal people of their insecurity, or need to gather support for their opinions and viewpoints. But I will not get into the judge game as so many do. As I stated before, I don’t want nor need to have everything my way. I’m willing to concede some to create a better balance for the whole. When you walk up the plank boarding a TribeCDI ship you’ve willing come on board for a greater adventure. To tell a meaningful story that will enlighten for decades to come or maybe more. Black, white, brown or green – Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Pagan or Spaghetti Monster- Gay, Disabled, Conservative, Liberal, Moderate will all become ONE TRIBE of STORYTELLERS. This is the way:)
Forty Nights (The Quest Trilogy Part 1)
CHASING THE STAR (The Quest Trilogy Part 2)
The Christ Slayer (The Quest Trilogy Part 3)
THE QUEST TRILOGY above is getting ready to play as a series on PUREFLIX (SONY) on the run up to Easter. I think these films are 100% unique in that they were made with no agenda except exploring, distilling and speculating with a certain teaching at the heart of it. In these films we also chose to tell the story in a style akin to the Original ‘Star Wars‘ films. Please do take a watch on the three films in their proper order. Even if religion is not your thing or even Christianity, take a watch. The films are for everyone and again explore many of the questions that people have pondered for thousands of years.
MBF: MAN’S BEST FRIEND is getting a new 2021 campaign with BMG. WILD FAITH and LOST HEART are continuing their trek out to worldwide audiences. With home video up 40% we’re getting tens of thousands of new fans per week. If you keep an eye on the parent http://www.cdiproductions.com site you will see many updates coming including streaming and merchandise.
DEVELOPMENT
The Hastings TV series is being packaged to sponsors and potential financiers. The show scripts are being reviewed by possible directors and returning talent. SILENT NIGHT IN ALGONA has been incorporated and we’re working to put the last financial pieces in place but it is so very close. We’re started the hard -casting in earnest and we’re starting to lock in some of the talent. Once we move from development into pre-production we’ll start rolling talent PR announcements out. We’ve been doing a national casting on our young lead 8-11 that plays young. Blond hair preferred. I’m always amazed at the young talent making it happen. I can say I’ll be playing a supporting role on this one. It will allow me to go clean cut for a role.
BEST YEARS GONE is now being worked on by the editor and director to get us a locked picture. This coming week we’ll be helping to set up the new post studio. It’s in a beautiful pine forest and I’m looking forward to our upcoming film work there for years to come. I’m going to start to wrap this up. I’ve been getting a new story synopsis out of my head and onto paper. I have a few business proposals I might try to get a jump on for the week ahead. Be kind to one another. Erase those hateful thoughts. Spit out that poison and do something constructive, productive and meaningful. I see so much wasted time. If you’re in the arts and failing look at your allocation of time. If you waste thousands of words and hours throwing stuff back and forth arguing with no real goal or possibility of change, don’t complain as others pass you by in productivity.
I have said it before, I don’t consider myself special. I’m not anymore special than anyone else. I just focus and hone my craft and basically outwork others. End of the week I had a nice development talk with a younger filmmaker that I had not spoken with in a few years. He has traveled the country in the various film communities and encountered the GOOD, the BAD and the UGLY of our biz. You can’t move away from it. It exists. You can learn to recognize and avoid these pitfalls and quagmires. He was pitching me on an idea I had pitched 15 years ago but I think the environment is now better suited. This filmmaker was on the right track with a mindset adjusted by the world situation. To dream with realistic short goals that can lead to greater rewards. Wait! Was this individual a conservative? Liberal? What religion? Was he gay? Straight? Does he like McDonalds or Burger King? I have no idea. We didn’t talk about such things and they were not important to our discussion. We were two artists with experiences talking about how to move ahead and keep telling stories. Different groups of people doing vastly different things with their time. Which team do you want to be on?
With that, I’m doing to bid you ‘good day’ and get to some other domestic Sunday business. I do have some wine that could be bottled. Maybe a bit more office work. I got a lot of caulking done this week. Thankfully the wood piles are full from a few ‘Viking Days’ at the fort. Keep that fire burning!
Have a great week!
DJ
Delayed Update – Cast & Crew ‘Lost Heart’ Premiere and more…
As I sit down by the fire with hazelnut coffee in hand I want to thank our new readers from Iceland, Austria and all around the world. This is one of those few times that I had to push a blog release to Monday. I do have a series of Sunday shoot days so I might have to post a few Monday’s but I will try to keep it as consistent as possible. I was just so tired after our weekend up in New Era with our cast and crew premiere for ‘Lost Heart’ the movie.
First I’m excited about the edited event show that will play around the Nov 7th and 21st Encourage TV showings. I will get a time for the event this week but I’m guessing a 7 pm start with event and film coming in at 3 hours. The film is roughly 2 hours and we had a great time with Nathaniel Nose (The Christ Slayer) directing and shooting the event. Many of the CDI tribe had extensive interviews. This week we’ll have our few call in interviews sent in for editing. It was all very exciting.
We producers were on the ground trying to gauge the weather. we went with a smaller screen than the outside drive-in inflatable giant because we would have had a Macy Day balloon which could have been cool but-no. We had music performed from Roanoke and Greg Hillebrand on sax, interviews, food and drink. The dance hall had giant barn doors and allowed us to keep air moving through there without being in the wind gusts.
The actual showing was great. Even speaking with director Jesse Low after the film we were surprised at the amount of crying, laughing and clapping during the climax of the film. Now we’re all extremely excited to bring this film into your homes for you to share. We have many more interviews and national media for this story. I think the film is really connecting with people with themes on family, love, small-town with big dreams and more. It was great to see so many of the other artists and I was even gifted an owl coffee mug from Josh Perry. Thank you my friend. And thank you to the CDI team that worked hard to put this event in play.
On a quick note before I move on to other updates but the 1st AD Sebastian Nanya on a project I did in NYC called THE ACTOR (Amazon Prime) unexpectedly died over the weekend from a heart attack I heard. He spent many years trying to get a film called BUDZ made and wanted me to play this character named ‘Cowboy’ 🙂 My point is that you need to keep at your dreams. He was in his 40’s and much too young to leave. It is all a lesson not to put off your passions until tomorrow. Engage your passion now.
Back to the films. I had a chance to meet with some fans of MBF: Man’s Best Friend and Wild Faith. One former vet was so appreciative of the film for bringing light to the plight of the wounded soldiers. THAT is why I love doing these films. Not the awards and accolades which are nice but the way these stories touch and help people. That is such an award in itself. Many audience members love the impact of MBF but several wish for a different outcome at the end. To know what I’m talking about tune in and see what I’m talking about. Encourage TV, Tubi, Amazon, Google, Pluto TV and more…
WILD FAITH TV spin-off HASTINGS talks are in high gear. I have a call tomorrow and I have info to send off to interested parties this week – what this all means I hope is that ‘Hastings’ could go early next year into production. It would mean putting the buckskins back on and giddy up.
SMOKE & MIRRORS is the short that we did with Nathaniel Nose and WOW! What a cool world and this short version is a great proof of concept. We watched with all the color correction, music and sound design and it is quirky and wonderful. Some CGI work is being done. I will finish the feature script this winter as we develop the full feature. This will be another great story for CDI to tell.
FOR THE LOVE OF CATCH – This doc needs a string of interviews still but it is moving along. We have a new poster design and we’ll continue our hunt to find enthusiast of the grappling arts.
THE QUEST TRILOGY (Forty Nights, Chasing the Star, The Christ Slayer) – This powerful three part story is getting a big marketing push this holiday season including a quest trilogy trailer. As a life-long fan of the original Star Wars films we used them as a template for look – so if something seems akin in the look of the films, now you know where that comes from.
I’m sure I might have missed a few things. I need to get back on prep work for our next film BEST YEARS GONE filming soon. We gotta prep the future stories to share with the world. I hope you all tune in on Nov 7 and/or 21st for LOST HEART. I think you will truly enjoy it. Have a great week and be good to one another!
DJ
‘Lost Heart’ – Are you Ready? Also the Forgotten Art of Respect, Communication and Listening
Hello my friends and good morning to you all. I’m sitting here sipping coffee on a Sunday and reflecting with all of you on the past week. In Michigan we unfortunately saw some violence over mask wearing. Lives changed and ended over a simple mask. My buddy who works in China on occasion was in Singapore when the outbreak first hit. He was the first to predict that Americans are not going to do well because of too many defiant folks. I know that practically everything is being weaponized during this election time but again the virus should be a ‘net health’ concern for all not political. I witness people not taking it serious until it effects their circle. I think the issue not being addressed is the term “recovered” which implies has left the hospital but doesn’t truly mean recovered. Life can be cruel and as with many illnesses, death is a release but illness can include long-term suffering. As you get older you realize how important it is to keep a balanced system. Small issues can result in life hindering conditions as we age. Bad back, knees, digestion…and so having something that can linger on for a lifetime is not truly recovered. I don’t want any virus and I don’t want to put that upon anyone else. So I do my part and pretend I’m a member of GI-Joe (Snake Eyes or Storm Shadow) anytime I go out to a public business gathering/business. The hospital can be a miserable stay for anything and incubated coma sounds anything but fun. I like mom’s saying of better safe than sorry.
Life as a storyteller is fulfilling because I think it allows for the best communication possible. I recently had someone while angry try to tell me that I was an ass-kiss because I won’t jump on the crazy, angry way of communicating with passive aggressive or equally nasty mudslinging comments that can lead to stabbings and shootings but little change. I believe that the way we communicate via movies and storytelling to have a stronger reach. What do I have to say on Veteran and dog rights – watch MBF: MAN’S BEST FRIEND. Race Relationships watch WILD FAITH. The Quest Trilogy (FORTY NIGHTS, CHASING THE STAR, THE CHRIST SLAYER) is full of good life lessons. Those lessons can be applied and it doesn’t matter what, if any, religion you follow – you can still take something good away from it. I like to speak with my stories and that allows me to not live in a stressful and angry place like so many do. I live in a place of love and listening. My simple response was that if ass-kissing is caring and listening, I guess I am. I’ll sit down and have a drink to share words with anyone no matter what box they decide to check in November. (Or no box)
I do know that to get respect you have to give respect and that often means listening despite you agreeing with them or not. But many cannot keep their mouth shut long enough to listen. They are waiting for someone to stop talking so they can spew their regurgitated response. When you respect enough to listen they often return the favor.
After some sit-downs, I still believe we went to the moon and I don’t believe the Earth is flat and 5G doesn’t have anything to do with the virus…but I’ll listen to someone speak their opinions. If I don’t agree, I often state that but not by being louder, interrupting and surely not by belittling and name calling on someone who’s opinions differ. People met with that poor communication get angry and return to their protective echo chamber where everyone sounds off the same. Nothing is solved. But watch a movie with a deeply written messages and sometimes views can be altered or changed sometimes profound and sometimes only slightly. I don’t claim to know all the answers and I go into every conversation knowing I could be wrong because I’m a student of life everyday. But I see frustrated and stressed people with a need to be 100% right and know that their way of communicating is not my way.
Onto movies-
I want to thank everyone out there for the beautiful film reviews and fan mail that I continue to receive. I often share those notes with my fellow producers to illustrate that the hard work we endure to finish these projects will help many people upon their completion. Thank you.
LOST HEART is complete. The visual master came in last week after some amazing color correction from Jesse Aragon our DP. Our director Jesse Low and composer/sound designer Dennis Therrian have finished the final audio. The mixing for stereo and 5.1 is completed and will be married together with the visual for delivery this coming week! We are starting to explore premiere and theatrical possibilities before our home video release. (I hope to have dates soon) We will be doing a PR release next week that highlights not only the amazing musical work of Dennis Therrian that can write music in all genres but a few featured artists on the soundtrack. The band Roanoke and The Cash Collective will be highlighted in our film having made a few great contributions. More on that soon. I’m looking forward to a producers watch and toast before audiences get to travel to our LOST HEART. Congrats to our entire team! TribeCDI on the move!
Good development work on several fronts which will have their own PR releases in good time. I’m excited about the new history of Catch-Can documentary we’re putting together. Also BEST YEARS GONE has some exciting developments as we’re talking with upcoming sponsors. CDI is ready to keep moving forward. I do hope we can get some distance from this virus but only time will tell. But know we are continuing to work on putting together 2021 feature films and maybe a TV series:) I hope everyone has a good week and we’ll chat again soon.
Stay safe.
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
Updates on Lost Heart trailer, MBF, Quest Trilogy and upcoming BEST YEARS GONE!
GOOD MORNING! I’m sitting here with the hazelnut coffee trying to get my thoughts around. It was a super productive week. I want to welcome all the new readers from Panama, Denmark, Germany and more to our weekly get-together. The winter chill has been brutal but we’re getting some 50 plus degree heat today. I’ve been so ready to start doing some spring clean up on the yard but it is still frozen. The wood supply is dwindling and should make it to the end of winter. Let’s talk about some films –
BEST YEARS GONE – This past week we officially announced our next CDI film. You can read about it here. We’ve been casting all winter as I’ve been putting the final touches on the script.
ANNOUNCEMENT PR
This project will again be shot in Michigan. Part of the process as a screenwriter is for the writer and director to talk through all the characters and go through the script scene by scene – line by line. This resulted in many of the scenes strengthening. One of the characters got folded up into another and every line has something to say directly or in the subtext. I’m proud to have this work represent one of my pieces of work. This is made even more special because it’s a reworking of another artist’s work in our medium.
See with CDI, once the writer releases the script to the director it is his vision. He is who actors and crew should go to with creative questions. On some sets having the writer there can cause much conflict with a director, confusing folks and slowing the entire process. So we get all that talk out of the way with meaningful talk about the characters and moments. After a full day of Thai food and typing we now have a director’s draft.
Director’s draft? Who is the director you say? We’ve worked once prior with this director in a collaboration. The film got strong reactions from audiences because of the character study aspects of the story. A few other past projects were considered with this artist but either the art or the life schedule did not allow them to take the chair. (Directors) So who is this person? We’ll be doing an official PR release next week but for those who join us here – advance intel. This person that we’ll call S.H. directed a film called AOE. Do you know who it is? I’m excited to tell this story. Our IMDB.com page is open and we’ll be adding cast and crew names in the coming weeks. Some of our keys have been brought on and more to follow.
IMDB page (Join us here)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11808308/reference
Watch for more additions to the team.
LOST HEART
This week we’ll start putting end billing credits together as we move along the post process. I have seen the trailer music (composed by Dennis Therrian) put to picture. Once our director Jesse Low marries the master trailer audio with the master visual, audiences will be in for a treat. The film breaks some new ground for CDI while keeping the magic that we’ve gotten known for. So I would say about mid week we’ll be releasing the 1st trailer. I’m excited to hear everyone’s responses. The distributor is excited to have the trailer so they can start pre-closing some deals. Stay tune for a lot more updates on this film. Check out this films IMDB.com and Facebook page. Thank you for your support.
MBF: MAN’S BEST FRIEND – This beautiful film has been expanding its distribution and gaining ground as one of the top dog-theme films on Amazon and TV stations like Valorous TV where MBF was listed as #1 Best film for 2019 and #3 was WILD FAITH. Both also are now on Amazon Prime, Tubi and other streaming outlets. DVD’s are also available for people like me who like their physical media. We’ll be announcing more event showings for both of these projects.
We’ll soon be announcing some official development on HASTINGS, the Wild Faith TV series once I can get some pen to paper. If all goes according to plan we will shoot in the Spring 2021. This will provide a lot of opportunities for Michigan artists.
THE QUEST TRILOGY (FORTY NIGHTS, CHASING THE STAR and THE CHRIST SLAYER) – This Easter we at CDI invite your family to watch the trilogy that is making its way around the world and becoming a holiday tradition. Available wide on DVD and streaming take a watch with your family!
I’m going to take advantage of the sunshine outside and get a few things done. The warm weather also has me thinking about soccer season! Soon. I hope you all have a great Sunday and week ahead. Work hard and make some time for your family and friends.
DJ
Next CDI Film, TV series – Action vs Talk
Fellow filmmaker friend Nate Quinn put this pic together after a recent hang.
NEW JOURNEY AHEAD
Happy Sunday my dear friends from around the world. I’m sipping my hazelnut coffee from my Double JJ mug and thinking about spring. I’ve just finished last week the next CDI script. I was engaged to translate a book to script and we’ll film it this May. With on-set pre-prod we’re looking at April 26-May 21st in Michigan. I’ll be doing some final edits this week before sending the script to others on the producer team and a few keys. We’re in talks on a director so we’ll see how that unfolds. This week I’ll be working the numbers and getting our battle plan together. We had a good meeting a week ago with our 1st AD Nate and we did some crew reviews. We hope to get most of the crew back together but we’ll have to make a few adjustments I’m sure either due to schedule conflicts or from our producer review, we’ll have a few changes to the team. We’ve got many who have expressed their interest should we need to bring new folks on board. It is hard as our budget only allows X amount of crew and our cast is limited to our story. But this film has committed funding, distribution interest and now we have our blue-print (script). I’m excited that we’ll be able to put so much in place in advance of our shoot. It will allow us to make this journey even more smooth.
We’re deeply evaluating CDI film #2 which will shoot fall/winter timeframe. It would likely be a fall shoot if in the Michigan and maybe winter if we go out west to shoot in AZ or Nevada. Slot 3 the 1st half of 2021 is being currently held as a possible WILD FAITH (Hastings) tv show. We would be working to finalize the season 1 scripts. The idea of revisiting the Wild Faith world is very exciting. Giddy up! If you have not watched WILD FAITH please do take a watch on Amazon Prime. It is a wonderful film for children also so I hope we reach more kids.
Ole Ben Lily might be back in action in ‘Hastings’ – coming soon?
MBF: Man’s Best Friend is now out in the marketplace and we’re starting to see that wheel turn. We’ve had lots more retailers and platforms pick up this title. We’ve got many events and showcases lined up this year with MBF. You can watch this film in your own home now on Amazon Prime. If you take a watch much like all the others, we encourage you to leave a review on our Amazon and IMDB.com page. I appreciate all the great feedback on the fight scene. I credit John Lennox for working with me on the fight arrangement. I also credit Graham Turner my practice partner and my co-stars in that bar scene. I’ve hurt an actor on set who would not focus and follow instructions during an action scene rehearsal. He was clowning with some actresses when we were going over a fight scene. On ACTION I pulled his shoulder out of socket because he turned the wrong way. So I was extremely happy and impressed by the focus of all those actors we worked with. John Lennox got them up to speed and we made a good sequence. I might consider a project with more action but that is not what I’m looking for. I seek strong stories to tell. Anyway, take a watch and if you like it, tell a friend.
Wrangler Robert Bradley faced a hard job with those dogs:)
LOST HEART is now in post audio with the amazing Dennis Therrian. He will be composing the score and sound design. The new locked edit is strong and I’m proud of Jesse Low and Scott Magie for their masterful work. The film will be delivered in June to BMG for distribution. I’m anticipating a premiere in the Whitehall area where we filmed. We’re now working on DVD art work with the distributor and the first trailer. Soon we’ll be able to give audiences a first look. I’m so proud of all our cast and crew for telling a beautiful story.
Who’s is this knucklehead? Niles Cass:) I really enjoyed this film because many of my scenes are with my brother from another mother Josh Perry. This film will start a slow build of PR towards a fall release.
EASTER season is upon us following a great Christmas with THE QUEST TRILOGY. I’ve had lots of great conversations over the three films. These biblical adventures create lots of good conversation. I’m excited how they are making their way around the world. These three films FORTY NIGHTS, CHASING THE STAR and THE CHRIST SLAYER should be watched together. Amazon Prime search these films and take a journey full of adventure.
WRAP UP THOUGHTS
Last week while enjoying a visit with an old friend and his son, I took a call. It was an FYI that someone in our local market was speaking ill of CDI and a few folks, myself included. Oh, I’m not perfect, never claimed to be, but we work very hard at what we do. I take our storytelling very serious and I’m doing it for what I feel are the right reasons. It seems, one of the talented people that we’ve worked with several times was approached and during conversation with this person, several negative things were apparently said about our organization. The issue is that the person being spoken to, knew the truth having worked with CDI many times.
Had their experience been truly negative it would have ended at one film but this person has worked with us multiple times. So my reaction to all this was a shrug.
“ACTIONS speak louder than any words.”
Find me a group that works as hard as we do and creates on our level or beyond and that is someone I or CDI might work with one day. RESPECT. But, while others talk toxic wasting breath and time, we’re creating and constantly moving forward. So decide to be a person of ACTION, not just talk. To know the truth of a matter look at the ACTIONS not the talk. So, keep the drama on the screen and sail forth telling the world stories and leaving a legacy for your artists. We’re prepping another ship (Film) for another great CDI journey so casting and crewing will be in the weeks ahead. We’ll be making announcements soon but you got the news here first.
Have a great Sunday and a productive week ahead.
DJ
LOST HEART Preps Post Audio and More…
I’m sipping on my morning coffee and happy to be sitting down with all of you. Again our reader BASE jumped this past week by a substantial number. Many new countries joined us in our read. Maybe the subject matter hit home with some of you. Either way I want to welcome all our new readers. So grab your favorite relaxing beverage and join us. I hope you all in the path of the storms stayed safe. Michigan got some but our home town of Lansing was not too bad. We’ve had much worse in the past years.
I’m excited to see all the new year projects that are coming together. This is also the start of a new decade and I’m excited to see what our creative tribe will produce.
WRITING
I’ve been working away on the new script. The book I’m turning into a screenplay is coming along great. I’m at the half way point and after a read through with one of our development producers, I feel great about it. I found a character I related to and decided to write from that characters point of view. It is a 300+ page book so limiting the POV is helping me to target the 90-100 page mark. I’m currently called it “Best Years Gone” which is more reflective of the script. The book may ride out under a different title which is just fine. Same story but two different approaches – I like to find those unique takes on a story. I will have the script completed this month. This will be a 2020 CDI production. We got some good news about one of the locations we may use to tell this story. It is a piece by piece building of what will be another CDI story.
READING
The Sat reading event of …
…was cancelled due to the severe weather and will be rescheduled for May I’m told. I will pass along any info I get on that new date.
We have 4 other script/projects in various degrees of development. One of them is the new project that MBF director Anthony Hornus will helm. It is another CDI period piece that takes place during WW2. Distribution interest is in place and we’re building the funding pieces as we speak. Once I get done with my current writing I will work on the directors draft with Mr. Hornus. We will be putting a call out to actors of German ancestry who can speak German.
THE QUEST TRILOGY – I’m excited to have all three of these films in the marketplace. I want to try and work on a TRILOGY trailer that pitches all three films at audiences. They are meant to be seen in order and together so I think that TRILOGY aspect has to be reenforced to our audience members.
WILD FAITH – We’ve almost finished putting some presentation materials together for ‘Hastings’ the WF TV series. I will be working with a new mgt company in trying to find the right home/partners for the series. This TV series would shoot in MICHIGAN! If you have Amazon Prime this film is free to watch. Please do and leave your review and comments on the Amazon/IMDB sites.
MBF: MAN’S BEST FRIEND – This amazing little film is also now free if you have Amazon Prime. We’re also seeing more DVD retails places since 1/7/2020 so I do recommend adding the DVD to your collection. It will play in Feb in Bedias, Texas and a handful of festivals and events. ICFF will be one of them and perhaps our home town festival CAPITAL CITY FILM FESTIVAL. We are planning on additional showings this year including in Hollywood for our amigos there. The response to this film continues to make me smile. Thank you to all of you that have reached out.
LOST HEART – So this past week we say edit 2 of the film. We have a watch and talk through session at the studio with Dennis Therrian who is prepping to do the music and sound design. The movie is REALLY GOOD. I’m excited for all the artists involved to see the final results. We’re prepping to do a bit of music work in Nashville in the coming weeks. The film will release late Summer or Early Fall is my best guess. We might have some art work to show soon and a trailer is next once we lock picture and move it to post audio.
I might bring this to a close. We have protein waffles almost done in my Death Star waffle maker which was a gift. I’m been outlining scenes for the script writing to hit hard again on Monday. I’m lining up a few meetings for next week at the fort. This week I plan to outline and assign some of the development tasks to our CDI producers. Updates to the CDI website including some casting announcements. http://www.cdiproductions.com
Aside from that I’m just getting ready for a decade of great new projects. Have a wonderful Sunday and week ahead.
DJ
WELCOME DECEMBER!
Welcome to December 1st! I’ve honestly had Christmas songs buzzing around in my head for a couple months. The last few days we’ve changed the house over from Thanksgiving to Christmas. We hosted a Thanksgiving dinner that went great despite the fact that our family had an out-of-state funeral to attend. Good ole ‘Dutch’ passed away and I became to new owner of a few pair of boots. He lived to be a ripe 89 years old and lived his way for sure.
We went out on the day when everyone was shopping and harvested a beautiful tree. The animals were so excited, especially Lulu our cat. We did do a few selective shopping trips but the timing was chosen for minimal traffic. I cannot handle huge crowds like that so give me a saw and let’s get a tree instead. Finn approves!
Apparently I cannot recall the huge thunder that accompanied our blanket of beautiful snow this morning. But we do have a winter wonderland and later today I’ve have to go light a fire to the office wood stove. Tomorrow I’m picking up the deer that will provide us with meat over the next year. We eat maybe 75/25 of plant vs meat but we do enjoy venison. Any other meat we usually get give the 4H in Summertime. So on the food front we are very blessed. We even plan to roast up some beets from our garden and our apples will make another pie or two. Welcome to December 1st!
MOVIES!
We are awaiting a commercial check still to disperse to our cast and crew but we will be dispersing some revenue on a few of the motion pictures this week. This is the last month of the year and I’ll be also working to update our materials and promotional sites. I have lots of help with all that work and it does take a tribe. We also will be looking at all the foreign countries and territories the movies are available in.
- MBF: Man’s Best Friend continues to stream and sell on DVD. It will play on Dec 5th in Kentucky at the Equuos Film Festival. But please do take a watch. Vote and or review on IMDB, Amazon or wherever you watched it from.
- MBF has special charity theatrical showings being set up in FL and MI for the new year. Also a few additional festivals will play our film. Stay tuned!
- WILD FAITH talks were part of the discussion with our distributor and my soon to be new management. The idea of a sequel or TV series is getting real. We just need to pull some pitch materials together. If you have not watched this movie yet, treat yourself.
- The Quest Trilogy which consists of Forty Nights, Chasing the Star and The Christ Slayer are selling deeper into territories across the globe. These three biblical adventures were special because I got to use the ‘look’ and ‘style’ of Star Wars to tell this unique and powerful award-winning stories. It was nice to discuss these with our distributor and the next “biblical era” films to follow. My pitch on the new story to write was met with excitement.
- Writing on that will have to wait as I’m currently engaged in translating a book into a screenplay. My working title is “Hope of Heaven” and has many of the special ingredients found in LOST HEART. I’ve finished my read and this week I start to write! I’m excited to weave this story which will film next year late Summer in Michigan. We will be looking for a pair of twin actresses 18-25 to co-star so if you fit that breakdown send me an email direct. perrydj@aol.com
- Speaking of LOST HEART, the rough edit is done and we will be feeding notes to director Jesse Low who will be doing the final edit. It will move on to music and sound design Jan 1st! I will be sharing some additional official stills that are using the new official LOGO.
- We have several other development projects moving right along and one of them is an awesome WW2 era film. It will prep in 2020 and shoot in 2021. We will provide more information in the coming year.
- I’ve also been doing narration for book for a fellow artists and promoting THE HORSE OF MY DREAMS book launch with Revell. I will be attending an event reading in Jan in Grand Rapids, MI, more info as we get closer.
- I’m trying to finally spend a bit of time on a new sizzle reel and a few character reels from my performances in THE CHRIST SLAYER, MBF and WILD FAITH. The new management company is presenting to a few network shows so casting folks will get to see Jesus, Ben Lily and Paul – I think it shows a nice range of roles. Thank you Scott B for the Paul Landings character reel.
- We’re slowly working towards a new merchandise department at CDI. I’m excited to keep exploring this more.
I hope you all continue to enjoy the season with family and friends. I plan on many more fort/office get togethers. I’m excited to do a few script reads also over the next couple weeks. I’m going to keep moving and getting stuff done. We put a few lights outside and today lights might go up on the tree. Have a wonderful Sunday and week ahead.
Be good to one another!
DJ
Day 5 and some Wild Faith Updates
NOTE: Due to storms and internet this is being posted on Monday
Good morning from LOST HEART:) Actually I’m writing in the late night here so I can post before bed. We at have a very full day tomorrow plus we producers are moving into the production rooms after a nice stay during pre-production in the suites. Our crew is enjoying their condos and the area has a serene nature to it. This is the grounds where the infamous ELECTRIC FOREST festival takes place. We were offered passes to this but we had work to do. Plus the older I get the idea of tens of thousands of people does not appeal to me. But it appeals to many people in the 50-70k range. We’ve knocked down our first four days of shooting and after a day of rest we are back at it. We had our biggest day yesterday with lots of extras at a beautiful location in Whitehall. It is a Bed & Breakfast owned by the mayor of the town and her husband. It is called The Lewis House. I got to make some great moments with Don Most, Victoria Jackson and Melissa Anschutz. Old friends and new are being made on this shoot. These two talented actors from Michigan will be joining LOST HEART. I’ve enjoyed all the positive on the story and script and it is a pleasure to see how invested each actor is in their role. Also the artists behind the camera have worked very hard to capture our moments. The heat was very hot but we had good holding areas and won our day.
WILD FAITH just keeps getting recognized. We did not enter this festival so it has been a surprise and an honor to first be recognized with a JUSTICE AWARD and now they announced recognition for set design. IF you have not watched this film and you like what we’re creating please do take a watch.
I posted some PR earlier. Almost immediately I saw that some young living historian we had in the film negatively commented that the film wasn’t worth watching he heard because they were only seen for like 5 secs. First I told him, watch it. The flashbacks to war are much longer than 5 seconds. He also was going off someone else so I told him to watch it. Also people are subjective in what they like and don’t like but make up YOUR mind. Also if you love to present your impression of a Civil War soldier to an audience our film probably will give you once of the biggest showcases of your career. Millions of eyes foreign and domestic but for this fella if he did not get enough screen time the project wasn’t worth it. I can say that in twenty years when an older man looks back at a film that immortalized a younger him in a great story, it will be worth it. It isn’t always about you. Sometimes were are part of something bigger together. I sincerely hope this person finds some peace in his life. I can’t always figure people out. I was nice. He was nice back. He wants to still watch the film. Watch it and make your own opinion. Don’t be a sheep.
Kudos to Jen Raine and Austin Two-Feathers and let’s not forget our director Mr. Low seen in the background. He cares about these films like we do and LOST HEART will make his third with CDI in the directing chair. Congrats to all the cast and crew.
MBF: Man’s Best Friend – We have a lot of upcoming announcements concerning this film but I am going to make you wait. It is past my bedtime and I have our second biggest day shooting on LOST HEART. So I will withhold a little until next week. I’m also trying to confirm a few things.
Have a great Sunday!
DJ
Sprouting Seeds and Getting Rid Of Weeds (Although some weeds are very useful) – Film Updates
Doing some spring clean up with my buddy Finn
Good morning from Michigan, USA! While this past week has been a good introduction into spring with lots of yard clean up and arrangement, today we have icy rain and snow. It will disappear fast but I’m just getting use to the coffee and phone calls on the patio deck listening to the birds and watching the squirrels retrieve their winter stash of acorns. I’ve been doing a lot of wood cutting and it looks like the office wood stove will get a work out today. I was going to attend a first flea market of the season but with the snow I might have to pass. I’m sip my Michigan Cherry coffee and type with all of you.
My brother had a birthday and we got to spend time with family yesterday and a few days before that my niece’s birthday. My nephew Wes has the same bday month as myself. He is the 21st and I’m the 23rd so we’ll have that ahead. Aside from the family gatherings and the homestead clean up I’ve had lots of entertainment business abound. Let’s discuss a few.
I made my yearly visit down to the opening of the Capital City Film Festival happening now in Lansing, MI. In my early years I spent a good amount of time and energy working with the East Lansing Film Festival centering on the Michigan’s Own portion of the festival. It awarded films with awards and cash prizes. It took hours of watching films, meeting with judges and other planning so I know what goes into it. These days my schedule allows me to buy a ticket to spend a few hours supporting upcoming filmmakers in our area. The opening night was at Impression 5 museum which has been a favorite since I was knee-high to a grasshopper:) I had a lilac drink that intrigued me because we made lilac wine once. It was great but very labor intensive. I also enjoyed a local hard cider. I got to see a few friends I only see yearly at this event. I attended with fellow filmmaker Shane Hagedorn and had a good time. We did at least one red carpet photo but I did not see it so once of us broke the camera with our mug. He we are with a young actor/filmmaker who just happens to be the son of Mr. Craig Jones whom I’ve known since high school. How cool that they get to do film work as father and son.
Throwing some support at the Capital City Film Festival
Aside from supporting the local fest we’ve been very hard at work here at Collective Development and on a personal level. I started looking at literary representation mid last year talking with various agents and management companies. You want to get the right relationship as they will be dealing with people who value your art. I’ve had an agent at one of the largest agencies in Hollywood and it wasn’t a great experience. A few big deals were lost and while the agency inclusion did help with a few doors, the cons started to outweigh the pros. I’ve been riding with legal at my side making my own deals. Legal is good at dotting I’s and crossing T’s but they are not seeking new opportunities. But I finally had a conversation with an international agent that I find promising. They discovered my work via another studio executive and reached out. They are doing some additional reviewing of my work but I think I’ll be having a go at working with a new literary and talent agent. I’ll be putting a large focus on foreign projects as well as domestic USA films. Many of you know I’ve done films in other countries and that is always a great experience.
I’m excited to see what films we do over the next 10 years
I’m also in development talks on several projects with a few new collaborators. We have some great projects developing both in the family/faith market and outside that target market. It is an exciting time but don’t get me wrong, it is still HARD WORK. When people occasionally look at what we’ve accomplished or are accomplishing it occasionally sets off feelings of envy. You/they might be a better artist even though that is subjective but overall I just outwork people. Part of that is learning where not to waste your energy. Look for red flags and know when to say NO THANK YOU. Many do not realize that and spends lots of energy where their only reward is frustration.
Beautiful Northern Michigan
LOST HEART – This is what is front and center in development and fighting to move into pre-production. We have enough to make the journey but we are fighting to be able to add a few days of shooting ultimately creating a better product. We only have a few more pieces of this investment puzzle to remedy and move forward. A lot of development work is getting done now and so I believe strongly we will be rolling cameras in July!
Hester and Ben in ‘Wild Faith’
WILD FAITH – We just finished runs in Grand Rapids, MI and Biloxi, Mississippi and I’m trying to confirm West Virginia and other venues. The DVD will be rolling out next month and so all of you wanting to see this fine adventure tale will soon be able to. I will be checking on Amazon pre-booking which should start soon.
I will note that the TV series is one of the things being discussed in some of my development talks. I would love to play Ben Lily again and bring a series of stories to all of you.
Just in time for Easter
THE CHRIST SLAYER
The Christ Slayer just announced its first theatrical dates in Amarillo, Texas. We hope that myCinema will continue to book to the big screen. Those who want to watch in the privacy of their own home can watch it streaming or on DVD on Amazon Prime or other fine platforms. Thank you for all the fine fan(e)mail I’ve gotten. It warms my heart to see so many enjoying our stories. I know myCinema is working hard to get it in AZ but is having issue at Harkins because of Studio Commitments but call the theater and let them know. Yuma, AZ deserves to see it on the big screen.
HELLO Texas!
The film really goes perfect with the Easter season but perhaps you might enjoy watching the entire trilogy of Forty Nights, Chasing the Star and The Christ Slayer. The ending of part 2 makes more sense if you know about part 3. I think that is going to be a PR release on the lead up to Easter. Also I might discuss more about the trilogy as a whole.
CDI OG Mister Dean Teaster
MBF: Man’s Best Friend
In my post meeting last week it was noted that sound quality was really good and the dialog clean up was not as extensive as in the past. To be fair the locations were much more controlled versus being out in the desert like with our trilogy. Sound Design is happening at the same time and so once we get all this laid in MUSIC TIME. I will also be touching base with the visual team about VFX, Color Correction and a new trailer. Exciting times.
The Week Ahead…
This next week will be working towards disbursement of funds back at investors. Seeking a few new partners so we can move into official pre-production on LOST HEART. We are close and we could do the film with what we have now but I want to have the extra breathing room. It is easier on the cast and crew and ultimately might yield a better final product. Businesses wanting to talk sponsorship or product placement please do reach out.
Treat yourself to the book and movie
I’m going to go refill the coffee cup and organize for my forthcoming week. I have a friend coming in from Texas for a few days on family business so it will be nice to catch up with him. He was involved with the original KNIGHT CHILLS, CDI’s 1st feature film. KNIGHT CHILLS 2? You never know:)
Have a great Sunday and week ahead!
DJ
Persistence eventually wears down failure.
Good morning! Usually in the morning I’m treated to sunshine but with the rain/wind storm rolling through and the time change, springing ahead, it is darker. I’m sipping my (enter sponsor coffee here) * yes I’m still looking:) and I’m going to share some of the updates from a very busy week. But before that let’s see if I can pull any lessons from the past week to share with you all.
CASTING
(Talented artists – surround your pictures with them)
I will comment on something that I’ve commented on before – casting. I’m reviewing close to our final cut of MBF: Man’s Best Friend and I’m just so damn proud of all the actors. It takes good words, scenes, story and interweaving to allow such performance. I do want to work in other people’s worlds and stories. But it is always a task because a good strong blueprint/script is required. I’ve noted before of hearing filmmakers brag about ‘no script’ or ‘winging it’ and it always SHOWS. I recently read a script that I was considering involvement with and I asked about the campy humor. I was embarrassed slightly when the response was that it wasn’t humorous it was 100% straight and meant to be intense and gritty. Um…okay. It was a pass on my part. I’ve been there. Done that. Got the tee-shirt. Spend 99 cents and watch it on Amazon Prime with my 1st starring role in a feature film. IN THE WOODS is a fun film and cult junkies love it even playing drinking games to it. But it was meant to be like ALIEN and the monsters when shown in the light, we thought a novel idea, come off…watch it:)
(Note my costar Jim G who can also be seen in upcoming ‘MBF’ )
IN THE WOODS link
Back to casting. I’m reviewing MBF and so proud of the performances by so many of my peers are excellent. And to the crew who worked so hard and harmoniously, you will be proud to be associated with this Collective Development Inc. film. I’ve been enjoying watching new reels. We consider all our past performers who brought great performances and were not any sort of issue. You cannot tolerate nonsense when doing something as hard as making a feature and trying to keep quality at a certain level. But every film only allows us a few players.
(Greg Mason on set MBF with Duncan from Animal Planet)
To finish the MBF update, this week dialog work will begin once the picture is officially locked.
THE CHRIST SLAYER – The DVD is becoming available at more places. Amazon had some glitch for a few days. It seems like that happens quite often. I saw that we were moving units nicely. I still like the DVD/Blu-Ray format. Digital can disappear, it happens. The April 19th Easter event screenings in theaters will be exciting.
Speaking on that as we start the run up to myCinema‘s WILD FAITH theatrical. I’ve fielded hundreds of requests for what states? What theaters? I hope to have answers soon. This is my first run with these films and this theatrical outfit. I see others who like to overstate news but with so many set backs over the decades I almost always take the modest path. If we show in more than 2 states and 8-10 screens I will see it as progress. Now the myCinema is in 1000+ screens but I don’t want to get myself too excited or disappointed. It is a beautiful story as many of our story’s are and we just want to entertain. So I hope we do capture a large audience with these releases. I do hope to have info for everyone this coming week.
Also some of you were treated to a DOVE family review and some new artwork. You can read about it here.
PR RELEASE WITH DOVE REVIEW:
https://www.prlog.org/12758326-wild-faith-reveals-new-artwork-for-theatrical-and-dvd-release.html
If you have enjoyed any of these films please do leave a review on amazon, imdb or any social media sites that would apply. I know a few reviews that are in the works as we speak.
(Mr. Robert Bradley on set ‘MBF’ with our Brown Boy)
LOST HEART
We’ve been moving right along on bringing on investors, scouting locations, finalizing the shoot script and such. We’ve been announcing some of the players and this week we’ll announce a few more. Mr. Robert Bradley and Mr. Anthony Hornus will be playing roles and assisting with production.
This week we’ll be sending the new script around to some of the team. We’re also talking to many sponsors to participate in our Northern Michigan telling. If your company service or goods wants to consider sponsorship with us please reach out to perrydj@aol.com and I’ll discuss with you. We’ve had many companies participate and love adding to that family.
Misc Final Biz
I had a few great meetings with filmmakers this past week. We discussed some collaborations on a few films. If you are bringing something from the outside in most likely you will also have to bring the money. Our CDI funds are being directed at in-house projects that have distribution blessings. The idea of not spending the time, energy and money shopping is really nice. I’ve had other interested studios discussing possible production/distribution of non-family/faith material. As I noted to a friend recently the secret is ‘One step in front of the other. Balance. Focus. Persistence eventually wears down failure.’ Choose your associates and collaborators carefully or you’ll always be off-balance and having your focus pulled away from you. And the final product will reflect all those issues.
Have a great Sunday!
DJ
Advance Sneak Peeks and Film News
Sunday morning with the family, sipping coffee and reflecting back on a busy but productive work week. We’ve had some pretty snow as of late and not quite the arctic chill. Don’t get me wrong thin blood residents of warm places – Michigan has been cold. It has just been warmer but I hear a few more storms coming through. In Michigan the Great Lakes give some protection and many storms pass beneath us. Before the film updates let’s talk about another passion – soccer. Futbol to my non-USA friends, speaking of that, it was so great to see so many of you joining us.
I play in a Men’s League as many of you know. I’ve played in the 30+ league for many years since I was 29 likely. I LOVE the battle. I play to win but if I’m not badly injured and I get a good work out, it’s a win in my book. Us older warriors know just like in battles of old. You don’t need to be better every moment of every day of the week, just those moments. I have to be better for two hours, an often I am. I had my first sideline injury second half of last year with a wrist crack. Heavy tackle with another determined badass that sent the ball rocketing into my wrist. Just a freak mishap. Two season back I had my first nagging knee issue but that got better. Martial arts and soccer have put my body through the paces. I’m hardened by it for sure but I’m just being more conservative. My little bro has played with us since he aged in at 29 and that has been an ongoing joy. He has dealt with his own few injuries but he has also been playing both 30+ and 40+ league. He started thinking of downshifting as 2X week = 2X the joint wear and tear and 2X the chance of serious injury. Now the 40+ team started with a good buddy of mine and I from Sexton days and playing over in Denmark. We created a team whereas our old teammates could battle with us again. Now many of those people have retired their cleats. I’ve decided to join my brother in the 40+ league only. I exercise every day but you have to vary the routine. You don’t do arms day, arms day, arms day…okay maybe some do. It was hard because I love the team we formed and played with for so many years. It also felt like a demotion or admitting of our age. But again, if I can play hard and get the work out, uninjured and spend time with my brother, good deal. So a new chapter. That said I will likely miss games in May with film work. Let’s talk film shall we.
FILMS
It has been a time of harvest even as we begin to prep the planting of new seeds.
THE CHRIST SLAYER – The 3rd film in The Quest Trilogy. It has been released on digital and I’ve had just some beautiful ‘fan-mail’ sent to me expressing their appreciation and love of the story. This includes someone who had pirated the film in India. This had happened on another film ‘Darkest Night’ which brought out fans who had not paid to watch. Now, I’ve seen some of the living conditions elsewhere whereas an entire extended (way extended) family live in a one room dwelling. Entertainment is often storytelling (beautiful), music or the family gathered around the one TV and DVD player. If the film stolen or not is playing and bringing some joy via our story, let good karma be our payment. But, if you can afford. Please do rent or buy it. It hurts the little guy filmmakers and makes it harder to make films. It is hard enough already. Go back to my first blog entries and start reading. It was a good conversation and now he just may promote our cause.
Also last week I said that all these films have seen a point whereas they were attacked. Many people are mad at actions and words uttered or done by people claiming to be faith authorities. The films are for entertainment and to provoke thought. I claim to be an expert of zero. I have no time to argue any points as I’m working on the next story. But I’ve seen at least one guy vocally slam the film without watching because I’m white. Whatever that means in our generation of DNA. Test yourself and hate will diminish as many find out we are all brothers and sisters. But is Brad Pitt Greek? The Rock? We were not making any statement on race, watch WILD FAITH for that:) It is a story of LOVE, microcosmos and macrocosmos. If the guy watched it and hated it, likely he would because people get out what they bring in. At least he was speaking about something he saw. Just like people can BUY bundles of IMDB star meter hits, amazon ratings, etc…always a bunch of 1’s and 2’s appear overnight from unknown sources. I think again because Jesus is a figure in the story. A version of him is on the cover. So people wronged by an organized religion or so-called expert in faith they carry a deep hate. That usually comes out on the mysterious J-Man. I’ve been right on par with people disgusted by what I’ve seen. The Jim Baker 80’s was…well you know. I just like the idea of looking at 3 times – BIRTH, BEFORE any of the organized stories. (See Chasing the Star) – BEFORE any ministry. (See Forty Nights) and – AFTER any ministry – death to rebirth to…watch The Christ Slayer. These stories dance around the dirt that has soiled the image of any organized ministry for many people. For people within organized bodies who want to exalt themselves and proclaim faith expertness, have at it. But I value every persons ability to evaluate. So even if you see Christianity as legit as the Jedi Academy in Star Wars, take a watch. The core tenets, the seeds, are interesting. And yes, all three films were produced to present the stories in a very Star Wars-like way. I think the translation is actually quite cool. We kept the same amazing DP, Mr. Jesse Aragon. The most awesome music composer I know, Dennis Therrian. And the best keys and directors we could convince to go on a journey. Those that possess desert stripes know. Our cast and crew got one for each film. I will remember those films and the making of them forever.
Tomorrow is DVD March 4th and April 19th is the event theatrical showings for Easter. My ‘faith film’ watching consisted of Chuck Heston biblical epics at Christmas and Easter. That is my influence so even if you have never stepped a foot in church please take a watch. If you kneel on a rug facing East to pray – please take a watch. No-Jesus Jewish, take a watch. Atheists take a watch. Just watch a cool trilogy unfold that is not just about mankind but the angels – fallen and not. I will continue to occasionally enjoy your comments but don’t hate to just hate. At least watch it. Oh, and pay for it:) Stealing is stealing, rhyming and stealing’ …
SIDE NOTE: I’ve been reading the Beastie Boys Book, a bio on the bank. It is very cool to read their journey. They have had the up’s and down’s of all artists.
WILD FAITH – This machine is about to kick off with the March 23rd national theater release. This came about because of the limited run we do last year. The film looks and sounds even better and we’ve added something special. Also we’ll be releasing the new poster work. I will leave you with this DOVE review and it just may contain a few surprises teases.
DOVE FAMILY FILM review of WILD FAITH
https://dove.org/review/15020-wild-faith/
We’ve been dealing with final paperwork, approved releases/photos and such. I’m really excited to go back into the theater and see this film. You will also be able to pre-order the DVD later this month.
MBF: Man’s Best Friend
I got to spend the week watching and re-watching scenes and taking notes. The film this week is being prepped to travel to Dennis Therrian. Dialog clean up will be first and sound design and music will follow. The film is really powerful and I’m so happy for everyone involved. For me filming was heavy, representing the actual wounded. I also was told by furry best friend had cancer and it was a battle for time. It was a shoot that was hard to squeeze ‘fun’ from. But I think it worked for the film and it will be a good tribute. Once the picture moved to post audio we’ll color correct and cut a new trailer from the final cut of the film. Good stuff ahead.
LOST HEART
Last week we released a casting call for an 8-12 year old-young actress. We’ve been getting some great looks at performance. On the ‘Lost Heart’ Facebook site people have been dropping their dramatic reels. Thank you. We’ll keep reviewing. We have a least one role that is a younger version of a casted role still coming. So we’re waiting to cast the larger older role before casting the younger version. This week director Jesse Low and I spend two days and many hours reviewing the script. We’re getting close to a locked production script. We’ve also been scouting Northern Michigan locations and starting talks with lodging options. We’re still presenting to investors but we’ve had progress there. It is always a timing issue but things are coming together.
My advance casting announcement is for Mr. Austin Two-feathers and Greg Mason, both have participated in a handful of CDI pictures. Unique talent is always what we’re looking for and these two gents have just that. So you heard it here first:)
IN OTHER NEWS
I have two commercial VO’s that have been pushed a week. You never know who those voices on those commercials belong too:) I enjoyed a fun meet-N-greet with a filmmaker from the Detroit area who has been making moves. I’ve seen them come and I’ve seen them go. Some move away but many more fade away. I think this individual has his heart in the right place and his previous accomplishments had prepared him to lead. You need good leaders to make a market work. I stated and I’ll state again, this is where I plant my flag. I’m a Michigander 4 LIFE. I travel but this is home and I will keep this as a base for making film. People chase all over seeking that short cut but many come to realize “it’s not the location but the motivation” – Trademark DJ Perry:) This meeting was a chance to swap war stories and get to know one another. Every collaboration I’ve ever had usually started with a few drinks and talking about dreams. We’ll see where it all goes but I see a second meeting in the near future.
Alright my friend. I’m on the last cup of coffee and today we’re taking our baby boy Finn to a puppy play. He just hit 45 lbs at six months and still looks like he has a lot of growth still in him. He has truly been a joy. Have a great week. Add a DVD (The Christ Slayer) to your collection.
Buy the DVD here:
I hope you all have a great week.
DJ
‘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!
DJ
Schedules – Finishing – Starting Productions – Hello Autumn!
First I want to welcome the new readers from Hong Kong and Singapore. It is a wonderful Sunday and I’m sipping coffee on this chilly morning. Yesterday I did a one-armed mow for the second time. The wrist in a splint and getting stronger each day. The flexibility will take a bit to return but happy it is healing well.
This week I’ll be watching a new visual work link of THE CHRIST SLAYER with most of the VFX inside. Sound design passes are done and we’ll keep refining plus ADR were required. We’ve been releasing new promo as we head into fall here getting prepared for a premiere, theatrical and home video release. Broadcast and digital will be 2/4/18 and DVD 3/4/18. Who is excited to see part 3 of THE QUEST TRILOGY? See part 1 FORTY NIGHTS and part 2 CHASING THE STAR to catch up.
FORTY NIGHTS
CHASING THE STAR
Each one is a stand alone adventure but they also have parts that tie into an overall story. It will be fun to see who gets the stories that unfold throughout the three films.
WILD FAITH
This week had a good conversation with a prod/distribution studio over the series and we might be putting a few of the older titles down a new distribution channel. We’re working to put a narrator on the front and end of the film that would tie into the tv series. We’ve been working this hard so we can close this home video deal. But just like everywhere communication (or lack of) can slow things. But we’re close to wrapping this up and that will allow us to move forward. It will also move us as a company onto bigger and better things.
MBF: Man’s Best Friend
We’re still rolling out some official stills and this coming week our director and DP will be adding some pick up shots. The opening intro has been recorded and they’re working on that. We should have a first cut (edit) end of October and a locked picture in November. I’m excited that our film will be showcased on a new ANIMAL PLANET show called ‘Amanda to the Rescue’ this fall. Here is a story in PEOPLE magazine.
https://people.com/pets/animal-planet-show-amanda-to-the-rescue-amanda-giese/
We hope to have the first teaser for you before Christmas:) Ho! Ho! Ho!
NEW DEVELOPMENT
Development work is underway. If WILD FAITH had been all wrapped up with our narrator and to the distributor that would give some peace of mind. This deal is more complex because it sets the table for the TV series and more. I’ve been slowed in my personal life slightly with my wrist now out of the cast and in a splint for 3 more weeks. It is slowly getting stronger. Also our furry boy Luke has been undergoing cancer treatment since we were in pre-production on MBF. But I did use the time to prep one of the new scripts working with our distributor BMG. I finished the first draft and have been doing a fine polish. For me this is making it all flow – painting a picture in the mind of the readers. This helps when it comes to translating from page to screen. I’m still looking at a few other writing projects and talking with possible lit agents for a good fit.
I’ve been reading a few in-house scripts and looking at the options. If I can close up the WILD FAITH deal in good time I might look at a winter project but more likely will be spring project. LOST HEART – the script I’ve been polishing is looking like a fall 2019 project. I don’t want to rush it into production we know what happens when that happens. But with THE CHRIST SLAYER premiere and release and end-of-the-year business taxes, I will be busy. I like to take Thanksgiving through Jan. 1st for family activities. My goal is to have TCS ready to premiere by Thanksgiving.
Today I have family over for a cook out and a close friends Bday so I’m going to go get after a few things. I hope you all have a great finish to your weekend and a wonderful week ahead!
DJ
Wild Faith-Mania and Another Film Preps To Shoot at CDI
So it’s quiet here on Saturday night and I’ll be releasing this in the wee hours of Sunday. We had a nice family gathering to celebrate several birthdays and we’ve got two more days of more such celebrations. Before we get in too deep – welcome readers from Uganda. It has been a whirlwind of business both development, promotion and post-production.
Grand Rapids, MI appearance with Shane Hagedorn and Melissa Anschutz
It’s been wonderful to first see all the cast and crew from “Wild Faith” and following that – to have audiences enter this world we’ve recreated on-screen. We had a solid run in both Grand Rapids and Lansing. Lansing, Lansing, Lansing… I’ve always been proud of being from Lansing and still call it home to this day. I’ve always felt somewhat that the saying you can’t be a prophet in your own town, applied to me. I understand it. I think it applies to many artists.
But, the power of a story is proving me wrong. We’ve been selling out “Wild Faith” all weekend and so tomorrow Celebration Cinema jumped us from one showing to four. This after several fine folks were unable to attend after the shows sold out in advance online. I went to run errands this morning and heard people talking about the film. Often we as the filmmakers can grow tired of the story after the long post production phase. But I’ve enjoyed the handful of theatrical showings I’ve attended. I’ve enjoyed the laughter most of all. To hear a full theater laugh together at certain moments is priceless.
I think with the last several films I’ve played emotionally heavy characters. It was a pure joy to be Ben Lily. A tribute to a character with more bravery than brains. With my trusty half-native sidekick, or am I the sidekick? Either way, creating with these two characters was special for me because of the humor intertwined in the performance. I also know that my old friend Dan “Grizzly Adams” Haggerty would have approved with a hearty laugh. I do wish old friend Rance Howard could have seen the final film. He loved the trailers and truly loved the genre. The film will continue to move and play. If you want the film call/email your local theater and request the film to play. We’re in talks with several new venues and may announce new screens as early as this week. But if you can – treat yourself tomorrow. 1875 Michigan.
SUNDAY ‘WILD FAITH” SHOWTIMES AT CELEBRATION CINEMA (LANSING)
10:45, 1:05, 6:00, 8:05
In other news, Collective Development Inc.‘s next film MBF/Man’s Best Friend has been given the green light. All funds are committed and being pulled in as we prep the ship to sail. We’re working on setting our schedule and I’m also proud to have ‘Paul’ front and center again. This script is another story I’m extremely proud of. I’m challenged greatly by this next role and I find that exciting. If we’ve spoken to you as cast and crew just be patient as we move down the TO DO lists. We’re working hard to create that environment to create within. I’m excited to share this film next year with audiences. In the meantime…
The Christ Slayer is now in color correction and audio with Nathaniel Nose, director and Dennis Therrian, composer. I like to use that example of kids who get together after school to play. They have ideas, they get excited and they play. Inside the imagination play is what drives the process forward. This film will be a gift to audiences at the Christmas season. Part 3 of The Quest Trilogy will pull it all together.
Working backwards – Chasing the Star is playing the big screen at the International Christian Film Festival up for five awards. It was nice to catch up with director Bret Miller at a “Wild Faith” screening in Grand Rapids. We got to toast a beer to the adventure in the desert we called “Chasing the Star” CTS. This film is moving into more foreign territories and platforms.
“Forty Nights” is being promoted heavily going into the Easter season by our distributor. It is such an inspiring story I can see why it was recently chosen to kick off their Easter promotions. I will admit here, of all the ICFF awards “Chasing the Star” is up for I hope we see another ‘2018 Most Inspirational‘ take home to honor our amazing cast and crew.
I can say I’ve been enjoying experiencing the reaction to this films. I’m appreciative that these stories are giving some entertainment and comfort to audiences. I’ve been writing weekly and plan to get even more focused. Wheels are in motion. Several scripts that have been waiting for their time just might find it. Some exciting developments underway that will lead to many more years of stories been told at CDI. The tribe is on the move to create and we appreciate all your support. We cannot thank you enough.
Be good to one another.
DJ
Top Ten Updates from Last Week
Good morning out there everyone. I’ve got the hazelnut coffee fueling me this morning. What a week on all fronts. I went to a memorial yesterday for a high school buddy’s dad. I call it losing training wheels (losing a parent) and it’s happening a little more often now. It was a great reflection on life and again a reminder to us all to enjoy your relationships and to work hard to achieve what’s important to you. The family were surprised and so happy to see myself and another old-school friend.
Just like the many times we all shared laughing and partying around the campfire this gathering also included many toasts. That’s why the hazelnut coffee is my friend this morning. I’ve not had a hangover since New Year’s Day (Thank you Garrett) and this was a mild one, but thankfully it has now passed. I think since the old processor brain is moving slow I’ll just do a random list of updates.
TOP TEN UPDATES FROM LAST WEEK
- We had another digital trading card release last week and a new one will be releasing again this week. I think five from each film. I also know that “Character Cards” and a poster will be coming for the 3rd film in the trilogy “The Christ Slayer” – stay tuned.
- WILD FAITH music score will likely be finishing up this week. Our composer had 8 minutes to go when we spoke last week. We’ll be sitting down with our director Jesse Low this week to discuss the finishing of the film. I can’t wait to do a new watch with the music beds set in.
- “Forty Nights” will be playing Texas in Nov. followed by “Chasing the Star” in Dec. – Iowa will also be showing “Chasing the Star” as part of a Christmas program in December. We’ve just been approached by another church wanting to license. I’m happy that these church’s are going through the proper channels for licensing and not just going pirate on showing the films publicly.
- Upcoming film MBF (Man’s Best Friend) brought on more financial commits and we’ve got sponsorships developing nicely. This week we’ll be announcing more cast members. We met last week and we’ve got our target dates set with cameras to roll in March.
- The book deal on WILD MICHIGAN is close to being done. It was based on the original screenplay before it was restructured for budget as Wild Faith. It will allow readers to experience the original story. It was adapted to book format by author Dee Freeman. It will be available for Christmas!
- The KNIGHT CHILLS book is for sale now on Amazon and will be releasing to retailers nationally. David Hayes was the author who adapted the screenplay/film to a book.
- The “Chasing the Star” investors will be getting another ROI check this week. I truly do LOVE writing checks. It keeps the machine moving.
- Development work continues on several other collaborations. A western, a biopic, a few horror films and a biblical drama. I do love working with other artists and bringing projects from the page to the screen.
- The announcement that one of the library films would be getting new distribution with BMG was made last week. The ink is dry and I’m happy to report “Wicked Spring” our Civil War drama will be releasing early in 2018. The film has never had a digital release due to the initial release was on VHS. This beautifully shot 35mm film will find a new audience. A great “making of” will be included on the DVD. We are also looking at a special Blu Ray release also. PR on this will be forthcoming.
- I enjoyed several meetings this week at the office with a fire burning in the wood stove. I’m going to be doing many more sit downs in the coming weeks. I have sat down with many filmmakers in a meet-n-greet style and will be looking to do many more. Even if we don’t have immediate business I do like to get to know the minds behind some of these other projects.
In addition to the on-going film work I’ve been harvesting and storing everything from tomatoes to kale (A Melissa Anschutz fav at meetings) to mushrooms. My small patch of ink tip shrooms are nothing compared to the giant puff balls I got Friday at my friend’s place. We will be cooking some of those up tonight. I’m sure that I’ve missed a few updates but please do seek out and find your favorite film page on Facebook and follow the updates there.
Have a great week ahead and enjoy your Sunday.
DJ
Those that Inspire Us – Updates
Good morning everyone and Happy Sunday! I’ve got the cup of hazelnut Joe (Coffee for non-Americans) sitting beside me. It was a productive week for sure and I’m really happy about the flow of things. I’ve had some great new talks over product (films/scripts) and I’m looking forward to the new endeavors. Yesterday I had a great opportunity to attend a family event. My Uncle Jerry IS a great storyteller. When we were children he would weave tales of Cloe the Ghost, numerous BigFoot stories and made even mundane events exciting. My draft of the bigfoot script “SAVAGE” that played Chiller TV was based on his stories. His name can be seen in the end credits of the film with a special thanks for inspiring my imagination. He came up through the auto factories in Detroit but once we got around a fire at the cottage in Harrison he was full of stories. I was so happy to spend some time with my Uncle, Aunt, cousins and that side of the family. They were my “cool” cousins from Detroit into cars, rock and roll and such. We were brought up a touch more strict as kids. I recall going musically from Men At Work and Rick Springfield to being introduced to AC/DC and KISS from my older cousins. I’m not sure how the movie thing all played with them as they just knew their cousin who played with the video camera. We’re all older now and I’m just so thankful I had their influence upon me. My Aunt and cousins seemed excited about “Wild Faith” as westerns are some of their favorites. I think we all must have those people in our lives who inspire us. My Uncle Jerry was/is one of those people. Cherish them.
Soon we’ll be prepping for the run up to the Christmas season with the release of “Chasing the Star” in September (5th) and we’ll be pushing the first in the trilogy “Forty Nights” also. You can purchase it here.
Pre-Order sites for “Chasing the Star” will start appearing soon. DVD will be for sale until the new year when streaming will kick in.
“The Christ Slayer” is moving right along. We had a great meeting with director Nathaniel Nose last week. We also announced the talented VFX artist we brought on board. Read about it here –
https://www.prlog.org/12651794-signing-of-diy-vfx-cgi-talent-coup-for-cdi-on-feature-film-tcs.html
This week I’m suppose to see a first run of the first teaser trailer. That means it is not far off for audiences waiting to see it.
“Wild Faith” is moving along nicely. I have to go in Monday to the studio and throw in a few wild lines. Sound is almost complete and music is about to start as VFX work continues. BTS and a new trailer are also in the works. The poster work is underway with many ideas flowing. We will release one very soon. Also the film is a derivative of an early script (larger budget) that was novelized into a book. That manuscript is being formatted for release as we speak. More on that later.
Also the “Knight Chills” book is set to release very soon from author David Hayes and Source Point Press more on that very soon. I’ve had three screenplays turned into books. It is important to note that “Knight Chills” screenplay also written by Jeff & Juanita Kennedy.
Off to do a few things this morning before I return and write new developments:)
DEVELOPMENT
As mentioned we have a new script that we’re looking at putting up-end of the year. We have several things in development but this script working title “Man’s Best Friend” is rolling ahead. We’ve been tightening the story and doing some initial talks with distribution. We’ll be focusing on this more in the weeks ahead.
The new CDI website is official under construction. More updates on that as it happens.
Some evaluations this week on possible new collaborations. These are “In associations” whereas their company brings the finance and we bring production, casting, distribution to the table. It just all has to make sense business-wise but we’re open to such endeavors.
Looking for young actors 12-20 years of age so get those reels updated. We do cast national but will be looking in the Michigan area first for several roles.
Okay my friends. I’m off to do a few things around the house before a soccer match providing the rain doesn’t wash the fields out.
Have a great day.
DJ
DJ Perry's Official Blog 'Clawing My Way to the Middle' 