End of Year Wrap-Ups and New Film Updates
The year is underway and many business endeavors are moving. It has been a good week of organizing and prepping for new business. I’ve also been getting some good training in for the new year. That is mostly for the soccer field but doesn’t hurt for camera work either. I know many of you are putting your new year resolutions into play. Let’s look at some of the new actions in motion.
1) We are about to PR “7 Stones” now available on VOD.
2) Discussions are underway on a few new biblical films after it was reported that we have the highest grossing biblical film with our distributor. We had some good talks over this property.
3) Our director Shane Hagedorn is in studio doing a music check today on “Ashes of Eden” and we are excited as this film nears the finish line. Early distribution talks have started and many are just waiting to see our full story.
4) “Bestseller” is now officially in editing and we should have a rough cut in about a month. We are all excited to see this film moving to the next phase. I’ve had several good talks about what will follow “Bestseller” and soon we may have a sure direction. I am getting distributor input on all these ideas.
5) I’ve been having some literary agent talks after a recent option/purchase agreement on one of my script properties. I think that scripts that I do not see as an acting vehicle I may consider selling. There will be more PR on this as it develops.
6) We’ve had some interest in possible financing on “Soul Eater” my prequel to “The 8th Plague” so that was submitted last week and now we wait.
7) New foreign territory and TV Network talks started this week. We will see what develops from all of that.
8) I need to get new updates on “Donors” and “The Terrorist” but I know both are very close and will be coming to market this year.
Aside from all this I have been prepping some of the end of the year business work for taxes and such. It is the less exciting aspects of filmmaking but so very important. I hope you all are staying focused and enjoying your first month of 2014. It was a week of steady business and that always leads to something exciting.
Happy Saturday!
DJ
Welcome 2014 – Looking Ahead
Welcome one and all to “Clawing My Way to the Middle” first blog of 2014. It was a wild Christmas holiday with the ice storm and even now we prepare for another Arctic storm to come. I had a good friend come and help me cut up the fallen elm tree which I stacked up. I will say that once it has dried I will have a good amount of firewood. I had to do a little make shift fix to the fence until we can really address it. There was a lot of business that finished at the end of 2013 and some that was just on hold. Let us look at the year ahead so top off that coffee cup and let’s take a look.
In December I was filming later than usual in the year with my acting on “Dead Quiet”. It was a cool okay COLD chance to film with some dedicated folks. I’m curious to see what we created although the first look at dailies brought good feedback. I’m also curious to see the Christmas film I did locally renamed “Small Town Santa” which ties into my next announcement. I had almost sold/produced a Christmas script of my own several years ago. It banged around with some majors and would have easily been the largest script sale I’ve made. I had Hollywood try to do a commercial tween rewrite. I was willing to sell but truly hated that version. When that deal did not go through I put that version in a dark vault never to see light of day again. I kept my version inspired by THE WALTON’S versus the AfterSchool special mess. I held onto it in hopes that either I could do it right or that someone else could. I finally had a studio read MY version and loved it. The option/purchase agreement was made and it is very likely that it will launch this year. A press release is being put together so I will hold on details. I’m starting to look at a few scripts that are not acting vehicles for myself and I might consider a sell. Many like the visual style of the writing and so 2014 will see me put some effort in this area. My agent wants me to look at scripts to sell via them also so I guess I will consider. So if you are in need of a script in a certain genre reach out. You better bring your checkbook though.
I’m starting to continue distribution and studio talks that started at the year’s end. I’ve got some legal meetings this coming week over properties. I’ve got a few scripts to read – one being the proposed follow-up to “Ashes of Eden” with director friend Shane Hagedorn. Post work on ‘Ashes of Eden” is almost complete and “Bestseller” is about to dive into editing. This year will see “Donors,” “The Terrorist” making 1st distribution pushes along with the two films above. CDI will look at more associations and continue the tradition of storytelling. The chances are good that I will be doing a follow-up project “The Beast” with Russ Williams (Darkest Night) and the western “Rifle” with Carl Barbee (Resurrection).
As for acting – the hair got a sizable trim and I’m ready to tackle some new roles. I love the family of folks in front of and behind the camera. In 2014 we will create more stories.
Cheers!
“Be True”
A quiet morning of sipping coffee and reflecting on the past week. On the domestic front this week saw Lions and MSU football kick off to victory. The garden is giving tomatoes, peppers and some beans in abundance. I bottled up the fall brew beer that I’ve named AUTUMN AMBER and is tastes good and with some age it will get even better. We used the smoker on some chicken and it came out great! So on the personal level I’ve been enjoying the slow transition from summer to fall. Let’s discuss some business shall we.
Evolution
First I’ve noticed that some of the things happening in the our local film community will evolve on their own. My personal “community” is composed of doers from every state and other country’s creating art and telling stories to enlighten and educate the masses. We’ve discussed many of the issues that our state faces and I’m sure that is represented in every film community in every state. There are some that are chasing fame and working cons to try to grab a foothold. As I’m about to shoot a thriller this Oct. that is a complete re-shoot due to mismanagement I see that some of the individuals responsible are just moving to the next “mark”. Some are following their same game of deceit and bamboozling. I did step in to give warning to one young man who seems bent on getting ahead by any means. I just saw his attempted involvement with two other filmmakers that I call a friend. So I had to bring that to light because I don’t want to see others have their passion films damaged. Be real and build a real career on real effort and work. Not claiming “uncredited” work on studio projects or falsely adding or promoting yourself as being part of something you are not. I gave my warning but for you out there hiring or collaborating – you must also beware. Talk to people who have worked with these people prior. Remember like a job interview they are looking to say what they think you want to hear. A good speaker can bullshit a lot of people and you often won’t realize until it is too late. I’ve learned this lesson the hard way earlier in my career as well. I’ve got a finely tuned bullshit meter but we all can be a victim.
We are about to start signing deal memos on “Bestseller” in the coming weeks. We’ve been in talks with vendors and I’m excited about what this group of artists will create. I’ve been spending some time with my character role and looking forward to bringing this to life. Some of my contacts in Hollywood are now becoming aware of what we are shooting and we will be bringing a few actors in to work with our mid-west talent. They have had some great feedback on our revamped script and we are doing our production breakdowns. This should be a very smooth shoot and a great way to end the year. So prepare for a new website and PR on some of our great talent attached.
ASHES OF EDEN! The film is in final sound design and scoring and we are on course for a November Michigan premiere. Before that audiences will get a strong look at our film via a theatrical trailer which will release tomorrow! I’m excited about showing people a peek of this powerful film. I’m going off survey responses from our test audiences. We also have submitted and may have a few known music artists joining our talented local music acts. I’m excited to again show our interested distributors our new marketing piece. I also excited to show all of you!
BENJAMIN has been re-cut with distributor feedback and retitled THE TERRORIST. All the talk from over there in that camp is that we also have something very special. So this is another film that I’m excited to get out to audiences. Another riveting drama.
SUPERMODEL SHOWDOWN. The question of if this TV series is going to strike a fancy has been answered. We did a promo piece and that was shown to 3 different parties all of which responded positive. One responded so positive that it was a board room showing in London and we have an offer coming in next week. The negotiation process starts but we do have a fun, entertaining show and this might be a great start for CDI TV. Will I end up producing a few reality shows? Maybe. We will see.
I also have a TV series in development with a major studio that could be great fun. This is my first time working within this TV studios development process but I will learn from it I’m sure. If it happens it would have me co-starring in my first TV series. I know I’ve avoided that prior but this would have me on the writing/producing team so I re-considered. It still could fall apart or get shelved but so far so good.
Many of our scripts are in development pipelines being evaluated by money sources. I think 2014 will surely see a handful of these get made. I’m enjoying this time of productivity. Some is from work previously done finally coming to and some are new growth. EVOLUTION is the word I’ve been in meditation on. I can roll with whatever the universe brings because I know that it is all just evolving energy. I see great storytelling ahead.
So as you can see I can be concerned about issues in our local circles but I cannot get overly invested. Those overselling themselves to the inexperienced will continue to do so. Those chasing that 15 minutes of fame by the “fake it to make it” technique will continue for some. Others will continue to not see true opportunities presented to them and do things half-ass so they can move quickly to the next venture out of desperation. I was inspired watching a PBS doc yesterday on the torch passing between film and digital. The passion of storytelling by storytellers is the underlying golden thread. That is where I belong. That is who I am. The same child like artist who first picked up a camcorder to start telling little stories. I’ve matured in business from good mentors and experience good and bad. My wanting to bring our art to the wider world that only happens with distribution and dependent upon good business has pushed me forward. So I do care a lot about those around me. But I can only be a compass by example alone. I cannot and will not take part in a bunch of drama that I read about daily on all these social media outlets. While others talk I’ve always been one taking action and I have to stay that course. The artists that work with me will always get my best. I don’t understand and can’t try to understand those others. So I will keep tending my garden, loving and laughing with true friends and family and telling stories. That is all I can do. So I implore those out there to always give more than someone paid you for. Always give your best and use the passion inside you. Don’t sell yourself out for shells and beads or lures of fame. That is all fleeting but the stories you tell. The art – that can live on and on.
Be true.
DJ
Best Efforts and New Beginnings
I’ve enjoyed the chill of the last week or so – a preview of the coming fall. The garden is starting to slowly give its first harvests of beans and peppers. The tomatoes and such will soon follow. I’ve done a good job this week of downshifting and being patient on things already in motion. I’ve focused on what I can affect and removed draining attentions from what I cannot. This past week I’ve pulled in some of my energy and nurture it like an inner fire. The waxing to full moon last week gave a good time to quiet the mind – to think and form feelings on certain matters in my orbit. I will try to put a few of those thoughts here for you all to compare to your own experiences.
I’ve got a few projects in my orbit that are not my own but projects I was sought out on. These individuals either enjoyed the previous art I’ve created (with all the artists collaboration) or they have been referred by my ability to lead people and stay on a schedule, on a budget and create order within chaos. I’ll start by saying I’ve turned down a few projects this year just because of the foresight of danger and hardship due to people who can’t communicate properly. Without that the path can be a thorny one.
In a world where the artists are often staving artists and you don’t know exactly where the next check will come from it is very tempting for some to take any and all work. Accepting a challenge is one thing but would a group of soldiers armed with sticks march against a well-armed brigade? If you don’t have what it takes or you are ill prepared and weakly armed don’t march off to battle. It is that simple but many still take a loose attitude towards this. In the end it will hurt you. There is a legal term in our business called “Best Efforts” and it is something I live by. I always give my best effort in my efforts. I always try to state things how they are even if it’s often not what someone wanted to hear. Now I don’t go throwing my opinions around where they are not asked for or really are not needed. IF you do take on a challenge I implore you to give your best effort. Anything less is not only a knock on your character it can be legal liable. One such project has suffered from being ill prepared and bluntly mismanaged. I’ve been approached to see if I would be interested in fixing this project and finishing it properly. I think in the interest of saving face of our good state I just might. It wasn’t anything I had planned upon as I’m likely about to manage another project about to film. It would line these things up for me back-to-back and basically be my year. I will think on these things more.
The other project is a drama and should be shooting in the Detroit area if everything rolls right next week. The paperwork is being prepped and if all goes proper we will bring this story to the screen. I’ve enjoyed the prep work with the director thus far and I think we would have a good group of artists. It also will provide many acting opportunities for Michigan folks but please do not hammer me with reels at this time. We do have a casting director and that process will roll out once we are a full go. So again I’m just exercising patience and lining things up for a smooth ride. It all lies in the prep.
In other news – “Darkest Night” our newest GPI/CDI release has been moving DVD’s like crazy at Amazon and I hope you all are curling up and enjoying this frightening little film. As we move into the fall if you need a scary film for those nighttime thrills you have three from me so enjoy.
The “Supermodel Showdown” TV series is moving ahead nicely and we are about to open up some sponsorship opportunities for some national companies.
“Ashes of Eden” is pulling steady down the tracks now and I’m very exciting to show our premiere audience and the distributors we have following us.
We saw the start of “Figure in the Forest” playing on Parables TV and that is always a nice thing to introduce one of our stories to a new audience.
We are continuing our talks on licensing our films to other countries. I’m looking forward to entertaining more world audiences with our films.
“Benjamin” that I shot in NYC is undergoing a name change to “The Terrorist” and some re-ordering of the actual film is underway working with our distributors. I’m excited to see the new cut.
Additionally, I’m just working some paperwork this weekend while getting some domestic stuff done. I could be hotel bound for a while but shooting in Michigan would allow me some home stops which is always nice. So it might be a busy end to the year but that is about normal. I hope you all have a peaceful weekend and enjoy your family and friends.
DJ
DJ Perry's Official Blog 'Clawing My Way to the Middle' 