The climb often feels like walking uphill in sand but keep putting one foot in front of the other.
Welcome everybody to my blog where I can download my journey which is a balance act of life and artistic career. Last week I took a first real vacation in a long time. I travel a lot thanks to my film career but I always have lots of responsibilities. These can range from cast/crew safety to schedules to being prepared with my lines. I was and still am excited to tell you all of my journey to the rugged U.P. of Michigan. Lessons in life can be gathered from the simple things we participate in and try to prepare us for the storms that come and go. We came home from missing our own bed and our loving pack. We lost our eldest dog Joplin several months ago and our baby Luke dealt with a hard year of treatment dealing with an auto-immune issue. His greeting of us was kind but lacked his normal energy. The next morning he was hesitant to eat which is not like him. So we took him in for a check and he again seems to have an issue. What does that mean to me/us? Schedules of meds that must be kept ands kills much social interaction. Watching my strong buddy waste under some strong meds that makes him look like those poor starving dogs on TV. And the cost…I can say that a good portion of my pay on the last few films did not purchase anything materialistic. I’m a simple person for those who really know me and thankfully I require very little. I enjoy the short emails from strangers who say how our stories helped them or made them feel. I enjoy the simple things that grow in our yard from morels to mulberries. But when facing the raging greed and egos of our business I find solace in my animals. So my boy Luke is at MSU Animal Hospital again overnight. We had just gotten home and so he did not want to stay. He is likely getting a blood transfusion or two and if all goes well he’ll be released to start 6 months of treatment. With the irony of it all – my next film we’re working to launch M.B.F. centers on our military vets and dogs. My boy in the hospital was a major inspiration to my writing. I’m motivated now more than ever to launch that film because my humble takings will once again start being directed towards – love.
Shipwreck on Lake Superior
I love to use ship talk when speaking on filmmaking. So many issues can leave a film/ship just as you see it here. SHIPWRECKED. Work very hard with every opportunity to make something worthy. That starts by finishing. That requires good planning and execution. It’s hard work but so deserving.
The Quest Trilogy
I’m so proud of our team(s) for shooting all three of these feature films. “Forty Nights” is selling and I want to really push it again with the September release of “Chasing the Star” part two. Pre-Sale sites are starting to pop up and I’m told retailers are really liking the subject matter. Part three “The Christ Slayer” is in post-production and the plan is to release the PR and 1st teaser on Monday. I sincerely hope you all enjoy it. It is a beautiful wrap up to the trilogy.
Wild Faith
The “behind the scenes” sizzle will be releasing soon after our “The Christ Slayer” teaser release next week. I know I’ve been promising a poster and one is coming. I’m excited to get back at my talks on the TV series. The post work continues and we’ll likely have a premiere this year followed by the theatrical play. Music is starting to be composed and that will make this tale even more powerful.
Knight Chills
The book based on the film authored by David Hayes is now available. If suspense thrillers and/or role-playing games like ole Dungeons and Dragons is your bag take a read and leave us a review.
https://www.amazon.com/Knight-Chills-DJ-Perry/dp/1945940174/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1502029522&sr=1-1&keywords=knight+chills
A great Christmas gift for that lover of sword and sorcery.
I truly did intend on much more insightful writings about our trip up North. We interacted and fed bears and saw beautiful landscapes surrounding the Great Lakes. A nice bed and breakfast one day and saw an old naked man walking his dog on the beach. Ravens, chipmunks, cranes and more but we failed to see any moose or Bigfoot. I think we’re going to get around and go visit our buddy in the hospital. If you have furry family of your own you know the hold they have over our heart. Send a few good thoughts our way for Mr. Brown – such a good boy and unfortunate that we’re having issues with him again. This ordeal was not the way we wanted to end of little vacation but that is life. LIVE and LOVE because there is no promises of tomorrow.
DJ
August 6, 2017 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: amazon, animals, art, auto immune, B&B, baby, bears, bed, bed and breakfasts, bigfoot, blog, book, BTS, career, cast, Chasing the star, chipmonks, Christmas, climb, cost, cranes, crew, David Hayes, DJ Perry, dogs, Dungeons and Dragons, eat, egos, emails, energy, family, film, Forty Nights, furry, Great Lakes, greed, Joplin, journey, knight chills, landscapes, lessons, life, live, love, lovers, Luke, M.B.F., meds, Michigan, Military, moose, morels, morning, MSU, mulberries, music, naked, North, pack, post work, PR, pre-sales, ravens, retailers, role playing games, sand, schedules, September, ship, shipwrecks, solace, sorcery, storms, strangers, suspense, sword, teasers, The Christ Slayer, The Quest Trilogy, thrillers, tomorrow, TV, TV series, U.P., vacation, vet, vets, Wild Faith, writings | Leave a comment
I want to welcome the 1st time readers from S. Korea and Jordan. The lead singer of a band (Shinedown) was talking about the unifying power of music. I think that is true for most art as a whole. I’m proud that this little coffee-powered blog is read by so many around the world. It has been an exciting Summer so far and I’m finally feeling ready for the next journey. By journey I mean a group of films. I’ve been doing this a while now and sometimes I need that break. More from the business versus the art creation but that too can be exhausting. I’m excited because beyond the small pockets of audiences – the nation and beyond will get to see “Chasing the Star” in September (5th) with our distributor releasing to Amazon, iTunes and a few Faith sites focusing first on DVD sales. They are allowing a premium window before moving to streaming services in 2018 after Christmas. This will be a cool Christmas because you will be able to watch Part 1 “Forty Nights” and Part 2 “Chasing the Star” of The Quest Trilogy. There are many small crossover moments in all three films which will be fun to connect for people. Part 3 “The Christ Slayer” is moving along. We were putting paperwork under our VFX team and a PR release will be forthcoming this week. I also have a meeting with the director Nathaniel Nose to discuss the 1st teaser trailer and poster. I’m really proud of all three of these films and I will look forward to the day all three are in a box set or playing TV together. You have to dream it first.
A few of the team – (L top R) Hagedorn, Perry, Bradley, Mason, Therrian, Hornus)
“Wild Faith” – I LOVE this film. I think many of you – fans of “Wicked Spring,” “Ghost Town” and such will really be taken with this movie. A great cast united in telling a very timely story despite the 1800’s setting. Follow this film on FB or the website and get ready for a ride.
Wild Faith FB
https://www.facebook.com/WildFaithMovie/
Wild Faith website
http://www.wildfaiththemovie.com
We’ve been going back and forth over movie posters the last few weeks. We’ve had something really good first drafts but not that one great poster that brings all the elements together. Now this is only the theatrical poster not the distributors poster but it is the one we will run with for a while. A new trailer is also in the works that will be our theatrical trailer. We saw a first cut of the Behind the Scenes video and that will be refined before release. You can just see how much fun everyone had making this film.
Okay, I think some of you are good with updates on films in post and want to discuss new endeavors. Well, I’ve had a story in my head for a few years now that involves a few very important themes. Those themes are military vets and dogs. It took some time to ponder what role to tackle after my last go playing Jesus. My conclusion was what fires up your passion? Does it have a strong business backing? The conclusion was to focus and finish this script lingering in me. The script is the most important thing I have found over the years. It is the blue print that all the departments work off of. It is what encapsulates the world and unites all these performances into a story. That first official draft was completed and I had my two CDI co-producers take a read and give feedback. I also sent the first draft to a few outside people to get another viewpoint. The response was strong and so we’re taking the next steps. This week will include a polish thus creating version 2. I’ve reached out to distribution on the subject matter and I’m doing some breakdowns. It will be filmed in Michigan and at the year’s end late Oct and early Nov is the goal. Early informal casting talks have begun – I’ve said this before, if you’ve worked with us before and fit a breakdown and you weren’t an issue, you’re being looked at. We might request a few reads at some point from some of you out there. We do have a handful of teen roles which we don’t have as many options. Those damn kids keep growing up:) So if you’re 12-19 years old male and female we will want to see your game footage. By that we mean you demo reel. We may go to cold reads if we haven’t found what we want but we like to use reels. So get those ready to go because in a week or two official calls will go out. I look forward to storytelling with you.
I’m going to leave all this right here as I’ve got a string of things to get done today ending in a soccer match. We got the upper siding done on the office/fort and the shake front and back (very top) are next on the list. The garden is giving us our first harvests. The berries have been in full boom and my brother, an artist himself – created this as a birthday present for me. It is a wrought-iron arch with our former elm tree adding the beauty.
Have a great Sunday!
DJ
July 9, 2017 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: 1800's, 2018, amazon, band, beauty, berries, birthday, blog, box set, Bradley, BTS, cast, casting, CDI, Chasing the star, Christmas, Co-Producers, coffee, DJ Perry, dogs, dream, DVD, elm, facebook, faith, female, film, fort, Forty Nights, garden, ghost town, Hagedorn, Hornus, iTunes, Jesus, Jordan, journey, kids, male, Mason, Michigan, Military, music, Nathaniel Nose, nation, Nov, Oct, office, passion, poster, PR, reels, script, Sept 5th, Shinedown, soccer, South KOrea, teaser, teens, The Christ Slayer, The Quest Trilogy, Therrian, trailer, trees, TV, vets, VFX, websites, Wicked Spring, Wild Faith, wrought iron | Leave a comment
I’m waiting for the coffee to finish as I start typing. I have a full day today and so I wanted to get a jump on it. As usual I want to welcome all our international readers from Poland, Argentina and more. Part of the balance of an artist is to navigate all the elements life presents. Since returning from filming ‘The Christ Slayer’ I’ve been working on getting the entire operation in order. That part as I’ve stated before is not the most fun part. While others seek their next role on camera I’m recording, tracking and remitting on other films. This week was important because as “Forty Nights” is fully entering the flow and thank you too all those of you who have watched the film. It is a business and that work must be done. Also ‘Chasing the Star’ will soon be heading into the national/international market so getting this “business flow” set up is the smart thing. Being that I’ve not yet had a sip of coffee my thoughts are still a little scattered so maybe we’ll have a shotgun news day with no exact order. I call this 10 UPDATES/LESSONS OF THE WEEK.
- “Forty Nights” had 4 nominations at the #ICFF and WON ‘Most Inspirational Movie’ and we’ve got an internal process of PR. I did notice that the film experienced a lil’ hate with the nomination nods and more when it won. I know this comes from the frustration of actors/filmmakers/screenwriters who despise seeing other projects move while their passion sits stagnant. (Coffee is ready – time out) (OK – game on) A few facts are that some of our projects have failed to launch. I’ve discovered that we often get stuck in a rut of trying to push something that is not ready. If you get better at reading momentum that helps your endeavors. Some people want to push with everything and not back down but if it is not meant to be, it will not come to pass. Patience is a bitch.
- I had a meeting this week where it was pointed out that many in the local community don’t love the isolation attitude of our company. The truth is that I work hard on TO DO’s everyday. I turn it off everyday with things to do tomorrow. I could spend time at various industry mixers but it comes at the expense of something I need to do. I could spend $100 on food and drinks to discuss other people’s endeavors but it comes at the expense of writing 10 pages of script or not reviewing that international sales agreement. It was easier when I was a nomadic film warrior in my 20’s but I have domestic activities that I enjoy – yard work/tinkering is one of them. So it is not that I don’t care what others are doing industry-wise (I’m actually quite informed) but I just love what we’re doing more and know fully the hard work required to move those pieces ahead on the board. Talk to anyone who has participated in one of our endeavors and the response is usually very different versus the person who has not yet done business with us. Again I say, DON’T HATE, CREATE. That should go on tee-shirts.
- Again Cannes Film Festival is underway and I’ve done that Hollywood scene and it is a fun world to visit. But it will devour your time and financial resources and again you can visit trendy places with your resources or you can create art and content. Many of those parties cost thousands of dollars to attend. I also said that I will consider attending only accompanying a piece of art we’ve created. Maybe one day. I have no problem with those who love to attend those events – I’m just working steadily towards goals.
- Dennis Therrian our main composer, sound designer and post supervisor is prepping ‘Chasing the Star’ for delivery to our distributor for the national launch in September. He’s also just finishing sound design on “Wild faith” and will soon start the music. He recently was nominated for ‘Best Music Score’ at #ICFF with “Forty Nights” which also was mentioned as winning ‘Most Inspirational’ so if like several of us out there you like to write/work to music scores this is a great one to buy and listen to. – BUY HERE https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/40-nights-soundtrack/id1114858978 More of the scores are going to be releasing to sound track including “Chasing the Star” another beautiful collection of music.
- I touched on patience and reading momentum. I am subject to these laws myself. Some great production developments are moving a touch slow due to factors outside myself. They are great opportunities it just requires me to be accepting and have patience. A great opportunity for a TV series behind “Wild Faith” exists and development has begun. I would have LOVED to roll cameras in 2018 but the main national roll out for the feature will be in 2018 and so the series production will likely fall to 2019. Not what I had first wanted but that is the business of it all.
- A new biblical trilogy to follow THE QUEST TRILOGY is being developed and one of the scripts is done. The other two are in development. Right now the name of the trilogy is THE CONQUEST TRILOGY. Old Testament, No Jesus, No Angels/Fallen Angels and they do not tie into the first trilogy. That group of films is complete. The last film in THE QUEST TRILOGY entitled ‘The Christ Slayer’ is almost done with the first edit. So I’m not sure if the 1st film in this new trilogy will film in 2018 or not. I have a few other business pieces to put in place.
- Since I’ve accepted the flow of development for not what I want but what is – I’m finishing a script this month that just might go into production this fall in Michigan. It is a story that I’ve had my heart into for a year or two but just needed to finish the story. A first draft will be done at month’s end. #MBF
- The Michigan theatrical run is complete on “Chasing the Star” and this week we’ll be discussing new destinations for this film to play. This week our time on this project got devoured by delivery work. The final film will be sent off for final DVD mastering. We had a few bumps in flow because we changed a few things in the process on this film. Lesson – If it isn’t broken don’t fix it:) All is good just a small amount of additional time spent which could have been avoided with a bit stronger management. (I’m speaking to myself:)
- Some exciting things happening with the CDI website (www.cdiproductions.com) which has been in discussions for several years. The entire CDI library is digitized so that was a key element to what we’re doing. The site will be getting a major upgrade that will include the ability for people to purchase and stream past CDI films. Will we stop at CDI films? We will see – one step at a time. I also have had interest in doing some major merchandising so that is something we will explore.
- Speaking of spin off’s – BOOKS. E-Books to be more exact whereas several our films/scripts have been written into books. Those are about to come to market. That deal is underway and like everything else takes time to put the pieces together.
So in conclusion, every week is a busy week. I am open to discussion on new business but with how crazy everything is I’m not likely to get to another town to pub it and talk shop. If you truly think we have some good business reach out. We’ve done many associated films. I can promise that you will get truth from my perspective. I will not BS you and while I don’t always tell people what they want to hear I will tell it to you straight. I do consider acting in outside projects but all I ask is that its at the true pre-production stage and not dreamer stage. I had a phone meeting Friday whereas a NYC production had reached out wanting me to act. Sent me the script, the book it was based on etc…I read two chapters and knew in my gut that the film was nowhere close to shooting. That was two years ago. I’m glad those hours of reading were spent elsewhere. I’ve also participated and was paid (thank you) on a couple of projects that have never finished. Years have clicked by and still no finished film. The artist in me is what hurts on those projects. I was paid for my time, my art but we do it to share. If it was just about shells and beads ($$$) there is easier ways to make it. I’m going to go fill the coffee cup and get on with a few morning activities. I have a soccer match to play today if we don’t get cancelled because of storms. Some relax time with friends and family and tomorrow we go after the TO DO list again. I hope you all have a great day and a productive week.
Be good to one another.
DJ
May 21, 2017 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: actors, blog, books, cameras, Cannes Film Festival, CDI, Chasing the star, coffee, Conquest Trilogy, Dennis Therrian, dollars, drinks, filmmakers, food, Forty Nights, hate, ICFF, inspire, international, lessons, MBF, merchandising, Michigan, music, NYC, patience, PR, score, script, Sept, series, soccer, soundtracks, storms, streaming, The Christ Slayer, The Quest Trilogy, theatrical, TV, warrior, website, Wild Faith | Leave a comment
A beautiful and slightly chilly Sunday here in Michigan but I have the hot java to warm things up. Grandpa Jones playing the Bluegrass tune Mountain Dew on STING RAY music. It reminds me of some of the wonderful mornings at Robert’s Roost with my dear friends Robert and Ralphene in N. Carolina. Today I’m going to give the yard its first mow and rototiller the garden. Grilling is on-deck along with a little chilling later today.
Chasing the Star
So as a young actor I use to dread the trek into Detroit traffic and bustle for any meetings or auditions but I always found the “town” of Grand Rapids to be a much easier destination. Well, that has changed as Grand Rapids proper is a CITY no doubt. Our director of “Chasing the Star” Bret Miller, calls GR home and so last night we had a premiere kick off of the film at the UICA last night. It was a beautiful showing that showed the incredible camera work and art on-screen and I’ve never seen Dennis Therrian, our post sound and music supervisor so happy. The 5.1 surround sound mix was amazing and put you front and center of the action. We did a little Q&A after the film before heading to a local haunt which was a small joint with several pinball machines. I am not a fan of crowds and small places and so it was a celebratory king can of PBR and headed back home. I was up later than I usually stay up save being on night shoots on set. We had all three directors of the trilogy at the showing which was a special thing.
Jesse Low, Nathaniel Nose, producer Anthony “Tony” Hornus, Bret Miller
A lot of creative talent between these individuals. (Tony included:) CDI seeks out the wildly original and imaginative artists who also work within a no-nonsense business structure. I also got to share some advice with other upcoming filmmakers, which is always rewarding.
My advice when asked –
First, don’t say YES to that which you cannot do. Unfortunately, many say yes figuring we’ll just figure it out as we go. NOT WISE. Also, make the best of every opportunity. The question was narrowed to “how to finance your film?”
It’s hard, REALLY HARD to initially get business people behind you. You earn it by strong preparation, solid execution and staying on a timeline that other business entities (distributors) can rely on. Also don’t BS just be honest in these pitch meetings. Many of these people have been there, done that and gotten that Tee Shirt so don’t be a used car salesman. Also my advice was work out all agreements amongst production in advance of seeking or spending any investment money.
Why?
Once money does come in people change. People all have other ideas on how to spend budgets. They recall deal discussions differently. Deals cannot exist by hand shakes alone. Maybe at first but paperwork spells it out clearly. How much pay, when you pay and what you expect for that pay. Like bands many good creative teams break up because of misunderstandings. Eliminate that possibility by TCB (Elvis “Taking Care of Business”) before seeking out money. Also be reasonable about what amount you’re seeking and ask yourself if you can you really manage a project of that size. If no seek experienced help. By help I mean – Not “find me money” but “I now have this money can you help me manage my project” help.
Realize Truth
Also don’t make heroes out of incompetent business folk in your circle. I was asked – Why is it so hard for us to raise $? I said, because you all have peers walking about that have poisoned the wells with their screw ups. Yet they are hailed as heroes of their own PR spin. That is not tolerated in many industries but they are allowed to survive and sometimes thrive in our industry. They leave a ruined path of projects and poisoned wells for those that come after. When the area is too poisoned they move on seeking new areas to exploit where their screw ups are not as widely known if at all. The issue is that it’s a small industry overall.
What I enjoyed about last night is once again, the important word is AGAIN, we showed that Collective Development Inc. pulls from a clear well where business artists can invest knowing their investment is getting an A+ effort.
Back to Chasing the Star…
The film is now heading for Lansing, MI followed by Royal Oak, MI and it was announced last night that the film will return for a run in Grand Rapids, MI at Celebration Cinema.
We’ll announce the GR dates soon! The national release is Sept 5th but if you get a chance to experience this on the big screen treat yourself.
FORTY NIGHTS
Released by BMG April 4th to home video and will keep expanding its distribution to other countries. Take a watch if you have not and get ready for the third film releasing next Spring.
THE CHRIST SLAYER
It has officially moved into editing with our director Nathaniel Nose and we should have theatrical poster and teaser trailer coming soon.
WILD FAITH
BTS photo (Hagedorn, Perry, Anschutz)
This amazing film was a main topic at a recent meeting with one of our distributors and the interest in the TV series is there. We just have to pull all the right elements together. The feature film now has a picture lock and has moved to music and sound design. Stay tuned for many great updates including the first official teaser poster now in the works.
MISC DEVELOPMENTS
We’re in discussion on several CDI past films re-releasing out into the market. I’ve been prepping development work on new projects and doing some script writing. But right now I have to get to some yard work. Time to refill the coffee cup.
Have a great Sunday and rest of your week. Perhaps I will see some of you at Celebration Cinema on Monday and/or Tuesday for the 7:30 shows in Lansing, MI.
Be good to one another.
DJ
April 23, 2017 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: 5.1, Anschutz, Bluegrass, BMG, bret miller, camera, CDI, Celebration Cinema, Chasing the star, city, coffee, Collective Development Inc, Dennis Therrian, Detroit, distributors, DJ Perry, Elvis, Emagine, Forty Nights, garden, Grandpa Jones, grilling, Hagedorn, Hornus, java, Jesse Low, Lansing, MI, money, Mountain Dew, music, N. Carolina, Nathaniel Nose, PBR, pinball, posters, Ralphene Rathbone, Robert Bradley, Robert's Roost, series, sound, StingRay, TCB, teaser, The Christ Slayer, town, traffic, trailers, trilogy, TV, UICA, Wild Faith | Leave a comment
So I’m able to attract a distillery sponsor but still no coffee. Well, I’m sipping a nice dark coffee flavored with…you guessed it, hazelnut. I’ve been working hard to catch up on business and get back into the flow. I’m just about there.
Forty Nights
The Easter month has brought the beginning of our release schedule with The Quest Trilogy. We’ve started with the new release of “Forty Nights” – See here to buy the remastered DVD, digital stream to rent or own.
http://www.christiancinema.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=7766
Funny story. Many themes are spotlighted in these biblical films. Several of these themes addressed are what works against organized religion to the everyday person. You have all these branches of the tree that all want to claim being the roots. But the tree has but one seed. While people argue to own divinity so much is missed. One retailer who deals in “Christian” merchandise passed on carrying the “Forty Nights” DVD. I found it amusing that here’s a gatekeeper who believes they have some sort of authority to judge. Meanwhile the film has been nominated by an international Christian body for several awards including “the most inspiring film” yet…
Therein lies the issues I have with the “status quo” of organized religion. The beauty of these stories produced by amazing artists will reach beyond the small genre audiences. They’ll reach audiences worldwide and not just the Christian audiences. I’ll be having conversations with our distributor about the possibility of another slate of biblical period films. I cannot see creating an inferior product just to appease one retailer gatekeeper. Make a film that people want to watch and empower those retailers that DO carry the title. I saw some of the communications and it put my artistic self directly against my business self. Now I’ve always said, we create the best art within our business lines. But, without a strong script you cannot get strong artists on board. You end up with watered down product and that’s not what I do.
I’m sure a good balance will be found. But this example is why I don’t get too high on the praise or the criticism. It just amazes me that some feel empowered to judge believing they have some real power. Actually the only power this one retailer had was over greed. They can try to impose their will by refusing unit buys unless it fits their view. I also thought about how commerce often works against spiritual when “Christian reviewers” where just hammering the film NOAH. Now I like Russell Crowe and thought the film was just okay with many “over the top” events but like I told one person in private – If it inspired one person to go read the source material and put them on a path towards God, would the film not be a success? After I make a film I strap on my business armor and enter the fight. The haters will always exist and they really don’t have much of an effect these days. I think this one situation bothered me because fresh off of playing Jesus I tried to get to discover the core of the man and his beliefs. What would he think of someone censoring in his name? It hasn’t stopped many from doing just that. I think much like the table tossing in the temple he would walk into their offices and crack the whip.
But I believe these parables were created to unite people not divide. So I hope audiences do continue to connect with the material and seek it out. Those like the censoring retailers will likely get forced out of business in time. The daily fan mail tells me that many are reaping the rewards of the positive messages. If you want to see “Forty Nights” and the other films demand them:) Seek them.
Chasing the Star
So the film was watched and listened to again by multiple ears and eyes in studio last week to prep for the theatrical lay off. We’ve got a couple of weeks before our Grand Rapids premiere on the 22nd. After that they’ve announced my home town of Lansing, MI as the next stop. The play dates will be on the 24th and 25th of April at Celebration Cinema. More cities will be announced as we move forward. Again Sept 5th is the national DVD/Streaming release and it will be a wonderful Christmas time film for the entire family. I know the marketing team at BMG is already working on the release.
The Christ Slayer
Here is the video that our director posted with his SELECT shots from the film.
Sound has been married to picture and Monday editing will begin. I will be giving many more updates and you can join the FB site and follow us.
https://www.facebook.com/thechristslayer/
Wild Faith
Our western is now in discussions over VFX work before we can lock the picture. We’ll have discussions with director Jesse Low this week. I will also be discussing poster art and marketing. The TV show is a real possibility and will be part of my business discussions this week. A busy week ahead.
OTHER:)
We’ll be looking at the CDI library to possibly re-release some of our other films into the market. A few foreign sales talks are heating up and I will be exploring that. I’ve recently undergone a major hair cut to be ready for soccer that starts this month. I’m in good fighting shape thanks to the deserts of Yuma, AZ. I’m going to go refill the coffee cup. We’ve been getting the yard around and soon the garden ground will be tilled. We’ve got many new projects that are just seeds. If we plant them in fertile grounds with a little TLC I’m sure we’ll have new projects sprouting soon.
Have a beautiful day and week ahead.
DJ
April 9, 2017 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: art, artists, BMG, business, Celebration Cinema, Chasing the star, Christian, Christmas, coffee, director, distillery, DJ Perry, DVD, easter, editing, Forty Nights, garden, God, haters, hazelnut, Jesse Low, Jesus, judge, judgementr, Lansing, merchandise, own, remastered, rent, retailers, Rewards, Russell Crowe, Sanctuary Spirits, scripts, selects, Sept, soccer, streaming, temple, The Christ Slayer, The Quest Trilogy, theatrical, TV, video, whip, Wild Faith, yard, Yuma | Leave a comment
Photo by Scott Allen Perry
The desert heat is no longer with me here in Michigan. I came home to wet and cold weather but also to my family, bed and comforts of home. It has been major deceleration as I went from a wild circus of people on the constant move to a much more relaxed pace at home. Things slowing a touch was is a good thing since I had a good case of jet lag. I’ve been trying to sort through mail (and email), pay bills and unpack even as bouts of tired struck me at odd hours. I’ve had many people reaching out and I’m sorry that I’ve not been able to get back with everyone. I’ve had lots of wrap up work on the most recent film and catching up on immediate business.
FAMILY BUSINESS:)
This weekend was a good day catching up with family business first at my niece’s b-day gathering yesterday at the local science center, Impression 5. I took science classes there when I was in Elementary school with my buddy John. It’s truly a great place to take your children and I’m glad that the place has survived and thrived for all these years. Today I’m up North visiting family and celebrating another missed b-day. Speaking of missing b-day’s, my girl was good about me missing her b-day while in AZ and I do appreciate her holding down the fort in my absence. It’s a hardship for all our significant others when we go off to create these stories. I saw many happy faces when loved ones (cast & crew) returned safely from the deserts of Yuma. So I give me heartfelt gratitude to all of those significant others who worked hard to maintain households while we battled to tell our tale in the desert.
The Christ Slayer
If you’ve not been keeping up – we filmed the 3rd feature film in “The Quest Trilogy” entitled “The Christ Slayer” in AZ. We shot for three weeks and change with pre-production and wrap out. It’s an amazing feeling of accomplishment because it was a 3 part film series and also the first time I had played the same role twice. That role was none other than Jesus, so that was no easy task. It challenged me in many ways everyday but I want to say my director (Nathaniel Nose) and my co-stars who helped make the process so very special. Carl Weyant and Josh Perry made each and every day a unique experience full of smiles and fist-bumps. Christine, Mel, Shane and every other actor I was blessed to share the screen with made each day easier with their enthusiasm. Their love for the story and their roles inspired me and honored me as a writer. The crew consisted of many warriors I’ve worked with prior and once again they brought their best. I additionally had the pleasure of working with a handful of new artists who I think enjoyed the overall adventure. They all worked extremely hard and the desert proved to be no joke, but the final footage revealed the results of those efforts. BEAUTIFUL! To all the people of Yuma associated with this picture, we love you. We could not have done this without you. The biggest question I was asked by many there was IF this was our last film. It was the last of “The Quest Trilogy” but I’m happy to announce that I will be penning a second slate of biblical films. This process might have already begun. (Insert sly smile) They will be separate from the three films we explored in this current trilogy. We will likely be going Old Testament with these new films.
“The Christ Slayer” has entered post and we’ll be rolling out behind-the-scenes photos and powerful stills (Like the one above) in the coming weeks. Also a teaser trailer is in the works and will release in the coming weeks. Releasing spring of 2018.
Forty Nights
“Forty Nights” will enjoy its new release on 4/4/17 and I encourage all of you interested in the trilogy to watch it. Our post team did a very good job re-mastering the film both audio and visually and Bridgestone has put beautiful new artwork worthy of such a beautiful story.
Chasing the Star
On the heels of this new release the second film “Chasing the Star” will enjoy a premiere on the 22nd of April. Following this will be various theatrical showings starting in Lansing, Grand Rapids and Royal Oak with many more planned. Once we’ve done our theatrical run we’ll be releasing nationally on Sept 5th, 2017. Follow our Facebook social media page for updates.
Wild Faith
“Wild Faith” is close to a locked picture and will move into music and sound design. I can say that the initial talks on the TV series have been positive. I think we have a good chance at spinning off into a television series. I’m looking at the business of it now and also working on some of the creative aspects for upcoming meetings.
I plan on aligning all our business and setting up for a strong 2018. There is a good chance we may film another feature or two this year but nothing is solid on the slate. As I noted before, I’m back to my daily writing and making some great progress. As the sun returns and temps warm I look forward to a productive year ahead. Thank you all for your support. (Cheers with a sip from the coffee cup)
DJ
April 2, 2017 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: 2017, 2018, April 22, artists, audio, AZ, biblical, Carl Weyant, cast, CDI, Chasing the star, Christine Marie, circus, coffee, crew, desert, DJ Perry, email, facebook, family, fort, Forty Nights, Grand Rapids, Impression 5, Jesus, jetlag, joke, Josh Perry, Lansing, mail, media, Melissa Anschutz, Michigan, Nathaniel Nose, Old Testament, ole, premiere, remastering, role, Royal Oak, school, Sept 5, series, Shane Hagedorn, spring, story, The Christ Slayer, The Quest Trilogy, theatrical, trailer, TV, visual, warriors, Wild Faith, Yuma | Leave a comment
As I sit down to type I’m still stunned by the news of the passing of Bill Paxton at 61 years old. A small actor in big films that made memorable moments and characters and worked up into some major roles. I liked his directing and he was one of those people who I thought I could realistically share the screen with in the coming years. I’m just again reminded that we don’t know how much time we have here and so as we do our final off location prep on “The Christ Slayer” I will be appreciative. Appreciative that I can do what I love to do and feel a calling to do. I know that many are not engaging their passion but that freedom to do so has come by sacrifice. Let’s take a look at what new developments we’ve had this past week. No sacrifice required:)
The Quest Trilogy
This is very exciting and for those out there who have asked here is the Bridgestone Multimedia Group home video release schedule.
FORTY NIGHTS (April 2017), CHASING THE STAR (Sept 2017), THE CHRIST SLAYER (April 2018)
Now let’s look at updates with each one
The Christ Slayer (Pre-Production)
We’re very close to locking up the schedule so we can sign up our talent and start on transportation arrangements. It’s always a chore with a schedule usually it helps one area or another. We’ve almost crewed up and only a few crew members to add. I also want to welcome The Candleberry Company back as a sponsor. These films are made with the assistance of many great companies who believe in what we’re doing and want their products or services associated with our films. If you’re interested in having your company or service associated please do contact me direct at perrydj@aol.com
Thank you!
Chasing the Star
I had a chance to see the new theatrical poster which we’ll be releasing this week. It is a great piece of artistic work that captures the heart of the film. The end credits are almost done and will be dropped in this week. The VFX plates are in the film and soon it will be a locked picture. I’m excited to complete this second film and for everyone to experience it. The Michigan premiere is looking like April and we’ll follow that with multiple theatrical runs. BMG will release the home video in September on the run up to Christmas!
FORTY NIGHTS
This week we should get our first peek at the new DVD artwork. The release campaign will start heating up with the early April release. I hope that a great mass of people can start off their trilogy experience with this beautiful remastered film. We’ve got a few new reviewers taking an early look but I hope you all will watch and form your own opinions. I think there is a message in there for everyone. Stay tuned!
BESTSELLER is starting to negotiate a sales rep agreement for the foreign market. I think this tension-driven film will excite and frighten people around the world.
WILD FAITH
I told you of the great reaction to the first draft of the film. We’ve made our notes and should have a locked picture soon. We also got a first look at the teaser trailer and it was powerful! It gave me goosebumps and I watched it three times in a row without saying a word. It is everything I wanted it to be and more. It is in sound polishing now and once done TV series discussions can move forward. I think we’ll see a first poster in the coming weeks and again I’m so proud of the cast and crew.
Today I’m organizing and getting everything ready to kick Monday off hard. It always has a certain amount of anxiety as we always want to do a great job. We can only do our best and to date that has gotten us quite far. Again, bringing it full circle – it’s okay to feel this way but let us not forget the lesson of Bill Paxton, live, love and do what you were meant to do. RIP to Bill and countless others who don’t concern themselves with all our issues. To the rest of us – no rest until the peace finds us at the end.
Have a great weekend and productive week.
DJ
February 26, 2017 | Categories: Blogroll | Tags: actors, April, artwork, Bestseller, blog, BMG, Bridgestone Multimedia Group, character, Chasing the star, Christmas, credits, developments, directing, DJ Perry, DVD, films, foreign, Forty Nights, home video, live, love, Michigan, poster, pre-production, premiere, prep, remastered, reviewers, sacrifice, schedule, screen, September, sponsor, talent, teaser, The Candleberry Company, The Christ Slayer, The Quest Trilogy, theatrical, trailer, transportation, TV, VFX, Wild Faith, world | Leave a comment
