Richard Whittaker's book, One Day at a Time is being distributed in Boston hospitals to victims, caregivers and first responders to offer comfort and support. For more information, www.PrayersFromGod.com Joel Franco, Chesapeake Films has just finished shooting the documentary about controversial sports radio host Dino Costa. This film will be shopped at Cannes in May 2013 for distribution opportunities. www.Chesfilms.com Joann Harris has just signed a film option agreement for the screen rights of her book, The Demons Walk Among Us.
Congratulations to the band HEART for their well-deserved inclusion into the 2013 Class of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!
Trial Lawyer Tom Bleakley has released his second legal thriller, Serenity. We are shopping his book for film options....a recent conversation about the book brought the comment, "That story is a gold mine!" We have a lot of interest and hope to have options soon. www.tombleakleybooks.com
We are pitching former CBS newsman Bill Deane's book Smooth Criminal, a One Man American Crime Wave. We are also pitching two screenplays based on the book by Jennifer Dana Deane. This remarkable true story starts in the late 50s and reports on the CIA's use of prisoners to conduct dangerous covert operations in return for their freedom. The book is about the criminals who are protected from prosecution after their successful missions and their victims who were without recourse or justice.
Richard Whittaker has released his book of prayers, One Day at a Time. The first revision sold 13,000 copies, by word-of-mouth. We are very excited about the new release! This is a book that is meant to be shared. www.PrayersFromGod.com Joann Harris has just released another page-turning scary novel, Demons Walk Among Us. Please read with the lights on!
Authors Austin Cooper Otocki has signed an option agreement for a television series based on his book, The Single Guy's Guide To Relationships with filmmaker Joel Franco at Chesapeake Films. Otocki's screenplay based on the book will be shopped at Cannes in May 2013.
Michael E. Lowenstein has published his second book, The Nineteenth Year, A Sweet Summer with the Pittsburgh Pirates. www.TheNineteenthYear.com Joel Franco of Chesapeake Films has sold the US and Canadian Internet streaming rights for his documentary One Man's Search For Truth to powerhouse Gaiam. See our NEWS! section for more details. www.chesfilms.com PRESS RELEASE
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Chesapeake Films’ to Film Documentary about Life of Controversial SiriusXM Radio Personality Dino Costa.
Documentary to begin shooting on April 18 in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Las Vegas, NV March 27, 2013 Chesapeake Films announces that it has started pre-production for a documentary to be completed in 2013 about the life of controversial SiriusXM Radio personality, Dino Costa. Filming will begin in Cheyenne, Wyoming on April 18, 2013. The documentary film will be directed by Joel Franco, cinematography by Darko Nikolich, edited by Anthony Bernard, sound design by Karol Urban, and original music by Marianthe Bezzerides. The film will begin shooting in Wyoming, where Dino Costa resides and produces his daily syndicated radio sports talk show, The Dino Costa Show. The crew will then follow Costa to New York, NY, to continue filming Costa’s hometown, friends, fans, and family.
Franco wanted to do the film because, “Dino is a breath of fresh air in the world of cookie cutter sports talk radio. He is fiercely independent, and connects with his audience like few can. I just knew that under that big personality was a story waiting to be told. I am so excited to begin.”
When asked about the film, Dino Costa said, “When I set out to embark upon a career as a talk show host I wanted to achieve many objectives. However I never thought about the possibility of someone wanting to do a film about my career and my life. In speaking with Joel about the vision for this film, I'm confident that collaborating with the crew at Chesapeake Films will culminate in a documentary that will accurately detail a story that I hope people will find interesting and compelling."
About Chesapeake Films
Chesapeake Films, a full service film and television production company, was founded by Joel Franco and Solidaris, LLC in 2006. Chesapeake Films’ mission is to blend artistic talent with engaging stories to create feature films and television that delight audiences of all ages. Chesapeake Films’ documentary, One Man’s Journey to Truth profiling energy healer Denie Hiestand’s life was sold to Giam in 2012 and received an Award of Merit at the 2012 London Independent Film Festival (LiFF).
Led by founder Joel Franco, Chesapeake Films has secured option agreements on a full slate of impressive stories for feature films and television programming. Chesapeake Films will attend Cannes Film Festival in May 2013 and will be meeting with distributors for the foreign distribution of One Man’s Journey to Truth, distribution for his new documentary about Dino Costa and will meet with industry leaders to discuss collaborative relationships for the preproduction slate.
Chesapeake Films’ preproduction slate includes Poe, a biopic about Edgar Allen Poe and Future Kings, a futuristic science fiction story by world renowned artist and writer, C. C. Long; an espionage thriller trilogy franchise based on Susan Ouellette’s novels; Charles McDonald’s historical fiction adventure slated as an animated feature based on his book The War Trail; Austin Cooper Otocki’s edgy television series, The Social Eye, based on his book The Single Guy’s Guide to Relationships; Stephen Gallup’s drama based on his book, What about the Boy; Devil Cats, a horror film based on the book The Demons Walk Among Us, by Joann Harris and Sherry Frazier’s original CIA spy thriller, Deception Pass.
About Dino Costa
Dino Costa is the host of national radio show, The Dino Costa Show, broadcast weekdays on SiriusXM, Channel 86. Costa broadcasts from his state-of-the-art studios in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and is famous for providing audaciously original commentary and opinion on topical sports issues. Dino Costa’s trademark independence and his in-your-face, cavalier approach is appreciated by his audiences all across North America.
The Dino Costa Show has been a part of SiriusXM Radio since October 2009. In February 2011, Dino Costa signed a 2-year extension that will keep his show at SIRIUSXM through 2013.
Press Release
Agency Contact: Sherry Frazier
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Introducing Serenity
Tom Bleakley’s Legal Thriller Focuses on the Pharmaceutical Industry and FDA Approval Process
Lakewood Ranch, Florida, Nov 28, 2012—Trial lawyer and author Tom Bleakley has released a legal thriller, Serenity, his second novel and fourth book. Obtaining FDA approval to market a drug is often knowing the right people and taking good care of them. As deaths have occurred due to a compounding center mishap in Massachusetts, the FDA and pharmaceutical approval process is under scrutiny and new abuses are being reported in that and other situations nearly weekly in every major newspaper in America.
Bleakley’s book is a fictionalized version of a real case. He writes about an unfaithful husband headed toward an unwanted divorce who takes a drug noted for its effects of causing bizarre behavior and winds up killing his wife. The book asks, “Who is to blame?” Is it the killer or the avaricious drug company making huge profits and trying to hide news of the drug’s terrible effects? A jury decides guilt or innocence…or does it?
“The events in the book are similar to experiences I’ve had as a trial lawyer during my nearly forty years of litigating major cases against the pharmaceutical industry,” says Bleakley who has tried cases in 37 states. Bleakley was the first lawyer to try and prevail in the controversial drug DES litigation. He has spent his career trying criminal and civil cases involving complex medical and scientific issues.
Serenity is the story of a drug by that name developed and marketed by the Upright Corporation based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Before Serenity was approved for marketing by the Food and Drug Administration, animal and human testing indicated the potential for bizarre reactions, including acts of violence while in a state of amnesia. A prisoner given the drug in pre-marketing testing murdered a prison guard and two other prisoners committed suicide while on the drug. The company not only ignored these events, but manipulated the research results to make it appear that the drug was safe. A Detroit attorney, Bob Riley, became involved in both civil and criminal cases arising from the drug. The criminal case involves Jay Slater who kills his wife while taking Serenity. His defense is that the drug caused him to do so. Slater’s trial comes to a unique conclusion and the novel comes to an unexpected ending.
Endorsements:
“An extraordinary legal thriller.” Noted author and speaker, Dr. Wayne Dyer
A super legal thriller….instantly enthralling.” Dr. John Telford
About the Author:
Tom Bleakly is a trial lawyer with a special interest in science. He has tried criminal and numerous civil cases involving complex medical and scientific issues throughout the United States. Before he became a trial lawyer, he was a special representative for a major pharmaceutical corporation and the Director of Substance Abuse Services for the Michigan Department of Corrections. He divides his time between Lakewood Ranch, Florida and Elk Rapids, Michigan.
Congratulations to Michael E. Lowenstein for the release of his new book!
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The Nineteenth Year, A Sweet Summer with the Pittsburgh Pirates: Michael E. Lowenstein Tells the Story of the World Championship Pirates of 1971 and the Inspiring Pirates of 2011.
Pittsburgh, PA Nov 29, 2012—Pittsburgh author Michael E. Lowenstein has released his second book, The Nineteenth Year, A Sweet Summer with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Lowenstein tells the story of the world championship Pittsburg Pirates of 1971 and the inspiring Pirates of 2011. In 1971, when he was fourteen years old, Michael Lowenstein spent the summer watching Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell and the Pittsburgh Pirates on their way to a World Series. Forty years later, in honor of that team, he committed to go forty games to watch a Pirate team that had just finished its eighteenth losing season in a row. The Nineteenth Year tells the story of those two seasons. This is a story of loyalty, passion and hope, and, most of all, of baseball and family.
The Nineteenth Year, A Sweet Summer with the Pittsburgh Pirates has been honored as a “finalist,” in the 2012 Best Book Award, Sports Category by USA Book News. The book, ISBN 9781595717993, is available and may be purchased for $16.95 at www.TheNineteenthYear.com or www.BarnesAndNoble.com , or www.amazon.com Endorsements:
“Mike Lowenstein shows you’re never too old to fall for a baseball team, whether the ‘71 Pirates of his youth or the 2011 Pirates and their beautiful new stadium of his adulthood. It’s just as easy to fall for Mike’s storytelling, which like a dramatic game — say No. 7 of the 1971 World Series — whets your appetite for the next pitch, or page.’’—David Markowitz, Once Upon A .406 (blog)
; Davidjmarkowitz@wordpress.com "Michael Lowenstein captures the bittersweet story of the “post-Francisco Cabrera” era of baseball in Pittsburgh. More than a lament for nineteen years of on-the-field futility, his delightful, elegant memoir-as-history ties the team’s recent efforts to restore its reputation to its more distant but storied past. It reminds us why sport matters, especially in Pittsburgh, and why remaining a fan of the team you worshipped as a youth is one of life’s enduring joys. --Dr. Rob Ruck, University of Pittsburgh, Department of History, Author of Raceball: How the Major Leagues Colonized the Black and Latin Game; The Republic of Baseball: Dominican Giants of the American Game (with Dan Manatt); The Tropic of Baseball: Baseball in the Dominican Republic; and Sandlot Seasons: Sport in Black Pittsburgh.
The Nineteenth Year and his previous book, We All We Got (Pitt basketball), establish Michael Lowenstein as one of our very best chroniclers of Pittsburgh sport. He writes like an angel, with grace and illumination, even on the profane subject of a long-losing baseball team.—Dr. Marcus Rediker,
Distinguished Professor of Atlantic History, University of Pittsburgh.
Mike captures the essence of how we feel about the game, particularly in Pittsburgh. As I read Mike's account of Bob Prince screaming about Chicken on the Hill with Will, I got chills. I admit I get a lump in my throat during James Earl Jones' speech about the game in Field of Dreams. The very last two sentences of Mike's book (before the epilogue) are even better.
-Perry Napolitano, Partner and Chair, Financial Industry Group, Reed Smith LLP.
About the Author:
Michael E. Lowenstein is a graduate of University of Pittsburgh and the University of Michigan Law School. He is a partner at the law firm Reed Smith LLP. He also is the author of We All We Got: Pitt Basketball in the Golden Era.
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Chesapeake Films’ Documentary “One Man’s Journey to Truth” Sold to Gaiam
Health and Wellness Leader Gaiam Buys US and Canadian Internet Rights
Las Vegas, NV May 1, 2012—Chesapeake Films announces the sale of US and Canadian Internet rights to Gaiam for the film, “One Man’s Journey to Truth.” The recently completed documentary is a 90 minute documentary which profiles Las Vegas resident entrepreneur and energy healer Denie Hiestand’s life. “One Man’s Journey to Truth was directed by Joel Franco, shot by Las Vegas resident Dave Negrin, edited by Anthony Bernard and original music was composed by Trevor Coleman. The film was shot on location in New Zealand and was posted in Los Angeles.
Chesapeake Films founder Joel Franco said, “We have received a lot of attention for “One Man’s Journey to Truth” since it was released. We can’t be happier that Gaiam has purchased our US and Canadian Internet Rights. We feel that this is just the beginning and we look forward to opening as many hearts and minds as possible for the people who view our film.”
Gaiam Digital Acquisition Manager Mike Grice said, “This film is a perfect fit with our existing offering and we expect it to be well received by our customer base. “One Man’s Journey to Truth” is the poignant story of one man’s struggle and ultimate victory. It should be seen by everyone.”
About” One Man’s Journey to Truth”
"One Man's Journey to Truth" is a story about destruction and rebirth, discovery and truth. Denie Hiestand's journey from obscurity as a farmer and family man into the limitless life as a world renowned metaphysical healer did not come without tremendous sacrifice, personal loss and sorrow.
The film unfolds through poignant interviews with his family and in his own words as he sits perched on the cliffs of New Zealand, majestic mountains rising up behind him. Denie talks about his despair and his discovery of a force so powerful that he could not ignore it. He followed a persistent, compelling voice that urged him to jump from security into obscurity and ultimately allowed him to fly. The words of this modern-day prophet gives hope to the lost and offers a road map to those seeking meaning in life and the strength to pursue dreams.
Under a pile of debt, feeling worthless, Denie was emotional bereft. No one had taught him how to deal with his feelings or his emotions. No one taught him how to work through his problems or to know his heart. He did not know that it is acceptable for men to be fallible, to be less than perfect. He did not know that it is OK to ask for help or to reach out for love. Instead, he lashed out to everyone around him and lived an angry life. He was depressed and he pushed away the people that loved him most.
One day on a trip to nowhere in the mountains of New Zealand, he discovered his gift. He discovered his own inner energy and strength. Suddenly Denie was awakened to his personal possibilities. He was alert. He began to feel happy. He was alive! He knew that he could not go back to the death that was his former life. To make the final step, he had to let go of everything. He sold his farms, paid his debts, left his wife and children, and left New Zealand in search of his true self. He went alone. This is a film that shares his journey to discovery.
About Chesapeake Films
Chesapeake Films, a full service film and television production company, was founded by Joel Franco and Solidaris, LLC in 2006. Chesapeake Films’ mission is to blend artistic talent with engaging stories to create feature films and television that delight audiences of all ages.
Led by founder Joel Franco, Chesapeake Films has secured option agreements on a full slate of impressive stories for feature films and television programming. Franco plans to produce two features per year in-house and to collaborate with established film companies and studios for additional opportunities.
About Solidaris,LLC
Chesapeake Films’ partner Solidaris, LLC is the holding entity for a group of companies involved in the development, engineering, financing, and construction of energy projects throughout the world. Solidaris, LLC also provides overall management, marketing, and financial support for those companies. The company goal is the development of energy efficient and environmentally friendly projects to provide affordable and sustainable energy throughout the world.
About Gaiam
Gaiam, Inc. (NASDAQ: GAIA) is a leading producer and marketer of lifestyle media and fitness accessories. With a wide distribution network that consists of 67,000 doors, over 12,000 store within stores, a digital distribution platform and more than 8 million direct customers, Gaiam is dedicated to providing solutions for the many facets of healthy and eco-conscious living. The company dominates the health and wellness category and releases non-theatrical programming focused on family entertainment and conscious media. In addition Gaiam has exclusive licensing agreement with Discovery Communications and other licensing partners.
Gaiam (pronounced "guy-um"), is a fusion of the words "Gaia" and "I am." Gaia, mother Earth, was honored on the Isle of Crete in ancient Greece 5,000 years ago by the Minoan civilization. This civilization valued education, art, science, recreation, and the environment and believed that the Earth was directly connected to its existence and daily life. The concept of Gaia stems from the ancient philosophy that the Earth is a living entity. At Gaiam, we believe that all of the Earth’s living matter, air, oceans and land form an interconnected system that can be seen as a single entity. The word Gaiam represents planetary awareness, preservation and support of the interconnectivity of all living things. By nurturing, protecting and respecting our planet, its natural resources and its inhabitants, we enrich our own lives and those of future generations.
The Gaiam Goal: "To create a global community of like-minded people – a force for positive change."
– Jirka Rysavy, Founder
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Chesapeake Films Completes Option Agreement for “The Single Guy’s Guide to Relationships”
Austin Cooper Otocki’s book will be the basis for a Television Series
Las Vegas, NV May 15, 2011—Chesapeake Films announces the completion of a film option agreement with writer Austin Cooper Otocki for the film rights for his book, “The Single Guy’s Guide to Relationships.” The book will be the basis for a TV series. The script for the TV Series Pilot is in production and will soon be shopped for financing.
About Chesapeake Films
Chesapeake Films, a full service film and television production company, was founded by Joel Franco and Solidaris, LLC in 2006. Chesapeake Films’ mission is to blend artistic talent with engaging stories to create feature films and television that delight audiences of all ages.
Led by founder Joel Franco, Chesapeake Films has secured option agreements on a full slate of impressive stories for feature films and television programming. Franco plans to produce two features per year in-house and to collaborate with established film companies and studios for additional opportunities.
About Solidaris,LLC
Chesapeake Films’ partner Solidaris, LLC is the holding entity for a group of companies involved in the development, engineering, financing, and construction of energy projects throughout the world. Solidaris, LLC also provides overall management, marketing, and financial support for those companies. The company goal is the development of energy efficient and environmentally friendly projects to provide affordable and sustainable energy throughout the world.
About Austin Cooper Otocki
Author Austin Cooper Otocki ’s experience promoting bars gave him firsthand experience in talking, flirting, conversing and engaging in interaction with girls, women, people with power and VIPs. His book, “The Single Guy’s Guide to Relationships,” is a treasure trove of proven ideas about new and interesting ways to interact with the opposite sex. He identifies seven male personality types that attract women—Artistic, Confident Guy, Romantic, Free Spirit (Bad Boy), Foreign (Mysterious), Considerate, Intelligent—and he recommends cultivating a combination of some of these traits for best results in the pursuit of women.
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Chesapeake Films Completes Option Agreement for French & Indian War Period Trilogy
Charles A. McDonald’s Three Books will be the Basis for Big Western Film Franchise
Las Vegas, NV November 28, 2011—Chesapeake Films announces the completion of film option agreements with writer Charles A. McDonald for the film rights for his three books, “The War Trail,” “Absaroka (The Crow),” and “Path of the Wolf.” The books feature an escaped German Redemptioner Wolfgang Steiner who meets and loves an Algonquin Indian woman, Dark Moon, a medicine woman and sorceress. The stories profile their electrifying journey through the Northwest Frontier into French, then Spanish and Indian-dominated lands of North America trying to elude the encroachment of tribes and other enemies allied with the French. The historical western franchise is now being shopped for financing.
About Chesapeake Films
Chesapeake Films, a full service film and television production company, was founded by Joel Franco and Solidaris, LLC in 2006. Chesapeake Films’ mission is to blend artistic talent with engaging stories to create feature films and television that delight audiences of all ages.
Led by founder Joel Franco, Chesapeake Films has secured option agreements on a full slate of impressive stories for feature films and television programming. Franco plans to produce two features per year in-house and to collaborate with established film companies and studios for additional opportunities.
About Solidaris,LLC
Chesapeake Films’ partner Solidaris, LLC is the holding entity for a group of companies involved in the development, engineering, financing, and construction of energy projects throughout the world. Solidaris, LLC also provides overall management, marketing, and financial support for those companies. The company goal is the development of energy efficient and environmentally friendly projects to provide affordable and sustainable energy throughout the world.
About Charles A. McDonald
Author Charles A. McDonald was born into a ranching family, the Rocking H, in Northern California. He graduated from the Erv Malnarich Outfitters and Guide School in Montana and spent four years in the Idaho wilderness working a wrangler, fishing, and hunting guide. He has a B.S. in history from Chaminade College of Honolulu. He is a life member of the Special Forces Association and Military Order of the Purple Heart. After attending the basic and advanced VIP and Executive Protection School at Berryville, Virginia, he worked as a Personal Protection Specialist. Mr. McDonald has contributed a dozen articles to The Pennsylvania Outdoor Times, Bow Hunting News, Instinctive Archer and The Journal of U.S. Military Special Operations. He currently lives in Wyoming with his wife, Louise.
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Frazier Public Relations
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Chesapeake Films Completes Option Agreement for Female ‘Jack Ryan’ Thriller Series
Susan Ouellette’s Three Books will be the Basis for Film Spy Thriller Trilogy
Las Vegas, NV November 28, 2011—Chesapeake Films announces the completion of film option agreements with writer Susan Ouellette for her three books, “To Uphold and Defend,” “Reluctant Martyr,” and “Aid and Abet.” The books’ main character is a female protagonist fighting unlikely enemies and features the inner workings and politics of the CIA and national intelligence. The thriller franchise is now being shopped for financing.
About Chesapeake Films
Chesapeake Films, a full service film and television production company, was founded by Joel Franco and Solidaris, LLC in 2006. Chesapeake Films’ mission is to blend artistic talent with engaging stories to create feature films and television that delight audiences of all ages.
Led by founder Joel Franco, Chesapeake Films has secured option agreements on a full slate of impressive stories for feature films and television programming. Franco plans to produce two features per year in-house and to collaborate with established film companies and studios for additional opportunities.
About Solidaris,LLC
Chesapeake Films’ partner Solidaris, LLC is the holding entity for a group of companies involved in the development, engineering, financing, and construction of energy projects throughout the world. Solidaris, LLC also provides overall management, marketing, and financial support for those companies. The company goal is the development of energy efficient and environmentally friendly projects to provide affordable and sustainable energy throughout the world.
About Susan Ouellette
Author Susan Ouellette has extensive experience in U.S. government and commercial intelligence-related activities. In the early 1990s, she worked as a CIA intelligence analyst. While at the Agency, she wrote several analytic pieces that were included in the “President’s Daily Brief” (PDB). She also was commended for her outstanding work during the failed 1991 Soviet coup.
Ms. Ouellette worked as a Professional Staff Member for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) from 1995-1998. As a HPSCI staff member, she led the Iran-Bosnia arms inquiry and wrote the Committee’s report, Investigation into Iranian Arms Shipments to Bosnia. At the request of senior congressional leaders, Ms. Ouellette wrote several reports on the Intelligence Community’s capability to collect and analyze information on threats to U.S. national security. She also wrote a study on the intelligence requirements process and assisted in the structure and development of the Committee’s program, IC21: the Intelligence Community in the 21 Century.
Ms. Ouellette also has worked as a government contractor and freelance researcher, analyzing issues such as terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. She resides in northern Virginia with her husband and three children.
