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Ah yes, the sweet smell of upcoming travel lingers in the air as we are less than two weeks away from heading out on our next crazy adventure to continue filming for Father of Lights, the sequel to Furious Love. In this installment of “what crazy things will Darren and his crew be experiencing this time for the betterment of the worldwide church”, we will be traveling to India to do some filming with “Shanti” once again, as well as introduce a new character in our story. His name is Ravi, and I’m not going to reveal much, other than this guy has the unique gift of hearing the audible voice of God and seeing into the spiritual realm 24/7. You heard me right. None of us know what’s going to happen when we go out there (even he doesn’t know), but he’s going to ask the Lord what we should do, and God will tell us where to go and what to do. At this point, I’ve seen a lot of wild stuff, but even me and my crew are more than a little intrigued about how this shoot is going to turn out.

So please pray for us, especially from Dec. 3-13.

On other fronts, we at Wanderlust Productions continue to be stretched to the max to simply keep up with the various irons we have in the fire. Our cartoon continues to progress, and we are hoping for an early 2011 release for that. Our film with Ken Shamrock is nearing the end of production (we should complete principle photography by March, 2011), and I have already put together the first 5 minutes of that film. Father of Lights is getting ready to move front and center for us on the production side of things, and most of our 2011 travel will be dedicated to that film.

And of course, we have our Furious Love Event coming up April 6-9, 2011. In case you haven’t heard, we are running a contest in association with this, and from now through December 31, all you need to do is write an email about your experience with Finger of God and/or Furious Love to furiouslovecontest@gmail.com. It’s that simple. You’ll be in the running to win two free tickets (and prime seating) to the Furious Love Event in Monroe, Michigan, both Deluxe editions of our films, and my new book, Filming God, which will be coming out at the event. For more info, check out our website HERE.

Finally, I ask that you please pray for us now more than ever. I received prayer yesterday, and the person praying for me saw “a bunch of little storms all around me”. This pretty much perfectly describes my life at the moment, and it is a constant struggle to stay in the presence of Christ, and to make films and media that live only to further the kingdom of God and bring freedom and revelation to the body of Christ. To do that, we obviously need to be in a place of freedom and revelation ourselves, and I humbly ask that if you enjoy what we do, and if our films have in any way touched you or helped you along, that you might endeavor to lift us up in prayer over the next few weeks. Cover us with protection, ask for wisdom, and above all else, entreat the Father to cover us with His presence and grace.

Thanks everyone, for your prayers and your continued support!

Darren

In a few days I will be heading off to LA for the weekend, and my “Fall of Insanity” will officially begin. I’m pretty much busy all the time these days, but things are about to get hectic to a degree I don’t particularly enjoy. For those of you following along at home, here’s a quick rundown, update, and news for you to help lift us up in prayer.

On October 16, my crew and I will be in Lafayette, Louisiana to film Ken Shamrock in another fight for our latest movie about Ken’s life. We’re nearing the tale end of filming for that one, and I’m excited to be able to begin working on the first draft of the film. Our interns here at Judson are hard at work chopping up the footage and as soon as they are done, I get to dig in. Please pray for wisdom and an overwhelming of God’s creative spirit for that project, as it will be reaching an entirely new audience for us and will be bringing God’s truth and kingdom into a world that is much different than the safe, happy world I grew up in.

We have finished stage 1 of production for our new cartoon, Anointed Fighters, and are awaiting completion of the actual animation so we can enter post-production and make the thing really shine. Matt has gone to a new level while scoring this thing, and although the show will clock in at around half-an-hour, this thing is going to feel like a feature film! We’re all pretty giddy around here for this cartoon to be complete, because we KNOW you’re all going to love it. There’s nothing remotely like this out there right now, and at this point we need prayer for guidance on the business side of things, as well as for doors to begin to open for distribution. If you’ve always wished for a cartoon for your kids that is super cool, but also that isn’t afraid to get into the harder questions of life and of the spiritual realm, well, I think we’ve finally made that cartoon. Please be in prayer for this one, as it will be shaping and honing the spirits of our kids, which, I am certain, is the key to God’s kingdom continuing to advance to new heights around the world.

Father of Lights has officially begun filming as of last month. God has finally unveiled His vision for this film and what it’s going to be about (or at least what I’ll be exploring for this final journey) and I can say with some confidence that this will be our most controversial film yet, but also the one that holds the potential to bring the most freedom to the church of any of our films. Without giving too much away, the Lord has told me to “give grace its teeth back”, and we’re going to take a giant bite out of the religious spirit. Most of our shooting schedule is in place for the next year, and this thing is going to be epic in scope. And to top it all off, the Lord has even given me a clear vision of the end of the movie (and in turn, the entire trilogy), and it gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.

So those are the three things that are consuming most of our time these days. Remember, we’re a small team here at Wanderlust, with only 3 production people total, so we’re busy bees at the moment! Please pray, pray, pray for us. There is a big part of me that is still struggling with going full-boar into Father of Lights, simply because Furious Love took so much out of me, and these movies just pound and stretch me to the breaking point. They’re amazing to make and be a part of, but at the same time, they are very personal journeys that require me to lay myself out there, change, stretch, and live in a world that pushes my own spiritual understanding to the edge, all to create a 90 minute film that is designed to change hearts and minds around the world. It’s a tall order, and a humbling honor to be a part of, but it isn’t easy. So if you have been touched by our films in the past, please pray for me in this journey, so that I can finish this trilogy the way God wants me to finish it.

Don’t forget, you can now get Furious Love on iTunes, as well as the soundtrack. Soon I’ll be announcing the pre-release of my new book, which will be coming out on April 1, 2011. It’s called Filming God, and it’s about my many adventures traveling the world trying to film an invisible God. It’s a wild read (and funny too), so I’ll be introducing you to that sometime in the near future. I’ll also be starting a video blog on our website within the next week or so, so feel free to send us any questions you might have regarding our films, production, or whatever. You can fill out our contact form to send us your questions.

Thanks again for your prayers, everyone. As always, we need them!

Darren

Furious Love is now available to rent or own on iTunes. Thanks everyone for your patience!

Darren is planning on starting a weblog on the website to answer some of the many questions people have concerning his films and how he does what he does. Please submit your questions via our “contact” email and hopefully Darren will be answering it shortly!

*sigh*
I feel like I always start out my blog entries by apologizing for not making more blog entries, so I’m resolved not to do so this time!

That being said, it HAS been a long time since I last talked about the various happenings here at Wanderlust Productions, so why not just jump right into it for those of you who are following along on our crazy, wonderful little journey.

Obviously, the biggest news of late has been the release of Furious Love on DVD. I remember sitting on a plane, heading home from somewhere overseas, listening to some tunes and daydreaming a bit, and realizing that I wanted Furious Love to be the best film ever made about the love of God. While I’m not sure on the extravagance of my desire being reached, I am more than delighted by the overwhelming and fervent reactions we have been receiving since it’s “theatrical” release last February. This film is being embraced even more than Finger of God has been, and the stories I’m hearing of transformation and rededication to love the lost from all over the body of Christ is making the whole process of putting that film together (which wasn’t easy, I can assure you) more than worth it. It’s also firing me up to begin filming the next one, but more on that in a bit. In the meantime, please continue to show the film to your friends, keep signing up for showings (you can do that at furiouslovefilm.com), and keep moving further towards radical love!

Okay, so what else is happening? Well, we’ve started a non-profit wing of Wanderlust called The Wanderlust Foundation. Check out the website at wanderlustfoundation.org. Basically, the non-profit is twofold: 1) we will be training students to basically do what we do; and, 2) we’ll have them come alongside ministries the Lord has made clear to us we are to highlight to the worldwide body of Christ. Our first partner is the children’s home at Bokaro, India. The second one will be announced soon, but here’s a sneak peek: it involves gypsies. I know, I know, a real shocker if you’ve already seen Finger of God! But we’re all set up and ready to roll, so feel free to check out what we’re doing and if the Lord lays it on your heart to give to what we’re doing, by all means come alongside and partner with us. We’re also exploring the possibilities of occasionally bringing teams with us to these places to minister and love on “the least of these”, so let us know if that’s something you would get excited about!

Also, we have been hard at work on a…get this…cartoon! That’s right, a Wanderlust Productions cartoon is on its way, and if I might be so bold–it’s going to be pretty awesome! I’ve got three kids of my own, and I wanted to make something for them that dealt with real spiritual issues, had kingdom values, and, of course, was way cool. I think we’ve accomplished that, so we’ll keep you posted on when that will be coming out. A lot of it will depend on the industry reaction to the pilot we’re creating. Oh, and it’s called “Anointed Fighters”, by the way…

My new book will be coming out on April 1, 2011. We’ll probably start taking pre-orders sometime around the new year, so keep an eye out for that. The official title is: Filming God: A Journey From Skepticism To Faith, and it’s being published by Destiny Image. It’s a collection of stories from my four years of traveling the world trying to film an invisible God, and I’ve tried to make it as accessible (and as funny) as possible.

We’re nearing the end of filming for our next documentary, about UFC legend Ken Shamrock. Now my boy Ken just needs to retire so we can start post-production already! Seriously, it’s been a real joy getting to know Ken and his wife Tonya, as well as their whole crew out in Reno. Just a quick warning, though, we’re not really making this movie for the church, so to speak. It’s going to be a little edgier than our first two films, but then again, we’re making it for an edgier audience. Of course, we continue to get angry emails from people who are upset with the name of our company, so I guess I’m getting used to a little controversy! (a quick side note, to everyone who writes to inform me that I’m being sinful for having “lust” in the name of my company–Wanderlust Productions–please remember that “wanderlust” is one word, not two. Also, please buy a dictionary. Finally, since we’re taking words completely out of context to voice our complaints, I am assuming that it is wrong for Christians to own Shitzu dogs? But I digress…)

Finally, assuming I haven’t offended everyone by now and you’re still reading, we are about to begin filming for the follow up to Furious Love on September 13! Father of Lights will start in Siberia, of all places, and the Lord is already setting up stuff for us to film that is even BIGGER and more amazing than anything in Finger of God and Furious Love. I am utterly amazed at how awesome He is as well as how incredibly ACTIVE He is around the world. I can’t say much about what it’s about, but expect a massive, epic film to finish off the trilogy.

Well I think that’s long enough, don’t you? I’ll try to keep you more informed as we get closer on some of these projects, and maybe we’ll even put some cool little surprises on our website for you (some sneak peeks, maybe?). In the meantime, please keep us in your prayers (we need it!) and in particular, lift us up in prayer from Sept. 13-21 (our Russia trip).

Thanks everyone, for your continues support. Bless you!

Darren