THE OBSERVATION BOOTH
OP / ED & PHOTOS BY ANDREA DIALECT
Cover Photo
Executive Producers Phyllis Ramey & Sidney Ramey
AKA Pastor P & Apostle
An ElShadda Production
Screenplay by Sidney Ramey
For those of you that didn’t catch my error in last week’s article submission “Fire Extinguisher,” I stand corrected. I have been informed that our essential firefighter’s correct schedule is 24 hours on and 72 off. Meaning I was a bit off when citing 24 hours on 24 hours off, so my apologies.
This week’s submission plays more so with the rules meaning I am not off topic as usual because our focus is entertainment. I am very excited and will be utilizing that movie pass on the 13th for the Destiny 70×7 Release Date and Red Carpet event. I suspect that it’s going to be pretty surreal seeing people that I have come to know on a personal level on that big screen.
I wish them and everyone that participated in its development all the best. This is a spiritual / drama faith-based film but I’ll hush for now. Let’s just tiptoe in and get a sneak peek of the makings of Destny70x7… Shhhhhhhhhh!
DIRECTOR’S CUT
Apostle: “Destiny 70×7 is our fourth project but, the first to be on the big screen. Originally it was supposed to be ‘Kingdom Freedom’ (Won’t He Do It) but we weren’t able to because the pandemic happened.
“We couldn’t do it in the theater, so we did it in a cathedral in Newark. But the time has come for our debut in theater and our Release date & Red Carpet Event for Destiny 70×7 will be on Thursday, October 13th @ Newark Cityplex-12 Theater. There will be two showings one at 4:30 pm and the other at 6:30 pm. You’ll want to experience this one.
“I kinda think in contrary ways to the average preacher. Most are surprised by my being an Apostle and our other Executive Producer as well, of these films my wife who is a Pastor.
“Why gangsta movies one might ask. Let’s just say my walk with God, our walk with him, it’s uncommon because we live with a free mind. We walk in the spirit, and we walk in freedom and liberty. We are not confined to the rules and regulations of organizations that have these do’s and don’ts to go by. We are moved by the spirit, and we are free to do things as God tells us to do things and bring them to the minds of people that are in the dark. Many of them are down and it is an escape route. So I take it to reality to help them experience deliverance.
“In real life, my background as a drug user and stick-up kid plays a part. That was the kind of stuff that I was doing in my early twenties, but God brought me through it, and he saw my heart as I began to change. Then He said, ‘okay I can give you a wife now. You don’t have to take anything off the streets like you’ve been doing.’
“We have been together in marriage and working together all these years. August 12th makes 27. This is a faith-based film like all the others. Ironically in our gangsta movies, there is no profanity. Well, no there is one word used in “Destiny.” But you’ll understand it when you see it, but other than that no. Most of our actors are saved and we don’t want to do that. We received awesome feedback from the community and churches. There wasn’t any pushback. Some of the church folk were clowning around about not wanting to visit our church because of the actions of the character as kidding around and saying that I might take them out lol. But there were mainly good reviews.
MASHUP
“It all started when my son was playing around in the woods in South Jersey one day. He had on a mask on his face and had been portraying something similar to the box office film. ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer.’ You know, that mask that they wore on there and that face. I looked at what he did and I said, ‘Wow you may be on to something!
I said, ‘You know what, let’s make a film, let’s do a faith-based film I said let’s do a gangsta film and so we did a gangsta film.’ Our first project kinda got trashed because it is not on DVD anymore. But it was our start, it was practice.
After that we got into another Gangster movie called “Redemption” (from Darkness 2 Light) in this film I called myself Kino. It came from Nino Brown in the movie “New Jack City” lol. I was a gangster, and I had a posse and it was showing some previous things that I did before I went to prison for five years; in the movie of course. After being released from prison the character that I played wants to take revenge on this detective who put him in there and who’d shot him in the leg. But when getting out instead of trying to find him Kino passes a church, and he goes in and as an Evangelist is about to close the doors. She starts ministering to him and he began to recollect the things that he had gone through; along with how he was out there shaking down places like holding up corner stores and things like that. His dealing with drugs and at the end of the day, God still showed him mercy and deliverance in that process.
“I was a hit woman in the movie,” interjects Pastor P. “We were in Vegas. We produced Redemption in a year and a half. When things begin to come to me it comes so quick that I have to get up out of the bed sometimes and write them down or I’ll forget it. This is a faith-based film that shows the reality of how God can be in your life when you’re at your worst.”
“When doing something like this sometimes the devil tries to steal this stuff because he doesn’t want people to know. So I have to lay it down quick and I have a very creative mind that helps to enhance the work and my background as a drug abuser.
“In real life, I was a drug user and I’d go out there and do stick-ups, those were the things that I did in my teens. We had a lot of fun making “Redemption” We were cutting up when I actually killed people.
“He put a hit on somebody,” Pastor P interjects. “The character shot an undercover cop in the head. There is a lot of stuff going on in that one. My sister almost got mad at me when she saw the movie.”
“She said, ‘Oh my God you didn’t do things like that. You were nothing like that.’ She had been looking at it from a stance as if I were saying that was the way that I was living. She knew that I was on drugs and doing bad things. But she knew that I wasn’t at the point where I was killing people. We had fun with that one. That one was on DVD, and it did pretty well.
BEHIND THE SCENES
“After Redemption which was the second one. We did “Saved by Grace” which is more like a documentary. I kinda took people back to my old stomping ground. It showed me getting shot at and things like that and I spoke to the mothers and parents. To inform them about those signs that give those clues about what your children might be doing out there. Those signs let you know if they are in a gang and what to do from a biblical stance.
“My church was able to do a cameo with me from when I was fifteen when it first started; me with my peers and how I got sidetracked hanging with the wrong people. How it started off you know drinking that Budweiser, smoking weed and stuff like that and that’s when things began to escalate.
“One way a parent knows something’s going on is when things start missing. What happened to my ring, my watch? Little things start missing and you ask them about it and they’re acting out of character. Watch their reactions. Also watch out for things in the house that shouldn’t be there. Things that they have on, their coming in late.
“There are a lot of things going on in plain sight via the internet. Familiarize yourself with those things and do the research it’s out there. It also calls you back to your youth and the things that you were into, which helps you be more understanding in your approach.
I am presently counseling a similar case right now. Counseling and support groups are also a great start and support throughout. Parents also should really learn the signs of those different gangs the codes and the types of drugs mainly those designer-type drugs that are out there. So when they see these objects and so forth they can look into it and question them and spring to action. “Saved By Grace” was just that and it was also directed toward young people. The film was heavily shown in schools, rehabs, and places like that.
TAKE 1
“Producing movies and being on big screens are all good and all but our main focus is our relationship with God and our commitment to the church and outreach. Our church is Jesus Church of Deliverance Ministries. (JCOD) located 368 Hawthorne Ave, Newark, NJ. Our outreach is “Jesus Army of Disciples (JAOD).”
“We have a good relationship with our community. They look out for our church. They look out for us, and we look out for them. We show them love so they’re very protective of us. The purpose of our productions is to extend and strengthen outreach to the community throughout Essex County. Our films are non-profit and with God, we do greater things. That’s what all this is about!
“Through our ministry, God changes the hearts of the people. Through ministry, they know that someone still loves them. Because a lot of them out there are running the streets because they don’t have or feel loved. So we want to show them and be that example because Christ said to show love and to love one another. That being your neighbor as yourself. We must be an example of that. We didn’t start that way, but it was prophesized by the woman early on who sold us the church building.
“She said that people had the money and we didn’t and I believe I spoke about this on your podcast, Andrea. They had the money, but she said, ‘That Holy Spirit told her that God wanted us to have that property because we were going to change the complexion of the community.’
“It’s been about twenty-four years since then. We did three years in a storefront on Tenth Street before that. That three and that twenty-four makes twenty-seven. Our outreach ‘Jesus Army of Disciples’ came to me and I said were going to do an outreach called JAOD. But when we first started, we stayed inside those four walls of the church.
“When we did start stepping out into the community my husband was confused about what to call the ministry and I told him, ‘Jesus Army of Disciples.’ By that time, we had lost the filing status. One of our Elders got that status back and we were back up and running and we’ve been going ever since.
“Destiny 70×7 is an extension of that. This is our contribution to the advancement of change. This is our way. God, outreach, and movie production. We look forwards to seeing you all there.”
DID YA KNOW THAT… Destiny 70×7 Is presented by El Shaddai Production. This film is by Sidney Ramey and stars Elijah Robinson and Jackie Baker, Reginald Richardson & Erica Rodriguez. Also featured are Takiyah TK Diamond, Alfred Dingle, Tasha Brown, Darren Deac, Marvin Cratch, Frankie Vibe.
Music is by Darren Deac, Derrick Ricky Nelson, Lamar Bryan, Real as Promised Rap, is edited by Kyle Richardson & Rick Green and the director of photography is Taurus. The videographer is Jessica Mason.
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