Join The Journey

Project History

As J.R.R. Tolkien demonstrated in The Lord of the Rings and has been reinforced in most other serious epic fantasies, it takes decades to generate a touching and compelling story in a realistic alternate world. This is especially true for a world filled with magic. Fans expect a consistent set of rules that govern magic and its limitations. A child can’t simply snap his fingers and have the evil Emperor groveling at his feet. As the timeline below illustrates, this decades-long saga certainly applied for the Talan Project.

Passenger terminal for space available flights by the Incirlik AFB flight line.

  • 1973: Completed first three chapters of the Star Path Saga novel while a freshman in Department of Defense high school at Incirlik Air Force Base, Turkey, where Dale Sykora’s father Charlie was a pilot in the Air Force.
  • June 1974: Drafted first map of the continent of Talan, the setting of our story.
  • July 1974: Commenced work on milieu — the nations, the fantastical sites, the peoples, and the background of Talan.
  • May 1979: Revised the Talan map to the current cartography. 
  • Dec 1993: Completed first draft of The Star Path Saga novel upon which the Talan Project is based.
  • Jan 1993: Craig Sykora joined the team as Novel Editor and provided novel reviews and editing recommendations, including extending the novel to the union of Jess and Sabretha in the Tournament Coliseum.
  • Feb 1995: Completed second draft of The Star Path Saga 550-page novel.
  • 22 Apr 2001: Met Script Co-Writer Brian Williams Esposito, Script development began. Brian made several important changes, including beginning the chase up front and introducing Sabretha the female lead much earlier in the story. He also stressed the importance of character interplay, with the goal being The Lord of the Rings meets “The Fugitive” with Star Trek interplay thrown in.
  • Sep 2001: In the wake of 9/11, the script team started work on a Submarine-based Navy Seal action-adventure at the request of the novel publishers interested in The Star Path Saga.
  • Jan 2002: Brian commenced shopping the first draft of an episode to television and film corporations such as Sony Film, Universal Pictures, and Universal Television, covering the action of the first half of the current movie.
  • May 2003: Talan writing team determined that fans would appreciate the movie and series much more if it they were based upon never-before-seen content. Decide that the novel would not be published until the episodes drawn from the material are televised.
  • Jun 2004: Writing team completed the first draft of the screenplay for the movie.
  • Dec 2006: “Talan: The Journeyman” movie script completed by the writing team in the current form.
  • Jan-Jul 2007: Commenced and completed screenplay “CIFTED: Hammeris Storm”, a Navy SEAL action-adventure.
  • Oct 2011: Dale & Brian formed Patriot Cinematics LLC in NYC for production of the Talan Project and “CIFTED: Hammeris Storm”.
  • 2007-2019 Hammeris storm pre-production, team building, budgeting, fundraising and A-list talent shopping through major agencies including CAA and William Morris Endeavor. This included a script option and multiple negotiations with Directors and Producers.
  • 23 Feb 2020:NYC Rehearsal for “Talan: The Journeyman” filmed script read.
  • 1 Mar 2020: Filmed script read performed with Assistant Director, Lead Cast and Crew, at NYC sound stage (photo from the read?)
  • Mar 2020: Covid shutdown delayed planned Talan Bar Scene shoot.
  • Jun 2020: Developed Talan Pre-Production with NYC virtual reality production studio.

USS DALLAS (SSN-700) fast attack submarine in drydock.

Sound studio that hosted the filmed script read of Talan: The Journeyman

  • Jul 2020-Jan 2026 completed first nine seasons of The Journeyman series.
  • Jul 2020: Demonstrated LED wall with unreal engine intended for the Talan Project.
  • Dec 2020: Launched TheJourneymanLive.com website with the live action sizzle reel.
  • May 2021: Developed budget and shoot schedule for nonunion Bar Scene preproduction test due to Screen Actors’ Guild restrictions.

  • 14 Nov 2021: Table read with Christine Moore, Assistant director, and actors, for tests of scenes and to explore Director’s interest in “Talan: The Journeyman”.

  • Jan 2022: Christine Moore shopped pilot to Bruckheimer TV Productions. Team decided not to pursue TV production that would have entailed losing control over the script.

  • Apr 2022: Table read with Christine Moore, Assistant Direct, Lead Actors for current pilot movie, wherein she created the vision that, at its heart, “Talan: The Journeyman” is a medieval police procedural, a genre she has impressive experience directing and show running.

  • Jul 2022: Toured Green Pastures Studio in Spencer, OK and had first meeting with Oklahoma Film and Music Office for the Tax Rebate Program.
  • Aug 2022: Met Ryan Belgardt of Boiling Point Media and began teaming discussions.
  • Sep 2023: Virtual meeting with Jonathan Koelsch to develop Talan Project promotional materials.
  • Nov 2023: Completed initial full union budget for “Talan: The Journeyman”.
  • Mar 2026: “Talan: The Journeyman” minor revision for streaming release.
  • 24 April 2026:Stood up the Talan-TheJourneyman.com web site.
  • Pending:Completed Jess video vignette
  • 14 May 2026: Kickoff party for the Talan Project at Krootz Brewery Gainesville, Tx.