https://www.ctopherlee.com/blog daily 0.75 2025-12-17 https://www.ctopherlee.com/blog/filming-one-more-round-with-paul-mora-hit-me-in-a-way-i-didnt-expect monthly 0.5 2025-12-17 https://www.ctopherlee.com/blog/wf1zo9cvj8ky9bq5lzqe2k56xa1sk4 monthly 0.5 2025-12-17 https://www.ctopherlee.com/blog/winners-win monthly 0.5 2025-12-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66bbbbb4fd38e6425a52c015/7895ebfa-fadc-4a44-ad34-0419f1cd20f0/christopher-lee-david-goggins-winners-win-the-story-comes-first Blog - Book Preview: Winners Win - Make it stand out Me and the man who redefined what "going the distance" really means—David Goggins. I’ve quoted him more times than I can count in my filmmaking journey. Because pushing through doubt, discomfort, and deadlines? That’s where the real story begins. https://www.ctopherlee.com/blog/the-shot-i-never-got monthly 0.5 2025-09-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66bbbbb4fd38e6425a52c015/68f9d066-8034-4b79-b9f2-252baa73c213/christopher-lee-filming-cannonball-memorial-run-the-story-comes-first Blog - Book Preview: The Shot I Never Got - Make it stand out Moments before we took off on a 3,000-mile journey across the country for the Cannonball Memorial Run. Eight states. Dozens of cities. No second chances. We filmed from moving vehicles, roadside tributes, and hotel parking lots—honoring fallen officers with every stop. I planned for everything. Except the shot I never got. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66bbbbb4fd38e6425a52c015/a65bc608-5423-48e3-b76d-22e7175339b2/cannonball-memorial-run-map-fallen-officers-the-story-comes-first Blog - Book Preview: The Shot I Never Got - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66bbbbb4fd38e6425a52c015/36dc4139-5164-4988-a997-479463ceb608/christopher-lee-filming-department-of-justice-the-story-comes-first Blog - Book Preview: The Shot I Never Got - Make it stand out Outside the conference room at the Department of Justice—camera in hand, nerves in check. I wasn’t allowed to film the meeting with Attorney General William Barr. But I was allowed to capture useless shots of an empty hallway. Sgt. Grant Ward snapped this shot for me. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66bbbbb4fd38e6425a52c015/10d7e30a-2857-42d6-ab60-ccb627bd1052/cannonball-memorial-run-officers-prayer-the-story-comes-first Blog - Book Preview: The Shot I Never Got - Make it stand out One of the many memorable stops of the Cannonball Run—North Carolina Highway Patrol. An officer stepped forward and asked, “Mind if I say a prayer?” Heads bowed. Arms linked. Silence fell. If you look closely, you’ll spot me in the back—camera up, heart full—capturing a moment I’ll never forget. https://www.ctopherlee.com/blog/the-word-that-pulled-me-off-the-couch monthly 0.5 2025-12-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66bbbbb4fd38e6425a52c015/8d883bc3-c41a-49d1-a724-88c607b857fb/ay-bradbury-onward-christopher-lee-the-story-comes-first.png Blog - Book Preview: The Word That Pulled Me Off the Couch - Make it stand out I was lying on the couch, watching The Bachelor, wondering if it was time to quit. Then Ray Bradbury called. He read my play. He believed in me. And he signed this photo with one word that changed everything: Onward. https://www.ctopherlee.com/blog/when-the-badge-follows-you-back monthly 0.5 2025-09-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66bbbbb4fd38e6425a52c015/20b0e382-ae7d-41e8-bee7-1179010a1d8d/christopher-lee-san-bernardino-pd-full-circle-the-story-comes-first.png Blog - Book Preview: When the Badge Follows You Back - Make it stand out I spent part of my childhood on a curb outside a drug raid—saved, in part, by a San Bernardino cop who saw more in me than I saw in myself. Decades later, they followed me on Instagram. Full circle. https://www.ctopherlee.com/blog/that-feeling-before-the-first-shot monthly 0.5 2025-09-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66bbbbb4fd38e6425a52c015/2b68c536-a773-4511-a499-f2d4b7326331/christopher-lee-loading-before-film-shoot-the-story-comes-first.png Blog - That Feeling Before the First Shot - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.ctopherlee.com/blog/deputy-hector-cuevas-jrs-memorial monthly 0.5 2025-09-09 https://www.ctopherlee.com/blog/why-i-stopped-chasing-the-oscar monthly 0.5 2025-12-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66bbbbb4fd38e6425a52c015/06d857ef-f1ee-4889-b3b4-54a8e5703ea6/christopher-lee-al-harris-street-sign-the-story-comes-first.png Blog - Book Preview: The Man Who Made Me Stop Chasing the Oscar - Make it stand out Al Harris Lane — Redlands, California. He wasn’t famous. He wasn’t powerful. But the city named a street after him—because he made people feel seen. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66bbbbb4fd38e6425a52c015/1745607299463-DHUUMU2KEZ2MIC7G4PV2/christopher-lee-al-harris-chapter-one-the-story-comes-first.png Blog - Book Preview: The Man Who Made Me Stop Chasing the Oscar - Make it stand out Al Harris, with his signature smile and legendary high five. He didn’t need a title to make an impact—just a warm greeting and a moment of your time. For many of us, he was the first scene of every movie. Kindness like that doesn’t fade. It sticks. https://www.ctopherlee.com/blog/revisiting-the-dorner-manhunt-with-alex-collins monthly 0.5 2025-09-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66bbbbb4fd38e6425a52c015/b4fa7893-086d-4dcb-9dfc-dbb9cbe81763/san-bernardino-da-tweet-dorner-manhunt-officer-safety.png Blog - Book Preview: One Tweet. One Survivor. One Hell of a Story. - Make it stand out The tweet that started it all. Meant to protect officers during the Dorner manhunt—instead, it lit a media firestorm and sparked a cyberattack. One sentence. One moment. One hell of a lesson in the weight of words. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66bbbbb4fd38e6425a52c015/1745442161800-EO3K1YQFZ0Z3D0191L50/sergeant-alex-collins-dorner-manhunt-the-story-comes-first.png Blog - Book Preview: One Tweet. One Survivor. One Hell of a Story. - Make it stand out Ten years later, Sgt. Alex Collins stood once again where he nearly lost his life during the Dorner manhunt. Same road. Same trees. Same silence. Only this time, he was walking—not being dragged to safety. Sometimes the most powerful stories aren’t told. They’re revisited. https://www.ctopherlee.com/blog/inside-the-game-how-i-infiltrated-the-players-ball monthly 0.5 2025-12-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66bbbbb4fd38e6425a52c015/798e1db7-3b8a-485f-99ee-8d8a8c65c1d0/players-ball-human-trafficking-the-story-comes-first.png Blog - Book Preview: Inside the Velvet Lie - Make it stand out Don “Magic” Juan entering the Player’s Ball, flanked by women and dripping in gold. This was the world I infiltrated—undercover, alone, and armed only with a camera. It became the cover for Teenage $ex 4 $ale, a documentary that exposed the glamorized lie of modern-day pimp culture and helped ignite a federal investigation. Some stories you chase. Others chase you back. https://www.ctopherlee.com/home daily 1.0 2025-12-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66bbbbb4fd38e6425a52c015/f1b914fe-0eba-4dc2-bc15-350b755cf913/christopher-lee-book-amazon-the-story-comes-first.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66bbbbb4fd38e6425a52c015/8c7b0b11-4ec5-4cc8-afff-5d3bcd72b277/christopher-lee-book-barnes-and-noble-the-story-comes-first.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66bbbbb4fd38e6425a52c015/2ab7ab7c-0fa4-489b-84d0-25ea39c42bce/christopher-lee-book-apple-books-the-story-comes-first.jpg https://www.ctopherlee.com/about daily 0.75 2025-08-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66bbbbb4fd38e6425a52c015/5d15edca-293f-492e-9abb-8a9f95d245f2/christopher-lee-documentary-filmmaker-the-story-comes-first.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66bbbbb4fd38e6425a52c015/548b6a57-6daa-4f9f-94d1-38b48f6f556e/police-week-honor-guard-documentary-the-story-comes-first.png https://www.ctopherlee.com/book-release daily 0.75 2025-09-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66bbbbb4fd38e6425a52c015/2ab7ab7c-0fa4-489b-84d0-25ea39c42bce/christopher-lee-book-apple-books-the-story-comes-first.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66bbbbb4fd38e6425a52c015/f1b914fe-0eba-4dc2-bc15-350b755cf913/christopher-lee-book-amazon-the-story-comes-first.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66bbbbb4fd38e6425a52c015/d91e4a9d-acac-4535-8257-a62e43c42172/christopher-lee-the-story-comes-first-guide-for-filmmakers.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66bbbbb4fd38e6425a52c015/8c7b0b11-4ec5-4cc8-afff-5d3bcd72b277/christopher-lee-book-barnes-and-noble-the-story-comes-first.jpg