It’s been five years since Chris Ball filmed himself hopping on a freight train, among other stunts, drawing the outrage of law enforcement, concerned parents and even an invitation to speak on Dr. Phil. But nowadays, Ball is a different sort of filmmaker.
The former Cochrane resident, who gained notoriety for his stunt videos, is aiming to establish himself as a serious film producer with a feature length movie being shot in Calgary and Vancouver.
Incontrol’s premise centers on a group of 20-something university students who acquire a device that can control minds and the dark implications of such power.
“What would you do with it, being in our generation? Obviously some stupid stuff, some smart stuff and everything in between,” Ball said.
If the project sounds similar to the 2012 film Chronicle, which follows a group of high school students who encounter a device that grants them psychokinetic powers, Ball said it’s a definite influence. “It’s Chronicle meets John Malkovich. Just the idea of living in someone else’s body. It’s more similar to Chronicle in tone; you see them having fun, you want to be these kids. Even though they’re doing these illegal things, you want to know what that’s like.”
The tension doesn’t just concern the consequences of inhabiting another’s mind, but how the experience itself becomes addictive. “There’s no consequences for them, because they’re in the mind of another person.”
What constitutes a person’s sense of identity and how that becomes compromised is a central theme, Ball said.
“What makes you, you? If somebody else is controlling you, how much of what makes you, you is going to come through?
“In every scene of our movie, there’s someone either under control or under the influence of someone else.”
The film, to be shot in both Calgary and Vancouver, features the dichotomy of those who are using the device (shot in Vancouver) and those controlled by it (shot in Calgary).
“We’re going to film reference scenes with the actors who are supposed to be controlling these other people,” Ball said. That way the cast will have visual aids to help them mimic their counterparts.
Ball said the actors must play characters, playing other characters – a meta-acting experience.
“If you wear glasses every day of your life and then you’re controlling somebody else who doesn’t have glasses, you’d still have those mannerisms.”
Ball stressed that the film with feature practical special effects rather than CGI. The gun shot effects will be done with blank rounds and “squibs” – small explosives that simulate blood bursts from bullet impacts. The film’s car flip scene will feature an actual car becoming airborne.
With 14 days in Vancouver and seven in Calgary to shoot, they’ll be looking for up-and-coming actors and crews in both cities. Something Ball made a point of.
“That’s how I got in the industry, someone giving me a chance on their little movies, and six years later I’ve done quite well working on big projects. I want to pay that forward.”
For Ball, with his past notoriety in mind, the film represents both a major milestone and rebuttal to the naysayers.
“I’m at the point right now where I can look back in retrospect and say I proved those people wrong.”
Ball credits his industry success due to his stunting videos. He’s worked production on the critically successful science fiction film Interstellar, Hell on Wheels, and the upcoming western survival epic The Revenant to name a few, and mentioned that the people he’s worked with recognized him through his publicity.
But through the apparent recklessness and stupidity that people ascribed to him, Ball said what was missing from the coverage was his effort to reach out to potential copycats to deter them from emulating the stunts.
“I had messages from parents saying my kid wants to copy your videos. I sent a message saying, let me talk to your kid; I’ll point them in the right direction.
“Obviously there’s something they want to do; I’ll help them do that in a safe way. I tried to be very in touch with them. I responded to every email, even the hate mail.”
Filming of Incontrol will wrap up in August. Ball expects a release date by next year, with an accompanying run of the festival circuit. He said they’ll put out a casting call this Friday (June 26) for both Calgary and Vancouver on their production company’s Facebook page “Umbrella Collective Films”.
