BSU backs out of suit against porn director
Ball State administrators decide 'Vampire Diaries' doesn't show visible connection to university
Jessica Husek
After reviewing an erotic film produced on Ball State University campus more than a year ago, university officials decided not to press charges against the movie's director.
Director Christopher Gregory said the controversy over the film was "much ado about nothing."
After the February 2007 release of the film, "Vampire Diaries," Ball State officials threatened to press charges against Gregory, a Muncie native, for filming on campus, Provost Terry King said in a 2007 interview.
Gregory said the officials, however, have not contacted him in more than a year.
The erotic horror film was made in 2004 in the Kitselman Center, which includes the Virginia B. Ball Center for Creative Inquiry, Gregory said.
"It was an ideal place for the plot of the story," he said.
Tony Proudfoot, associate vice president for marketing and communications, said Gregory did not follow the proper procedures to gain permission to produce the film on campus.
"If he had gone through the right channels, he would have been denied permission and this whole thing would have never happened," he said.
Officials reviewed the film for any identifiable connection to Ball State, Proudfoot said.
Because nothing identifiable was discovered, Ball State's legal representatives decided not to press charges, he said.
"Unless you had read the media coverage, you wouldn't know it was filmed here," he said.
Proudfoot said he was still concerned about how Ball State was represented, regardless of whether it was clearly identified in the film.
"It's still a big deal to us even though we aren't pressing legal charges," he said. "It's something we never wanted to happen."
Preventative measures have been taken to make sure Ball State is never again the backdrop for such films, Proudfoot said.
"We have disseminated information on how to deal with these issues," he said. "Now everyone knows exactly how to handle it."
Gregory said in an interview last year that Joe Trimmer, director of the Virginia Ball Center, gave Gregory permission to film there without knowing the film's content was pornographic.
Director Christopher Gregory said the controversy over the film was "much ado about nothing."
After the February 2007 release of the film, "Vampire Diaries," Ball State officials threatened to press charges against Gregory, a Muncie native, for filming on campus, Provost Terry King said in a 2007 interview.
Gregory said the officials, however, have not contacted him in more than a year.
The erotic horror film was made in 2004 in the Kitselman Center, which includes the Virginia B. Ball Center for Creative Inquiry, Gregory said.
"It was an ideal place for the plot of the story," he said.
Tony Proudfoot, associate vice president for marketing and communications, said Gregory did not follow the proper procedures to gain permission to produce the film on campus.
"If he had gone through the right channels, he would have been denied permission and this whole thing would have never happened," he said.
Officials reviewed the film for any identifiable connection to Ball State, Proudfoot said.
Because nothing identifiable was discovered, Ball State's legal representatives decided not to press charges, he said.
"Unless you had read the media coverage, you wouldn't know it was filmed here," he said.
Proudfoot said he was still concerned about how Ball State was represented, regardless of whether it was clearly identified in the film.
"It's still a big deal to us even though we aren't pressing legal charges," he said. "It's something we never wanted to happen."
Preventative measures have been taken to make sure Ball State is never again the backdrop for such films, Proudfoot said.
"We have disseminated information on how to deal with these issues," he said. "Now everyone knows exactly how to handle it."
Gregory said in an interview last year that Joe Trimmer, director of the Virginia Ball Center, gave Gregory permission to film there without knowing the film's content was pornographic.
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