Now, after several years of planning, writing and securing funding for his film, Ballard will begin production Thursday on “Car 86” in downtown Indianapolis.
The movie, which Ballard defines as a sci-fi thriller, features three post-collegiate kids on a ride-along through Indianapolis that goes awry. Ballard said the movie drew its inspiration from a ride-along he took with the Indianapolis Metro Police in 2012.
“While we were out that night, I saw so many different interesting characters,” Ballard said. “I knew immediately I had to get them on screen. I had to write about them.”
A 2008 graduate of IU, Ballard is credited as the writer and producer of “Car 86,” his first feature film.
Shortly after the ride-along in 2012, Ballard moved to Los Angeles where he began to work as a production assistant on television and movie sets before moving to work for Warner Brothers as an editor for feature movie scripts.
Ballard credited his time working for Warner Brothers with greatly increasing his own writing ability.
“In my opinion, there are two good ways to get better at writing: write, or read a lot of really good writing.” Ballard said.
Once Ballard had a completed and polished a copy of his script, his production partner shared the script with Jeffrey Reddick, who is known for creating the “Final Destination” movies.
Reddick liked the script enough that he wanted to help make the movie, Ballard said. With Reddick’s name attached as an executive producer, they were able to find sufficient funding and a strong cast.
The film stars Reese Mishler, Sarah Davenport and Paul Woolfolk, all of whom Ballard called talented up-and-comers in the movie industry.
With plans for the movie firmly in place, Ballard turned to his hometown of Indianapolis as the location for filming.
Ballard, whose father happens to be Indianapolis mayor Gregory Ballard, went on to say he was pleased with how supportive city officials have been in planning his filming for the movie.
On Thursday, Ballard will begin what he called a “very quick, rigorous two weeks of filming” in Indianapolis, followed by up to six weeks of post-production in Los Angeles.
Once they have a polished cut, Ballard said he and his team plan to submit the film to large festivals such as Cannes and Sundance.
For now, Ballard said he is focused on fulfilling his dream of filming in the city he said he knows so well.
“To have my first film be shot in my hometown, it’s exciting,” Ballard said. “I’ve always thought that if you can shoot on a low budget, Indianapolis would be an awesome place to shoot.”
