Provost Terry King said he doesn't know much about "horror porn" but he knows he's not happy about an X-rated vampire movie filmed on Ball State University property.
King and other officials are dealing with the Friday release of "Vampire Diaries," a film produced by Muncie native Christopher Gregory and includes Ball State students. The university didn't know it would be pornographic, King said.
Jenna James, president and CEO of distribution company Glass Ceiling Studios, said, "Vampire Diaries" will be available online and in retail stores beginning in February. When the film was produced in 2004, it included several Ball State students. It is available in R- and X-rated versions, according to the GCS Web site.
About four years ago, Muncie-native Christopher Gregory, the film producer contacted Joseph Trimmer, VBC director, about using the facilities to create a gothy, vampire film, Provost Terry King said.
The Virginia Ball Center for Creative Inquiry is an award winning program where four Ball State faculty members are chosen annually to lead a team of students in a study project. Seminars include creating a charter school and exploring hate issues in Indiana. The center is located in the Ball State-owned Kitselman house.
The center was created in 2000 by a $2 million grant from Virginia Ball, daughter-in-law of one Edmund Ball, one of Ball State's founders. The Ball family has given millions of dollars to Ball State for projects.
Ball State did not give Gregory permission to produce a pornographic film on university property, King said. Until Ball State reviews the situation more, he said, he could not comment further.
Gregory could not be reached for comment.
"Obviously, we're very disappointed that this happened," King said. "It's clear that the policies the university has in place would, in my opinion, be sufficient to prevent things like these from happening."
James said several people and organizations have inquired about the film, and that is exciting.
"I think the controversy over this film marks a truly great film maker," James said. "I am very happy to promote him and his work as an upcoming film mastermind."
According to the film summary, "Vampire Diaries" is about an 18th century vampire seeking refuge in the 21st century from persecution. Disguised as a college student, she and her female vampires seek power and flesh, according to the description.
Neither Priscilla's in Muncie nor Pleasures in Muncie or Anderson have received the film yet, store representatives said.
King said Ball State wants to look at the agreements between the university and Gregory, as well was how the school is portrayed. It will also look at what Ball State can do to keep this from happening again.
On his myspace Web page, Gregory describes himself as "a filmmaker of B horror films as well as a few horrorporn films, or as I prefer to call it, splatterporn films."
He created his company, Midnite Films, when he returned to Indiana after working for groups like Disney and Lucasfilm, according to the Midnite Films Web site. "Vampire Diaries" is his third film, and it won first place at two horror film festivals, the Upstate New York Film Fest and the Blood Feast Horror Film Festival in the United Kingdom, according to the film biography.
James said she was glad to be distributing his film.
"In this industry we know no limits and that's why every single person in this country watches movies...it's exciting," James said. "That's why it's called entertainment."
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