True Crime Series Pitch

Film star wants to bring Ladysmith's Drug Czar to screen

BY MARINA SACHT

Kerry James is an actor and producer who calls Ladysmith his home. You may know him as Caleb Odell in the TV series Heartland, Canada’s longest-running series at 18 seasons. More recently, he was Nick Oats in Angie McDowells’ “The Way Home.” But if he has it his way, you may see him as Dale Elliott, sidekick of Ladysmith’s notorious Drug Czar Art Williams.

James and director-producer David Langlois (Gas Town Films) have joined forces to bring Art’s life story (85 Grams: Art Williams – Drug Czar written by Daryl Ashby) to a True TV Crime Drama Series.

Art Williams had spent a decade playing cat and mouse with the law as he grew into the largest producer of MDA in western Canada and the US before his plane reportedly crashed and he vanished.

A number of James' peers have signed on to assume roles in the production; Ian Tracy as Art Williams, Kerry James as Dale Elliott, Graham Wardel as Ralph Harris, Chris Potter as Sgt. Dave Staples and Chelsey Reist as Shirley Ferguson and Marly Reed as Showrunner.

“What's so exceptional about this project between Darrell Ashby writing the book and Jason Kelly writing the pilot for the premier episode of 85 Grams is that we have turned it into a television series. I think it's special to Vancouver Island, and this is wrapped up in actual history and set in the seventies, so it's proving to be a challenge, but I know it will be hotter than Breaking Bad. I feel very con fident in that, especially with the team behind it,” says James.

Ashby’s sequel, Nobody's Boy, also has the potential to be a Movie of the Week. James sees 85 Grams as a miniseries. “There's just too much content and too many interesting things that happen to sort of squish that down into 90 minutes.”

James' interest in the project goes beyond acting. “There has been talk about me potentially playing a character in it, but as cool as that would be, if for casting reasons and network reasons that may not come to fruition. And that's okay. What matters to me is just being involved in getting this off the ground. And if I got to play a little part in it, I'd be thrilled. “

COVID and his parents' health issues brought him back to the Island three years ago. Thankfully, their health has improved.

“It just makes sense for me to be here. The airport is literally 13 minutes from my house, and the ferry is all of 20. It's like a perfect little hub for me to escape the hustle and bustle of the city. I'm a true island boy, so there's lots of wandering and kayaking. I'm pretty partial to paddle boarding myself,” he says.

James is looking for investors to finance the pilot. “There are two ways of going about this: we could do the ultra-low budget where everybody is largely coming out and can work for free. And I know that a lot would, myself included. We could make this for as low as $200,000, or we could do it in a way that would guarantee that the product that we're trying to sell looks and matches the rest of the season. And that number is anywhere between $1.5 to $3 million. So, for all the TAKE 5 readers, this is your chance to make a truly made-in-Ladysmith movie.

James will be back filming Heartland in May. “It's a dream come true, especially for a small-town Canadian kid. It was supposed to be for a season, and now we are discussing going into season 18. It's been the greatest job of my entire life.”

Above: Actor Kerry James with his travelling office. Photo: Marina Sacht