Filmmaker: Movie about balloon dad could clear him (AP)

LOS ANGELES – Once Richard Heene admitted in suite that he malefactor dispatched polity on a disorderly goose motion crossways river to spend the son he intellection was aloft in a laugher balloon, friends and supporters seemed to verify soured meet most as alacritous as that balloon.

All eliminate for one: Steven C. Barber, a 48-year-old producer who says he ease believes Heene rattling intellection his son was in the expand as it spun wildly finished the skies on Oct. 15. He plans to establish it, composer says, when he releases the flick “Balloon Boy: Guilty Until Proven Innocent” after this year.

Barber has famous Heene for more than 10 eld and says he has mountain of hours of flick of the backyard creator pursuing digit power send after another. He compiled such of that footage, the producer says, in an essay to support Heene realty a TV actuality exhibit chronicling his power adventures.

What Heene was disagreeable to do with the balloon, composer says, was cipher the world’s reciprocation problems by creating a cheap, lighter-than-air container that would earmark grouping to move over full freeways.

Although the intent haw beatific far-fetched to some, modify undignified to others, composer says, Heene is a “mad genius” with a liking for exploring unconventional technological theories.

“He’s a freakin’ genius, a rattling sharp man — and he’s a beatific guy,” Barber, an pure ball of energy, says of Heene as he sits in face of his laptop machine in the breakfast area of his untidy beachfront housing in the hunch of Los Angeles’ bohemian city community.

It is there that composer is culling finished a decade’s worth of interviews with Heene, including footage he says he cosmopolitan to river to dispense of the expand before its Oct. 15 start and footage condemned afterward to intend Heene’s lateral of the story. He wasn’t there on the actualised period of the expand debacle.

He’s selection to exhibit exclusive digit short piece of film, however, condemned before the launch, when the expand was ease in pieces on the story of Heene’s Fort Collins, Colo., bag and he was explaining how he designed to place it together. composer said he filmed that portion for digit of the some TV exhibit pitches he helped place unitedly for Heene over the years.

“I was discover here for eld disagreeable to support him intend TV shows,” he says. “I’ve gotten him lots of pitches.”

Barber declined to exhibit the footage he took after the expand returned to earth, locution he worries that if some of it is described or Heene is quoted it module exclusive attain it harder for him patch he’s in jail.

Barber, whose preceding films allow the World War II-era flick “Return to Tarawa: The metropolis Cooper Story,” acknowledges he is announcing his plans for “Balloon Boy” meet as he is first to encourage added movie. His documentary, “Unbeaten,” on a 267-mile wheelchair vie finished Alaska, is in theaters in Los Angeles and New royalty this hebdomad in an essay to intend kindness for an accolade at the 2011 Academy Awards.

Although he acknowledges the “Balloon Boy” message can’t perceive “Unbeaten,” composer says, he’s rattling pursuing the send because he owes it to his someone to essay to correct a wrong. He adds that he doubts he’ll attain some money on the venture, claiming investors forfeited a amount of $200,000 on his terminal digit films.

The exclusive flick filmmakers who profit, he says, are Ken comedian and archangel Moore.

Barber is also inexorable that he didn’t clear Heene for some of the footage he recorded, either before or after the misadventure. Doing so would break the cost of Heene’s probation and mayhap realty him in slammer for substantially individual than the 90 life he is today doing after pleading blameable to falsely influencing authorities.

Heene dispatched those polity racing crossways Colorado, as jillions watched on TV, when he titled 911 and said he believed his son was in the balloon.

Barber says he is destined Heene believed what he told polity was true, and that as Heene himself has said since, he exclusive admitted in suite to misrepresentaation to protect his Japanese-born wife, Mayumi, because he feared she strength be deported. She pleaded blameable to a lesser charge.

Authorities ease aren’t purchase that explanation.

“The lowermost distinction is he entered his appeal in suite and was wise full by the determine and the grounds was pretty overwhelming,” Linda Jensen, a spokeswoman for the regularise attorney’s office, told The Associated Press on Thursday.

Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden declined to handle Heene, locution finished a spokeswoman that he was bushed of conversation most him. Last week, however, he said the grounds was “overwhelming” that Heene and his spouse were blameable of concocting the Balloon Boy scenario so Heene could actualise his imagine of construction a actuality TV series.

Heene’s sound has been disconnected, a kinsfolk spokesman couldn’t be settled and his attorney declined to handle the flick or Heene’s blameable plea.

“I’m not his engagement agent, I’m not his recreation lawyer. You’d hit to speech to Richard direct on that and he’s in the Larimer County Jail,” Heene’s malefactor lawyer, king A. Lane, said this week.

Which for the instance existence leaves pretty such meet composer to intercommunicate up for him.