FILM · 2007 · UK
Control
23 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
23 Interesting Facts About Control
Interesting Facts (20)
- #001
The actors playing Joy Division learned to play the songs themselves, and the scenes of them performing live were not played back from tape.
- #002
Before his suicide, Ian was watching Werner Herzog's film Stroszek on television.
- #003
Sam Riley (who played Ian Curtis) and Alexandra Maria Lara (who played his girlfriend Annik Honore) married in August 2008 and now live in Berlin.
- #004
German pop star Herbert Grönemeyer swore he would never act in a film again after the gruelling shoot of Das Boot (1981). He made an exception for his close friend Anton Corbijn and appeared in this film.
- #005
The poem read before their first concerts is John Cooper Clarke's "Evidently Chicken Town".
- #006
James Anthony Pearson, who played Bernard Sumner, learned to play the guitar in two months for his role in the film.
- #007
This was Sam Riley's first feature film. Before the film, Riley was the lead singer of the rock band 10.000 Things in the early 2000s.
- #008
Tony Wilson's introduction of the group before their Granada television performance is taken almost word for word from the broadcast. The song they play in the film is "Transmission", but they actually performed "Shadowplay" at Granada. They did perform "Transmission" live on TV, but on the BBC, where Wilson had no introduction; instead, a softened version of the poem was used to introduce them at a concert in the film.
- #009
In the scene showing Tony Wilson talking with Ian Curtis at the empty Derby Hall in Bury after the April 1980 riot, a large equipment case is prominently visible bearing the number "501". When Tony Wilson was buried in August 2007, his coffin was marked with the number 501, the last number in the Factory Records catalogue.
- #010
The record played at the end of the film is Iggy Pop's "The Idiot".
- #011
Toby Kebbell, who played Joy Division manager Rob Gretton, played Paddy Considine's younger brother in Dead Man's Shoes (2004). Interestingly, Paddy Considine also played Rob Gretton in Michael Winterbottom's 24 Hour Party People (2002), a film that focused more on the biography of Tony Wilson and the Manchester music movement and partly included a condensed timeline of singer Ian Curtis's life.
- #012
It was the first theatrical film directed by Anton Corbijn.
- #013
Sam Riley was only four months old when the real Ian Curtis committed suicide.
- #014
Tony Wilson, who is portrayed in the film and listed among its co-producers, died on 10 August 2007, two months before the film was released in October.
- #015
During one of the group's performances, the wall behind them features artwork that resembles, or closely resembles, the artwork Peter Saville created for Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures album cover.
- #016
Samantha Morton (Deborah Curtis) and Matthew McNulty (Nick) both appeared in series about the Moors murders; Samantha Morton played Myra Hindley in Longford (2006) and Matthew McNulty played David Smith in See No Evil: The Moors Murders (2006).
- #017
Remedy is returning to paranormal Manhattan with Control Resonant, seven years after the release of Control. The game's announcement reached the public only to the extent of the information shared by the source.
- #018
Control Resonant is described as a return to the paranormal Manhattan where the first Control game was set. This new Remedy production arrives seven years after the first game in the series.
- #019
The source contains no information about the game's release date, platforms, gameplay details or price. For this reason, no details on these subjects are shared in the report.
- #020
The announcement of Control Resonant shows that Remedy is continuing its work in the Control universe. The source offers no additional context beyond the game's name and its setting.
Production Story (1)
- #021
According to Samantha Morton, director Anton Corbijn mortgaged his house to finance the film.
Easter Eggs & References (1)
- #022
When Joy Division were about to make their first television appearance, Tony Wilson was warned that he would be cut off if he swore at any point. He also told them to trust him because he knew when you could and could not swear on television. This is probably a nod to the real-life incident years later when Tony Wilson was suspended from his job at Granada for swearing into a microphone he did not realise was open.
Career & Awards (1)
- #023
Director Anton Corbijn photographed Joy Division throughout his career and was friends with the band.
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- IMDb
Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work