Samuel L. Pierce

What came first, acting, or filmmaking?

I would say filmmaking always came first in some sense mainly because I liked making. characters to then get to play and bring to life. I’ve just always found it super cool to write a story and bring it to life as a filmmaker and more importantly as an actor. But I would definitely say they have always gone hand in hand with each other.

Action and science fiction are central to your work. What about these genres that you find so compelling as a storyteller?

For sci-fi, I truly believe that it’s important to give people a visual representation of how things potentially could go. I’ve always found stories about the near future interesting, especially stories that have more realistic ideas. I hope I can give us some perspective on who we are as people, where we want to go, and how we interact with the others around us.  It’s also important to show that in these stories it’s not always bad and that there can be challenges, but if it can still be saved there’s always hope.

For action, I just really enjoy writing and acting in those scenes. I trained in Tae Kwon Do for eight years and earned a second-degree black belt while performing with a stunt demonstration team. It’s really cool to mix in something you enjoy and pick up the pace of a movie between setting up scenes and keeping the audience engaged.

How do you approach crafting a story that resonates across different audiences and generations?

I believe when crafting a story, especially when trying to resonate with a wide variety audience comes down to creating relatable characters inspired by real people and how they react. We can all relate to or aspire to be someone we can identify with who is not too far removed from reality.  If the characters are too far removed from reality, I do not think people connect as well and I always want the audience to connect with at least one character.

I grew up watching a lot of 60’s,70’s, and 80’s TV shows and movies and listen to music from that time. The Brady Bunch, Gilligan’s Island, Happy Days, and the Partridge family were some of the shows that just really helped me through my childhood with their comedy and every episode ending on a positive note. They gave me a glimpse of another time, and I saw how nostalgic adults were when I would talk to them about these classics shows and the music from that time, especially the 80’s! People love 80’s music.

Could you share more about your creative routine and how it influences your work?

I’d say my creative routine can vary depending on what is going on, but one thing I always do is pay attention to what is going on around me. I get inspired by seeing something funny or overhearing a part of a conversation that I try to fill in the blanks or build a story around. The things that happen around or in your life are the most real things you can draw from. Sometimes I ask a what if question about situations.

I believe if you take a minute and observe the people around you what they’re doing is how everything interacts together you can really create a story that people can connect to more. I will take drives to get inspiration, or ideas come to me when I am skating or doing a physical activity, and sometimes I have a dream which will solve a storyline issue.  When I start entering these ideas in the script, I just start writing whatever scene is inspiring in the moment instead of chronological and my dialog is how I would speak to someone. There is not one way to do it and often it is a combination of things which end up getting a story written. 

What was the most challenging aspect of creating your first movie, The Future of Us?

Well, I think the whole movie was challenging. I started The Future of Us as a web series without a real script breakdown and no locations other than my friends’ houses and properties. The cast and crew were all volunteer friends and family filming during COVID. We ended up filming for over 9 months following all COVID protocols in 105 heat and 28 degrees while it was snowing. Being able to communicate my vision was frustrating for the crew and the cast just wanted to know when they were done filming, so keeping them all motivated to continue was really difficult and I found that explaining the vision better helps motivate people and gets them excited about it. 

Having to piece together the footage for continuity was difficult and I set the premiere date before I finished the final edit or had the music completed. AND our budget was $1000. So many lessons were learned on that film shoot. We were all 14- to 16-year-old kids who were giving away our summer school breaks and trying to complete our freshman year online and hybrid during COVID.  In the end, I am proud of completing the film and telling the story I wanted to tell.

As a young filmmaker, and next generation of cinema, how are you hoping to influence cinema with your storytelling and filmmaking?

If you had asked me about this a year ago, I would say to bring more positive rather than tragic stories to the audience. Since the pandemic, I feel like people want happier entertainment. Now I would say it would be to make positive stories with a message or teach a lesson so were always constantly learning or improving in aspects of life especially from happy stories.

So, I guess my answer would be now is that I believe I can help tell positive lighthearted, fun stories, but that still sends a message of tolerance and patience to ourselves and the people in our lives. To tell stories that inspire people to follow their own path and to overcome obstacles in their lives.

Looking to the future, what excites you most about the evolving landscape of film, its forms of distribution and your role within it?

I’d say what excites me the most about how film and distribution are evolving is there is more opportunity to carve out my role within it. Before it was film school and then working for someone until you could get funding to do your dream projects, and now it seems if you have the drive and an entrepreneurial spirit you can forge your own path and see what your options are as you go.

I would love to be part of this new process and to make changes as I go and ultimately to create a catalog of movies/ projects that I’m proud of. I’ve always loved creating and telling stories and to be an active participant in bringing these stories to screen has been amazing. I am learning as I create each new project and hopefully, I will continue to learn from these talented people I am working with and eventually do some great things in the future. I’m also excited to continue working with my team EMR Media, and 5x Media.

Your upcoming movie Off The Line is set for a May 13 release. What can people expect to see from the film?

Oh, that’s a great question. The movie ‘Off The Line’ is the first in line speed skating movie that features the most competitive Senior Division in English, with subtitles for the fan bases in Europe and South America. It is a sports drama that shows the excitement of the sport and what it could become with better exposure and sponsorship. In-line speed skating is where many Short Track Ice speed skaters start. I believe this movie is a chance for the sport to get some new eyes on it and also have a way that the audience can connect with it.

This was new to me as an actor to portray something that is a real thing for me and to film at an actual event. I started skating right before the pandemic and have gotten pretty fast, but not at this world competition level. This is a whole skating community that has multiple generations actively competing and training together –age 3-80 – that I had no idea about that was part of my local skate rink. Right now, local rinks are getting sold and closed so the number of teams is declining. I feel an important job of an actor is to be able to bridge the gap between a new thing and the general public and I truly believe everyone who acted in this movie will really help the average person connect to a sport they have never heard of before.