Behind Closed Doors with Samuel L. Pierce

Movie Marker Magazine went behind closed doors with actor, writer, director, and producer Samuel L. Pierce to discuss making movies as a teen and his first feature film, The Future of Us out on Amazon Prime Video.

Welcome to Movie Marker! What got you into filmmaking and made you realize that it was your chosen path?

Honestly, as long as I can remember. Although, I think my passion truly cemented the summer after fourth grade while attending a summer camp hosted by the Middle School Media Instructor. He took me on as a student and helped me nurture my ambitions by making some early reels and working on filming technique.

By age 13, I had written several full-length feature film scripts and soon after turned page to screen with my debut sci-fi movie The Future of Us in 2021, which I produced through my production company Electric Shock Productions. The movie released on digital platforms in 2022. 

Tell us about the movie The Future of Us

The film is a sci-fi adventure set in the future about the lives of three kids learning to find their way and survive in this futuristic world where government has become localized and dysfunctional. The main characters help citizens escape to an adjacent safe country and are wanted by the local leaders. In

How did you get involved?

I originally wrote the idea during the pandemic because it frustrated me not being able to pursue what I wanted, and I genuinely believe the pandemic is the reason I took those first steps as early as I did.

Do you think being in lockdown influenced the script?

Absolutely, the script was written to make it a lot easier to film during covid protocols with most scenes being filmed outside or in an open space with the exception of the essential scenes. It also made it a lot easier to film because at this time I didn’t really have access to big locations seeing as this was my first film i did. I also had a lot more friends and family available to help out because there was no in person work and school was shut down giving more free time than usual. I also think the lockdown influenced the more dystopian feeling to the script because I guess that’s how a lot of us felt at the time.

What did you do in the movie?

My role in this was this was my first movie, and I ended up starring in it playing the role of Victor, a young character who has had to use his skills to find a way to make a living and survive in the chaotic world. I was also the director and producer and writer on this project.

This was my first ever feature and it was originally intended to be a 4-episode web series.

Congratulations! Who else did you cast in the film and where did you film?

I cast Karl Anderson as Max, and Armaan Khanuja as Felix. We filmed in my friend’s and a family friend’s backyard, the inside of my house, inside a friend’s house, and a couple small local office spaces we rented.

Having made the movie at such a young age, what did you learn from working on this project?

I definitely learned how to just in general make a movie better and learned what shots I regret not getting and kept that in mind moving forward for the next project. This was the first time I shot out of sequence to maximize set availability.

Watch the official trailer here:

Can you share any fun facts from the set?

Yes! We filmed in 100-degree weather and in below freezing snow. We also had a family friend write an entirely original score for it… which was cool.

How can we see the movie?

You can see it on Amazon Prime Video. Spoiler alert the first section contains flashbacks that are not clearly defined!

We will for sure check it out! How can people keep up with your journey?

Thank you, I am on IMDb, Instagram, Facebook and Website.