“From the moment we decided to make “Off The Line” I knew we had a responsibility to make the skating sequences as realistic as possible, to show the excitement of racing fast on inline speed skates.” – Writer-Director Samuel L. Pierce
Welcome Samuel, congratulations on your upcoming feature film ‘Off The Line’. Before we dig in about the movie, how did you get involved with inline skating?
I first discovered the world of inline speed skating in July 2019 when my orthodontist hosted a skating party for her patients at Pattison’s West Skating Rink and a few employees had these skates I had never seen before, like rollerblades on steroids. There was a demonstration from a current World Silver medalist who worked at the rink and a few other team members, and I was hooked. By January 2020 I had been accepted onto Team Xtreme, at the time the most winningest speed skating team in the US coached by Mike and Darin Pattison, Hall of Fame coaches.
What inspired the making of the movie “Off The Line”?
When the rink went up for sale during the pandemic, it was a roller coaster ride for everyone with deals being accepted to close the rink, and deals falling through. Finally, El Centro De La Raza made an offer and wanted to keep the rink and its legacy alive. The first version of the movie was a standard save the rink format, but after it was saved, I pivoted it to be what speed skating could look like if it had more exposure with televised meets and more sponsorship.
What is “Off The Line” about?
The story follows my character Mark Stevenson, a determined young inline speedskater, is eager to establish himself in the sport. Upon learning that the circuit will finance and send a race team to race the prestigious European Grand Prix 24-hour race to beat the circuit’s biggest rivals Tropen Racing. Mark Stevenson and his friend Jake Flyer embark on a journey of rigorous training and seek out a seasoned coach who is struggling with life. Their aim is not only to win the race but also to bring order to their lives. Amidst the backdrop of business, sports, romance, and adventure, the narrative delves into the rough world of inline speed skating.
Tell us about the production of the film.
We are an indie film that filmed for 16 days over 3 weeks so we could have breaks between most of the long days. We had to postpone our outdoor skating and indoor meet skating to 6 months later. The outdoor skating was filmed over two days in March 2024.
The opening scenes of “Off The Line” feature actual race footage from across the US at different meets combined with the 2024 Battle of Seattle footage. This was the first US inline speed skating movie – so we wanted to really grab the attention with some exciting action, before we got into back story.
Watch the Teaser Trailer:
How did you choose your crew?
Our crew is a mixture of people who I had worked with on my other three films. Some were seasoned professionals, but most were recent high school graduates or kids entering their senior year for high school.
James Starlin (Cinematographer) was my first call. James is a cinematographer who worked with me on my last movie and had such great ideas about camera angles I knew he would have ideas about how we could film the skating. We rented a dolly and James filmed while on a skateboard. I also brought on Ian McGrath (Cinematographer). Ian and I went to high school together and have worked together on projects since 7th grade. Ian worked on cameras and helped set lighting for scenes.
Another team member was Daniel Schomber (Sound Engineer). Daniel worked as an actor for my first movie “The Future of Us”, and it turned out he ran sound for his High School Theater Productions and took over audio while not acting.
I brought in Chris Noordman (Associate Producer), who had worked with me on my second film, “The Get Rich Quick Scheme”, and he is also a filmmaker. He helped keep me on track and helped organize the day’s filming as well as recruited extras for the film.
For casting I added Doran Danielson, who also doubled up as an associate producer. Doran led the casting and located actors as well as being the point person for cast communication.
There are many more who rolled up their sleeves for this indie film, even though our crew was small it was mighty and really committed to making this the best movie possible. Everyone felt invested and teamed up to power through bad weather, long hours. I cannot thank them enough or acknowledge enough it was their dedication that made this movie possible.
How do you feel the movie will fair with the sporting community?
Overall “Off The Line” has been well received by the skating community. Those I have spoken to have been highly supportive. I believe inline skating has a real chance to get the exposure it needs to move to the next level and possibly become an official Olympic sport.
When will the film release?
The film will be out on all digital platforms on May 13th. For more details you can follow IMDb, Instagram, Facebook and Website.
