Samuel L. Pierce is a talented young multi-hyphenate; actor, writer, director, and producer who began his filmmaking career just ahead of fifth grade and has since gone on to make three feature films, all before the age of eighteen.
ABOUT INSIDER SAT DOWN WITH SAMUEL TO DISCUSS HIS FEATURE FILM ‘THE GET RICH QUICK SCHEME’ AVAILABLE ON STREAMING SERVICES.
FOR THOSE UNFAMILIAR WITH YOU, TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF OUTSIDE OF SHOWBIZ.
I am from Washington State, and I went to Stadium High School, which is actually where the movie “10 Things I Hate About You” was filmed. Outside of showbiz I do a lot of inline speed skating. I race for a team called Team XTreme based at El Centro Skate rink. I am also a second degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and used to do a lot of performances in the Demonstration Team.
YOU ARE A MULTI-HYPHANATE FILMMAKER – ACTOR, WRITER, DIRECTOR AND PRODUCER. OUT OF ALL THE HATS YOU WEAR, WHICH IS YOUR FAVORITE?
If I had to choose, I would have to say I really enjoy being an actor and producer the most. Though I like all aspects equally, I really love just being a character for a movie and getting to make creative choices in that regard. I also like producing because I enjoy the business aspect of making a movie and merging the business and creativity.
WHAT IS YOUR PROCESS WHEN WRITING A SCRIPT?
The material I choose to write is influenced by many things. Some ideas come from past experiences or something I have recently seen or watched and then I take the idea and start applying “what if” questions to it. Some ideas are inspired by conversations I have had or overheard in day-to-day interactions. My general process of writing a script is I don’t really use outlines or structures; I write the script as if I’m watching a movie in my head and think to myself what should happen next. Most writers I know disagree with me on this, but this has just been what’s worked for me.
TELL US ABOUT ‘THE GET RICH QUICK SCHEME’
The movie follows three high school students who make a bet with their principal that they can create a million-dollar business in 90 days. Throughout the experience, they learn the value of friendship and the dangers of greed, which can turn even the most innocent people into heartless individuals—even themselves. The movie is based on and filmed in the style of 1980s comedies.
I started writing this movie during the pandemic although the movie was just too much to take on at the time, so I made ‘The Future of Us’ first, and then jumped right into making ‘The Get Rich Quick Scheme’.
WERE YOU INVOLVED IN THE CASTING PROCESS?
For the casting on this movie my friend Doran Danielson was the Casting Director because of his connection to Stadium High School Theatre which is where we found amazing actors such as. Tyler Griswold, Rex Nelson, Mary Long, Chris Noordman, and Teddy Leitner and so many more very talented actors. I did, however , cast Doran as Principal Wright.
WHAT WAS YOUR ROLE IN THE MOVIE?
Aside from writing, producing and directing the film, I play Micky. Micky is your overconfident kind of person who tends to joke around and not take himself too seriously, most of the time, but also has that element of sarcastic humor. This character has a ton of improvisation throughout the movie, so it was super fun to work in that way with the actors especially Tyler Griswold who I did a lot of improv with.
WHERE DID YOU FILM THE MOVIE?
There were many locations for this movie. Some of the most notable, include Stadium High School where “10 Things I Hate About You” was filmed and also where me and a lot of the cast and crew on this film went to high school. There is also the Silver Cloud Hotel on Point Ruston, a luxury hotel on the water. More notable locations are SURF Incubator in the Seattle DocuSign building, Olympia Coffeehouse, downtown Tacoma, Work sphere offices in Tacoma, and The Anderson Home.
CAN YOU SHARE ANY FUN FACTS FROM FILMING?
During this movie there were so many fun facts but one of my favorites is we were filming at many public locations, and I gave my friend Chris Noordman the megaphone and he somehow would get tons of extras by going to people on the street or outside the Silver Cloud Hotel and bring them in.
AS A FILMMAKER, WHAT WERE SOME OF THE KEY THINGS YOU LEARNED FROM THIS EXPERIENCE?
I had some of the most fun in my life working on this project and one takeaway I had with it is to really focus on continuity and to make an organized shot list from the movie of what scenes need to be done so that way we could limit reshoots in the future or pickup filming. Also, to be more efficient with scene timing so we can have extras on set for less time.
WHERE CAN WE WATCH ‘THE GET RICH QUICK SCHEME’
You can watch the movie on Amazon, Google Play, YouTube Movies, Vimeo, and Tubi.
TELL US THREE THINGS PEOPLE MIGHT BE SURPRISED TO KNOW ABOUT YOU.
Oof. Ok, I am fascinated by sharks of all kinds and want to help with conservation efforts in the future, which leads me to the second fun fact, I am working on getting scuba certified and finally, non-related but I can solve a Rubik’s cube in under 30 seconds!
WE ARE EXCITED TO FOLLOW YOUR JOURNEY! HOW CAN PEOPLE GET IN TOUCH WITH YOU?
I can be found on IMDb, Instagram @samuellpierce, Facebook and Website electricshockproductions.com.
