Question and Answers: Sam's Comics: The Movie

These are questions I have been asked about Sam's Comics: The Movie.

Q: How old are the characters in this film?

A: All the characters (with the exception of Molly) are depicted as being in high school. Sam, Jack, Ryan, Nick, and Bailey are all 18, Kenzie and Lindsay are 17, Rachael is 16, and Molly is 13.

Q: Is this story based on true events?

A: No. While the story has characters based on and named after real people, the story itself is fictional. A small few of the plot points may have inspired by real events in my life, but they are overly exaggerated and none of them would have actually happened the way they happen in the film. It can also be noted that a good portion of the plot was adapted from another fictional project I wrote called “Legend of the Black Arrow”.

Q: Was Sam flirting with Molly and Lindsay in the movie?

A: No. His talk with Molly on the hilltop was meant to show that Sam has developed a kind of Big-Brother-Little-Sister relationship with Bailey’s youngest sibling. In the original script, this would have played out further on screen, but it ended up being cut. 

 The scene with Lindsay has a bit of a different issue. This scene was meant to give Lindsay Allen more on-screen time, as her character originally held more significance to the plot. It can also be noted that the majority of Sam's friends in the movie (as well as in the original comics) are girls, so it can be implied that Sam gets along with girls more easily than boys. This can also explain why Jack claims that Sam has multiple girlfriends saying “Shoemaker slays all the ladies”. Throughout all the movie though, Sam has shown real interest in Bailey alone.

Q: Why does Jack hate Sam?

A: It’s never outright said, and Sam himself doesn’t really know why Jack is always being a jerk to him. The implied story is that Jack picks on Sam because he knows Sam will react to it. Sam later sees this in the film, saying he won’t fall for any “baiting” anymore. When Bailey and her necklace come into play and Jack decides to steal it, he realizes that Sam poses a threat to him, and tries to neutralize it by discrediting Sam. As the story progresses, Bailey becomes the bait that Jack uses on Sam.

A somewhat detailed back story was written for Jack, but in the end, the scene in which it was explained was never filmed.

Q: Is this movie based directly on the original Sam’s Comics?

A: Yes and no. The film is based on the comic series, but it is not a straight adaptation. The story for the movie is original and was never mentioned in the comics prior to the movie (which at the time the film was being made supposedly took place in between seasons 2 and 3). After the film as released and Season 4 came out, the movie was deemed "independent" of the comics.

Q: Are there any differences between the movie and the comics?

A: Quite a few differences are present.

1. Sam in the comics is a lot clumsier than shown in the movie. The movie also shows that Sam is more knowledgeable than he has been in the comics and is very emotionally touchy.
2. In the comics, Ryan is definitely Sam’s closest friend. The movie portrays Sam and Nick’s friendship as either equal to or greater than the friendship of Sam and Ryan.
3. Molly hardly ever says anything in the comics, usually just standing in the background. The movie gives her much more personality not seen in the comics.
4. At the time the movie was made, Nick was a relatively new character to the series and hadn’t had many comic appearances yet. The movie gave him his big break.
5. Rachel is not a regular character in the series, only appearing once in a great while. Also, her name in the film is spelled “Rachael” with an extra A.
6. In the earliest comics, there was a running joke that Sam had a crush on one of the girl characters, but it was intentionally never said who. The joke was dropped after about two years of comic making and it was never revealed who the girl was. The movie outright says it was Bailey.
7. Bailey does not attend the same school as Sam and Ryan in the movie. In the earliest comics, she did. Post movie comics have her going to a different school.
8. For the most part in the comics, Kenzie was actually more prominent of a character than Bailey.

Q: How did this movie impact comics that were made after the film?

A: The movie had little to no impact on the comics. The only two mentions of the movie are in season 4 when Gabri asked Sam if he and Bailey were still dating (to which Sam replies they decided to be just friends after the first date) and secondly when Ryan tells Carl to lay off in a flashback, referring to him as “Jack”. Other than that, the comics adopted the last names given in the film.  

Q: Carl Mohr and Shannon Asprooth inspired the comic characters Carl and Shannon, how come they didn’t play themselves in the movie?

A: Carl and Shannon were added to the comics after the movie.

Q: Will there ever be a sequel featuring the new comic characters (Shannon, Frank, Sarah, Gabri, etc)?

A: At this point, no. I do admit I would personally love to make another Sam’s Comics movie, but I don’t think I could ever get another one together like I did this one.