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Sam Bernard, Rad, BMX, filmmaking, Hal Needham, cult classic, movie history, Hollywood, BMX culture, family influence

Summary

In this engaging conversation, Sam Bernard shares his journey from his early life in New York City to becoming a filmmaker in Hollywood. He discusses the influence of his family, particularly his father, a Broadway actor, and the pivotal moments that shaped his career. The conversation delves into the making of the cult classic film 'Rad,' the challenges faced during its production, and the unexpected legacy it has created over the years. Sam reflects on the film's impact on fans and its status as a beloved classic in BMX culture.

Tony and screenwriter Sam Bernard sit down for a neighborly, story-packed conversation about Sam’s life, his Hollywood upbringing, and the origin and legacy of Rad. Sam shares how he was born in New York City to a Broadway/film actor father and a politically active mother, then moved to Los Angeles when his dad’s film career took off. That family history dropped him right into the middle of serious acting circles—Lee Strasberg, Stella Adler, Marlon Brando—and eventually into work with Norman Lear and later classic directors like Miloš Forman and Hal Needham.

Sam tells a series of vivid Hollywood stories: growing up around legendary actors, working as Norman Lear’s driver and production assistant on shows like Good Times, being casually handed Jimmy Walker’s baby blue Mercedes 450SL for a date, and running errands for Orson Welles. From there, the conversation pivots into how Sam discovered BMX at a small Santa Monica park, saw kids flying off ramps, and realized there was a movie hiding in this new bike culture. That spark became Rad: originally pitched through Hal Needham as “Rocky on a bike,” about a small-town paperboy who becomes a world champion.

They talk through the rapid writing of the first draft (nine days), the early working title Balls Out, getting the film financed for around $3 million, and shooting in Calgary under Hal’s fun, stunt-driven style, with John Schwartzman filming the iconic opening sequence. Sam recalls the heartbreak of Rad tanking in theaters despite strong test screenings—but also its resurrection as a cult classic on home video, as fans rented and re-rented VHS copies and later cherished bootlegs. The two dive into the long, messy tangle of rights and finances that kept Rad buried for years, the misunderstandings around Talia Shire’s role in that, and how the film’s cult following has only grown, now with parents introducing it to their kids. They end by reflecting on Rad’s enduring emotional power, the community around it, and plans to reconnect around upcoming 40th-anniversary events.