There is now a sci-fi movie about snowboarding, and when one of its characters showed up at Comic-Con International in San Diego this year, the staff told him it was a first slide of sorts.

“They had never seen a snowboarding character before,” said Tom Miller, the film’s writer/director/producer.

There has been some confusion over how to classify his costume accessories.

“They don’t like anything with metal rims,” ​​said Tom in the trailer. “But it was approved.”

This month, the movie “First Battle of the Chairs, Opening Day Dreams” was released on Prime Video. It’s a race between robots and humans to ride the first lift of the season in North America, known as ‘First Chair’, and win the prize each season.

Tom in the trailer knows all too well what it’s like to sit in that first chair and how the event’s celebratory atmosphere creates the ideal dramatic setting for the film. Following the first chair of the season at the resort, individual ski areas hold their own first chair celebrations on opening day.

Trailer Tom is a Summit County local and frequent First Chair rider with his longtime friend Nate Dogggg. Here in Vale, Cesar Hermosillo became the first face of the chair in his decade or so, and Hermosillo was also featured in the ‘Battle for First Chair’.

Hermosillo and Trailer Tom tell us that the atmosphere of the first chair is more about friendship than skiing. The first chair ride usually requires camping the night before, or a few days in advance for the first chair of the season.

Over the years, Tom began to realize that the time-killing phase of the first chair quest could be put to good use.

“There are a lot of people in line. It can take days. It could take a week or more,” he said.

A few years ago, Tom started thinking about how he could make the transition from a non-fiction snowboarding filmmaker to a fictional film writer/director.

A lifelong comic book reader and space opera fan, science fiction movies were an obvious choice. His previous snowboard movies also featured something for the gamer sect, and Trailer Tom is known for bringing a generator-equipped pinball machine to his first chair-camping session.

The film began shooting in 2019, but the final product wasn’t finished this spring. As such, trailer Tom notes that in recent years, Denver TV stations have featured a number of appearances by his character Redis in covering the first chair in the Arapahoe Basin. Redice wears a red leather hooded cloak and carries a dagger.

“I would do interviews in full costume and try not to break character at times,” he said.

After shooting the film, Tom set about producing and distributing the film with the help of his friends. It’s an area where he’s already had a lot of experience from his previous snowboarding movies. In one of his previous filming experiences, Trailer Tom took camera in hand to the first X Games in Crested Butte and asked what I showed up without any qualifications and was welcomed into the convention venue without any problems.

“We talked to people and said, ‘I want to film my friends,’ and they put you next to a big mid-air jump,” he said.

He said the experience inspired him to crash Comic-Con.

“Everything has to be approved well in advance,” he said of Comic-Con. “I’m just learning this.”

Never deterred, Tom in the trailer showed up anyway and was able to approve the ladies’ entry in full costume. By the end of the event, the “First Chair Battle” table was set up at Comic-Con, with posters and DVDs available.

“All the staff wanted to come over and take a picture with (Lady’s) and get a poster,” Tom said in the trailer.

Now available on Prime Video, Tom said that if he liked the film, he hoped it would get good reviews. Please don’t leave me.”

Ski & Snowboard Club Vail coach Rob Bak is in charge of snowboarding in the film, and Vail local Taylor Paris also makes a cameo.

“The Battle for First Chair” can be streamed for as low as 99 cents by renting the standard definition version, with the option to purchase the HD version for up to $4.99.

This article is from VailDaily.com.