

Ice The Movie’s plot is similar to many figure skating movies. It’s about a girl with much talent who pursues Olympic dreams. It’s about her struggles and it is about what she gives up in order to pursue those Olympic dreams.
What Maddison Bullock has accomplished is really impressive. Like many figure skaters, she completed a goal that seemed impossible. She wrote a movie about figure skating, produced the movie, and was the movie’s star. That is what makes Ice The Movie special.
My brother, Billy Schneider, had been one of Maddison Bullock’s figure skating coaches before she went to college at University of California in Los Angeles, UCLA. Maddison’s mom, Layna, had told me once that her daughter had developed a passion for acting in college. Then, in 2016, Bullock wrote a movie script and then went on to produce and star in a film that is now available for purchase on Vimeo.
My own family got a glimpse of the movie’s production since my daughter Annabelle Schneider-Farris was chosen to be one of the figure skaters who skated in the background during the filming. My husband Dan and I were extras.
As I viewed Ice The Movie, I appreciated more than ever how much work Maddison Bullock went through to make the movie possible because I saw what went on behind the scenes. We learned from our participation in the movie that making a movie is a huge project which is not all that glamorous.

We spent two consecutive nights from about 10 pm to 10 am in a cold Colorado ice rink while scenes from Ice The Movie were filmed over and over again. Many other parents, coaches, and figure skaters spent long nights at the ice rink as the movie was filmed. We all went without sleep. Some of the people that participated spent their own money on hotels, food, and travel. Others, including my husband, missed work. My daughter Annabelle missed school and her own skating practice.
The young figure skaters who play the young Bailey and young Peyton, Phoebe Stubblefield and Elise Freezer, are really outstanding skaters. It was fun watching them skate in the film, but I was slightly disappointed that doubles weren’t used to do some of the skating when the two girls became young women. It was obvious that the older actresses are accomplished figure skaters, but even viewers who don’t “know skating” will notice that Olympic level triple jumps were missing once the skaters grew up.
The best acting in the film is done by Patrick O’Brien Demsey, who plays Bailey’s father, Nick Grantham. Demsey is a former hockey player who played Mike Eruzione in the 2004 legendary movie “Miracle” about the United States Olympic hockey team’s victory over the Russians in Lake Placid in 1980. It seemed as if the rest of the cast were rather new to acting, but since I’m not any expert as far as acting goes, I am only making an observance.
There are also cameo appearances by US men’s champion Max Aaron, Olympic pair skating silver medalist and figure skating commentator Peter Carruthers, and US ladies champion, Alissa Czisny. Chelley Blakeborough, the niece of world and Olympic figure skating choreographer, Tom Dickson, plays a ballet teacher for the young skaters.
Michael Monks, who plays the Russian skating coach is a really good actor, but he does not really convince viewers that he is really Russian. (My son Joel got such a kick out of his thick Russian accent!)
There is a rival figure skater named Vera Lin (played by Danika Kong), who taunts both Bailey and Peyton. (Danika Kong’s mother told me during our “all nighter” in Colorado, that her daughter, who played Vera, had never acted before.)
There is also a very nice and happy ending!
Some of the original plot might have been changed. For example, during one of our long nights on the set, I observed a scene being filmed over and over again where a crazy skating mother-fan and her daughter tells Bailey about Peyton’s face being slashed accidentally. That entire scene was deleted from the film. The little girl who got dressed up and stayed up all night to be in that scene must be disappointed.
Actually, it seems that many of the people that spent long nights on the set at the ice rinks where the movie was filmed were cut out of the movie which must be disappointing for all the people that volunteered their time, but that is “show business.” I am guessing that the film’s director, Peter Paul Basler, felt that changes in plot and cut scenes were necessary.
Originally, I was told that Ice The Movie would be available for rent or purchase on Netflix and Redbox or Amazon.com, so it is puzzling that at this time why it is only available for purchase on Vimeo. I wish it was available for rent on YouTube at least.
In summary, I must compliment Maddison Bullock for taking on such a project and for promoting figure skating. She made her dream happen. I believe Maddison will go on to do many more great things!
Happy Skating!
Further Reading:
- Some Skating Mothers Are Like the Mother In “I, Tonya”
- My Thoughts Now That 2018 Olympic Figure Skating Is Over
- One Slip or Fall in Ice Dancing Ruins Everything – I Hate It!
- Olympic Figure Skating Team Medals – How Great Is That?!
- Remembering What It Is Like Behind the Scenes At the Winter Olympic Games
- Take a Step-By-Step Tour Through the Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan Saga
- “I, Tonya” Tells Figure Skater Tonya Harding’s Side of the Story
- Is American Figure Skating Fixed….Again?
- I’m So Happy For Alexa and Chris and Dalilah! 2018 Olympics!
- Jordan Moeller’s Thoughts Put Figure Skating In Perspective
- Which Figure Skaters From the USA Might Qualify For the 2018 Winter Olympics?
- If Ashley Wagner’s ankle was infected, why did US Figure Skating allow her to compete at Skate America 2017?
- Should Quadruple Figure Skating Jumps Perhaps Be Banned?
- Remembering the Famous Ice Dancer Jim Sladky
- Some People Think Teaching Skating Is Not Real Work – How Dare They Think Such a Thing!
- Opinion: Why Did Olympic Figure Skater Gracie Gold Have to Tell the World About Her Problems?
- How to Do a Basic Spin On Ice Skates
- How Much Money Will a Skater Spend On Private Lessons?
- What Exactly Is the Definition of Figure Skating?
- The 2017 World Figure & Fancy Skating Championship Was an Amazing Experience!
- How to Choose a Figure Skating Coach
- Comparison of FROZEN On Ice Versus the New-to-Be Broadway Stage Version
- San Francisco Bay Area Ice Dance Weekend October 6–8, 2017
- Figure Skating Competition Scores Were Once Added Up By Hand
- Do You Dread the Thought of Using an Ice Skating Rink Restroom?
- I’m So Excited About the World Figure & Fancy Skating Championships and Festival!
- JO ANN’s Ice Skate and Practice Compulsory Figures Just for Exercise Plan
- What It Is Like to Skate and Play and Stay in Sun Valley, Idaho
- There Is a Difference Between Ice Dance Three Turns and the Three Turns Done In Free Skating and In Recreational Ice Skating
- Parents of Figure Skaters Have to Adjust to Life Without Skating When a Child Retires From the Sport
- Kiss and Cry: A True and Inspirational Film About a Figure Skater Named Carley Allison
- Figure Skating Is About Getting Up
- Figure Skaters Should Lace Up a Pair of Ice Hockey Skates!
- Dear JO ANN: How Can I Pay for My Child’s Figure Skating Dream?
- Figure Skating Travel Woes: My Memories of a Bad Experience With United Airlines: December, 2008
- Opinion: I Am Not Sure I Like Quadruple Figure Skating Jumps
- Opinion: Ice Dancing Certainly Was Not/Is Not “Fixed” at the 2017 World Figure Skating Championships
- A Funny Figure Skating Memory: My Skating Partner’s Wig Fell Off In Competition!
- Practice List for Beginning Ice Skaters
- Ice Skating Pants, Skirts, and Jackets By Skating Designs
- JO ANN’s Figure Skating Tips 101: How to Do an Outside Eight On Ice Skates
- JO ANN’s Figure Skating Tips 101: How to Do a Camel Spin
- A List of the Indoor Ice Skating Rinks in Southern California
- Nathan Chen Was Amazing at the 2017 US Figure Skating Championships!
- The Queens of Figure Skating Only Seem to Reign for a Year (or Two)
- The Presidential Inauguration Reminded Me of Changing Figure Skating Coaches!
- Why Is the US National Figure Skating Championships Such a Prestigious Competition?
- What Does God Have to Do With the 2017 US National Figure Skating Championships?