SYNOPSIS
In BACKSEAT, a 'coming of age late' story about prolonged adolescence, two old friends flee New York City on a three-day road trip to Montreal to escape their problems and meet the great Donald Sutherland. Between running drugs and meeting a man who only communicates through instant messaging, they run head-on into the always lingering problem of real life.

ABOUT THE CAST

Rob Bogue (Ben)
Robert Bogue has been a mainstay in the New York theatre, television and indie movie scene for years. Currently, one of the stars of CBS's "Guiding Light" - where he plays AC Mallet - Rob Bogue has guest starred in shows including "Sex and the City," "The Sopranos," "Law & Order: SVU," "Ed," "Whoopie" and "Third Watch." His film credits include TRUE BLUE, THE DEFINITE MAYBE, 24 NIGHTS and the upcoming Slamdance competition feature FROST. One of his more memorable roles was as the recurring character of Jason Kramer on HBO's "Oz" - where Mr. Bogue won accoclades for his portrayal of a homosexual murderer. On stage, Bogue has appeared on Broadway in "Three Sisters" and in the Olivier Award winning production of "Burning Blue" in London's West End. Rob was one of the co-founding members of the New Group Theater Company in NYC.

Josh Alexander (Colton/Screenwriter/Producer)
Josh Alexander has worked as an actor on Broadway, off-Broadway, regionally and in television and film. He made his Broadway debut as the Standby for Mathew Broderick in Elaine May's Taller Than A Dwarf. He was a series regular on AMC's "The Wrong Coast" and VH1's "Hey Joel" and has guest starred on "One Life To Live," "All My Children," and "Law & Order." Recent Film credits include the upcoming release BACKSEAT (a film Josh also wrote and produced and which won the Audience Award at the Austin Film Festival and was nominated for the German Independence Award at the Oldenburg Film Festival), MY BEST FRIEND'S GIRL (with Dane Cook, Jason Biggs and Kate Hudson), MADE FOR EACH OTHER (with Patrick Warburton and Danny Masterson) GOYBAND (opposite Adam Pascal and Natasha Lyonne) and Denis Hamil's new film UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT. He has written two screenplays with the acclaimed novelist Beverly Coyle, one of which SANDY FALLS, is in the process of being packaged. He has also written a handful of television pilots. BACKSEAT is his first produced feature. He received his BA in Drama from Vassar College and studied at the British American Drama Academy in London.

Aubrey Dollar (Shelle)
Aubrey Dollar currently plays journalist Cindy Thomas in ABC's new drama "Women's Murder Club." Dollar's feature film credits include HARD LUCK, STEPPING UP and FAILURE TO LAUNCH with Matthew McConnaughy and Sarah Jessica Parker. Aubrey starred in the Fox drama "Point Pleasant" and created the role of Marina Cooper on CBS's daytime drama "Guiding Light". Dollar's background on the stage includes roles in "The Mistakes Madeline Made" at the Yale Repertory, "Juvenilia" by Wendy McCloud for Playwrights Horizons.

Will Janowitz (Frankie)
Will Janowitz is best known for his work as Finn DeTrolio, Meadow Soprano's boyfriend, in 3 seasons of HBO's critically acclaimed series "The Sopranos." His first film role was in David Gordon Green's GEORGE WASHINGTON, a breakthrough film that went on to receive critical accolades, opened in theaters nationwide and played at film festivals around the world. His other films include BACKSEAT, DAVID & LAYLA, and BRISTOL BOYS. He was recently cast as a series regular in Michael Cuesta's Fox television pilot "Babylon Fields." He will also be seen in the upcoming production of "Artfuckers" at the Union Square Theatre in NYC.

Mark Rosenthal (Henry)
Mark Rosenthal is an awarding winning veteran stage, TV and film actor. Recent stage credits include the acclaimed production of "After Ashley" opposite Anna Paquin and Kieran Culkin at the Vineyard Theatre. Mark's first lead role was in the original cast of "Marvin's Room," both at the Goodman Theatre, and then at Playwright's Horizons in New York City. Mark received a Theatre World Award for Outstanding New Talent as well as a Drama Desk Nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Mark also played opposite Mark Ruffalo in the groundbreaking production of Kenneth Lonergan's "This is Our Youth." Additional notable roles include the West Coast premiere of Kenneth Lonergan's "The Waverly Gallery" at the Pasadena Playhouse and his work in the off-Broadway hit "The Moonlight Room, which garnered him a Lucille Lortel award nomination for outstanding lead actor. Television and film work include JUMP with Amanda Peet and James LeGros and Mark has been a series regular on "My Old School" for CBS, "Joe's Apartment" for MTV, the Robert DeNiro produced series, "Tribeca," and "The Mike O'Malley Show" for NBC. Guest star roles include "Law and Order", "That's Life", "The Education of Max Bickford" opposite Richard Dreyfuss, and the hit series "Numbers."

ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS

Bruce Van Dusen (Director)
Bruce Van Dusen has been directing commercials for over 30 years. He is known for inspired casting, excellent storytelling and gorgeous pictures. He has worked all over the world for clients including AT&T, Ford, Jeep, Fiat, Nestle, Kelloggs, Kraft, Blue Cross/Blue Shield and Bell Canada. His work has been recognized by AICP/MOMA, The One Show, The Art Directors Club and The New York Festivals. He wrote and directed COLD FEET, a dramatic finalist at 1984's Sundance Festival. COLD FEET starred Griffin Dunne, Blanche Baker and Marissa Chibas. It was also the first feature edited by Sally Menke (RESERVOIR DOGS, PULP FICTION, JACKIE BROWN, KILL BILL, ALL THE PRETTY HORSES) and the first feature produced by Charles Wessler (all Farrelly Brothers movies).

Terry Leonard (Producer)
Terry Leonard has produced a number of indie films. His feature film success started with VIRGIN starring Robin Wright-Penn, which was nominated for two Independent Spirit Award and had a small theatrical release. In January 2007, at the Sundance Film Festival, Leonard's most recent film, HOUNDDOG, starring Dakota Fanning, premiered. In June 2007 his feature STEPHANIE DALEY starring Amber Tamblyn, Tilda Swinton and Timothy Hutton hit theaters and was critically acclaimed and was presented as the cover page story of the February issue of Filmmaker Magazine. STEPHANIE DALEY enjoyed an exciting festival run, winning Best Screenplay at the Sundance Film Festival in 2006 and Amber Tamblyn was nominated for best actress at the 2007 Independent Spirit Awards for her remarkable performance. Leonard is currently in postproduction on his feature SORDID THINGS and his feature FROST starring Jason Behr & Monet Mazur will be premiering at the Slamdance Film Festival in January 2008.

Henry Hardaway (Executive Producer)
With the aim of using his business experience to help enable artists and storytellers, Henry Hardaway co-founded Group Effort Films in the Spring of 2002. His role at Group Effort draws on his experience in negotiations, capital raising and financial management. He is currently a Vice President at a mergers and acquisitions firm in New York. He is also a CFA charter-holder, a Thomas Watson Fellow and a graduate of Babson College and the London School of Economics.

Jeff Mooallem and Casey Cummings
(Executive Producers)
Jeff Mooallem and Casey Cummings are both real estate developers and investors from South Florida. Longtime friends and movie-goers, BACKSEAT is their first foray into independent film as financers. Jeff Mooallem did receive critical acclaim from the Great Neck News for his fourth grade portrayal of The Artful Dodger in Oliver Twist.

John Textor (Executive Producer)
John Textor is currently the Co-Chair of the Board of Directors for the Hollywood visual effects company, Digital Domain. He is a managing principal of Wyndcrest Holdings, and has been so since its formation in 1997. The Florida-based private investment and acquisition firm focuses on technology-related opportunities in entertainment, telecommunications and the internet. He serves as CEO of BabyUniverse Inc., a Wyndcrest-held new media company focused on women, and serves on the Board Of Directors for Multicast Media Networks, Inc. a provider of internet television broadcast networks. Mr. Textor has held chairman and CEO roles for Sims Snowboards and was a founding director of Wyndcrest portfolio company Lydian Trust Company/Virtual Bank.com. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Wesleyan University.

About Group Effort Films
Founded in 2002 by Henry Hardaway and Josh Alexander, Group Effort Films is a New York based production company with an emphasis on fostering an environment where the collaborative nature of filmmaking can thrive. By bringing together industry veterans and talented newcomers, Group Effort Films hopes to make movies that both entertain and provide insight into the world around us. BACKSEAT is their first film.

About Truly Indie
Truly Indie is a self-distribution initiative under Wagner Cuban Companies, a vertically-integrated group of media properties co-owned by Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban that also includes the Landmark Theatres chain, Magnolia Pictures distribution company, production companies HDNet Films and 2929 Productions, and high-definition cable networks HDNet and HDNet Movies. Truly Indie has distributed Neill Dela Llana and Ian Gamazon's CAVITE, Doug Block's 51 BIRCH STREET, and James Scurlock's MAXED OUT. Recently, they released Geoffrey Wright's modern spin on Shakespeare, MACBETH, John Jeffcoat's critically acclaimed comedy OUTSOURCED, and Alan White's drama BROKEN, starring Heather Graham and Jeremy Sisto.