Anthony Rapp Stars in Telly Leung's New Musical Short Film GRIND: THE MOVIE!

CHEMICALLY ALTERED and TELLY LEUNG PRODUCTIONS have announced the public premiere of their new musical short film GRIND: THE MOVIE starring Anthony Rapp (If/Then, Rent), Claire Coffee ("Grimm," "The West Wing") and Pasha Pellosie ("The Carrie Diaries") on October 1. GRIND: THE MOVIE is written and directed by Zachary Halley and features music by Derek Gregor and lyrics by Selda Sahin. After winning honors at film festivals around the country, the movie will be available to stream at GrindShortFilm.com. Starting today, an exclusive screening is available at Out.com. Due to adult themes, viewer discretion is advised. The digital soundtrack EP - with five new songs performed by Anthony Rapp and Eric Michael Krop - is available on iTunes and other online outlets from Yellow Sound Label.

GRIND: THE MOVIE is a short film musical that takes a sexy and creative look at contemporary hook-up culture in gay life. Asking "Do you really know who you're talking to?," the all-star cast takes us on a musical journey of love and connection in an era where who we are is defined by our online personas. In a new twist of the classic Cyrano story, Thane (Pellosie) plays a traditional "hot" guy who - with the help of his inquisitive roommate Autumn (Coffee) - enlists the eloquence of his witty but shy friend Vincent (Rapp) to charm his way into meeting guys. But Vincent is through with advising from the sidelines, and soon reveals his own dark agenda. The story is enhances by a pop/electronica score which combines musical theater storytelling with a bold Top 40 sensibility.

"GRIND was inspired by my experiences and those of friends using hook-up apps, the thrill of the chase and emptiness after it was over," says writer/director Zachary Halley. "The concentrated emotional experience seemed a perfect fit for a film. The gay community is fragmented in a way it hasn't been since we were all in the closet and these apps seems to exacerbate the situation. Maybe if people talk about the issue, we can change the way we interact with each other. But GRIND is not a morality tale. We just want everyone to love the songs, laugh at the recognizable parts from their own lives, and have a good time."

GRIND: THE MOVIE was awarded "Best LGBT Film" from the NYC Downtown Shorts Film Festival, "Best Overall Short Film," "Best Cinematography" and "Outstanding Artistic Achievement" at FilmOut San Diego, "Best Short Film" from the Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival, and "Best LGBT Film" from SENE Music and Film Festival. It was an "Official Selection" from the Boston LGBT Film Festival (Boston, MA), Out Film CT (Connecticut's LGBT Film Festival), InsideOut (Toronto's International LGBT Film Festival), in addition to festivals in Amsterdam, Washington DC, Kansas City, Roanoke, VA and Baltimore, MD.

The cast of GRIND: THE MOVIE also features Jennifer Babiak (Fiddler on the Roof on Broadway), Adam Halpin (Dogfight at Second Stage), Celia Au (Scorsese's Revenge of the Green Dragons), Trey Gerrald (NBC's "Next Caller"), Danny Blu (Lead singer of "The Factory Blu"), Drew Brody (Singer/Songwriter), Jonathan Chang (Violet Tendencies), Ravi Roth (Altar Boyz) and Matt Shingledecker (Rent, West Side Story, Spring Awakening).

GRIND: THE MOVIE is presented by Chemically Altered Productions in association with Telly Leung Productions and Sing Out Louise! Productions. Executive Producers include Elliott Masie of Masie Productions, Anthony Sweeney, Matthew P. Hui, Parke Rouse and "Angel" Tom Marino. The film is produced by Joseph Rusin, Steven Tylor O'Connor, Aiden Tyler Lee, Matt Brunson (Editor), Angelita Esperanza (Post-production Supervisor), Chris Gilroy (Original Music Production), Derek Gregor and Selda Sahin. Ryan Dearth serves as Line Producer, with David Larsen as Choreographer and Blake Steigerwald as Director of Photography.

ANTHONY RAPP, CLAIRE COFFEE AND PASHA PELLOSIE AT GRINDSHORTFILM.COM ON OCTOBER 1

EXCLUSIVE SCREENING OUT.COM AVAILABLE TODAY - EP SOUNDTRACK NOW ONLINE

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