Hook-Up Apps Provide Inspiration for Broadway Fueled Musical Short Film

As we all know, our smartphones have a wide variety of uses way beyond calling our parents or getting Thai food delivered. Most notably, more and more of us are finding love - and sex -- through our devices. That 21st-century phenomenon is now being explored through Zachary Halley's award-winning short musical film, "Grind: The Movie," which will become available for public viewing on Wednesday, October 1 at GrindShortFilm.com.

Featuring an original score (available on Itunes and Yellow Sound) by Derek Gregor and Selda Sahin, the movie puts a spin on the classic tale of "Cyrano de Bergerac" as hot guy Thane (Pasha Pellosie) enlists the eloquence of his witty but shy friend Vincent (Tony Award nominee Anthony Rapp) to charm his way into meeting guys - with unexpected consequences.

"I lived at one time with Derek and Selda and we always wanted to work on something together," says Halley, in explaining the work's genesis. "We were all single at the time, but hooking up via phone hadn't become such a big thing for "straights" -- so the whole idea that I was chatting with people on my phone and then they'd show up to the apartment was fascinating to them. I shouldn't admit this, but Selda even did some of the chatting for me. Plus, the gay community is fragmented in a way it hasn't been since we were all in the closet and these dating apps seems to exacerbate the situation. I thought maybe if people talk about the issue, we can change the way we interact with each other."

Doing a stage show was possible, especially given the musical talents of his collaborators, says Halley. "Derek has a way of packaging complex musical ideas into deceptively simple, hummable sounding music with great hooks," he notes. "And Selda is a true poet. She can boil huge, complex ideas into potent simple phrases that really stun you at how true they feel." Nevertheless, Halley was convinced film was the right medium for his message. "I'd wanted to do a movie musical for a long time because I grew up performing in musicals," he says. "The concentrated emotional experience also seemed a perfect fit for a film."

Getting a movie made, of course, requires the right collaborators. So Halley wisely turned to his former college classmate, Broadway star Telly Leung ("Godspell") to see if he wanted to come on board - as a producer. "I had always been interested in producing, and this movie gave me the chance to a get a team or people together to tell a story we all believed in," says Leung. "So I went through my Rolodex, and found all these amazing people who let us borrow their studio or borrow a camera, since we had one week to shoot the movie. And then I approached Anthony, who is a friend, and he said the role sounded fascinating and something very different than he was used to. I got in touch with the actor David Larsen, who became the film's choreographer. We even asked Derek to make the soundtrack feel like what you'd hear in a gay bar in Friday night in Hell's Kitchen, so if we cut them right, they'll sound like pop songs. It became a project that was not just a labor of love, but one where we could all try on different hats."

Beyond nabbing Rapp, the casting process of "Grind" was also less than traditional, says Halley. "Pasha, who is basically a model, came to an audition, and it was just one of those moments casting people and directors talk about when the perfect actor just walks into the room. I kept grabbing Selda's leg under the table to make sure I wasn't just being hopeful. After he left the room, we sort of had a great laugh of relief, because we knew we'd found the right guy. As for the rest of the cast, we were just incredibly lucky. Some we asked directly, but we did everything -- sending out breakdowns, talking to agents, posting on Facebook even. They were all so good and game to "play" with us despite some 'run-and-gun' shooting situations. I'm so happy with the work everyone did and I really want the movie to find a wide audience."

"Our goal is really for as many people to see this film as possible, which is why we created this special site, " concurs Leung. "Now, there is someplace that people can watch it forever and forever."