Josh Alexander on Renart Films Podcast

Three weeks till we open in New York City . BACKSEAT opened an office in New York this week and we've got four great interns working out of the office - getting the street teams organized in each city. We'll be on the streets handing out BACKSEAT stuff for the next few weeks - so keep an eye out for our teams.

Also - Josh Alexander was interviewed about the "making of BACKSEAT" on the great film podcast - Renart Films Podcast this week.

Check it out at: http://renartfilmspodcast.com/?p=51


More to come soon. And we hope to see you all on opening weekend!

BACKSEAT gets theatrical deal!

Hey Folks,

It's been a long time since we've posted. BACKSEAT has been on a whirlwind tour of film festivals in the US and Europe. It's been a crazy ride - winning the Audience Award in Austin, playing in front of a standing room only crowd of Germans at the Oldenburg Film Festival and being nominated for the German Independence Award, getting rave reviews in Frankfurt and Denver and Palm Beach.... to playing a lot of footsie with a bunch of distributors over the last year..

But BACKSEAT has finally gotten a theatrical deal - and thanks to the wonderful folks at Truly Indie.

Truly Indie is a Cuban/Wagner company and a sister company to Magnolia. And we love them!

We are so proud to announce that BACKSEAT will be opening in New York City at The Quad on March 28th and in the following weeks rolling out to include San Francisco, Berkeley, Austin and Seattle.

Where we go after that will depend on our box office returns and reviews. But we're so psyched to finally have a chance to share the film with audiences outside of film festivals.

Our trailer has been featured now on Apple.com/trailers a few weeks - and in just a few days became one of the top ten most watched trailers on both Apple and Yahoo Movies, which was amazing.

We've got four more weeks till we open, our street teams are in place and plugging the film and you can look forward to a lot more posts as we get closer to the big day.

And please- check out the website at www.backseatthemovie.com, check out the trailer and spread the word.

We're a little indie film and will need all the good word of mouth we can get to keep the film in theatres.

And thanks to all the festivals and fans and friends and family that have supported us so far. We couldn't do it without you guys. Check in and you'll find posts as we go about the openings, the parties, the screenings, and the reviews!

- Josh

BACKSEAT drives into the ATLANTA FILM FESTIVAL

After winning the Audience Award at the Austin film Festival and playing to rave reviews at film festivals across the country, BACKSEAT will have its Atlanta premiere at this year's 30th Annual Atlanta Film Festival.

Directed by award-winning commercials director, Bruce van Dusen (who wrote and directed the Sundance hit COLD FEET),
BACKSEAT is an off-beat and refreshing comedy about generation x as it struggles through prolonged adolescence and into adulthood. With a cast of truly wonderful up-and-comers (Will Janowitz from The Sopranos, Rob Bogue from Guiding Light, Aubrey Dollar from Fox's Point Pleasant) and featuring a soundtrack with some of the biggest indie acts currently playing the US music scene, BACKSEAT is that rare gem at film festivals - an entertaining, and ultimately moving, comedy about a few regular folks struggling to make sense of their lives and what they want from them.

A truly indie effort, BACKSEAT was shot in 17 days on super 16mm film at over 45 locations throughout New York State. And took over three years to finance - primarily through the generosity of family and friends.

What some of the things critics have said:

".....Toss in a faithless girlfriend, a brick of cocaine, a tightly wound cousin, a stripper, and a guy who communicates only through the Web and you have some of the ingredients that give narrative spice to Backseat. But the heart and the pleasure of this movie reside in the conversations and in the moments in which nothing happens, or in the off-kilter way that things happen when they do happen. Co-star and screenwriter Alexander has delightfully tapped into the realities that lie just this side of absurdity."
- Marjorie Baumgarten, Austin Chronicle

"Sideways: The Extra Funny Version Without the Wine Metaphors.....{and} what's most surprising about this "freshman" effort by Alexander, is how effortless it all appears. Alexander's humor is derived from a very real knack for comedy coupled with an equally acut understanding of his audience, so Backseat ends up a truly memorable, funny...yes...Guy Road Trip Movie."
-Laura Kyle,  efilmcritic.com

"...the combination of good acting, a clever soundtrack, sharp dialogue, and unexpected situations make this crew one to watch."
-Rise Keller, moviehabit.com, Denver

BACKSEAT will screen on one night only, June 13th, at 7:15pm at CINEFEST on the Goergia State Campus. See www.atlantafilmfestival.com for tickets and information.

Fun in the sun at the Palm Beach International Film Festival

BACKSEAT recently returned from it's three screenings at the 11th Annual Palm Beach International Film Festival. Enthusiastic audiences, good reviews and many of the cast in town for the festivities -- the film was warmly embraced by the festival and it's attendees.

BACKSEAT's filmmakers had the distinction of being invited to participate in the Award's Gala Ceremony. Check out cast members Rob Bogue, Will Janowitz and Josh Alexander as they walked the red carpet behind.... Fay Dunnaway and Dennis Hopper.

http://www.wireimage.com/FeaturedEvents/GalleryListing.asp
str=24980&nm=Will+Janowitz&c4nvi=3&styp=clbi&nbc1=1&navtyp=CLB&evntI=1907

Go Palm Beach!

Next up...the 30th Atlanta Film Festival!

BACKSEAT moves on to the Denver Film Festival

On the back of its Audience Award in Austin, BACKSEAT will be at the 28th Starz Denver International Film Festival, with screenings on Nov 18th and Nov 19th. For more information and tickets go to:

http://www.denverfilm.org/eventwindow.cfm?event_id=11

BACKSEAT Wins Audience Award!

We're pleased to announce that BACKSEAT has won the Narrative Feature Audience Award for the 2005 Austin Film Festival!

http://www.austinfilmfestival.com/2005/audwin

BACKSEAT Gets 5 Stars

Review by Laura Kyle from efilmcritic.com below:

"Sideways: The Extra Funny Version Without the Wine Metaphors"- Laura Kyle

I don't think there were more than two full minutes, in total, that I wasn't smiling during Backseat.

Wordsmith and supporting actor Josh Alexander plays Colton, a failed actor and college frat boy who's in his 30's and isn't in college. Rob Bogue is his conservative buddy Ben, who's having troubles with promiscuous girlfriend Shelle (Aubrey Dollar).

Ben opts to entertain Colton's dreams of meeting idol Donald Sutherland, so the two embark on a road trip to Montreal to eat dinner at the same restaurant Sutherland eats at...only stopping to pee, eat, sleep, deal drugs, get in gun shootouts, etc.

Now, before you roll your eyes and scoff that Sideways is the only Guy Road Trip Movie worthy of your time, let me report that Backseat is ve-hery funny and grounded in relatable, loveable characters -- and a few odd ones too.

While every actor gets a moment or two to shine, Josh Alexander is the standout here. As a writer and actor, he's making quite a charming impression on his new audience with Backseat. He sells a character that's super overdone -- the goofball partier -- and that's as much to his credit as a screenwriter as it is to his ability as a performer.

There's a lot of backstory about the two friends that the audience only gets to hear bits and pieces of, which makes the film all the more appealing -- because it's not the character's histories that are important, it's how believable their friendship is. The narrative details are superfluous and luckily the filmmakers know this. Thus, Backseat has a curiously natural quality about it, even though it's also a clever, comedic yarn of sorts (and one that's fortunately never crude, but never cutesy either).

Bruce Van Dusen's direction is far from ostentatious and Ari Issler's cinematography helps to create somewhat of a whitewashed look to the film. The result is a comfortable and easygoing pace with a focus on the characters.

What's most surprising about this "freshman" effort by Alexander, is how effortless it all appears. Alexander's humor is derived from a very real knack for comedy coupled with an equally acute understanding of his audience, so Backseat ends up a truly memorable, funny...yes...Guy Road Trip Movie.