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Emmy Award-winning "West Wing" cast member Bradley Whitford, whose new ABC comedy series "Trophy Wife" debuts this Fall, stars in a new, independent, dark comedy short film entitled Man Up, Little Boy. The 8-minute film will make its debut during the "Dances with Films" Festival held at Hollywood's Chinese Theatres, and will be presented there on Wednesday, June 5, at 5PM.

To view the Trailer for this film, please see https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10200673718139529
And "Like" the film on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/ManUpLittleBoy

Man Up, Little Boy story synopsis: Blood, sweat and tears flow when a domineering father and his underachieving son square off in an epic, and over the top, battle of wills. Meet Walter (Whitford) a man who refuses to step blithely into old age, but rather fights it with everything he's got. The object of his rage? His son Ryan (Palmer), a young man with a long history of facing his father's wrath. Ryan is a disappointment to his father -- stuck forever, it would seem, on the cusp of manhood, yet unable to enter the promised land of adulthood.

The war between these two men is eternal: youth versus age, strength versus guile, old versus new. And to make matters worse, in Walter's house, there's only one way to solve a disagreement - through arm-wrestling! The two men remain locked in an epic battle of wills -- and wrists - until beautiful blonde Sarah (McCook) comes between them, finally shattering this lifelong stalemate, once and for all.

Co-starring with Whitford in Man Up, Little Boy are Zachariah Palmer and Molly McCook. Interesting Side Notes: Dan Greenberger, Writer/Producer of this short film, was the college roommate of Bradley Whitford, when the two men attended Wesleyan University together (1977-81.) Both parents of Zachariah Palmer also attended Wesleyan University. And Molly McCook's father, John McCook, is famous for his roles on the TV soap operas "The Young & the Restless" and "The Bold and the Beautiful."

ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
Jeffrey Williams, Director & Producer
Jeffrey Williams has a great deal of experience with dysfunctional families. To his great shame, he edited the TV pilot that put the raven-haired harpies of the Kardashian clan on the map. "America, I'm really sorry about that, I had no idea," he says today.

A seventeen year veteran of the film and television industry, Williams' first job was dubbing tapes for Miramax in 1994. Using copies of Pulp Fiction and Clerks, two equally influential films on his directorial style, he bribed his way into an assistant editor position on Michael Moore's "TV Nation." After learning his craft in the trenches and going legit, his editorial work now ranges from editing an Oscar-nominated short film (2001's "By Courier" for Peter Reigert), to the infamous "60 Minutes" interview with Michael Jackson.

As a director, Williams' award winning short films have played at over thirty film festivals around the globe during the past two years. In 2012, his short film, "A Day In The Life Of Your Cats," won the "Audience Award for Short Film In Competition" at the 15th Annual Dances With Films festival in Hollywood. Man Up, LIttle Boy marks his third short film in three years to premiere at that festival, something he is very proud of. Williams is currently developing his first feature film, which will be shaped by his extensive short filmmaking experiences.

"The last thing I want to do is make a film that feels like someone else could have told the same story. Short filmmaking is the last, pure bastion of cinema's artistic potential. I want to make short films that leave an impression, even if that impression is 'that guy really needs a better therapist!'"

Dan Greenberger, Writer & Producer
A Writers Guild Award-winning writer and producer of film and television, Greenberger was born and raised in Chicago, and holds degrees in English and Playwriting, respectively, from Wesleyan University and Columbia University's School of the Arts. (At Wesleyan, he was a roommate and frequent collaborator with actor Bradley Whitford.) Relocating to New York, Greenberger became a Senior Producer for Showtime Networks, where he wrote and produced a variety of short-form programming, including the Cable Ace-nominated comedy series "Let's Do Lunch."

In Los Angeles, he has written for the television shows "Public Morals" on CBS and "Total Security" on Fox, both produced by Steven Bochco. He also wrote for E's "Talk Soup" as well as "Beyond Chance" on Lifetime, "The Cramp Twins" on Fox, and created the pilots "Captain Alpha Male" and "Swallow." He wrote and co-produced (along with Jeffrey Williams) the award-winning short film "A Day in the Life of Your Cats" which premiered at the 2012 Dances With Films Festival in Hollywood.

Greenberger is currently a Writer/Producer of on-air promos for CBS Television, where his credits include promoting "How I Met Your Mother," "The Big Bang Theory," "Everybody Loves Raymond," "Two Broke Girls," and many others.

Regarding the premise behind his original script for Man Up, Little Boy, Greenberger says, "As we get older, each of us faces an inevitable deterioration of strength. Physically and mentally, we slowly begins to fade over time. Some of us endure this decline with grace and good will: others, not so much. Our character, Walter, is a good example of a man who simply can not accept the reality that he's not as young as he used to be. My friend Brad Whitford was the perfect choice for Walter-he is obviously a gifted dramatic actor, but he's also one of the funniest people I've ever known. Nothing gives me more pleasure than seeing him do comedy: he just plain makes me laugh."

Michael Helenek, Lighting
To read about Helenek's production process on Man Up, Little Boy, please visit: http://michaelhelenek.com/?p=216

Robert ToTeras, Composer
In addition to his contributions to Man Up, Little Boy, Robert ToTeras is also the composer for the upcoming TV series "Cold Justice," premiering September 3rd on TNT. He is also the composer for "Around the World in 80 Plates" for Bravo and "Gigantic" for TeenNick. His music has been featured in the TV show "The Real L Word" on Showtime, and in the feature film "Kabluey," starring Lisa Kudrow. ToTeras' music has also been featured in over 50 commercials, promos and advertisements, most recently "The 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards" on NBC, "The Mindy Project" on Fox, and "Girls" on HBO.

ABOUT THE CAST
Bradley Whitford will co-star with Marcia Gay Harden this Fall on the new ABC series "Trophy Wife." He is perhaps best known for his role as White House Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman on the long-running, hit NBC television drama "The West Wing." He has also starred as Danny Tripp on "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," as Dan Stark in the Fox police buddy-comedy "The Good Guys," as Timothy Carter, as a character who was believed to be Red John in the CBS series "The Mentalist," and as antagonist Eric Gordon in the film Billy Madison. Whitford was nominated for three consecutive Emmy Awards from 2001-2003 for "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series" for his role on "The West Wing," winning the award in 2001. This role also garnered him three consecutive Golden Globe Award nominations for "Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role".

Zach Palmer has appeared in a number of short films and TV movies. These include "Flying Lessons," "Forgotten Pills," "Swallow," "Fly Away," the Williams/Greenberger 2012 short film "A Day in the Life of Your Cats," and "Dean Slater: Resident Advisor."

Born into a show business family, Molly McCook always knew she wanted to follow in her parents' footsteps. McCook began her career starring in musicals at the prestigious Stagedoor Manor in upstate New York, later relocating to Los Angeles. She originated the title role of Octo in "Octomom: the Musical" and played Ilse in the Ovation nominated production of the Broadway smash hit "Spring Awakening" in Hollywood. She later began landing roles on TV shows including "Monk," "10 Things I Hate About You," and "Free Agents," held a recurring part on TBS' "Glory Daze," and performed a duet with Neil Patrick Harris on "Glee." In addition to her role in Man Up, Little Boy, she can be seen in another recent indie film, Excision, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2012.

ABOUT DANCES WITH FILMS
Now in its 16th year, the Dances With Films festival champions the unflinching spirit at the very core of the independent film scene. While more film festivals rely heavily on celebrity, this event relies on the innovation, talent, creativity and sweat equity that helped revolutionize the entertainment industry. This year's event will be held from May 30-June 9th at Hollywood's Chinese Theatres. For more information, please see: http://www.danceswithfilms.com/
and http://www.danceswithfilms.com/slt_man_up.html