Richard Linklater's "Before Midnight," Michael Winterbottom's "The Look of Love," David Gordon Green's "Prince Avalanche," Park Chan-wook's "Stoker" and first-timer Joseph Gordon-Levitt's "Don Jon's Addiction" are among the films set to screen in the Premieres section of the 2013 Sundance Film Festival next month.The announcement of the Premieres and Documentary Premieres slates completes Sundance's feature lineup, which in the final tally will present a total of 115 pics, 101 of which are world premieres.
Eighteen films will bow in Premieres, up from the usual 14 or 15, suggesting an unusually strong field for potential buyers. The section is typically reserved for the festival's starriest names; actors represented across this year's selection include Guy Pearce, Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, Scarlett Johansson, Shia LaBeouf, Paul Rudd, Ed Harris, Holly Hunter and Dakota Fanning.
Among the titles likely to stir buyer interest are "Before Midnight," the eight-years-later sequel to "Before Sunset," starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy; "Breathe In," Drake Doremus' follow-up to his 2011 grand jury prizewinner "Like Crazy"; "Two Mothers," Anne Fontaine's pic starring Naomi Watts and Robin Wright; "The Way, Way Back," a Carell-starring comedy directed by "The Descendants" scribes Nat Faxon and Jim Rash; "The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman," Fredrik Bond's action-romance with LaBeouf and Evan Rachel Wood; and "Prince Avalanche," Green's rural two-hander starring Rudd and Emile Hirsch.
Two Premieres titles will arrive with distribution already in place through Fox Searchlight: "The East," Zal Batmanglij's latest collaboration with Brit Marling following their 2011 Next entry "Sound of My Voice," and "Stoker," the long-awaited English-language debut of Korean auteur Park, starring Mia Wasikowska.
Although it is a U.S. production, "Stoker" will add some international flavor to Premieres, as will "Top of the Lake," a six-hour TV miniseries from New Zealand's Jane Campion and Australian helmer Garth Davis, and "The Look of Love," Winterbottom's film about British porn baron Paul Raymond. Two other smut-centric entries are Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman's "Lovelace," starring Amanda Seyfried as the eponymous adult-film actress, and "Don Jon's Addiction," Gordon-Levitt's film starring himself as a porn addict.
"Jobs," Joshua Michael Stern's biopic of Steve Jobs, starring Ashton Kutcher, has been selected as the festival's closing-night film.
With 11 nonfiction features, Documentary Premieres also received a boost compared with previous years. Titles set to unspool include Freida Mock's "Anita," about Anita Hill and the attention she brought to the issue of workplace sexual harassment; "Linsanity," Evan Leong's portrait of basketball star Jeremy Lin; "Running From Crazy," Barbara Kopple's film with Mariel Hemingway; and Jason DaSilva's personal doc "When I Walk." Two music-themed pics in the section are Dave Grohl's "Sound City" and Allison Ellwood's "History of the Eagles Part 1."
The section will also showcase a number of Sundance alums, including Alex Gibney with his Julian Assange docu "We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks"; Lucy Walker with "The Crash Reel," a portrait of snowboarder Kevin Pearce; Robert Stone with "Pandora's Promise," another film about the environmental movement following his 2009 docu "Earth Days"; R.J. Cutler with "The World According to Dick Cheney," co-directed by Greg Finton; and Sebastian Junger with "Which Way Is the Front Line From Here?," about the achievements of his war-photographer colleague Tim Hetherington, who was killed while covering the Libyan conflict in 2011. Junger and Hetherington shared the 2010 grand jury prize for their Afghanistan docu "Restrepo."
The Sundance Film Festival runs Jan. 17-27 in Park City, Utah.
PREMIERES
The 18 world premieres in this section are from the U.S. unless otherwise noted.
"A.C.O.D." -- Directed by Stuart Zicherman, written by Ben Karlin and Zicherman. A seemingly well-adjusted adult child of divorce makes a discovery that wreaks havoc on his family. Stars Adam Scott, Richard Jenkins, Catherine O'Hara, Amy Poehler, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Clark Duke.
"Before Midnight" -- Directed by Richard Linklater, written by Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke and Linklater. Jesse and Celine meet again, this time in Greece, in this sequel to "Before Sunset." Stars Hawke, Delpy, Xenia Kalogeropoulo, Ariane Labed, Athina Rachel Tsangari, Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick.
"Big Sur" -- Directed and written by Michael Polish. Faced with a suddenly demanding public and his own demons, Jack Kerouac takes three brief sojourns to a cabin in Big Sur. With Jean-Marc Barr, Kate Bosworth, Josh Lucas, Radha Mitchell, Anthony Edwards and Henry Thomas.
"Breathe In" -- Directed by Drake Doremus, written by Doremus and Ben York Jones. A foreign exchange student arrives in a small upstate New York town and alters the lives of her host family. Stars Guy Pearce, Felicity Jones, Amy Ryan and Mackenzie Davis.
"Don Jon's Addiction" -- Directed and written by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. A selfish modern-day Don Juan attempts to turn over a new leaf. With Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore, Tony Danza, Glenne Headly and Rob Brown.
"The East" -- Directed by Zal Batmanglij, written by Batmanglij and Brit Marling. An operative for a private intelligence firm infiltrates an anarchist collective that is attacking major corporations. With Brit Marling, Alexander Skarsgard, Ellen Page, Tony Kebbell, Shiloh Fernandez and Patricia Clarkson.
"The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete" -- Directed by George Tillman Jr., written by Michael Starrbury. A story of salvation in which two boys, separated from their mothers, hide from police and forage for food in the Brooklyn projects. With Skylan Brooks, Ethan Dizon, Jennifer Hudson, Jordin Sparks, Anthony Mackie and Jeffrey Wright.
"Jobs" -- Directed by Joshua Michael Stern, written by Matt Whiteley. An account of the defining 30 years of Steve Jobs' life. Stars Ashton Kutcher, Dermot Mulroney, Josh Gad, Lukas Haas, J.K. Simmons and Matthew Modine.
"The Look of Love" (U.K.) -- Directed by Michael Winterbottom, written by Matt Greenhalgh. A dramatization of the life of British adult magazine publisher and entrepreneur Paul Raymond, who became one of the richest men in the U.K. Stars Steve Coogan, Anna Friel, Imogen Poots and Tamsin Egerton.
"Lovelace" -- Directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, written by Andy Bellin. Chronicles the dark side of Linda Lovelace's experiences in the wake of the 1972 success of "Deep Throat." With Amanda Seyfried, Peter Sarsgaard, Hank Azaria, Adam Brody, James Franco and Sharon Stone.
"The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman" -- Directed by Fredrik Bond, written by Matt Drake. While traveling abroad titular character falls for a Romanian beauty whose dark past begins to envelop him. Stars Shia LaBeouf, Evan Rachel Wood, Mads Mikkelsen, Rupert Grint, James Buckley and Til Schweiger.
"Prince Avalanche" -- Directed and written by David Gordon Green. Two highway road workers from the city spend the summer of 1988 working together in isolation. With Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch.
"Stoker" -- Directed by Park Chan-wook. Written by Wentworth Miller. When young girl's father dies in a car crash, her mysterious uncle comes to live with her and her mother. With Mia Wasikowska, Matthew Goode, Dermot Mulroney, Jacki Weaver and Nicole Kidman.
"Sweetwater" -- Directed by Logan Miller and Noah Miller, written by Andrew McKenzie. A bloody triangle develops between a fanatical religious leader, a renegade sheriff and a former prostitute in the late 1800s. With Ed Harris, January Jones, Jason Isaacs, Eduardo Noriega, Steven Rude and Amy Madigan.
"Top of the Lake" (Australia-New Zealand) -- Directed by Jane Campion and Garth Davis, written by Campion and Gerard Lee. A six-hour film in which a pregnant 12-year-old girl stands chest deep in a frozen lake. Stars Elisabeth Moss, Holly Hunter, Peter Mullan and David Wenham.
"Two Mothers" (Australia-France) -- Directed by Anne Fontaine, written by Christopher Hampton. Charts the unconventional and passionate affairs of two lifelong friends who fall in love with each other's sons. Stars Naomi Watts, Robin Wright, Xavier Samuel, James Frecheville.
"Very Good Girls" -- Directed and written by Naomi Foner. Two girls find that life isn't as simple or safe as they had thought when they both fall for the same guy. With Dakota Fanning, Elizabeth Olsen, Boyd Holbrook, Demi Moore, Richard Dreyfuss and Ellen Barkin.
"The Way, Way Back" -- Directed and written by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash. An introverted 14-year-old forms unlikely friendships over the course of a summer. Stars Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Allison Janney, Sam Rockwell, Maya Rudolph and Laim James.
DOCUMENTARY PREMIERES
The 11 world premieres in this section are from the U.S. unless otherwise noted.
"Anita" -- Directed by Freida Mock. Looks back at the 1991 case in which Anita Hill brought sexual harrassment charges against Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas.
"The Crash Reel" -- Directed by Lucy Walker. Follows Kevin Pearce, who sustained a traumatic brain injury in a 2009 halfpipe accident while snowboarding.
"History of the Eagles Part 1" -- Directed by Allison Ellwood. A look at the band through previously unseen home movies, archival footage and new movies.
"Linsanity" -- Directed by Evan Leong. Examines the life of Asian-American NBA sensation Jeremy Lin.
"Pandora's Promise" -- Directed by Robert Stone. Chronicles the many environmentalists who have come to believe that nuclear technology is perhaps mankind's greatest hope.
"Running From Crazy" -- Directed by Barbara Kopple. Mariel Hemingway, granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway, digs into the family's history of suicide and mental illness.
"Sound City" -- Directed by David Grohl. Focuses on unsung recording studio Sound City and the top musicians and producers who worked there.
"We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks" -- Directed by Alex Gibney. Covers the controversial organization following its 2010 decision to disclose U.S. secrets.
"When I Walk" (U.S.-Canada) -- Directed by Jason DaSilva. Chronicles the filmmaker-artist's seven-year journey after learning he has a severe form of multiple sclerosis.
"Which Way Is the Front Line From Here? The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington" -- Directed by Sebastian Junger. A tribute to the late photojournalist and his legacy across the world's battlefields.
"The World According to Dick Cheney" -- Directed by R.J. Cutler and Greg Finton. An examination of how Dick Cheney became the most powerful nonpresidential figure in American history, featuring exclusive interviews with the former vice president and his allies.
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