I'm not entirely sure why there are films added to the Sundance lineup after the official announcement is made-- don't they all has a submission deadline or something?-- but there's nothing wrong with adding to the riches. Three new films have been added to the competition lineup, all of them coming with big names attached.
First up is the next film from Bend it Like Beckham director Gurinder Chadha, It's A Wonderful Afterlife, another comedy about Indian family life in which a mother tries to find a perfect son-in-law using... murder? Not sure how that one turns out to be a comedy. Also on deck are The Kids Are Alright, a family drama starring Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Annette Bening and rising it-girl Mia Wasikowska, and The Romantics, a "zeitgeist love story and generational comedy" featuring Katie Holmes, Josh Duhamel, Elijah Wood and lots of other names you've heard of.
Below is the full press release. After Christmas we'll start gearing up our Sundance coverage, bringing you as much information about all these titles as we can gather before the festival kicks off January 21.
PARK CITY, UT—Sundance Institute announced today the addition of three world premieres: Gurinder Chadha's IT'S A WONDERFUL AFTERLIFE, Lisa Cholodenko’s THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT and Galt Niederhoffer’s THE ROMANTICS, to the films screening out of competition at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. The Festival opens January 21 and runs through January 31 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden, and Sundance, Utah. A complete list of films with their screening times is available at www.sundance.org/festival.“When the opportunity to screen the latest films from three extremely innovative storytellers presented itself, we knew we could not deny our audiences,” said John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival. "As an added bonus, all three are alumni of the Festival, so we are thrilled to be able to support them returning to Sundance with their newest work."It's a Wonderful Afterlife (Director: Gurinder Chadha; Screenwriters: Paul Mayeda Berges and Gurinder Chadha)—A comedy centered on an Indian mother who discovers that finding the perfect son-in-law can be murder. Cast: Shabana Azmi, Goldy Notay, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Sally Hawkins.Chadha has screened three films at the Sundance Film Festival: Bend it Like Beckham (2003), What's Cooking? (2000) and the short film I'm British But...(1992)The Kids are Alright (Director: Lisa Cholodenko; Screenwriters: Stuart Blumberg and Lisa Cholodenko)—Two children conceived by artificial insemination bring their birth father into their family life. Cast: Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska, Josh Hutcherson, Mark Ruffalo, Annette Bening.Cholodenko received the 1998 Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at Sundance for High Art, and screened Laurel Canyon at the 2003 Festival.The Romantics (Director and screenwriter: Galt Niederhoffer, based on her novel)—The Romantics, a zeitgeist love story and generational comedy, takes place over the course of one night at a deluxe seaside wedding. Cast: Katie Holmes, Josh Duhamel, Anna Paquin, Adam Brody, Malin Ackerman, Elijah Wood, Candice Bergen, Jeremy Strong, Dianna Agron.Niederhoffer received the 2007 Sundance Audience Award for producing Grace is Gone. She also produced the Sundance Film Festival films Lonesome Jim, Dedication, Diminished Capacity, Birds of America,and Hurricane.
