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Tuesday, Jan 22, 2013 8:30 PM UTC

Top picks at Sundance

Steve Carell's comedy emerges as the winner, launching a $10 million bidding war SLIDE SHOW

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Topics: slideshow, Sundance, Movies, indie movies, cinema, Sundance Film Festival,

Top picks at SundanceWomen leave the ticket box office during the 2013 Sundance Film Festival on Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013 in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Danny Moloshok/Invision/AP) (Credit: Danny Moloshok/invision/ap)

The 2013 Sundance Film Festival is well underway, giving American and independent filmmakers a chance to showcase their talent and vie for a chance to sell their films to major distributors. And the frenzy has begun: Among the first picks included are “Pussy Riot — A Punk Prayer,” a documentary about the Russian punk activist band, bought by HBO, and “Don Jon’s Addiction,” a comedy about a man (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) addicted to porn, has been bought by Relativity Media for $4 million.

The biggest deal, however (and as Deadline notes, “one of the craziest for deal making in recent memory“), is for “The Way, Way Back” the Steve Carell-starring movie, which went for nearly $10 million. Fox Searchlight won the bidding war, coming out ahead of Lionsgate, FilmDistrict, Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros., and has committed to a wide theatrical release of the film.

The deal has turned heads because, as the New York Times explains, this type of bid is now a rarity at Sundance:

Gone are the days, most everyone here agrees, of dizzying prices, as when “Little Miss Sunshine” sold for $10.5 million in 2006 ($12 million in today’s dollars). The time of frantic bidding wars among the specialty divisions of major studios — some of which, like Miramax, no longer exist — has also passed.

Now, $6 million is considered a big acquisition price. The pace of making deals has also become steady and deliberate, as sellers weigh their expanding options and buyers think more carefully about whether films truly have crossover appeal.

Other dramas sold so far include “The Spectacular Now,” a high school love story;  “Fruitvale,” about the last day in the life of a man who became a symbol against police brutality; “Concussion,” about the reflections of a lesbian housewife; and the majorly anticipated “The Fifth Estate,” about elusive and controversial WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. (No word yet on the murderous tale involving Allen Gingsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs, ”Kill Your Darlings,” starring Daniel Radcliffe, though it premiered on Friday.)

HBO, CNN Films, Showtime and others have picked up a slew of documentaries as well, ranging from “Twenty Feet From Stardom,” a film about the lives of backup singers; “The History of the Eagles,” chronicling the classic rock group; and “Dirty Wars,” which attempts to illustrate “the truth behind America’s covert wars.”

Below, a look at 10 of the most anticipated films to come out of Sundance this year:

10 top films from Sundance 2013

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  • "jOBS"
    The Cast: Ashton Kutcher, Dermot Mulroney, Josh Gad, Lukas Haas, J. K. Simmons, Matthew Modine
    The Story: Ashton Kutcher portrays young Steve Jobs in this first film based on the life of the Apple co-founder. The film covers 30 years of Jobs' life from 1971 to 2000 as an entrepreneur and leader of Apple, NeXT and Pixar. "jOBS" focuses on Jobs' life as a college dropout in 1976, who together with his friend Steve Wozniak developed the Apple-1 personal computer kit, and the rest is history. (Photo Credit: Sundance Institute)

  • "Don Jon's Addiction"
    The Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore, Tony Danza
    The Story: Gordon-Levitt's directorial debut tells the story of a contemporary porn-addicted Don Juan. Gordon-Levitt, who is performing in front of the camera as well as behind it, plays Jon Martello whose addiction to porn has made him dissatisfied with life. His frustration leads him to a journey to find a more gratifying sex life. (Photo Credit: Sundance Institute)

  • "Before Midnight"
    The Cast: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy
    The Story: With" Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset," director Richard Linklater and stars Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy created a romantic tale, which now continues with the third film "Before Midnight." The plot takes place nine years after the second film, focusing on the end of a six-week vacation Jesse (Hawke) and Celine (Delpy) and their two kids are spending in Greece. Jesse, who moved to Europe and got a divorce, was forced to leave his son in America and now has to deal with his guilt. (Photo Credit: Sundance Film Festival)

  • "Kill Your Darlings"
    The Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Dane DeHaan, Ben Foster, Michael C. Hall
    The Story: John Krokidas' "Kill Your Darlings" stars "Harry Potter" actor Daniel Radcliffe as the young American poet Allen Ginsberg during his time at Columbia University. The movie traces the bohemian lifestyle of the great American poets of the beat generation. There are already rave reviews for Radcliffe's new American accent and his homosexual sex scene. (Photo Credit: Sundance Institute)

  • "Stoker"
    The Cast: Mia Wasikowska, Matthew Goode, Dermot Mulroney, Jacki Weaver, Nicole Kidman
    The Story: Directed by "Oldboy" helmer Park Chan-Wook, "Stoker" tells the terrifying story of a young girl whose father died in a car accident. Her mysterious uncle comes to live with her and her mother, but she soon realizes that he has disturbing ulterior motives. (Photo Credit: Sundance Institute)

  • "Ain't Them Bodies Saints"
    The Cast: Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Keith Carradine, Nate Parker
    The Story: This drama tells the story of an outlaw couple, Ruth and Bob, who are split apart when Bob is sent to prison. Shortly after his incarceration, Ruth gives birth to their daughter and raises her alone in a quiet town in Texas. Her new life is suddenly tested when Bob is released from jail and will stop at nothing to reunite with her. (Photo Credit: Sundance Institute)

  • "Mud"
    The Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Tye Sheridan, Jacob Lofland
    The Story: Two 14-year-old boys encounter a fugitive known as Mud (McConaughey), who is hiding on an island in the Mississippi after murdering a rival for the love of his life, Juniper (Witherspoon). Mud plans to escape the police and bounty hunters and reunite with Juniper, and the two boys agree to help him. McConaughey was praised for giving the best performance of his career and the film, directed by Jeff Nichols, was crowned as a powerful and nuanced coming-of-age story. (Photo Credit: Sundance Institute)

  • "The East"
    The Cast: Ellen Page, Alexander Skarsgard, Brit Marling Patricia Clarkson
    The Story: This thriller tells the story of a former FBI agent turned private security consultant who is hired to infiltrate an environmental terror group called "The East," only to find herself falling for its charismatic leader. (Photo Credit: Sundance Institute)

  • "Prince Avalanche"
    The Cast: Paul Rudd, Emile Hirsch
    The Story: Director David Gordon Green ("Pineapple Express","The Sitter") goes back to the indie scene with this minimalist indie comedy. This remake of the Icelandic film "Either Way," follows Alvin (Rudd) and his girlfriend's brother Lance (Hirsch), who leave the city behind to spend the summer in solitude repainting traffic lines on a highway ravaged by wildfire. Soon, their personalities clash, and while one views his lonely occupation as an opportunity for monastic self-reflection, the other anxiously awaits the weekend to party and get laid. (Photo Credit: Sundance Institute)

  • "Lovelace"
    The Cast: Amanda Seyfried, Peter Sarsgaard, Hank Azaria, Adam Brody, James Franco, Sharon Stone.
    The Story: "Lovelace" is a biographical film about Linda Boreman, the porn star known as "Linda Lovelace" who was famous for her performance in the enormously successful 1972 hardcore porn film "Deep Throat." Dragged into the porn industry by her abusive husband and manager, the film recounts the life and career of a woman who eventually broke free of his tight grip and later became a spokeswoman for the anti-pornography movement, trying prevent other women from getting similarly exploited. (Photo Credit: Sundance Institute)

    Lovelace

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Prachi Gupta is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on pop culture. Follow her on Twitter at @prachigu or email her at pgupta@salon.com. More Prachi Gupta.

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