Cinematical is absolutely stoked to have received this exclusive poster for The Wackness (click on the image to enlarge), which just enjoyed its New Yawk premiere at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival earlier this week. Directed by the very talented Jonathan Levine (All the Boys Love Mandy Lane), The Wackness centers on the relationship between a pot dealer with no friends (Josh Peck) and a therapist (Ben Kingsley) on the verge of a mid-life crisis. And did I mention that neither one is getting laid? Set in 1994 New York City, the film just oozes mid-nineties and definitely captures every ounce of what it was like to grow up during that particular time period. Olivia Thirlby, Famke Janssen and Mary-Kate Olsen also star (as the three lovely ladies our two heroes really want to get with).

I managed to catch The Wackness at a screening a few days ago with a young, hip New York crowd who absolutely devoured the flick. It's dope, it's mad funny and it brings just enough nostalgia to help you remember what it was like when you were unlucky and in love with not a clue what to do. Seriously, go see this one with a group of friends and have a blast. The Wackness arrives in theaters on July 3.

Finally, a film for kids of the 90's!

This is a hard review to write because it feels as if The Wackness was tailor-made for people like me: a male who grew up in New York City and graduated high school in 1994; the year this film was set. (Actually, I graduated in 1995, but it doesn't matter much: same kids, same lingo, same music, same surroundings). How do you review your childhood? These were all kids I hung out with, this was the music we listened to, these were the mix tapes we made and these were the girls we tried to hook up with ... but didn't. And, to some extent, it actually surprises me that so many people have loved The Wackness -- not because it's a terrible movie, mind you, but because kids who grew up in New York City during the '90s were annoying as all hell, with their "Yo, that was mad good" and their "He's got da skillz, kid!" Trust me, I know -- I was one of them.

It's 1994, New York City. Luke (Josh Peck) just graduated high school, and now he's perfectly content with spending his summer fantasizing about girls on the subway, staying away from his parents constant bickering and selling pot out of an ices cart to a wide range of characters, including a free-spirited hippie chick (Mary-Kate Olsen) and his own therapist. Dr. Squires (Ben Kingsley), or as Luke calls him, Mr. Dr. Squires, has his own problems: His much younger wife (Famke Janssen) emotionally checked out of their marriage years ago, and a mid-life crisis is slowly creeping up from around the corner. Luke's the pot dealer with no friends, and Squires is the therapist with more issues than most of his patients. Together, they're a perfect match.

Bloggers are up in arms that Sony Pictures Classics has acquired Sundance buzz title The Wackness. The film has been pursued since its debut on the opening weekend of the festival. Among other things, The Wackness gained notoriety as "the one where Ben Kingsley kisses Mary-Kate Olsen," as well as "the one our own Scott Weinberg didn't like as much as everyone else did."

indieWIRE posted a news item on Saturday evening that Sony Classics was in the process of closing a deal for North American rights to the film. Anne Thompson at Variety confirmed that the deal closed, and also pointed to three sites that had issues with Sony Classics: Neil Miller (Film School Rejects), Peter Sciretta (Slashfilm) and Alex Billington (First Showing). Other writers have also weighed in: Edward Douglas (ComingSoon.net) and Josh Tyler (Cinema Blend). The complaint is that Sony Classics has had a poor track record over the past couple of years and someone like Fox Searchlight would do a better job with marketing a film that critics think needs to be seen.

Sony Classics has long followed the traditional, platform method of releasing arthouse films, a strategy that has paid off big time in the past and that tends to minimize losses if a particular title doesn't catch on. It can be frustrating if you don't live in New York or Los Angeles (it took Persepolis seven weeks before it reached my area). Fox Searchlight also platforms, but is usually quicker to take a release wide. They also seem more willing to spend more money on TV and Internet advertising. Juno is a huge success, but that's a once-a-year (if you're lucky) phenomenon. We'll see how Sony Classics does with The Wackness.

Last night saw the first formal party of Sundance 2008 -- the post-screening bash for In Bruges. Held in the Tent at the Lift on Main Street, it featured everything you might expect from a Sundance party: Booze sponsor you've never heard of? Check! (And thank you, Hypnotiq vodka.) Meat on a stick? Check! A cross-promotional tie-in that makes no sense? Check! (Guitar Hero was scattered throughout the party with playable kiosks. If you can explain to me, in a hundred words or less, what the game has to do with In Bruges in any way, shape or form, then please do so; you'll win a prize.) Celebrity guest with no reason to be there? Check! (And hello, Mary-Kate Olsen!) Farrell and Gleeson were in attendance, but attempts to take photos of the stars within the party were firmly -- and understandably -- being rebuffed. Here's a photo of the crowd, though -- just to remind you that if you're a claustrophobe, Park City's a bad, bad place to be for the next few days.

Ben Kingsley, Mary-Kate Olsen, and Method Man. For years, Hollywood has been trying to get these three in a picture together. It's a perfect fit -- Sir Ben Kingsley is one of the most respected actors in the game, a three-time Academy Award nominee and winner of the 1983 Best Actor Oscar for his legendary performance in Gandhi. Two-time Razzie Award nominee Mary-Kate Olsen lit up television screens with her gritty, uncompromising work in 1999's You're Invited to Mary-Kate and Ashley's Fashion Party. Method Man...smokes a lot of weed. And these three dynamos are joining forces, for what I think it's safe to say will be the one and only time, on a new movie called The Wackness.

So what in God's name is The Wackness? The comedy, currently filming in New York, takes place in 1994 (guess it's a period piece), and according to Variety the film will be about "a troubled teenage drug dealer and a drug-addled psychiatrist." The drug dealer trades marijuana for therapy sessions, falls in love with the psychiatrist's daughter, and you've got yourself a movie! I would imagine Kingsley plays the psychiatrist, but that's just speculation. Rounding out this bizarre cast are Josh Peck (star of Nickelodeon's Drake and Josh, as well as Mean Creek, which I loved), Famke Janssen (probably best known as Jean Grey in the X-Men series), and Olivia Thirlby (of United 93 and NBC's failed drama Kidnapped). The film was written and is being directed by Jonathan Levine, who got a lot of notice with his much-delayed horror flick All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (read James' positive review here). I don't even know what to expect with this cast, but I'm definitely intrigued.

Here's some action, child star news and opera for you:

• Columbia Pictures is looking to get into the bounty hunter action. According to The Hollywood Reporter, they've just grabbed a pitch from screenwriter Sarah Thorp for an action thriller that will be produced by Neal H. Moritz. The premise: a bounty hunter is hired to track and capture his ex-wife. Apparently "Moritz fell for the idea of a troubled relationship at the core of a movie surrounded by humor and action." Thorp is the female pen behind Ashley Judd's Twisted, so what are the chances that Judd will be the ex-wife? She'd definitely fit the part.
• This next bit of news might have you jumping for joy, or sobbing: "Why, lord!? WHY?" Mary-Kate Olsen is leaving movies for the time being and heading back to television. Unfortunately, she's heading to Weeds, one of the more entertaining shows out there. She'll play Silas' latest love interest and appear in almost all of the next season's episodes. According to creator Jenji Kohan: "We're confident Mary-Kate is right for the role. She came in and read with Hunter and was absolutely charming and real and seemed like a great fit. Audiences have seen only one side of Mary-Kate, but here we'll see her in a whole new light." Maybe, maybe not. They haven't disappointed in the past, but I'm not sure that they couldn't be wrong now. Well, at least we won't be New York Minute 2 for the time being!
• Finally, we've got the next movie to be adapted into a musical, theatrical extravaganza: Lars von Trier's 2000 Bjork-starring flick, Dancer in the Dark, is being made into an opera by Denmark's Royal Theater. If anything would be morphed into an opera, I'd say that was a good bet, since the film contains a bunch of musical numbers. Poul Ruders (a Danish composer) is writing the music, and Henrik Engelbrecht (head of dramaturgy at the theater) will write the libretto. Although the opera isn't set to premiere until the 2010-2011 season, Swedish soprano Ylva Kihlberg is already slated to play Selma. Now we've just got to wait 3 years...
  

I don't want to talk about Britney Spears this week. Personally, I've read more than enough news about her, and she barely qualifies as a film-related personality, anyway. I don't want to deal with Anna Nicole Smith either, at least until her daughter's paternity test comes back ... and even then, I'm on overload. And Rosie O'Donnell? I'm trying to ignore that whole thing with Donald Trump, which doesn't even make sense.

Unfortunately, it's a slow gossip week without the above-named celebrities. I realized at some point that if I am reporting items on Mary-Kate Olsen's boots and Charlton Heston's neighbors, it is definitely not a red-letter gossip week. I couldn't even find any George Clooney or Johnny Depp photo opportunities. However, at least I know I'll entertain the Jessica Alba fans with the last news item on the following list.

I'm writing this week's column at the very quiet hour of 5 am. Normally, 5 am is an hour when I am dead to the world, unless my cat decides it's time to play and sinks his claws into my back. However, I have one of those nasty little colds, and can't sleep, and I finally gave up. I discovered that this is a great time to read and write about Hollywood gossip, especially when you're drinking a big cup of cocoa. It doesn't require a huge amount of brainpower, the photos are often cheering and I need not worry that my husband will read over my shoulder and shake his head sadly at the content, like last week. And when I'm done, I can go back to bed, although I hope and pray that the following celebrity news doesn't infiltrate my dreams.

• Oh, Madonna. She's been at the top of the celebrity news heap all week. You try to adopt a poor little underprivileged child, and it's nothing but grief. First the father says he's confused about the adoption, then he supports it outright and wants everyone to leave Madonna alone. I'm not entirely sure why you'd adopt a kid whose father is still living, anyway; that seems like nothing but trouble. Must be an awfully cute little boy.
• I also can't avoid mentioning that Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes have set a wedding date of November 18. The wedding will take place in Italy, Holmes' dress will be designed by Armani, and I'm sure we'll see dozens of photos, no matter how private they try to be.