The WInning Season Tagged Articles at Cinematical

The dam finally burst and a flood of deals were unleashed today in Park City, Utah. (Please note: for the purposes of this article, we define "a flood of deals" as three (3)). But don't worry, America: Sundancers stopped to watch the inauguration live on TV.

Deals. (1) Fox Searchlight got things rolling with a worldwide deal for Max Meyer's romantic comedy Adam, starring Hugh Dancy, Rose Byrne, Peter Gallagher and Amy Irving; a 2009 release is planned. indieWIRE has the details. (2) Sony Pictures Classics picked up big buzz title An Education, Lone Scherfig's coming of age romantic tale, "after a heated bidding war," says Anne Thompson of Variety. Sony Classics reportedly paid $3 million for North American and Latin American rights and is eyeing an awards campaign launch in the fall. Thompson describes the film's star Carey Mulligan as a (the?) "Sundance 'It Girl.'" (3) Lionsgate acquired James Strouse's comedy/drama The Winning Season, starring Sam Rockwell as a high school girls basketball coach, for North America and the UK, per Gregg Goldstein at Movie City News.

Reviews/Interview. James Rocchi caught the "surprise," work-in-progress screening of Steven Soderbergh's The Girlfriend Experience and interviewed Paul Giamatti about Cold Souls. Meanwhile, Erik Davis saw Michael Cera * Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart in Adventureland, "a sometimes subtle dramedy that's more touchy-feely than it is funny." Scott Weinberg slammed the Brett Easton Ellis adaptation The Informers as "nearly unwatchable" but thought the doc Good Hair was "well-crafted and consistently entertaining" and says the drama Five Minutes of Heaven proved to be "refreshingly humane and hopeful." (All of our Sundance coverage can be found at our Sundance hub at Moviefone.)

Blog Talk (after the jump). Why tonight's unexpected screening of The Girlfriend Experience frustrated one veteran journalist.

Cinematical has received this exclusive image from the film The Winning Season, which will have its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on Monday, January 19th. Directed by Jim Strouse (Lonesome Jim, Grace is Gone), The Winning Season stars Sam Rockwell as an adult misfit who's brought on to coach the local girl's high school basketball team. Also appearing in the flick, which I've heard is like Bad Santa meets The Bad News Bears, is Emma Roberts, Rob Corddry, Shareeka Epps and Emily Rios. The Winning Season was a late addition to the Sundance slate, and my friend's who've seen it vouch that it's, well, a winner. Both Strouse and Rockwell (who also stars in another Sundance film called Moon) are veterans of the fest and have had good luck in the past. I see no reason why this one won't immediately sell and hit theaters at some point next year.

Of course, your friends from Cinematical will bring back the scoop early and tell you all about The Winning Season when we see it in Park City next month. Check out a larger version of the image above, and for more information on the film and the festival, check out the official Sundance film guide.

It looks like once Ben Affleck cleans up the not-so-sexy straggly, shaggy-man look for Extract, he's going to town. The Hollywood Reporter posts that he's in negotiations to write, direct, and star in The Town -- a romance/heist flick. It's about a gal bank manager who has her heart broken by a thief "who stole more than her heart" and an FBI agent trying to bust him. Yes, more bad guy allure versus good guy aggravation, I'm sure. Ben has already got all sorts of Best Feature and Most Promising Director accolades, so do you think he's got another gem in him, or will he hit the sophomore slump?

Universal Studios Hollywood will offer an extended first look at The Wolfman on its "Terror Tram" as part of the park's Halloween Horror Nights, beginning October 3rd. (Footage to arrive online -- what -- October 4th, ya think?) Said tram takes you to places like the Bates Motel, Psycho House and the "tortured landscape" of War of the Worlds. (Trip to the set of Ace Ventura Jr. not included on Terror Tram for some odd reason.)

Amazon.com has just announced that its subsidiary, IMDB (aka Internet Movie Database), has begun showcasing both feature films and TV shows on its website for users to watch for free. While at first it looks to be more suitable for the casual TV viewer who wants to watch an episode of 30 Rock before its first air date (one pretty cool feature), the announcement indicates that "over 6,000 titles will be available." Films available now include Some Like It Hot, Liar, Liar, Bring It On, Fiddler on the Roof and more (in addition to a whole bunch of shorts). Anyone else losing track of all the different places online where one can download a film or TV program and watch for free? [The Hollywood Reporter]