Well, we were expecting the first wave of announced films for the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, but we were basically given the whole damn list. And boy, there are some seriously interesting films making their debuts at next year’s event.
Some of the bigger films to be featured in the announcement today feature some serious A-list talent in truly interesting projects. While we’ve known for quite a while that Zac Efron would be ditching gratuitous ab reveals in the upcoming Ted Bundy biopic, “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile,” we didn’t realize how much the actor would truly embody the infamous serial killer.
In the new picture from the film, we see Efron’s Bundy with a knife in hand as he celebrates the second birthday of a little girl. It’s a cute picture, except for the fact that you know Bundy’s true story. And judging by the synopsis, the film isn’t going to be your typical serial killer story: “A chronicle of the crimes of Ted Bundy from the perspective of Liz, his longtime girlfriend, who refused to believe the truth about him for years.” Liz will be portrayed by Lily Collins in the film.
Another standout film showing at the 2019 festival is “Honey Boy.” The film, which is playing as part of the dramatic competition, is the biopic of Shia LaBeouf that was written by the star, and features LaBeouf playing his own father. To make matters even more confusing, Academy Award-nominated actor Lucas Hedges (who has had one hell of a 2018) stars opposite LaBeouf, playing the actor. The synopsis alone is enough to draw interest: “A child TV star and his ex-rodeo clown father face their stormy past through time and cinema.” Needless to say, the film has many different layers and is definitely one to watch out for.
And rounding out the list of films that immediately caught our eye is “After the Wedding.” Starring Julianne Moore, Michelle Williams, Billy Crudup, Abby Quinn, and Will Chase, ‘Wedding’ is the English-language remake of the 2007 Academy Award-nominated film of the same name from filmmaker Susanne Bier. However, Bier isn’t around for this remake. Replacing her in the director’s chair is Bart Freundlich, who also penned the script. With acting talents such as Moore and Williams, and an Oscar-nominated blueprint, we’re hoping “After the Wedding” can live up to the expectations.
Of course, there are many, many more films that caught our eye. We already mentioned “Velvet Buzzsaw” and “Native Son” in our initial report, but there’s “The Lodge” (from the “Goodnight, Mommy” filmmakers), as well as “Luce,” which features Naomi Watts and Octavia Spencer.
The 2019 Sundance Film Festival begins January 24, 2019.
