Peace Out, Park City: Olivia Wilde, Jenna Ortega and Dave Franco Bring Buzz to Final Utah Fest

The time has come to bid goodbye to Park City — but not before one final festival packed with buzzy indies. This year’s lineup is emblematic of the kinds of films Sundance has long springboarded to box office success and awards recognition. There are feel-good dramedies that light up the Eccles, standout nonfiction offerings that become must-sees and out-of-left-field Midnight titles that catch audiences by surprise.

Here are the films already sparking interest as the festival prepares to close out its time on the mountain.

Buddy

DIRECTOR Casper Kelly

STARS Cristin Milioti, Delaney Quinn, Topher Grace

BUZZ The buzziest Sundance sales of the past couple of years (Together, It’s What’s Inside) have been in the horror-thriller genres, and this movie, from the director behind viral 2010s short Too Many Cooks and BoulderLight producers Raphael Margules and J.D. Lifshitz (Barbarian, Companion), can certainly be an entry on that list. Keegan-Michael Key, Michael Shannon, and Patton Oswalt also star in the movie about a girl trying to escape a children’s TV show.

SALES UTA, Range

Carousel 

DIRECTOR Rachel Lambert

STARS Chris Pine, Jenny Slate

BUZZ Feel-good dramedies have long used the fest as a successful springboard and Carousel can certainly continue that tradition. Pine stars as a divorced father who is juggling his medical practice and raising his anxious daughter when an old high school girlfriend reenters the picture.

SALES WME, CAA

Gail Daughrty and the Celebrity Sex Pass

DIRECTOR David Wain

STARS Jon Hamm, Zoey Deutch, John Slattery

BUZZ Straight comedies are rare at Sundance. Rarer still are those with marquee stars like Hamm, Deutch and Slattery. The film follows a Midwestern bride-to-be (Deutch) on a quest to track down her celebrity “hall pass” after her fiancé successfully sleeps with his own before their wedding. Ken Marino pulls double duty as the co-writer and star among a stacked ensemble.

SALES WME

The Gallerist

DIRECTOR Cathy Yan

STARS Jenna Ortega, Natalie Portman

BUZZ Sendups of moneyed worlds, from The Menu to The White Lotus, are still earning interest for audiences, and this entry pairs Gen Z favorite Jenna Ortega with perennial movie star Portman in an art-world satire in which a gallerist attempts to sell a dead body at Art Basel. Zach Galifianakis, Charli XCX and Da’Vine Joy Randolph are among the supporting cast.

SALES MRC

The Invite

DIRECTOR Olivia Wilde

STARS Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz, Edward Norton

BUZZ Wilde’s first feature since Don’t Worry Darling centers on a couple (Wilde and Rogen) on the brink of breaking up who host an ill-timed dinner party alongside the couple upstairs (Cruz and Norton). The behind-the-camera talent includes writers Rashida Jones and Will McCormack, with the backing of producer Megan Ellison, who was behind Wilde’s directorial breakout, Booksmart.

SALES UTA

I Want Your Sex

DIRECTOR Gregg Araki

STARS Wilde, Cooper Hoffman, Charli XCX

BUZZ A beloved independent filmmaker paired with a cast of young talent (Hoffman, Charli XCX, Chase Sui Wonders), all led by a splashy actor-filmmaker, is certainly a potent combination for Sundance’s final bow in Park City. Wilde stars as an artist who hires an assistant/ sexual muse in Hoffman.

SALES CAA

Josephine

DIRECTOR Beth de Araújo

STARS Mason Reeves, Channing Tatum, Gemma Chan

BUZZ This drama tackles a difficult story about a young girl struggling in the aftermath of witnessing an assault in Golden Gate Park. The film reportedly features strong performances from newcomer Mason Reeves alongside Tatum, and could carry awards potential with the right distributor.

SALES CAA, WME

Leviticus

DIRECTOR Adrian Chiarella

STARS Joe Bird, Stacy Clausen

BUZZ Australian supernatural horror movies have a good track record in the fest’s Midnight section (see: Talk to Me). This one follows two teenage boys coming to understand their sexuality as a paranormal force starts to stalk them, taking the form of each other.

SALES WME

The Shitheads

DIRECTOR Macon Blair

STARS Dave Franco, O’Shea Jackson Jr.

BUZZ An action comedy by way of Sundance, with actor-helmer Blair (who took home the U.S. Competition Grand Jury prize in 2017 with I Don’t Feel at Home in this World Anymore) directing Franco and Jackson as “bozos” tasked with delivering a wealthy teen to rehab. The supporting cast includes scene-stealers like Nicholas Braun, Elizabeth Debicki and Peter Dinklage.

SALES CAA, WME

See You When I See You

DIRECTOR Jay Duplass

STARS Cooper Raiff, Kaitlyn Dever

BUZZ Different eras of Sundance dramedy directors collide on this feature that sees Duplass directing actor-filmmaker Raiff (Cha Cha Real Smooth). Raiff plays a comedy writer struggling with the loss of his sister, while David Duchovny, Hope Davis and Lucy Boynton round out the ensemble.

SALES CAA

Soul Patrol

DIRECTOR J.M. Harper

BUZZ As interest in biographical documentaries starts to wane (though the festival lineup includes titles centering on Courtney Love and Salman Rushdie), Sundance offers a variety compelling nonfiction like this Nas-produced doc about the Vietnam War’s first Black special operations team, who reunite to tell their story in their own voices.

SALES CAA, Submarine

Wicker

DIRECTORS Eleanor Wilson, Alex Huston Fischer

STARS Olivia Colman, Alexander Skarsgard

BUZZ Two mainstays of off-kitler awards contenders — Colman and Skarsgård — come together for this fantastical comedy. Colman plays as a fisherwoman, her village’s outcast, who asks a basketmaker to weave her a husband (Skarsgård).

SALES UTA, CAA, Black Bear (international)

This story appeared in the Jan. 15 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.