In the company of Neil LaBute for a live chat

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Audience members paying close attention to the credits of “I Melt With You,” the Rob Lowe-Jeremy Piven guy-bonding shocker that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival last week, may have noticed a familiar name on the screen: Neil LaBute.

One of the executive producers of “I Melt With You,” LaBute first hit the Utah festival in 1997 with his ultimate revenge film “In the Company of Men.” That movie, which opened with Aaron Eckhart’s villainous Chad uttering the line “Let’s hurt somebody,” took the Filmmaker’s Trophy at Sundance and went on to collect numerous other honors, including Independent Spirit and New York Film Critics Circle awards.

Since then, the provocative writer-director has had ups and downs in the film world. He earned a Palme d’Or nomination at Cannes Film Festival for “Nurse Betty,” the 2000 film starring Renee Zellweger. But his 2006 remake of the 1973 cult classic “The Wicker Man” regularly finds a spot on lists of most-reviled films. His other film credits include “The Shape of Things” (based on his play of the same name), ‘Possession,’ “Lakeview Terrace” and last year’s “Death at a Funeral.” And in addition to ‘I Melt With You,’ LaBute was back at Sundance this year as a writer-director with his short film “sexting,” starring Julia Stiles and Marin Ireland. Word is that his next project will feature Colin Firth, Brendan Fraser, Ed Harris and Kristin Scott Thomas in “Seconds of Pleasure,” based on his 2004 book of short stories.

LaBute will be participating in a live chat on our sister blog, Culture Monster, to talk about his new play “Break of Noon,” which opens tonight at the Geffen Playhouse, and any other topics that come up. Do you have questions for the filmmaker-playwright? Click here to join in the conversation at 1 p.m. today.

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--Lisa Fung