Bought & Sold: 'Ballast' gains Celluloid Dreams

A film set in the rural south -- Mississippi, in fact -- has attracted the attention of overseas distributor Celluloid Dreams, according to Variety.

"Ballast" revolves around a man's suicide and how it affects the lives of three people around him.  It's the first film for writer-director Lance Hammer and stars Micheal J. Smith Sr., JimMyron Ross, Tarra Riggs, and Johnny McPhall.  (First showing is at 11:30 tomorrow)

--  Jevon Phillips

Trailer: 'The Year of Getting to Know Us'

Besides getting married recently, former "Saturday Night Live"-er Jimmy Fallon hasn't been doing much of note lately. And that's kind of a head-scratcher, considering that during his time on NBC, everyone felt sure he would become the next Will Ferrell.

But it looks like his career is going the way of Joe Piscopo's. He had a modest hit with "Fever Pitch" in 2005, then barely anything.

Here's hoping that his latest flick, "The Year of Getting to Know Us," is some kind of Sundance sensation. You can check out the trailer here.

It certainly looks like it has potential, but its premiere date is a big red flag. You won't be able to see it until next Thursday, when most people have already left Park City. Not a good sign.

-- Patrick Day

Trailer: 'Daily Show' of the dead?

Fangoria magazine, that indispensable bible of the horror film industry, is attempting to enter into the digital media age with a series of "Fangoria TV" video reports, including this one on George Romero's latest zombie epic, "Diary of the Dead," which screens at Sundance on Friday night.

What's most frightening about this video segment isn't the subject matter Romero is talking about, but how similar the whole thing is to one of "The Daily Show's" comedy bits. Journalist Chris Alexander's delivery is uncannily like that of "Daily Show" correspondent Aasif Maandvi, and what's up with the music?

You can check out the trailer here. And no, you don't have deja vu -- Romero's film uses the exact same techniques as J.J. Abrams' giant monster movie, "Cloverfield," which opens nationally on the same day.

-- Patrick Day

(Photo courtesy The Weinstein Co.)

Did Morgan Spurlock really find Osama?

Morgan Spurlock's follow-up to his previous Sundance entry (and subsequent box-office hit), "Super Size Me," looks to take on an organization nearly as frightening as the fast food industry -- Al Qaeda. "Where in the World Is Osama bin Laden" finds the 37-year-old filmmaker traveling to the Middle East in an attempt to track down America's current favorite boogeyman.

Did he succeed?

Hot Link: Handy $$ chart or Sundance '07 cash flow

Take this recommended read from the stable minds at Screen Daily and love it.

The U.K.-based film trade offers a Sundance preview not unlike others before it but this one's got a shiny toy inside (if film festival acquisition charts are your thing).

The story carries a recurring Sundance curtain-raiser theme this year: lightness of tone. The 121 feature-length films are still sight unseen -- to an 450,000 estimated en route to Utah -- so you can bet that sunshine-y early messaging is coming hard and heavy from festival programmers' mouths.

But push on through to Screen Daily's peerless acquisition chart (also posted below). Shop and compare. Tell us which '08 film will be the first to go for 10M+ this weekend in the comments section.

-- Sheigh Crabtree

Sundance 2008 Premieres: Fest flaunts stars

Mischa Barton stars with Reece Thompson, Bruce Willis, Michael Rapaport, Kathryn Morris, and Josh Pais. Director Brett Simon's film follows a rookie journalist for the school paper who unravels a mysterious plot involving the class president, drugs, and a ring of stolen test scores in this noir caper set at a quirky Catholic High School.