One of my favorite films at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was writer/director John Krokidas’ Kill Your Darlings.  The film focuses on the origins of the Beat movement and follows the friendships of Allen Ginsberg (Daniel Radcliffe), Jack Kerouac (Jack Huston), and William S. Burroughs (Ben Foster) as they’re tested by the murder of David Kammerer (Michael C. Hall), a man in his thirties who is desperately in love with Ginsberg’s friend Lucien Carr (Dane DeHaan).  For more on the movie, read Matt’s review here.

Near the end of the Festival, I landed an exclusive interview with  Krokidas.  We talked about premiering at Sundance, how tough it was to land financing, the years he spent developing the project, waiting for Daniel Radcliffe, casting the rest of the actors, how much changed during production, deleted scenes, how much did he “Hollywoodize,” future projects, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to either read or listen to our interview.

This year, I was lucky enough to attend the Sundance Film Festival for the very first time.  There are countless fests throughout the year, but Sundance has always been regarded as one of the best since most of the films screen there without any pre-buzz or context whatsoever.  Audiences go in knowing next to nothing about the films they’re getting ready to watch, and 10 days later, buzz has materialized for previously unknown titles that just may become hits like Beasts of the Southern Wild, Little Miss Sunshine, or even Saw.  Sundance has served as the launching pad for a number of filmmakers including Quentin Tarantino, Kevin Smith, David O. Russell, and Steven Soderbergh, and it’s a joy to see what kind of fresh talent is on the horizon.

After a little recuperation from my time in Park City, I’ve written up a few thoughts on my impressions of the festival as a first-timer and my favorite films.  Hit the jump to read on. 

A few more high-profile acquisitions at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival have taken place.

• The Way, Way Back – Fresh off a standing ovation at the film’s premiere, Fox Searchlight has picked up writers/directors Nat Faxon and Jim Rash’s (The Descendants) comedy starring Steve Carell and Sam Rockwell for a summer 2013 release.  Read Matt’s review here.
• Kill Your Darlings – Director John Krokidas’ debut feature about the formative years of the Beat generation is one of my favorites from the festival so far, and Deadline reports that Sony Pictures Classics is closing a deal.  The film features brilliant performances from Daniel Radcliffe and Dane DeHaan.  Read Matt’s review here.
• Toy’s House – CBS Films has acquired domestic rights to this offbeat coming-of-age comedy from director Jordan Vogt-Roberts, starring Nick Robinson, Nick Offerman, Alison Brie, and Megan Mullally.  It’s a decidedly unique film, but definitely worth checking out.
• Concussion – Radius-TWC has acquired domestic rights to this decidedly sexual drama from writer/director Stacie Passon.  The film stars Robin Weigert.

Hit the jump to read the press releases.

If poetry doesn’t broaden our view of our world and force us to push the boundaries of our lives, then it’s pointless.  Poetry cannot always tap into the chaos and beauty of life if it must be constrained by meter, verse, and rules set down centuries ago.  Poetry, when wielded by genius, can seduce, defend, condemn, and most importantly, transform.  Words are powerful enough to change the world, but even in the hands of the most gifted writers, they can be futile against our frailties, insecurities, and desires.  In his magnificent debut feature, director and co-writer John Krokidas has created a moving, exhilarating, and heartbreaking film in Kill Your Darlings.  Led by breathtaking performances by stars Daniel Radcliffe, Dane DeHaan, and Ben Foster, Kill Your Darlings watches the greatest writers of a generation push the boundaries of modern American culture only to find that even the best words, the most well-spoken words, the most honest words, can fail when spoken to a shattered heart.

Two of the many films to premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival were writer/director John Krokidas’ Kill Your Darlings and Jerusha Hess’ Austenland.  Kill Your Darlings focuses on the origins of the Beat movement and follows the friendships of Allen Ginsberg (Daniel Radcliffe), Jack Kerouac (Jack Huston), and William S. Burroughs (Ben Foster) as they’re tested by the murder of David Kammerer (Michael C. Hall), a man in his thirties who is desperately in love with Ginsberg’s friend Lucien Carr (Dane DeHaan).  Meanwhile, Austenland centers on a woman in her 30’s (Keri Russell) who is so obsessed with the Pride and Prejudice character Mr. Darcy that no real-life man can compare, and her love life pays the toll. She decides to spend her life savings on a trip to a Jane Austen-themed resort in England. The supporting cast includes Jennifer Coolidge, Jane Seymour, Rupert Vansittart and James Callis.

Shortly after seeing both films I recorded two video blogs with Peter from /Film.  Hit the jump for our thoughts.

The first official image from writer/director John Krokidas’ upcoming drama Kill Your Darlings has been released online.  The film focuses on the origins of the Beat movement and follows the friendships of Allen Ginsberg (Daniel Radcliffe), Jack Kerouac (Jack Huston), and William S. Burroughs (Ben Foster) as they’re tested by the murder of David Kammerer, a man in his thirties who is desperately in love with Ginsberg’s friend Lucien Carr (Dane DeHaan).  I’m fascinated to see how this story plays out on screen, and I look forward to catching the film when it premieres at the upcoming Sundance Film Festival.

Hit the jump to check out the image and full synopsis.  The film also stars Michael C. Hall and Elizabeth Olsen.  The 2013 Sundance Film Festival runs January 17 – 27.  

The 2013 Sundance Film Festival is a little under two months away, and the first exciting lineups of films have been announced.  Today the lineups for U.S. and World Cinema Dramatic and Documentary Competitions were unveiled, as well as the lineup for the out-of-competitions NEXT section.  A few highlights include the Daniel Radcliffe-fronted Kill Your Darlings, the outlaw pic Ain’t Them Bodies Saints with Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck, the strong ensemble The Spectacular Now, Primer director Shane Carruth’s new film Upstream Color, and many, many more.

Hit the jump to check out the full lineups, and be sure to check back here on Collider in January for our in-depth coverage from the festival including reviews and interviews.  The 2013 Sundance Film Festival runs January 17 – 27.

Dane DeHaan is having a great year.  After appearing on TV series like In Treatment and True Blood, DeHaan starred this year in Josh Trank‘s Chronicle, then acted alongside Shia LaBeouf and Tom Hardy in Lawless, and now he’s one of the leads in director Derek Cianfrance‘s much buzzed about new film, The Place Beyond the Pines, which premiered to glowing reviews at this week’s Toronto International Film Festival (watch two clips here).  In addition, he recently wrapped on director John Krokidas‘ Kill Your Darlings, where he starred alongside Daniel Radcliffe and Elizabeth Olsen.

Shortly before the premiere of the film at TIFF, I sat down with DeHaan for an extended interview.  We talked about the past year, how he prepares for his roles, what it was like to work for Cianfrance and make The Place Beyond the Pines, who he plays in Kill Your Darlings and what its about, and what he might have coming up.  Hit the jump to watch.

Kyra Sedgwick has arguably the most difficult role in this weekend’s very good exorcism/family melodrama The Possession.  As Stephanie, the caring mother of two, dealing with a divorce from her estranged husband (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), she has the unenviable task of playing the film’s ‘straight’ woman.  While everyone (including most importantly the audience) knows her youngest daughter has been possessed by an evil-demon-in-a-box, she remains completely ignorant – falsely believing little Em is just acting out or that, well, it’s her no-good father’s fault.  One can’t help but sigh in impatience.  When is this woman going to see that the only logical conclusion is her daughter’s been taken over by an ancient Jewish demon?  I mean – really?  But Sedgwick is such a talented actress that you can almost, almost forgive her silly rationality.

In the following interview with Kyra Sedgwick, she talks about her own ‘true’ horror story (a haunted house she and husband Kevin Bacon purchased), whether she will ever return to television and the upcoming Daniel Radcliffe starring Kill Your Darlings.  For the full interview, hit the jump.

You’re driving down the street, and it’s suddenly blocked off.  You notice these weird yellow signs with nonsensical letters or numbers.  There’s unusual glow lighting up a neighborhood you can’t usually see from your house.  What you might have here is a film company shooting in your town.  It happens a lot, and you never know where they might pop up…until now.

The following is a semi-comprehensive list of films currently shooting, what they’re shooting, and where they’re shooting.  We’ll be telling you where you might get to see the very famous, the kinda famous and (if all goes well) the soon-to-be famous. While we can’t list every single movie, television show, or student film in production, you’ll get a pretty good idea of what the heck is going on where all those people are buzzing about.  Want to know where in the world are Matt Damon, Harrison Ford, Sylvester Stallone, Woody Harrelson, and Leonardo DiCaprio? Hit the jump for more.

One of this year’s box office surprises was the thriller The Woman in Black.  Starring Daniel Radcliffe in his first major role following Harry Potter, the Gothic horror tale was based off of a 1983 novel by Susan Hill and made over $125 million at the worldwide box office.  In fact, the film was such a success that Hammer, Alliance Films, Cross Creek Pictures and author Hill are teaming up for a follow-up entitled The Woman in Black: Angels of Death. The film will be set 40 years after the events of the first film, and will follow a new couple’s experience in the same eerie house.  For more on The Woman in Black, here’s all our previous coverage which includes trailers, images, featurettes and clips.

With the film hitting Blu-ray and DVD this week, I recently did an exclusive phone interview with Radcliffe.  We talked about the success of the film and if he was relieved that he could open a film that didn’t have the words “Harry Potter” in the title, what he thought worked really well in the film and if there was something he wished he could redo, how many takes he likes to do, and more.  In addition, we talked about his thoughts on Warner Bros. eventually re-releasing the entire Harry Potter series in 3D, the drama Kill Your Darlings (in which he plays poet Allen Ginsberg), his criteria for picking future roles, and whether there’s a comic book role he’d like to play (The Flash).  Hit the jump to either read or listen to the interview.

We’ve got a batch of set photos to share with you this morning. Briefly:

• Daniel Radcliffe, Elizabeth Olsen and Jack Huston were spotted on the set of Kill Your Darlings. The trio star as Allen Ginsberg, Edie Parker and Jack Kerouac, respectively, in this period drama.
• Set Photos from Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring highlight star Emma Watson and surprise guests Kirsten Dunst and Gavin Rossdale (frontman for Bush). The real-life story centers on a group of teenagers who robbed the homes of the rich and famous in the late 2000’s.
• A roundup of images from director Ron Howard’s 1970s Formula 1 racing drama Rush. The film centers on the rivalry between James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) and Niki Lauda (Daniel Bruhl).

Hit the jump to check out the images.

Harry Potter’s a Beatnik. Daniel Radcliffe is currently shooting the thriller Kill Your Darlings in which he plays poet Allen Ginsberg, and the first set photos have surfaced online giving us a look at Radcliffe in his Ginsberg garb. The project sounds pretty interesting, as it follows the friendships of Allen Ginsberg (Radcliffe), Jack Kerouac (Jack Huston) and William S. Burroughs (Ben Foster) and how their relationships are tested by the murder of Burroughs’ friend, David Kammerer. I think Radcliffe looks pretty spiffy here, and we also get a look at Chronicle star Dane DeHaan getting in some quality street cuddle time with Radcliffe.

Hit the jump to check out the images. The film also stars Elizabeth Olsen, Michael C. Hall, and Kyra Sedgwick. Kill Your Darlings is slated for release sometime in 2013.

Opening this weekend is Chris Kentis and Laura Lau‘s horror thriller Silent House.  Based on the Uruguayan pic La Casa Muda, Silent House centers on a young woman (Elizabeth Olsen) trapped in her family’s crumbling, secluded lakeside house.  The twist that makes Silent House stand out from your standard horror fare is that the movie was designed to make it look like it was shot in a single take. The story plays out in real time over 88 minutes as we follow Olsen’s character through the house.  Adam Trese, Eric Sheffer Stevens, Julia Taylor Ross, Haley Murphy, and Adam Barnett also star.  For more on the film, here’s the trailer, motion poster and a TV spot.

The other day I got to sit down with Elizabeth Olsen for an exclusive interview.  We talked about how she prepared for the role, the challenges of being in every frame, what was it like to do reshoots after premiering at Sundance, karaoke, and her favorite movie, director and actor.  In addition, we talked about two of her upcoming projects: Josh Radnor‘s Liberal Arts and John Krokidas‘ Kill Your Darlings (she plays Jack Kerouac‘s first love Edie Parker).  Hit the jump to watch.

The John Krokidas project Kill Your Darlings continues to add quality cast members. The thriller, based on the lives of writers who sparked the Beat Revolution, already stars Daniel Radcliffe, Ben Foster, Elizabeth Olsen, Dane DeHaan and Jack Huston. Now, Kill Your Darlings has added Michael C. Hall, Kyra Sedgwick and Jennifer Jason Leigh. The film follows the friendships of Allen Ginsberg (Radcliffe), Jack Kerouac (Huston) and William S. Burroughs (Foster) and how their relationships are tested by the murder of Burroughs’ friend, David Kammerer. Hall is reportedly playing Kammerer. Production is scheduled to start March 19^th at Columbia University in New York. Hit the jump for more.