We’re happy to debut an exclusive TV spot for the drama I Melt With You today. The film tells the story of four lifelong friends (Thomas Jane, Rob Lowe, Jeremy Piven, and Christian McKay) who gather for their annual get-together in Big Sur, only to be confronted by the current state of their lives darkened by a promise from their past. This spot is much more commercial than the incredibly dark trailers and promos we’ve seen before, but I’m still intrigued by the project. The cast is great, and it looks to be a pretty compelling drama.

Hit the jump to watch the TV spot. I Melt With You will be available on Magnolia On-Demand November 4th, followed by its theatrical release on December 9th.

The red band trailer for the drama I Melt With You has gone online. The film centers on four lifelong friends (Thomas Jane, Rob Lowe, Jeremy Piven, and Christian McKay) that gather for their annual get-together in Big Sur, only to be confronted by their own shortcomings in life and a past secret. The trailer is rather strange. It almost seems a bit like St. Elmo’s Fire meets Requiem for a Dream. It features lots of drugs and close-ups and music, then there’s that secret. I don’t know what it is, but for some reason I need to know. The performances look intense, with some non-Ari shouting from Piven, so expect plenty of drama. I’m a bit biased here, given my heterosexual man-crush on Lowe, but it looks like a weird little flick and my interest is piqued.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer. Directed by Mark Pellington, the film will be available on Magnolia On-Demand on November 4th, followed by a theatrical release on December 9th.

After those extremely creepy teasers that were released for Mark Pellington’s (The Mothman Prophecies) polarizingly dark drama I Melt With You, I really wasn’t sure what to expect from the actual film. Well, now the trailer for the flick has been released, and it’s equally creepy. It appears to be a very twisted version of The Big Chill, with Thomas Jane, Rob Lowe and Jeremy Piven starring as three friends who share a vital secret. They go away together and apparently go insane. Magnolia acquired the film at Sundance and is set to release it sometime this year. Hit the jump to check out the trailer for I Melt With You.

I’m a huge fan of Jeremy Piven.  Whether it be his outstanding work on HBO’s Entourage, or his small but memorable roles in films like Smokin’ Aces, The Kingdom, and Cameron Crowe’s Singles, Piven is a tornado of energy that you always remember.  So when I heard that he was going to be at Sundance to promote director Mark Pellington’s I Melt With You (which he stars in along with Thomas Jane, Rob Lowe, Christian McKay and Carla Gugino), I made sure to land an interview.  Thankfully, my request went through and the other day I spent about ten minutes talking with him at the Bing Bar on Main Street.

During the interview we talked about what drew him to the project, who he plays and what the film is about, how he prepares, discusses the independent spirit of Sundance and how Robert Redford is one of his heroes, improv, reminisces about his early work in Cameron Crowe’s Singles and how it connected him to Eddie Vedder, and we ended the interview talked about the last season of Entourage and he says the next (last) season starts to film in April.  Hit the jump to watch:

Quite a few more acquisitions to report from the 2011 Sundance Film Festival today. Two star-studded films found distributors at the festival, with The Weinstein Company picking up worldwide rights to the dark comedy The Details starring Tobey Maguire and Elizabeth Banks, and Magnolia Pictures grabbing the US rights to the polarizingly dark drama I Melt With You starring Rob Lowe, Thomas Jane and Jeremy Piven. IFC Films acquired North American rights to the Ewan McGregor and Eva Green romantic thriller Perfect Sense, Sony Pictures Classics acquired the action comedy The Guard starring Don Cheadle and Brendan Gleeson, and Fox Searchlight snatched up the sci-fi drama Another Earth starring William Mapother and Brit Marling. Magnolia SVP Tom Quinn had this to say about acquiring I Melt With You:

“Mark Pellington has made a maverick, stylish and powerful film that resonates for days after viewing. Thomas Jane, Rob Lowe, Jeremy Piven and Christian McKay give some of the best performances of their entire careers and attention must be paid.”

Hit the jump to read the full press releases of all of the aforementioned films. Be sure to check out all of our Sundance coverage (including interviews, reviews and acquisitions) here.

We sat down with Carla Gugino to talk about her new movie, Every Day, a story about a family’s struggle to survive life’s curve-balls that ultimately bring out the best and worst in us and make us closer.

Ned (Liev Schreiber) is a television writer on a seedy drama whose life is turned upside down when his wife’s (Helen Hunt) estranged father (Brian Dennehy) moves in with their family. Carla plays his sexy, free-spirited co-worker who lives in the moment and doesn’t think too much about the consequences. She’s a playful character who introduces some unexpected excitement into Ned’s life while nearly upending it in the process.

Carla talked to us about what attracted her to the project, what she liked best about her character, and also talked about her upcoming films like Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch, I Melt with You, Mr. Popper’s Penguins.  In addition, she shared her thoughts on next season’s Entourage and the Sundance Film Festival.  Hit the jump for what she had to say.

Continuing our coverage of the films that will be featured at the Sundance Film Festival in January, today we bring you images from two dramatic films that will premiere out-of-competition at the festival: I Melt With You and Perfect Sense. I Melt With You stars Rob Lowe, Thomas Jane, Jeremy Piven, Carla Gugino and Christian McKay. Directed by Mark Pellington (The Mothman Prophecies), the film focuses on four lifelong friends who, during their annual get-together, realize that their lives haven’t exactly turned out the way they expected.

Perfect Sense stars Ewan McGregor, Eva Green, Ewan Bremner, Stephen Dillane, and Connie Nielsen. From director David Mackenzie (Young Adam), the film is described as a “poetic and magnetic love story.” Hit the jump to check out the images, as well as a brief synopsis for both films.  The 2011 Sundance Film Festival runs from January 20 – 30th.

Sundance has announced the premieres playing out-of-competition at this year’s 2011 Sundance Film Festival.  While we knew that Kevin Macdonald’s documentary Life in a Day and Kevin Smith’s Red State had already made the cut, we now have some other exciting films to add to the list.  Among the films in the “Premieres” category, I’m particularly stoked for Cedar Rapids (starring Ed Helms and John C. Reilly), My Idiot Brother (starring Paul Rudd), The Details (starring Tobey Maguire and Elizabeth Banks), Margin Call (starring Kevin Spacey and Paul Bettany), Salvation Boulevard (starring Pierce Brosnan and Jennifer Connelly), and Tom McCarthy’s Win Win (starring Paul Giamatti and Amy Ryan).

But I’m even more jazzed for some of the documentaries.  There’s a Reagan biopic from Eugene Jarecki (Why We Fight), Morgan Spurlock’s The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, and Steve James’ The Interrupters, just to name a few.  Hit the jump for the full line-up.  Click here for a list of the films playing in-competition and click here for a list of the other films playing out-of-competition.  The 2011 Sundance Film Festival runs from January 20th – 30th.

Jeremy Piven and Thomas Jane have signed on to star in the ensemble thriller I Melt With You.  Directed by Mark Pellington (Henry Poole Is Here), Deadline reports that “the thriller follows the interconnecting lives of four men,” but doesn’t reveal anything beyond that.  No word yet if the characters see the difference and come to the conclusion that it’s getting better all the time.  Pellington does say, “This is about four guys and deals with mortality, aging and friendship. It is very dark and very low budget.”

How low is the budget?  Under a million bucks, which is impressive when you’re aiming for an ensemble and have name actors like Piven and Jane on board.  Casting begins now so that Piven and Jane can get back to shooting on Entourage and Hung, respectively.