One of the many films to premiere at Sundance this year was director Jordan Vogt-Roberts offbeat coming-of-age comedy Toy’s House.  Written by Chris Galletta, the film is about three unhappy teens (Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso, Moises Arias) “who flee to the wilderness where they build a makeshift house and live off the land as masters of their own destiny.”  Toy’s House also stars Nick Offerman, Alison Brie, Megan Mullally, and Mary Lynn Rajskub.

Shortly after the premiere I sat down with Megan Mullally.  We talked about how she got involved with Toy’s House, her reaction to seeing the movie for the first time, making movies with her husband Nick Offerman, improv, and more.  In addition, we talked about the Party Down movie, her upcoming film G.B.F. (Gay Best Friend), the comedy pilot she’s writing for IFC, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to watch.

One of the many films to premiere at Sundance this year was director Jordan Vogt-Roberts offbeat coming-of-age comedy Toy’s House.  Written by Chris Galletta, the film is about three unhappy teens (Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso, Moises Arias) “who flee to the wilderness where they build a makeshift house and live off the land as masters of their own destiny.”  Toy’s House also stars Nick Offerman, Alison Brie, Megan Mullally, and Mary Lynn Rajskub.

Shortly after the premiere I sat down with Alison Brie for an extended interview.  We talked about her reaction to the photoshopped picture of her as Captain America, the Sundance experience, how she got involved with Toy’s House, what it’s like to play “Ron Swanson’s Daughter,” the new season of Community and how it feels without Dan Harmon, and more.  In addition, we talked about her role in the upcoming comedy Get a Job, pilot season, if she would consider doing another TV series once Community ends, the process of performing voice work on the upcoming animated film The Lego Movie, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to watch.

One of the many films to premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was writer-director Jill Soloway’s Afternoon Delight.  Starring Kathryn Hahn, Juno Temple, Josh Radnor and Jane Lynch, the film’s about a L.A. housewife that “puts her idyllic hipster life in jeopardy when she tries to rescue a stripper by taking her in as a live-in nanny.”  Featuring great performances from the entire cast, the film was well received by audiences and critics and Soloway won the U.S. Dramatic Directing Award during the closing night festivities.

The day after the premiere, I landed an extended interview with Juno Temple.  We talked about how she got involved in Afternoon Delight, how much changed during production, how 2012 was an extraordinary year as she played a normal girl from the 70s, a schizophrenic, a stripper/prostitute, and a fairy, and more.  In addition, we also talked about making Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises, Alexandre Aja’s Horns (which stars Daniel Radcliffe), and Robert Rodriguez’ Sin City: A Dame to Kill For.  Hit the jump to watch.

One of the many films to premiere at Sundance this year was director Jordan Vogt-Roberts offbeat coming-of-age comedy Toy’s House.  Written by Chris Galletta, the film is about three unhappy teens (Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso, Moises Arias) “who flee to the wilderness where they build a makeshift house and live off the land as masters of their own destiny.”  Toy’s House also stars Nick Offerman, Alison Brie, Megan Mullally, and Mary Lynn Rajskub.

Shortly after the premiere I sat down with Nick Offerman.  We talked about being back at Sundance (he was there last year with Smashed), how he got involved with Toy’s House, making movies with his wife Megan Mullally, how does he pick projects, and more.  In addition, we talked about The Lego Movie (he voicing the pirate Metalbeard), Parks and Recreation, and more.  Hit the jump to watch.

One of the many films to premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman’s Linda Lovelace biopic Lovelace.  The film stars Amanda Seyfried as the titular porn star who rose to prominence following 1972’s Deep Throat (the first pornographic feature film to be a mainstream success).  Lovelace would eventually go on to claim that her husband Chuck Traynor (played by Peter Sarsgaard) physically and verbally abused her, and coerced her into the pornography business.   The film also stars Juno Temple, Wes Bently, Sharon Stone, Hank Azaria, Adam Brody, and James Franco as Hugh Hefner.

The day after the premiere, I sat down with Sarsgaard for an exclusive interview.  We talked about how he got cast in Lovelace, his initial hesitation to play Chuck Traynor, Sundance, how he prepares for a role, working with Woody Allen on Blue Jasmine, director Kelly Reichardt’s Night Moves, director S. Craig Zoller’s western Bone Tomahawk, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to watch.

One of the many films to premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman’s Linda Lovelace biopic Lovelace.  The film stars Amanda Seyfried as the titular porn star who rose to prominence following 1972’s Deep Throat (the first pornographic feature film to be a mainstream success).  Lovelace would eventually go on to claim that her husband Chuck Traynor (played by Peter Sarsgaard) physically and verbally abused her, and coerced her into the pornography business.   The film also stars Juno Temple, Wes Bently, Sharon Stone, Hank Azaria, Adam Brody, and James Franco as Hugh Hefner.

The day after the premiere, I sat down with Epstein and Friedman for an exclusive interview.  We talked about how Lovelace came together, changes during production, the music, deleted scenes,  how much of the film was “Hollywoodized,” and more.  In addition, they talked about some of the other projects they’re working on including a documentary about the history of the Oscars, a script about Anita Bryant, and an adaptation of We Deserve Nothing.  Hit the jump what they had to say.

Prior to last Sunday, Zero Dark Thirty was my favorite pic of 2012 by a considerable margin. However, after my matinee viewing of Silver Linings Playbook, that margin has been replaced with a draw. Whereas Zero provided me with a tension that left me on the verge of breathless at moments, Playbook‘s spectacular performances and head-on portrayal of mental illness and our ability to help each other cope/prevail proved not only hugely entertaining but also quite cathartic.

My 2012 movie scorecard aside, this week’s Top 5 includes our set visit coverage of Oz the Great and Powerful, Duncan Jones being tapped to helm the World of Warcraft movie, more visit coverage from the set of Jack the Giant Slayer, a slew of news from X-Men: Days of Future Past, and a Sundance 2013 wrap-up. A brief recap and link to each of the above is promised after the jump.

One of the many films to premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman’s Linda Lovelace pic Lovelace.  The film stars Amanda Seyfried as the titular porn star who rose to prominence following 1972’s Deep Throat (the first pornographic feature film to be a mainstream success).  Lovelace would eventually go on to claim that her husband (played by Peter Sarsgaard) physically and verbally abused her and coerced her into the pornography business.   The film also stars Juno Temple, Wes Bently, Sharon Stone, Hank Azaria, Adam Brody, and James Franco as Hugh Hefner.

The day after the premiere, I sat down with Amanda Seyfried for an exclusive interview.  We talked about how she got involved in the project, how the film shows both sides of the story, whether or not she was nervous to play Lovelace, her Sundance experience, the incredible supporting cast, the success of Les Miserables, future projects, and a lot more.  Hit the jump what she had to say.

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. 

The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman is director Fredrik Bond’s first feature film.  Premiering at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, it stars Shia LaBeouf and Evan Rachel Wood as a couple who meet under strange circumstances and have an impossibly strong mutual attraction.  As LaBeouf’s character Charlie falls for the beautiful and grieving Gabi, he gets caught in the sights of her dangerous husband (Mads Mikkelsen) and his life comes into immediate and grave danger.  The film feels like a modern fairy tale story of love and pain colliding set in the gritty world of Bucharest, Romania. It also stars Til Schweiger, Rupert Grint, James Buckley, Vincent D’Onofrio and Melissa Leo.

Shortly after the premiere of the film, I was able to sit down with director Fredrik Bond to discuss the film.  We were then pleasantly surprised to be joined by star James Buckley (The Inbetweeners) for the remainder of our 30 minute interview.  They discussed filming in Budapest, the unique look of the film, the closeness of the cast and gave me hints at what’s coming up next.  Click after the jump to read the whole interview.

One of my favorite movies at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was director James Ponsoldt (Smashed) and writers Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber’s (500 Days of Summer) coming of age drama The Spectacular Now.   Led by fantastic lead performances from Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley, the film is about two High School seniors that are going in opposite directions.  Sutter Keely (Teller) is the life of the party and loves to drink, while Aimee Finicky (Woodley) is pretty, but shy and removed from the popular crowd.  When Sutter wakes up on Aimee’s lawn after being dumped by his girlfriend, what starts off as a rebound quickly turn into something more.  The film also stars Brie Larson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Kyle Chandler.  For more on the film, here is Matt’s review.

The day after the world premiere I sat down with Teller and Woodley for an exclusive video interview.  We talked about being at Sundance, how they got cast, the fact that the characters in the film are real and relatable, and more.  In addition, each of them talks about their upcoming projects including The Amazing Spider-Man 2.  Hit the jump to watch.

One of the many films that premiered in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival was director Lynn Shelton’s Touchy Feely.  The film centers on a massage therapist played by Rosemarie Dewitt who suddenly develops an aversion to touching skin, and her dentist brother (Josh Pais) who begins to get a reputation as a healer and is unprepared for his immediate success.  As the family members (including Ellen Page as Pais’ daughter) deal with their newfound afflictions and admirations, they also discover themselves.  The film also stars Scoot McNairy, Allison Janney and Ron Livingston.

Shortly after the film’s premiere at Sundance, I was able to get an exclusive phone interview with writer/director Lynn Shelton.  During the conversation, she told me all about her process of crafting the characters and the script, how Allison Janney’s role was almost played by Catherine Keener, why she felt compelled to edit the film herself and about her next project, Laggies which will star Rebecca Hall.  Click after the jump to read the whole interview.

One of the many films to premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was writer-director Jill Soloway’s Afternoon Delight.  Starring Kathryn Hahn, Juno Temple, Josh Radnor and Jane Lynch, the film’s about a L.A. housewife that “puts her idyllic hipster life in jeopardy when she tries to rescue a stripper by taking her in as a live-in nanny.”  Featuring great performances from the entire cast, the film was well received by audiences and critics and Soloway won the U.S. Dramatic Directing Award during the closing night festivities.

The day after the premiere, I landed an extended interview with Josh Radnor.  We talked about how he got involved with Afternoon Delight, trying to make the movie while also filming How I Met Your Mother, how things changed on set, and more.  In addition, he talked about if he knows who is the mother on HIMYM, getting financing for future movies after the success of Happythankyoumoreplease and Liberal Arts, deleted scenes, future projects (says he’s writing two films right now.  One is a bigger movie that he put aside because he couldn’t get it ready by this summer.  One is a lean picture where the goal is to pare things down), and a lot more.   Hit the jump to watch. 

In addition to the various small-scale dramas, comedies, and dramedies at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, directors Logan and Noah Miller unveiled their period western thriller Sweetwater for the audiences in Park City.  The film stars January Jones as a woman in the 19th century west who runs up against a flamboyant and dangerous preacher (Jason Isaacs) and a rambunctious sheriff (Ed Harris) when her world is thrown into chaos.

While in Park City for Sundance, I had the chance to sit down with Logan and Noah Miller and Isaacs to discuss the film.  They talked about how they became involved with the project, the massive amount of input Isaacs had into crafting his character, what kind of material influenced Isaacs’ work, his chemistry with Ed Harris onscreen, how the script developed throughout production, and more.  Hit the jump to read the full interview, and click here to read my interview with Jones regarding the film and her work on X-Men and Mad Men.

One of the many films to premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was writer-director Jill Soloway’s Afternoon Delight.  Starring Kathryn Hahn, Juno Temple, Josh Radnor and Jane Lynch, the film’s about a L.A. housewife that “puts her idyllic hipster life in jeopardy when she tries to rescue a stripper by taking her in as a live-in nanny.”  Featuring great performances from the entire cast, the film was well received by audiences and critics and Soloway won the U.S. Dramatic Directing Award during the closing night festivities.

The day after the premiere, I landed an extended interview with Juno Temple.  While I’ll be posting the full conversation soon, today I’m posting what she had to say about making Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises, Alexandre Aja’s Horns (which stars Daniel Radcliffe), and Robert Rodriguez’ Sin City: A Dame to Kill For.  Hit the jump for more.