With Sundance having announced their 2011 feature film line up, images for the selected films have begun to be released – case in point new stills from Terri and The Convincer (previously covered here). Terri, starring newcomer Jacob Wysocki and John C. Reilly (Cyrus), focuses on a lonely high school outcast (Wysocki) who slowly comes into his own. Stills from the film include director Azazel Jacobs talking with one of his young actors behind the scenes and an image of Reilly and Wysocki having what appears to be a stern conversation within the film. It’s hard to gauge from the stills whether Reilly will be going super serious (alla Magnolia) or outlandishly silly (see any of the Adam McKay films) or painfully funny (see Cyrus). Perhaps the “not knowing” is indicative of Reilly’s versatility. There are very few actors with the capability to pull of such opposite extremes of emotion with as much ease as Reilly does. Most people look forward to a new Brad Pitt performance or Johnny Depp performance; but for myself  it is John C. Reilly’s performances that I eagerly anticipate.The Convincer, a film noir directed by Jill Sprecher (Clockwatchers), concerns an insurance salesman who gets in way over his head. Stills from the film feature stars Greg Kinnear (As Good As It Gets), Billy Crudup (Almost Famous) and Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine) pointing at one another and looking very serious. For the stills in question, hit the jump.

Terri (Director: Azazel Jacobs; Screenwriters: Patrick Dewitt and Azazel Jacobs) – Orphaned to an uncle who is fading away, mercilessly teased by his peers and roundly ignored by his teachers, Terri is alienated and alone. When the dreaded vice-principal sees something of himself in Terri, they establish a friendship which opens Terri up to the possibility that life is not something to be endured, but something to be shared, and even enjoyed. Cast: Jacob Wysocki, John C. Reilly, Creed Bratton, Olivia Crocicchia, Bridger Zadina.

Director Azazel Jacobs

The Convincer / U.S.A. (Director: Jill Sprecher; Screenwriters: Jill Sprecher & Karen Sprecher) – An insurance salesman, caught in a caper involving a rare musical instrument, sets off a series of dramatic consequences. Cast: Greg Kinnear, Alan Arkin, Billy Crudup, David Harbour.

Director Jill Sprecher

And here are links to the first images from other films playing at Sundance:

  • Another Earth (starring William Mapother, Brit Marling, and Jordan Baker)
  • Benavides Born (starring Corina Calderon, Jeremy Ray Valdez, and Joseph Julian Soria)
  • Cedar Rapids (starring John C. Reilly, Ed Helms, and Sigourney Weaver)
  • Circumstance (starring Nikohl Boosheri, Sarah Kazemy, and Reza Sixo Safai)
  • The Convincer (starring Greg Kinnear, Billy Crudup, and Alan Arkin)
  • The Details (starring Tobey Maguire, Elizabeth Banks, and Laura Linney)
  • The Devil’s Double (starring Dominic Cooper, Ludivine Sagnier, and Mimoun Oaissa)
  • HERE (starring Ben Foster, Lubna Azabal and Narek Nersisyan)
  • Higher Ground (starring Vera Farmiga, John Hawkes, and Dagmara Dominczyk)
  • Homework (starring Freddie Highmore, Emma Roberts, and Michael Angarano)
  • I Melt With You (starring Rob Lowe, Thomas Jane, and Jeremy Piven)
  • The Ledge (starring Charlie Hunnam, Liv Tyler, Patrick Wilson, Terrence Howard, Christopher Gorham)
  • Life in a Day (directed by Kevin Macdonald, produced by Ridley Scott)
  • Like Crazy (starring Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones, Jennifer Lawrence, Charlie Bewley, Alex Kingston)
  • Little Birds (starring Juno Temple, Kay Panabaker, Leslie Mann, Kate Bosworth, and Kyle Gallner)
  • Margin Call (starring Kevin Spacey, Zachary Quinto, and Paul Bettany)
  • Martha Marcy May Marlene (starring Elizabeth Olsen, Hugh Dancy, and John Hawkes)
  • The Music Never Stopped (starring J.K. Simmons, Julia Ormond, and Cara Seymour)
  • My Idiot Brother (starring Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, and Zooey Deschanel)
  • On The Ice (starring Josiah Patkotak, Frank Qutuq Irelan, Teddy Kyle Smith, Adamina Kerr, and Sierra Jade Sampson)
  • Pariah (starring Adepero Oduye, Pernell Walker and Kim Wayans)
  • Perfect Sense (starring Ewan McGregor, Eva Green, and Ewen Bremner)
  • Red State (directed by Kevin Smith; Starring Michael Parks, John Goodman, and Melissa Leo)
  • Salvation Boulevard (starring Pierce Brosnan, Jennifer Connelly, and Ed Harris)
  • The Son of No One (starring Channing Tatum, Al Pacino, and Juliette Binoche)
  • Terri (starring Jacob Wysocki, John C. Reilly, and Creed Bratton)
  • Win Win (starring Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan, and Jeffrey Tambor)