Our first true look at how cinema is shaping up for the year will arrive throughout the next week as Sundance Film Festival kicks off in Park City and today we’ve got some new images of a handful of dramas that will be making their world premiere. First up, above and below we can see the debut look at Josh Gad as Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak in the biopic jOBS, alongside co-star Ashton Kutcher, portraying the late Steve Jobs. Also starring Dermot Mulroney (who can be seen in the background), Lukas Haas, J. K. Simmons and Matthew Modine, the film, which is set to bow in April, is directed by Joshua Michael Stern, with the images coming from USA Today.
In 1976, college dropout Steve Jobs heralded a revolution within the confines of his parents’ garage. Jobs, along with friend and technical wizard Steve Wozniak, unleashed the “homebrew” Apple 1 personal computer kit onto an unsuspecting public, producing 200 units by hand and shipping each one themselves (monitor and keyboard not included). Apple Inc. was born, and the world would never be the same. Today hundreds of millions of users around the world remain tethered to the remarkable products that Jobs championed—his impact on the world of technology was undoubtedly colossal, but his effect on our culture was simply immeasurable.
Although the road that Jobs traveled to become CEO of the company he cofounded was a tumultuous one, director Joshua Michael Stern unfurls his story with relative ease, and Ashton Kutcher’s highly nuanced portrayal of the technology icon adroitly captures the essence of a man who changed the way we live.
Another photo from a Sundance-bound biopic has also popped up, this time coming from the Linda Lovelace-centered drama, also taking the last name of the subject as the title. From EW (who also report that Sarah Jessica Parker‘s feminist icon Gloria Steinem role has been cut), the photo sees our star Amanda Seyfried getting ready for a money shot with Adam Brody by her side. Directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman (Howl) and also starring Peter Sarsgaard, Hank Azaria, James Franco and Sharon Stone (some of whom can be seen the background), check out the still from Lovelace below.
In 1972—long before the Internet porn explosion of today—Deep Throat became a cultural phenomenon. As the first pornographic feature film to be embraced by mainstream audiences, Deep Throat took a multitude of risks: it boasted a plot, humor, and an unknown and unlikely star named Linda Lovelace.
Lovelace tells the story behind the phenomenon. Fleeing her strict religious family, Linda Boreman falls for charismatic hustler Chuck Traynor, who launches her pornography career. Reborn as “Linda Lovelace,” the charming girl next door skyrockets to international sensation with her uncanny capacity for fellatio. Fully inhabiting this new identity, Linda becomes a spokesperson for sexual freedom and hedonism. But six years later, she reveals a far more sinister narrative—the dark secrets of her own life story.
Lovelace sizzles with honest, daring performances by Amanda Seyfried as Linda and Peter Sarsgaard as Chuck. As they demonstrated with their previous feature, 2010’s HOWL, filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, Academy Award–winning masters of the documentary form, have become experts at using true stories to make magical fiction.
Lastly, we have two new photos from my most-anticipated title in the bunch, The Spectacular Now. Coming from director James Ponsoldt, who returns to Sundance after last year’s Smashed, one can see stars Miles Teller (Rabbit Hole) and Shailene Woodley (The Descendants) in the coming-of-age high school drama. Also starring Brie Larson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Kyle Chandler, check them out below thanks to The Playlist.
Sutter Keely lives in the now. It’s a good place for him. A high school senior, charming and self-possessed, he’s the life of the party, loves his job at a men’s clothing store, and has no plans for the future. A budding alcoholic, he’s never far from his supersized, whisky-fortified 7UP cup. But after being dumped by his girlfriend, Sutter gets drunk and wakes up on a lawn with Aimee Finicky hovering over him. Not a member of the cool crowd, she’s different: the “nice girl” who reads science fiction and doesn’t have a boyfriend. She does have dreams, while Sutter lives in a world of impressive self-delusion. And yet they’re drawn to each other.
Adapted from Tim Tharp’s novel, The Spectacular Now captures the insecurity and confusion of adolescence without looking for tidy truths. Young actors rarely portray teens with the maturity that Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley display, and they are phenomenal together. Funny, compassionate, and poignant, James Ponsoldt’s third feature again demonstrates his ability to lay bare the souls of his characters.
Sundance Film Festival 2013 begins tomorrow, January 17th.