Sundance film festival opens

Acquisition executives will be keeping themselves busy with the sheer volume of films. New 3 p.m. slots have been added to the traditional 6 and 9 p.m. Premieres screenings, increasing the overall number of selections in the category from 17 last year to 25.

Three of Friday's films already are attracting strong interest from distributors: "Sunshine Cleaning," a drama from "Little Miss Sunshine" producer Big Beach starring Emily Blunt and Amy Adams; the Ben Kingsley/Mary-Kate Olsen stoner film "The Wackness"; and actor-director Michael Keaton's romantic fable "The Merry Gentleman."

It's just the start of a schedule front-loaded with available titles. The weekend also will see such dramas as Paul Schneider's "Pretty Bird"; the Elle Fanning starrer "Phoebe in Wonderland"; Mark Pellington's "Henry Poole Is Here"; and the coming-of-age tale "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh," one of three films from Michael London's Groundswell Prods. (Miramax's "Smart People" and Overture's "The Visitor" are the others).

"U2 3D" - Take the world's biggest rock band, add digital 3-D photography and throw in surround sound, and you have a concert-film
experience that the Sundance film guide says "will leave you fumbling
around on the ground for your jaw." Unless, of course, you don't like
U2. Co-directors Catherine Owens and Mark Pellington assembled their
footage from multiple concerts on U2's 2006 South American tour, giving
viewers a front-row seat to the Irish rockers' dynamic live shows. Plus
you'll get to wear those cool 3-D specs.

    "Patti Smith: Dream of Life" - Shot over 11 years, this
documentary has the potential to be an intimate and fascinating
portrait of the poet, activist and punk-rock pioneer.

    "Choke" - This black comedy is adapted from the novel by Chuck
(Fight Club) Palahniuk, who has a sizeable following for his dark,
often twisted books. Its intriguingly bizarre story combines sex
addiction, chronic masturbation and a man (Sam Rockwell) who earns his
living by pretending to choke in fancy restaurants.