LOS ANGELES – Jennifer Aniston, Bruce Willis, Jessica Lange and Robin Williams are among the stars who'll have films on display at January's Sundance Film Festival, which announced entries Wednesday for its lineup of premiering films.
Aniston stars with Catherine Keener, Frances McDormand and Joan Cusack in writer-director Nicole Holofcener's "Friends With Money," a tale of three married women and their lone single friend.
The film is one of 17 playing in the high-profile premieres lineup at Sundance, the nation's top showcase for independent movies. The festival runs Jan. 19-29 in Park City, Utah.
Other premieres include "Lucky Number Seven," a mob tale starring Willis, Ben Kingsley, Morgan Freeman, Josh Hartnett and Lucy Liu; Wim Wenders' "Don't Come Knocking," with Sam Shephard starring opposite Lange, Sarah Polley and Tim Roth as a Western-movie star on a road trip trying to reconcile with his messy past; and "The Night Listener," starring Williams and Toni Collette in the story of a radio talk-show host whose life is in turmoil.
Collette also co-stars with Greg Kinnear and Steve Carell in "Little Miss Sunshine," about a family's road trip to put their daughter into a beauty pageant.
Winona Ryder, Joseph Fiennes, David Arquette and Juliette Lewis are among the ensemble in "The Darwin Awards," about a forensic detective and an insurance investigator looking into a potential winner of a prize given to people who kill themselves in idiotic ways.
Aaron Eckhart stars with Katie Holmes, Maria Bello, William H. Macy and Sam Elliott in "Thank You for Smoking," making its U.S. premiere after an acclaimed debut at September's Toronto International Film Festival. Directed by Jason Reitman, son of "Ghostbusters" filmmaker Ivan Reitman, the film is a satire about a spin doctor for the tobacco industry.
Terry Zwigoff's "Art School Confidential" features John Malkovich, Jim Broadbent, Angelica Huston and Max Minghella in the tale of a talentless wannabe artist caught up in a murder that makes him a celebrity.
The Sundance premieres also include two documentaries. " Neil Young: Heart of Gold," directed by Jonathan Demme ("The Silence of the Lambs"), is a portrait of the venerable rocker performing along with Emmylou Harris in Nashville.
Director Kirby Dick's documentary "This Film Is Not Yet Rated" delves into Hollywood's movie-ratings system overseen by the Motion Picture Association of America.
A separate Sundance program also has high-profile documentaries, among them "A Matter of Degrees," Davis Guggenheim's look at Al Gore's campaign to educate people about global warming.
Shari Cookson's "All Aboard! Rosie's Family Cruise" follows a boat trip Rosie and Kellie O'Donnell organized for 500 gay and lesbian families.
"Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out" is directed by Stewart Copeland, who examines his life as drummer for the 1980s rock band led by singer Sting.
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