Sundance 2010: First full day of buying set to start

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It’s going to be a busy day in Park City, Utah.

Distribution executives (including those whose flights were postponed by the Los Angeles rainstorms and who arrived hours late) have mapped out a crowded screening schedule for today, hopeful that the rest of the festival’s 2010 slate is a bit more commercial than Thursday night’s first film, James Franco as Allen Ginsberg in ‘Howl’ (one top buyer walked out of the film after 45 minutes).

The sales slate today includes:

‘Happythankyoumoreplease,’ a romantic comedy directed by actor Josh Radnor (‘How I Met Your Mother’) and starring Malin Akerman (‘Couples Retreat’).

‘Hesher,’ a drama about one family’s grief that stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt (‘(500) Days of Summer’), Natalie Portman and newcomer Devin Brochu.

‘Douchebag,’ a movie about sibling rivalry, commitment and a never-forgotten first love that stars Andrew Dickler (formerly a film editor) and Ben York Jones (‘Spooner’) from Sundance alumnus director Drake Doremus.

‘The Company Men,’ a drama about the consequences of downsizing (think the second chapter of ‘Up in the Air’) with the all-star cast of Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Costner and Chris Cooper from writer-director Jonn Wells.

‘Tucker & Dale vs. Evil,’ one of the first of the Park City at Midnight movies, this comic horror thriller is bound to attract buyers looking for the next low-budget genre hit.

-- John Horn