Tinseltown in Sundance lineup

The Sundance Film Festival may occasionally take itself too seriously, but judging from the lineup of premieres and special screenings announced Thursday, the festival has no trouble poking fun at Hollywood.

Several high-profile films set either in the middle of or on the fringes of the movie business will debut in Sundance’s 2008 showcase of independent film, set to start Jan. 17 in Park City, Utah. Those titles are among the more than 50 new films that will unfold in Sundance’s Premiere, Spectrum, New Frontier and Park City at Midnight lineups.

“The Great Buck Howard,” a comedy produced by Tom Hanks’ company and starring both the actor and his son, Colin, will be the festival’s Salt Lake City Gala. Directed by Sean McGinley and also starring John Malkovich and Emily Blunt, “Buck Howard” revolves around a celebrity’s personal assistant.

“The Deal,” which was co-written by and stars William H. Macy, involves a desperate Hollywood producer trying to make a big-budget movie about a black action star’s conversion to Judaism. “What Just Happened?,” written by veteran producer Art Linson, also follows a distressed producer (Robert De Niro) whose personal life is falling apart faster than his movies.

“Baghead” involves struggling actors, and in “George A. Romero’s Diary of the Dead,” a group of films students document being attacked by zombies.

The festival will close on Jan. 26 (awards are handed out the next day) with rocker Neil Young’s documentary “CSNY Deja Vu.”

- JOHN HORN