2011 Sundance Bonus Predictions: Jodie Foster’s The Beaver

#51. The Beaver – Jodie Foster

Summit Ent. have a pair of interchangeable Black List named dark comedies and originally my thinking was, they might push forward on Live With It rather than, the Mel Gibson topper. No need to emphasize why the 19 million dollar indie film has lost some feathers along the way, but last week’s word of a DVD dump makes absolutely no sense. With a bevy of reports out of the AFM, including new poster art image, synopsis and an early U.K release in February via Icon, Summit who’ve entertained several options for The Beaver, might push forward for a potential Sundance release. Big question is: will the fest go for this indie heavyweight? If so, tickets will sell out quicker than any other title offered at the fest. It certainly would be a rather unique situation for thesps Jennifer Lawrence and Anton Yelchin, who might show up at the fest for this film and Drake Doremus’ Like Crazy.

Written by Kyle Killen, Walter Black (Mel Gibson) is suffering from extreme depression. As he spends most of his days sleeping or trying different methods of self therapy, his wife Meredith (Jodie Foster) hides behind work and helplessly watches him fall apart; his youngest son Henry (Riley Thomas Stewart) becomes a hermit; his oldest son Porter (Anton Yelchin) writes his classmate’s essays for cash and secretly keeps a list of similarities between him and his father to avoid a similar future; and Walter’s toy company heads toward bankruptcy…

* Producers: Steve Golin (Married Life) and Keith Redmon
(IONCINEMA.com Preview Page // IMDB Link)