Olivia Wildes The Invite Sparks Bidding War at Sundance

Olivia Wilde's latest directorial effort, the sex comedy "The Invite," premiered to a standing ovation at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, on Saturday night, igniting a fierce bidding war among major distributors for its rights.

The film, which screened at the Eccles Theatre, drew enthusiastic laughter and applause from the audience, marking one of four standing ovations at this year's festival. Directed and starring Wilde, the movie is an English-language remake of the 2020 Spanish film "The People Upstairs," directed by Cesc Gay. The screenplay, penned by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack, reinterprets the story for American audiences, focusing on two couples navigating the tensions of modern relationships.

In the narrative, set in a San Francisco apartment, Wilde and Seth Rogen portray a couple whose marriage is fraying. They host a dinner with their enigmatic upstairs neighbors, played by Edward Norton and Penélope Cruz, whose polyamorous lifestyle prompts uncomfortable revelations about sex, intimacy, and emotional repression. The chamber-piece drama unfolds entirely in one location, blending laugh-out-loud humor with raw, honest discussions that explore...