Leaving the vampires behind for a spell, Kristen Stewart will star as Joan Jett in the feature-length movie “Runaways” at the Sundance Film Festival in January.

The film is one of 13 selected to be shown in the film festival’s “Premieres” category, which often has bigger-budget movies with bigger stars than categories for independent and documentary films. Films in the category are not in the competition for Sundance awards, but help to bring star power to the festival.

Other members of the “Runaways” cast include Dakota Fanning, Scout Taylor-Compton, Michael Shannon, Alia Shawkat and Tatum O'Neal. The film is the coming-of-age story of Jett’s early band, the all-girl Runaways.

Other movies which will be showing at Sundance in the “Premiere” category include “Jack Goes Boating," directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman; “The Company Men” starring Ben Affleck, Kevin Costner and Chris Cooper; and “The Extra Man,” starring Katie Holmes and Kevin Klein.

Thriller “The Killer Inside Me,” starring Kate Hudson and Jessica Alba, and teen angst drama “Twelve,” starring “Gossip Girl’s” Chace Crawford and Kiefer Sutherland, will also be showing in the “Premieres” category.

Known as a platform to promote documentary film, the Festival will also be showing “The Mormon Proposition,” a documentary about the relationship between the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the promotion and passage of California's Proposition 8 denying marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples; and “Teenage Paparazzo,” where “Entourage" star Adrian Grenier explores the complicated relationship Hollywood has with the photographers who document their lives.

The 2010 Sundance Film Festival runs January 21-31 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah. Started in 1978 by Robert Redford as a small festival to highlight independent film, the Sundance Festival has become a landing spot for larger films who already have distributors but want to premiere before a select audience of tastemakers before going out with a wide release

The people of Utah, that reddest of red states, owe a lot to a guy with liberal politics, Robert Redford.  The Sundance Film Festival, which Redford founded, contributed more than $92 million to the state's economy this past January, according to a new study announced by the Sundance Institute. 

The Institute says the figures were compiled by the University of Utah using an "economic impact model" developed by the Commerce Department.

According to the study, festival-goers spent almost $35 million on hotel rooms and almost $15 million on meals during the 10 day event.  They also spent $4 million on "discretionary items".    I'm guessing that was mostly lattes.  Or maybe festival t-shirts.  Those were kind of pricey.

It's ironic that a man with such left-leaning sentiments has contributed so much to the welfare of the overwhelmingly-Republican state.    If economic activity generated equaled political clout, Redford might be governor.

The atmosphere at Sundance this year seems more subdued than normal. Not somber, just a little less feverish than usual. I think all the excitement over the inauguration of a new president has taken some of the wind out of the sails of festival-goers. The Hollywood types who come here are used to being the center of the universe—or feeling like they are. But they’re playing second fiddle to Barack Obama this time. It feels like a comeuppance of sorts.

The economy may be the other reason the festival seems less festive this year. Sundance veterans are all talking about how much quieter the town seems. The restaurants, usually packed to overflowing, have empty tables. You can get a cell signal here—usually there are so many industry-ites clogging the airwaves you can’t get a call out—your cell squawks “call failed” or “circuits busy” at every turn. But not this year.

Interestingly enough, festival founder Robert Redford is pleased with the decrease in traffic. At his opening day press conference he admitted he felt it was a good thing that fewer people are in town. He has long railed against celebrities who come to Park City to party and revel and could hardly be lured into a theater if their lives depended on it. Marketers set up “gifting suites” and “luxury lounges” to swag the stars (and attract the media). But there seems to be less of that going on this year. Or maybe the stars are just being more discreet—afraid to parade around with shopping bags stuffed with freebies in this period of hardship for ordinary folks.

Welcome to Sundance ’09 — maybe a place where, after all, film comes first.

From Entertainment Producer Matt Carey in Park City, Utah:

The Sundance Film Festival is generally about art and commerce, but politics wasn’t far away Monday night.

Mike Gravel, the former Alaska senator who's running a quixotic campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, turned up at the Sundance Film Festival that evening. While the leading Democratic Presidential candidates were debating in South Carolina, Gravel was sitting on a panel sponsored by the Creative Coalition.

We talked afterwards, and true to form, he was very outspoken.

He slammed Sen. Barack Obama, saying he was "inconsistent" on the issues and that his "lack of experience shows." He added, "I don't think in many respects he knows what he's saying or the ramifications of what he's saying."

Ouch! I guess he won’t be on the short list of vice-presidential nominees if Obama gets the nomination.

But Gravel didn't stop there. He also slammed CNN for keeping him out of the South Carolina debate, calling it a "conspiracy between the network" and the Democratic National Committee. And he said he was bored during the debates, even the ones in which he participated.

Perhaps most surprisingly, he said it won’t make any difference who is elected President. He suggested it's going to be the "same old-same old" either way.

From CNN Entertainment reporter Brooke Anderson:  

The rock stars of U2 lit up Sundance with their star power and incomparable music. ("New Year's Day," "Sunday Bloody Sunday," "Stuck in a Moment" are some of my favorites, though it's hard to name just a few.)

The group was in Park City premiering "U2 3D," a concert documentary, offering audiences with 3-D glasses a front-row seat to their 2006 stadium shows in South America.

U2's live shows are incredible - and the film is also electrifying. A conversation with Bono and The Edge ... well, that was just plain cool.

I spoke with the band before the debut of their film. Here are some of the highlights (and yes, Bono does most of the talking when they do interviews):

• Bono jokes he's been wearing sunglasses all these years because he's been looking at things in 3-D.
• Bono believes "Irish people are essentially Latin people who don't know how to dance."
• Bono admits it's cold in Park City and that he had some Irish whiskey before our chat.
• As a publicist tried to pull them away, Bono stayed to talk longer, saying "We love CNN."

And Bono, we love you guys, too.

From CNN Entertainment Producer Jennifer Wolfe:

Julian McMahon may be the Lothario on FX’s "Nip/Tuck," but Dylan Walsh certainly turned heads at the CNN suite today.

He arrived alone.

He arrived early.

And he came to talk about "Just Add Water," his film at the Slamdance Film Festival.

But being the good sport he is, Walsh indulged the "Nip/Tuck" fans in the crowd and offered a little teaser of some upcoming episodes.

He tells us that his character Sean McNamara's TV career really takes off and he gets a manager, portrayed by Sharon Gless, and what starts out as a positive relationship turns very dark.

Thanks for the tip Dylan. We award you the "Actor with the Least Entourage" Award.

From CNN Entertainment reporter Brooke Anderson:

Yes, Colin Farrell is an Irishman. Yes, he's "dangerous," sexy ... a rebel. But I have interviewed Colin before where he kept his language in check. Not this time. He let himself get a little too comfortable as we were talking live on CNN about his new film "In Bruges."

Farrell was explaining why director Martin McDonagh allowed him to keep his Irish accent while starring as a hit man based in London. He said that McDonagh probably saw his recent film "Cassandra's Dream" and thought "F**k that, he's Irish!"

Then, realizing his slip, he exclaimed, "Oh s**t!"

I was immediately flustered and mortified, as was he. His co-star Brendan Gleeson began laughing hysterically. In the end, we all joked about it, brushed it off, and eventually moved on with the interview.

Colin was very sweet and apologetic afterward. He told me that if the FCC decides to come after me to let him know and he'll have a chat with them.

Good thing the FCC doesn't regulate language on cable.

From CNN Entertainment Producer Jennifer Wolfe:

Alan Alda hates Earl Grey tea. He believes the world is divided into two types of people, those who love Earl Grey and those who don't.

That was the launching pad for a lively discussion about food here at our Treasure Mountain Inn Suite at the Sundance Film Festival. Alda was here to do an interview about his new film "Diminished Capacity" - but beforehand, we talked food.

Alan offered up a pasta recipe that he’s fond of and swears it's great - although a little unconventional:

Take one box of pasta (any type will do). Soak it in a half-cup of olive oil. Then spread the pasta in a Pyrex dish and add a can of diced tomatoes. A dash of salt and pepper (no garlic, he insists). Bake for a while and eat.

He added the pasta's consistency is more "al gummy" than al dente.

Alan's other foodie offering was a dessert:

Take pizza dough. Spread it very thin. Take a bunch of seedless grapes (off the vine, I'm guessing). Dip the grapes in sugar. Place them on top of the pizza dough. Add another layer of pizza dough on top. Crimp the edges. Then top it with some more sugared grapes and bake in an oven.

Unfortunately, I never got a temperature or a time from him. (Alan, if you’re reading this, send that along, OK?)

Our resident Italian, Jenny D'Attoma from "Showbiz Tonight," says she's going to ask her father about that one. He's from Italy and she's a first-generation American.

Alan may believe the world is divided into Earl Grey lovers and Earl Grey haters, but I'm convinced the world is actually divided into people who bake and people who cook. I think Alan firmly resides in the cook's camp.

From CNN Entertainment Producer Jennifer Wolfe in Park City, Utah:

It’s well documented: where there’s a star there’s usually an entourage. At Sundance, it’s no different.

Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, promoting their film "In Bruges," came to our live location with a room full of people. I didn’t count, but I think there were at least four handlers per star, personal publicists, film publicists and any number of other sorts.

Nick Cannon also had a room full of folks. They hung out and strategized about how he should showcase his role as a young Marine getting ready to ship out to Iraq in "American Son." Everyone sat and joked about things we can’t repeat and stared at their Blackberries, waiting for the next vital communication.

And then there was Stanley Tucci. He came with one person, did a spot with CNN.com Live and quickly popped over to my computer to catch the end of his segment.

Tucci then asked about Gaza - while waiting for his interview he’d heard an item on the strife there - and he wanted to know more, so we started scrolling through other stories. While clicking through the site, we saw Allan Melvin, "Sam the Butcher" from "The Brady Bunch," had died. Tucci said he’d grown up watching the show. He was low-key and friendly and left our suite the way he came in, with little fanfare.

Then there’s the ultimate "Entourage" guy –- the star of the HBO show of that name, Adrian Grenier. He was in town to promote his film on air-drumming titled "Adventures in Power" and he was scheduled to appear on CNN Sunday. After much back-and-forth with his people, the interview time was set, the tapes were pulled and edited and everything was ready.

Then, a few hours before the segment, we got a one-line e-mail: Grenier was sick.

Scramble time. We filled the hole with a piece on a documentary titled "Bigger Stronger Faster."

Later, one of our photographers spotted Grenier at the Slamdance Festival, which is located just downstairs from our production space in the Treasure Mountain Inn.

Last night, a CNN producer spotted him "in the window of Hollywood Lounge at midnight with a drink in his hand talking to some girl."

She must've been nursing him back to health.