Aniston movie to open Sundance 2006

The organisers of next year's Sundance Film Festival have chosen Friends With Money as their opening night feature.

Receiving its world premiere on the night of January 19, the Nicole Holofcener-directed movie stars Jennifer Aniston and Frances McDormand and tells the story of three married couples and a single friend.

Festival director Geoffrey Gilmore commented of the film: "It's Chekovian in its ability to talk about social issues and people, class and idiosyncratic personalities at the same time."

Meanwhile, Alpha Dog has been selected for its premiere on the closing night, January 27. Directed by Nick Cassavetes, the drug-dealing drama stars Bruce Willis, Sharon Stone and Justin Timberlake.

According to Reuters, the number of premieres will be cut at the 2006 event, featuring only 17, a drop from the last festival's 24 debuts. Among the highly-anticipated films to be featured are Little Miss Sunshine, Lucky Number Slevin and This Film Is Not Yet Rated. The latter documentary investigates the MPAA's film rating system and how this affects American culture, and therefore has potential to ruffle feathers at the event.