Monday, Jan. 24, 2005

That Sundance Cred

By Desa Philadelphia

The Sundance Film Festival is no longer just a place where geeky Quentin Tarantino clones go to get discovered. More and more Hollywood stars are using the indie showcase to establish credibility, show new sides of their talent and maybe revive a stalled career. Here are some stars to watch at this year's festival, which runs through Saturday.

--By Desa Philadelphia

KEVIN COSTNER Long time no hit for the Field of Dreams star. He scales down to support Joan Allen in The Upside of Anger, a family drama

JENNY MCCARTHY What does a TV funny girl do for a second act? McCarthy wrote and stars in Dirty Love, a romantic comedy that could launch a movie career

PIERCE BROSNAN In The Matador, the man we've come to know as world-savior James Bond plays a hit man with a wardrobe (Speedo with boots, gold chain) that 007 wouldn't be caught dead in

TAYE DIGGS In Drum, the star of TV's Kevin Hill plays a South African journalist covering apartheid and shows he's more than just a pretty face

JOHN LEGUIZAMO The Latino actor and comic makes his Spanish-speaking debut in Cr??nicas, a serial-killer thriller set in Ecuador

GLENN CLOSE Hollywood isn't kind to aging actresses, but the indies love Glenn. She's in three films, including The Chumscrubber

ELISABETH SHUE Remember her? Nominated for an Oscar in 1995 for Leaving Las Vegas, Shue tries for a comeback with a role as a struggling single mom in Mysterious Skin