The Rileys have another shot at reconciliation.

Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group has partnered with Samuel Goldwyn Films to release the indie drama “Welcome to the Rileys.” The film had its world premiere five months ago at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, and SPWAG originally brought aboard Apparition back in March to distribute the film.

Last month, Bob Berney abruptly left Apparition, which released the Sundance film “The Runaways,” leaving the indie distributor temporarily rudderless. So Apparition’s Bill Pohlad agreed with Sony that to meet a planned fall release the film would be better off in another company’s hands.

Goldwyn will now release “Rileys” theatrically in October in the U.S., while SPWAG will handle anicllary rights. The movie next screens Friday at the Los Angeles Film Festival, just a day after star Kristen Stewart unveils her latest turn as Bella in “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.”

“Douchebag” finally found a home.

In one of the longer-running deals-in-progress, the low-fi Sundance competition comedy “Douchebag” has found backers in Franck Dubarry’s Red Dragon, Mark Urman’s Paladin and former William Morris Independent head Cassian Elwes.

Red Dragon has officially picked up U.S. distribution rights, while Paladin will handle the film’s marketing and September theatrical release.

The film, from director Drake Doremus (”Spooner,” Slamdance 2009), follows estranged brothers who end up on a ridiculous road trip right before one is to get married. Jonathan Schwartz produced through his Super Crispy Entertainment shingle along with Marius Markevicius.

Oscilloscope Laboratories has acquired U.S. distribution rights to “Howl” and plans a simultaneous theatrical/VOD release in September.

The indie film, which stars James Franco as famous Beat poet Allen Ginsberg, had its world premiere opening night of the Sundance Film Festival in January. Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman (“The Celluloid Closet”) directed the movie, which focuses on Ginsberg’s groundbreaking poem and the obscenity trial it provoked in 1957.

The Weinstein Co. has acquired U.S. distribution rights to John Wells’ directorial debut, “The Company Men.” A release is planned for later in the year.

The downsizing drama, which was inspired by the experiences of one of Wells’ in-laws, had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January. The deal, which includes a mid seven-figure P&A commitment, was brokered by David Glasser and Peter Lawson of the Weinstein Company and CAA, which also set up financing for the film.

The Gersh Agency has signed award-winning independent filmmaker Debra Granik and her writing-producing partner Anne Rosellini.

At last month’s Sundance Film Festival, Granik’s latest film, “Winter’s Bone,” won the grand jury prize in the dramatic competition. She and Rosellini were also honored with the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award for their adaptation of the Daniel Woodrell novel. Rosellini produced the dark drama.

Memories of Sundance may be fading away, but deals for many of its titles are only beginning to gear up. As overnight film-fest bidding wars become an endangered species, the indie film market is allowing buyers to take their sweet time choosing a higher quality level of film, with more coastal execs screening pics to be sure they’re the right fit.

It’s worth noting that last year’s biggest deal (and biggest hit) “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” wrapped its Lionsgate distribution pact a week after Sundance ended. The 2010 iteration’s Sunday close had no effect on continuing dealmaking.

Even as Sundance wound down, glimmers of glamour and random acts of kindness still remained.

As I sat inside a mall housing the recently shuttered New Frontier on Main space Sunday afternoon, a guy walked up to a Mohawked, redheaded teen strumming a Telecaster on a bench near mine. “Hey, do you want a guitar?” said the passerby. “I wish,” the teen replied. “Here you go,” said the stranger, handing over an acoustic guitar and walking away.

“Dude, I just saw Jared Leto, and he gave me his guitar! The guy from ‘30 Seconds To Mars’!” he tells a friend on his cell. Turns out the 22-year-old recipient, Dakota Brock, had been looking for funds to get a new guitar for his local church.

Jeremy Konner and Derek Waters’ “Drunk History: Douglass & Lincoln” has won the jury prize in short filmmaking at the Sundance Film Festival. In the film, Will Ferrell and Don Cheadle perform a re-enactment as Jen Kirkman describes a historical event after downing two bottles of wine.

The festival announced its short film winners Tuesday night at the Jupiter Bowl in Park City.

Main Street has returned to a sense of normalcy, even though the festival is not over.

That’s because it’s a wrap for the lounge scene. For the first five days of the fest, lounge-mania was in full swing. In fact there was such an abundance of gifting/networking lounges, that Main Street looked more like the Lounge Corridor.

There was the Lia Sophia Lounge at the Lift and the Red Carpet/Green Lounge across the street gifting expensive Lamborghini watches to selected VIPs.

Discretionary gifting was the key word at the Luxury Lounge showcasing socially conscious products. Guests could test drive the green Tesla car or use the lounge’s concierge services such as special access passes to the fest. In between bites of organic mini cupcakes, guests could get a luxurious Clarisonic skin treatment from Dr. Rob Akridge.

My last Sundance screening of the 2010 fest turned out to be the horror-comedy “Tucker & Dale vs. Evil,” Wednesday afternoon at the Library Theatre. And what a way to go out.

Eli Craig and Morgan Jurgenson’s inspired twist on the kids-go-into-the-woods trope is clever and original and very funny. Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine play the title characters, two sweet rubes headed into the woods to spruce up a new “vacation home” (creepy cabin). Soon after, a group of typically dim and entitled college kids stumbles into the area and quickly becomes convinced that Tucker and Dale are bloodthirsty psychos out for one of the girls, played by “30 Rock’s” Katrina Bowden.

Someone sitting near me at the Eccles Theater Monday morning was startled to see me reading a book prior to the 9:15 screening. He laughed. He saw this as a radical act since everyone else in the auditorium had heads buried in BlackBerrys and mobile phones.

I thought of this later that day when I took in the New Frontier entry “Utopia in Four Movements,” which its creators, filmmaker Sam Green and musician Dave Cerf, call a “live documentary.”

An interesting timeline emerged from two Sundance 2010 features — the Banksy quasi-doc “Exit Through the Gift Shop” and Tamra Davis‘ documentary “Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child.”

I caught a press and industry screening of “Basquiat” at the Holiday Village Cinema 3 Tuesday night, and it reminded me that the deceased artist first gained renown for his street poetry on the Lower East Side in the late 1970’s. Basquiat, working under the name Samo (for Same Old, Same Old), began spraying his oblique, pseudonymous poetry around Manhattan as a critique of modern art, before becoming a doomed, if fascinating, icon of the movement himself as a painter.