ELLIE PARKER - Narrative, US, 2005, 94 Minutes
Scott Coffey's wryly humorous, cautionary tale stars Naomi Watts as a talented actress struggling to make it in Hollywood. Coffey gives the mercurial Watts the opportunity to do a comedic version of her career-making role in MULHOLLAND DRIVE. Using her car as a dressing room and a practice studio, she drives from one audition to another, changing clothes, switching accents and applying makeup as agilely as she negotiates L.A. traffic jams. No one - not her boyfriends, not her agent, and certainly not the directors who casually humiliate her - seems to realize that she is one of the most luminous actors of our time. ELLIE PARKER is a showcase for Watts and, implicitly, a tribute to all the nameless actors who may be just as talented but haven't gotten the break they deserve. Shot on low-tech video over a period of four years, it is clearly an act of love by both director and star. (Amy Taubin)

2005 Seattle International Film Festival: WINNER New American Cinema Award Special Jury Prize

Director/Writer: Scott Coffey
Producers: Scott Coffey, Naomi Watts
Cast: Naomi Watts, Chevy Chase

Naomi Watts had already been a working actress for over a decade when she earned notice as a promising newcomer in MULHOLLAND DRIVE. Watts landed her first film role in FOR LOVE ALONE (1986). She appeared in many films before her career escalated with THE RING (2002). Balancing her genre work with potentially headier fare, Watts also appeared in the Merchant-Ivory romantic comedy LE DIVORCE. ELLIE PARKER is her second producer credit, following WE DON'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE.