Scott Coffey and actress Naomi Watts met while both were acting in the film Tank Girl (1995). Coffey hated the acting business and together they made Parker to satirize the world of actors, auditions and the Hollywood scene. The 16-minute short screened at Sundance, and over the next five years Coffey and Watts kept filming various scenes, finishing a feature version, also called Ellie Parker, in 2006. Their lives along the way, including both of them getting work on David Lynch’s Mullholland Drive, informed the film and kept it vital to the times.

A satisfying short, the feature rubbed audiences the wrong way. While still fun if you like Watts, the long version wore out its film world welcome. Ironically, in the five years shooting all the scenes forthe feature, Watts became a megastar that overcame the doldrums of not being noticed.

The Author

Slide 12: From Mike Plante to Michael Plante

Mike Plante is the Director of Programming for CineVegas and editor of the Cinemad blog. He was a Short Film Programmer for Sundance for the 2003-2006 festivals.