Bret Domrose Movies
- 2001
An underachieving, New Jersey-based rock band set out for their last tour with the understanding that if success doesn't come this time out, it's time to step out of the spotlight and back into the daily grind. The year is 1994, and as summer draws near the Handy Kaufmans begin the preparations for what could very well be their final tour. These days it seems like lead singer Donnie (J.T. Pitoc) and incompetent manager Big Frank (Jay Leggett) can't go five minutes without stirring up some kind of trouble, and when drunken bassist Jim (Bret Domrose) is knocked out of commission following a booze soaked pissing contest, unpredictable beauty Trixie (Lara Boyd Rhodes) is brought in as a last-minute replacement. Of course drummer Lee (Christian Campbell) has no problem with all of this, but lately his overbearing parents (Mark Hamill and Sally Kirkland) have been putting on the pressure for him to get a real job. Perhaps if they can just maintain their momentum long enough to reach the state fair and deliver a performance that will send the high-powered record executive in attendance back to California still hyped from the show, the band's dream of rock and roll super-stardom won't go up in flames after all. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christian Campbell, J.P. Pitoc, (more)
Naomi Watts produces and stars in Ellie Parker, a semi-autobiographical story of an Australian actress struggling to make it in Hollywood. Ellie is young enough to still schlep to auditions back and forth across L.A., changing wardrobes and slapping on makeup en route, but just old enough that the future feels "more like a threat than a promise." She lives with her vacant musician boyfriend (Mark Pellegrino), who leaves her just about as dissatisfied as any other part of her life, and has a loose definition of the word "fidelity." Helping make sense of their surreal and humiliating Hollywood existence is her best friend Sam (Rebecca Rigg), another out-of-work actress trying her hand at design, who attends acting classes with Ellie to stay sharp. When Ellie gets into a fender bender with a guy who claims he's a cinematographer (Scott Coffey), her perspective on her work and the dating world starts to change. Chevy Chase also makes an appearance in this series of Hollywood vignettes, playing Ellie's agent. Watts, Coffey, and Pellegrino all worked together on David Lynch's Mulholland Drive, where Watts had her breakout performance, and Ellie Parker grew out of the friendship forged between Watts and director/screenwriter Coffey. It was shot on digital video over the course of five years, having begun its life as a series of shorts featuring Watts' character. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Naomi Watts, Rebecca Rigg, (more)
