She has seemingly flawless good looks. She’s an import
from Australia. She’s not Nicole Kidman.
“Nicole’s a really good friend,” said Naomi
Watts, star of “The Ring” and “Mulholland
Drive.” “And she’s someone you learn a lot from
just because you’re in the same proximity, but she never sits
me down and says “˜this is what you must do in this experience
and that experience.'”
Since her award-winning role in “Mulholland Drive,”
Watts has become a sought-after Hollywood commodity. With
“The Ring” out now and a slew of other projects on the
way, she’ll never have to worry about the mysterious identity
issues dealt with in “Drive.” Everyone will recognize
her name.
“I think she has tremendous talent,” said Gore
Verbinski, director of “The Ring” and a UCLA alumnus.
“She earns her performance.”
In “Mulholland Drive,” Watts delivered a powerfully
two-faced performance, which shows her incredible range from
enthused ingenue to disillusioned wreck. After “Drive”
Watts chose her next project carefully.
“All that attention from “˜Mulholland Drive’
was wonderful, so it was enormous pressure for your second
film,” Watts said. “People are watching you, thinking,
“˜Was it a fluke or did she just get a great role? Will she be
able to do it again?'”
Being thrown into the Hollywood furnace has been a trip for the
normally shy Watts.
“I’m particularly afraid of speaking in front of
large crowds,” Watts said. “Its not natural for me. Red
carpet is a phobia.”
The attention has given Watts opportunities to star in various
films, but Watts seems to have a pretty good game plan in the
exercise of restraint.
“I think that 50 percent of talent is choosing the right
projects,” Watts said. “You don’t want to choose
a project just because you’re going to make a lot of money,
and you don’t want to do a project in too many of the same
things.”
“It’s a nerve-wracking thing because you are trying
to do what you want to do, but you are being judged all the
way,” Watts added.
Watts pushed the limits of her abilities on the new film.
“It was more tough for her. She worked long hours,”
said “Ring” co-star Martin Henderson. “She was
emotionally and physically exhausted by the end of the
film.”
“The Ring” is a remake of a Japanese horror movie
where everybody who watches the contents of a videotape dies after
seven days. The Japanese version made box office records in Japan.
In America, the film comes just in time to capitalize on the
upcoming Halloween season.
So confident is she of her new film, Watts has made a
promise.
“If they wanted to do a sequel, I would do it,”
Watts said.
Additional info compiled by CJ Yu.