Laurie Parker

Independent producer whose brief career has been closely allied with independent production companies and avant-garde filmmakers. Parker studied at the DGA's unit production manager/assistant director trainee program before joining Samuel Goldwyn Company in the mid-1980s. Moving to Island Alive, where she rose to vice president of marketing and later vice president of production, she was involved in the domestic marketing of such small, independent gems as "Kiss of the Spider Woman" (1985), "She's Gotta Have It," "Down By Law" and "Mona Lisa" (all 1986), and supervised the filming of "Crusoe" (1989) in Africa. Joining Avenue Entertainment as vice president of production in 1987, Parker began her creative relationship with director Gus Van Sant as executive in charge of production of his award-winning "Drugstore Cowboy" (1989). Her first feature as an independent producer was Van Sant's moving portrait of street hustlers "My Own Private Idaho" (1991). She reteamed with Van Sant for the lackluster film rendering of Tom Robbins' celebrated novel "Even Cowgirls Get The Blues" (1994).