Naomi Watts puts ‘Name’ down to play Nobel Peace Prize winner

In a case where I’d much rather see the full-length documentary film version, than see the Hollywood treatment a la North Country or Erin Brockovich, it looks like Universal are looking to hire the actress they have pegged for a remake of The Birds in a role that would make banning landmines look sexy.

The Hollywood Reporter reports that Naomi Watts is attached to take on the real person role of Jody Williams (read wiki bio here) in the aptly titled My Name Is Jody Williams. The biopic drama tells the tale of a strong-willed teacher working for a temporary employment agency who left her life in Washington to pursue an unlikely career in global activism. Almost a decade and a half later, Williams was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize for leading an international campaign to eradicate land mines. Brash and somewhat controversial, Williams famously called President Bill Clinton a “weenie” for not signing the land mine ban.

Full-time scribe Audrey Wells’ third outing as a director has the potential to lense sometime next year as Watts is juggling many projects that are in pre-production or development status. Watts will next be seen in The International.